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Home > Charlotte Mason Homeschool: Picture Study

Charlotte Mason Homeschool: Picture Study

20 April 2020

Even before my kids were near school age, I knew we were going to be a homeschooling family. Neither I nor my husband were homeschooled, but that was the path that made (and still makes!) the most sense to us and felt the most right after we became parents. So, when my son was about two years old, I started to look into what our homeschooling options might be.

After doing some research into different philosophies, including Montessori and Waldorf, and looking into various boxed curricula that were available, I decided on one company that I felt matched our family’s values. I dutifully ordered their preschool books which I devoured upon delivery and immediately tried to implement those ideas in our home. Thankfully, even though the curriculum did not claim to be influenced by Charlotte Mason, it was still very much for allowing children that “full six years of passive receptive life,” so we didn’t stray far from the path we would ultimately take.

I first heard about Charlotte Mason back in 2013 when my son was three and I began offering virtual assistant services to bloggers. Several of the women with whom I worked were starting to explore Ms. Mason’s philosophies and writing about them on their websites. This coupled with an ebook that essentially summarized her principles piqued my interest and I decided to get For the Children’s Sake from the library.

It was the best decision I have ever made for my children’s education.

Everything she wrote about Ms. Mason’s ideas and principles resonated deeply with me. I loved the idea of educating children through living, well-written books and allowing them to develop relationships with ideas. I loved the emphasis on the natural world and spending time outside. I loved the practice of short, varied lessons that covered a wide range of topics. But the pièce de résistance for me, as unimportant as it may sound to others, was picture study. Picture study sold me on Charlotte Mason.

If it’s not abundantly clear, I love art. I love paintings and illuminated manuscripts and sculpture and photography and everything that world encompasses. I love the stories behind the artwork. I love to read about the lives of the artists who created it. And it was for these reasons that I majored in art history in college. When I read that Charlotte Mason stressed the importance of exposing children, even young children, to fine art and allowing them take it in on their own terms, in their own time, and not being guided through a work of art to be told what to think, I was 100% hooked on this nineteenth-century educator.

I understand, however, that picture study can be intimidating, especially to those who don’t belong to the right-brain realm. I’ve heard in various places that home educators don’t include picture study because they don’t have time for it, they feel that they don’t know enough about art, or they’re really just not sure how to do it. And I completely get that last one, because it can be a very abstract idea that isn’t easy to implement when you’re used to teaching your children in a certain flow.

It was for this reason that I started offering the Picture Study Aids following the AmblesideOnline Artist Study rotation for free back in 2017 and have since started to offer high-quality picture study prints as well as Picture Study Aids for pieces not on the AO rotation. My hope with all of these resources was to make picture study easier to implement and more enjoyable to do. After speaking at the Charlotte Mason Educational Retreat this year about picture study, I also wanted to dive a little more into the whys and hows behind picture study itself.

As such, this post serves as an introduction to a series I’ll be offering on Charlotte Mason picture study that I hope will assist with these struggles. I’d like to emphasize the importance of including it, alleviate fears that you have to know a lot about art (you don’t!), and lay out a way to do it that is simple, easy to implement, and comes straight from Charlotte Mason’s ideas. If you have any specific questions for me or concerns you’d like addressed, please feel free to leave a comment on this post!

Free Picture Study Aid Download!

Other posts in this series…

Why is Charlotte Mason picture study important?
Why is picture study important?
How to Do Picture Study
Charlotte Mason Picture Study: Who Are the Best Artists to Study First?
Charlotte Mason Homeschool: How to Display Picture Study Art
Charlotte Mason Homeschool: How to Print Picture Study Art

Related Posts

  • Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Plans and Survey
  • Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Plans and Survey
  • Rembrandt Picture Study
    Charlotte Mason Picture Study: Rembrandt van Rijn

Art History, Charlotte Mason Homeschooling, Homeschooling, Picture Study, Picture Study Series
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  1. Jen @ Bookish Family says

    20 April 2020 at 4:48 am

    I’ll be looking forward to reading your series and I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two or three! I fell in love with Mason’s method’s for the books/ideas because I love ideas (why I majored in Philosophy and went to law school!). As I read Mason’s words I was blown away by her wisdom into the nature of children/people and the meaning of education so I just had to take her word that including art was important ;-). I’m the mom who NEVER took any practical art class or art history class or even art appreciation class in any school setting–elementary, high school, college, NADA.

    What I’ve found through including picture study is that I am learning. Even though we have mainly looked at pictures and read a few kids’ books, I have learned and grown in my appreciation of art. Now I like learning even more about art. I took a free modern art class online and I go to our local university gallery and listen to gallery talks and I enjoy it!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      20 April 2020 at 3:05 pm

      Those are excellent ways to grow your appreciation! I find that knowing more about the art itself allows me to appreciate it more. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Melanie says

    22 April 2020 at 4:18 pm

    Yay! I’m looking forward to this series! I knew nothing about art (besides a few famous artists’ names) before we started homeschooling. It’s one of my favorite parts of our ao curriculum, but it does often fall by the wayside as I often just run out of energy by the time we get to it. We do display the current picture on an easel so at least we’re all becoming familiar with them. Every now and then we will talk about what we see. It’s definitely an area that can use beefing up!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      23 April 2020 at 7:30 am

      Displaying the current picture on a place they can see it is a great way to expose them to art as well! I know this is definitely an easy subject to let slip through the cracks, though, especially when life is busy!

      Reply
  3. Kristin says

    22 April 2020 at 5:01 pm

    How do you handle nudity in art? I have three boys and do not wish them to see these things! I understand and have researched the difference between pornography and art, but I still am very hesitant to bring nude images into our home. Thoughts?

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      23 April 2020 at 7:48 am

      This is a great question and one that I see pop up every so often in homeschooling circles. Nudity in art is not always necessarily sexual, but there are definitely instances, even in fine art by the masters, in which it is. On the other hand, many master painters considered the human body an amazing feat of design and engineering, so they studied and painted or drew it without clothing purely from that point of view (Michelangelo is an excellent example of this). Sometimes, though, even if it is tastefully done, it can definitely be a struggle for older students and that’s something I’d suggest a parent discusses with them before they decide if nudity is going to be included in their picture study time.

      Either way, I think most artists have a wide and varied oeuvre from which to select pieces that don’t contain nudity. For those families who choose not to include nudity in their picture study, in most cases, I feel they can still get a very good glimpse of an artist’s style without it.

      In our co-op, we have chosen not to include nudity in picture study to respect the wishes of older students. In our home, I have been comfortable showing my younger children art containing nudity (if it’s tasteful), but I will definitely revisit this on a year-by-year basis.

      Reply
  4. Leanne says

    22 April 2020 at 5:36 pm

    I look forward to reading more. I am almost a retired home school mum and I feel in love with Charlotte Mason and her approach to education what seems like years ago when my eldest son was 6. I loved her ideas about picture studies as I have a practical art background in painting and sculpture and love art but had never studied art history systematically so liked her gentle approach to it. I think I enjoyed the picture studies more than my children and to be honest my oldest 3 don’t like art really at all and I think that was probably partly due to our picture studies which they more endured than enjoyed. I hope to learn from you what I did wrong as I am now teaching art and I include picture studies in my curriculum but once again I don’t think the kids really enjoy them, we definitely not as much as the practical art.

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      23 April 2020 at 7:49 am

      I know it’s definitely not a popular subject with all children, so that can be a struggle. I hope I can offer some suggestions for implementation that are helpful!

      Reply
  5. Sandra says

    23 April 2020 at 11:07 am

    How are the six works scheduled to last for a term?

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      23 April 2020 at 2:41 pm

      They would study each piece for two weeks, so the first week being introduced to it and a longer viewing/narration/discussion time, and then the second time, a sort of review time could be done.

      Reply
  6. Stephanie says

    26 March 2022 at 11:08 pm

    Will you be creating a picture study aid for the ancients like Egypt and Greece?

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      27 March 2022 at 3:31 pm

      I actually have the Fayum mummy portraits on my shortlist of future PSAs which combined aspects from both the ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures (though they were made during Roman times). But I also hope to be able to offer more ancient art besides that in the future.

      Reply

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Hello! I'm Rebecca. Wife to E, homeschooling mother to B and C, and currently living in Colorado. I have a degree in art history and find joy in being able to offer art-related resources to homeschooling families as well as a gentle, Charlotte Mason-Inspired Kindergarten Curriculum. I also share our own homeschooling journey in the hope that it can be a help to others! Read More…

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"I’m painting with the gusto of a Marseillais ea "I’m painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large Sunflowers. I have 3 canvases on the go, 1) 3 large flowers in a green vase, light background (no. 15 canvas) 2) 3 flowers, one flower that’s gone to seed and lost its petals and a bud on a royal blue background (no. 25 canvas) 3) twelve flowers and buds in a yellow vase (no. 30 canvas). So the last one is light on light, and will be the best, I hope. I’ll probably not stop there. In the hope of living in a studio of our own with [Paul] Gauguin, I’d like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large Sunflowers. Next door to your shop, in the restaurant, as you know, there’s such a beautiful decoration of flowers there; I still remember the big sunflower in the window. Well, if I carry out this plan there’ll be a dozen or so panels. The whole thing will therefore be a symphony in blue and yellow. I work on it all these mornings, from sunrise. Because the flowers wilt quickly and it’s a matter of doing the whole thing in one go.” (Letter 666 to Theo, 1888)​​​​​​​​
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Perhaps some of Vincent's most well-known paintings were his sunflowers series which he painted in preparation of the arrival of Paul Gauguin to Arles in 1888. He wrote with humor and painted with gusto at this time as he was excited for what he hoped would be the start of an artist colony in this town in the south of France. I see a lot of hope in his sunflowers.​​​​​​​​
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This is also an announcement that the Vincent van Gogh Picture Study Aid and Art Prints are back in stock in the shop! Those on the waitlist should've received an email yesterday. You can find it at the link in my profile!​​​​​​​​
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#charlottemason #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #charlottemasonpicturestudy #picturestudyaid #picturestudy #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolarthistory #arthistoryforhomeschoolers
It's that time of year! We finished our school yea It's that time of year! We finished our school year on June 11th and while the kids spent their mornings at a local horse camp last week, I put together a recap of our AmblesideOnline Years 5 and 2 on my blog! You can find the posts at the link in my profile or at https://ahumbleplace.com/tag/2022recaps/​​​​​​​​
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#charlottemason #charlottemasonhomeschool #charlottemasoneducation #amblesideonline #amblesideonlineyear5 #amblesideonlineyear2 #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoollife
Let's talk about kindergarten! 📚
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I’ve read in a few places that kindergarten is now considered the new first grade. Whereas in the past, kindergarten was more play than academics, in more recent years, it has simply become a precursor “grade” to first grade. Chances are, the kindergarten you remember from your youth is very different from the way it is today.
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I think homeschooling parents of kindergartners especially feel pressure as they're either just starting homeschooling, and/or they're worried about what friends and family think about their choice to homeschool. With this in mind, they want to do all the "right" things for kindergarten. They want to be able to check all the boxes and introduce the academic rigor that they assume is necessary for that first year of education.
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But I'd like to suggest that maybe all of that -isn't- actually necessary. I'd like to suggest that perhaps one of the benefits of homeschooling your kids during the kindergarten year is that you don't have to aim for academic rigor. Maybe you don't need worksheets. Maybe you don't need flashcards. Maybe you don't need intricate lesson plans. I'll even venture to suggest that maybe you don't even need a phonics program. 😳😲 (We didn't. 😊)
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Instead of planning a jam-packed kindergarten year of lessons and hours of structured learning every day, maybe keeping everything simple is actually the better path. Taking that extra year to just spend time with your child, reading living books with them, playing with them, taking them on nature walks, and protecting that childhood for a little bit longer.
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There are even several studies out there suggesting that a better-late-than-early approach for 5- to 6-year-olds is actually -better- for them. If you're interested in reading more, I have a post about a Simple Kindergarten Year at the link in my profile!
London Fog at @wesley_owens_coffee. It's funny how London Fog at @wesley_owens_coffee. It's funny how a place can invoke multiple trips down memory lane, but as I've spent some time here working this week while my kids are at a local horse camp, I have found myself reminiscing quite often.
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I walked into this little coffee shop with more than just a little trepidation one Tuesday night in May six years ago. At the time, we had just moved to a new town and I was at a point in my life where I was desperate to make friends, so I stifled my introvert self and reached out to the leader of a local Charlotte Mason book group to see about attending. (I still have that email, by the way, @the_sacredwilds. 😊)
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I look over and watch my timid self making her way to the couches in the corner where Lindsey and Kelly were already sitting. I see the table where we gathered for snacks that Niko brought that first time I went. I gaze through the front windows and find the spot where I stood in the cold with Jennifer and Dawn talking about the upcoming retreat a half-hour after our book group had finished.
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I do not exaggerate when I say that coming to that group literally changed my life. I met some of my dearest friends who, unbeknownst to me, came along at a time in my life when I would very much need them. It changed the lives of my kids by providing them with a beautiful homeschool co-op experience and wonderful friends. It gave us community and love in more ways than I can count.
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It's been a little bittersweet for me to be here this week as neither the book group nor the co-op happens anymore. I miss those times and the faces I got to see so often. But I am so thankful that I made that decision to walk into a coffee shop on a Tuesday night.
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If you happen to be traveling through Monument, Colorado, you'll find this little coffee shop just off I-25. I highly recommend it. ☕️⛰
"I have drawn things since I was six. All that I m "I have drawn things since I was six. All that I made before the age of 65 is not worth counting. At 73 I began to understand the true construction of animals, plants, trees, birds, fishes, and insects. At 90 I will enter into the secret of things. At 110, everything - every dot, every dash - will live. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age, I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign myself 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing.'" Katsushika Hokusai​​​​​​​​
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Hokusai, as with so many other artists, was an interesting character. I have read that he was crotchety, reclusive, and hated cleaning so much that he simply moved when his current house became unbearable rather than cleaning it. He is known for making a painting so large that the entire thing could only be seen from the roof of the palace, as well as a painting so small that it fit on a grain of rice. While some may be myth and some maybe be fact, his claim of calling himself “The Old Man Mad About Drawing (or Painting in some translations)” is evidenced by his skill and the sheer multitude of art that he put out during his lifetime.​​​​​​​​
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I'm excited to announce this week that I now have a Picture Study Aid and art prints available for Hokusai in my shop! You can find it at the link in my profile or at https://ahumbleplace.com/product/hokusai-picture-study/​​​​​​​​
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#charlottemason #charlottemasonpicturestudy #picturestudy #homeschool #homeschooling #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #homeschoolarthistory #arthistoryforhomeschoolers #picturestudyaids
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I love when modern artists take inspiration from art history and Diane Stanley is a shining example of this practice. I wrote a paper in college on the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, an illuminated manuscript from the early 15th century. Every week this year when I opened Stanley's version of the story of the Maid of Orléans to read to my daughter, I felt like I was looking at the Très Riches Heures again. I enjoyed it. 😊​​​​​​​​
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#amblesideonline #amblesideonlineyear2 #homeschool #homeschoollife #charlottemasonhomeschool #charlottemasoneducation #dianestanley
Making wheeeeeeey! . #whey #wapf #westonaprice #no Making wheeeeeeey!
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Henry Ossawa Tanner had a way with the brush. His Henry Ossawa Tanner had a way with the brush. His paintings are quiet and in all of them, there is a need to lean in. To examine it closer. To see what all he included in the background and in the shadows. The little details here and there that make it something more than just another painting.​​​​​​​​
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This piece, "The Banjo Lesson," is one of the most famous, if not -the- most famous, of his paintings. When it was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1894, it was so popular, and the crowd around it was so thick that many people never got to see it close-up. I like to imagine that they were all leaning in.​​​​​​​​
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In case you missed the announcement to the waitlist last week, my Henry Ossawa Tanner Picture Study Aid and art prints are back in stock in the shop! You can find them at the link in my profile or at https://ahumbleplace.com/product/tanner-picture-study/​​​​​​​​
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#picturestudy #artiststudy #charlottemason #charlottemasonpicturestudy #picturestudyaid #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolarthistory #arthistoryforhomeschoolers
In April, I introduced a series of blog posts that In April, I introduced a series of blog posts that I plan to go through over the next few months, sharing some of my favorite Charlotte Mason homeschool resources broken down by subject. These are the ones we've tried and have been so helpful in making our days run more smoothly. They have also engaged my kids in whatever subject we're covering. In some cases, they're resources that have been made by other homeschooling moms or are from reputable homeschooling companies, and sometimes they're just different items that have been helpful to us in a specific subject.
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These are by no means the only resources out there, and I will offer others in some subjects that I have heard of but haven't had the chance to try yet, or I have friends who have used them and appreciate them. But the main list will be the resources we've used in our homeschool over the last (almost!) six years that have been so helpful to us.
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This week I'm sharing resources for Geography and Math! As with my other posts in this series, these are two subjects, especially geography, that look very different than what I experienced in my elementary school days, but I definitely consider this a good thing!
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You can find the post at the link in my profile or at https://ahumbleplace.com/my-favorite-resources-for-charlotte-mason-homeschooling-geography-and-math/
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#charlottemason #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolmath #homeschoolgeography #homeschoolresources #homeschoollife

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