My Favorite Charlotte Mason Plutarch Resources for Homeschoolers

Plutarch! The mere mention of the philosopher and historian is enough to strike fear in even the most confident of beginner home educators. I remember in my own homeschooling journey eavesdropping (with no small amount of trepidation and relief that we weren’t there yet) on the upper form students in our homeschool co-op as they read their Plutarch lesson when my little son was in Year 1. Was Plutarch really necessary?

Could we maybe just skip him?

Several years and two Forms later, I’m happy to say that we did not skip Plutarch, and I am so glad we didn’t! While he is not a name we’re accustomed to hearing in modern education, his stories of famous people in Greek and Roman times were common coursework throughout history, and with good reason! The lessons learned (both positive examples and examples of how not to be) are priceless and transcend the barriers of time. These stories have also prompted such rich discussion for my kids and myself, and I am very thankful that I chose to swallow my fear and dive in when my kids were older.

With that said, I do want to acknowledge that he can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never even heard of him (as I hadn’t before I found Charlotte Mason!). In this post, I want to offer encouragement and ideas for diving into Plutarch that allow you to begin reading his stories with your students with confidence!

Charlotte Mason Plutarch Resources

The Lives are read to the children almost without comment, but with necessary omissions. Proper names are written on the blackboard, and then the children narrate what they have listened to.

Charlotte Mason (School Education)

Plutarch, has left us a wonderful store-house of great ideas and examples, showing how the life of the individual is the life of the state, and that where private standards are high or low, public morality is upheld or falls…

R. A. Pennethorne (Parents’ Review)

Our spine curriculum, AmblesideOnline (AO), schedules Plutarch to begin in Year 4; however, we chose to go with the PNEU Form II schedule instead and read Stories from the History of Rome in Year 4, and then began Plutarch in Year 5. In addition to that, per the recommendation of a friend, we also started reading the Peeps at Many Lands Greece and Rome books, which give a neat little glimpse (or peep) at these ancient civilizations. The first chapter is a little slow, but they pick up quickly, and you soon begin reading about how the cities were set up or how the military was structured (and “seeing” the individual soldiers and battleships up close!). I spread these out so we read Peeps Greece in Term 1, Peeps Rome in Term 2, and Stories from the History of Rome in Term 3. I chose to read these books with my student, but your student could also read these on their own.

When we were finally ready to dive into Plutarch, I found Anne White’s guides, all available free on the AO website, so helpful as they include the main text and many useful notes and summaries. I print these out at the beginning of the term and put them in a three-ring binder to use throughout the term. I also look for the appropriate map to the life we’ll be studying from the maps link I shared above, print it out, and laminate it. I have found the “The Athenian Empire at its height – ca. 450 BC,” “Italian Conquest,” “Vicinity of Rome,” and “Roman Expansion all the way up to Plutarch’s own lifetime” maps to be the most helpful.

I do try to pre-read our Plutarch selections as the language is thick, and usually, when I read it for the second time with my student, it makes more sense than the first reading. Sometimes, though, when life is extra busy, I don’t get around to pre-reading them, but the guides still make the lessons very doable. Before I begin reading that week’s selection with my students, I write down the names of the people and places mentioned in that week’s reading (both found in the first section of each of Anne White’s lessons) on one of our tabletop whiteboards. I also find the location(s) on my laminated maps and underline them (or write any in that are not printed on the map). I also go through and write Anne’s definitions for the bolded words above them, so I don’t have to flip back and forth.

When it’s time to read with my students, I go through it slowly, sometimes only reading one paragraph at a time, especially when my students are just beginning with Plutarch. I also ask the questions she offers at the end of every lesson. And that’s how we do Plutarch!

As a sidenote, in the article I linked above from Nancy Kelly, she specifically mentions the Blackie’s editions of Plutarch, which were used by Charlotte Mason. I have yet to try one of these, but they look beautiful (and I am always a sucker for beautiful books!).

So these are the resources we use in our Charlotte Mason homeschool for History and Plutarch! You can find more of my favorite resources for Charlotte Mason Homeschooling here!

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