How to use school books (without relying on textbooks): real learning with real books
I’m not going to say never use a textbook, because they have their place in homeschooling. They make decent spine or reference books, if they are well-written. But I’m going to talk about how to use exceptional children’s books to homeschool. In other words, real learning happens more frequently with real books.
When you hear the phrase school books, what comes to mind?
If your brain goes straight to dry textbooks and fill-in-the-blank workbooks, you’re not alone. But Charlotte Mason’s view of “school books” turned that on its head — in the best way possible.
In her eyes, school books weren’t just containers of facts to memorize. they were tools for presenting and stirring up big ideas–books that could ignite curiosity, feed children’s thought life, and even shape their character.
According to Charlotte Mason in Vol. 3, Chapters 15 and 16, the best books are those that:
“sustain the thought-life of a child”
have an “upheaving effect on the mind”
are “teeming with fresh ideas of the minds of thinkers”
That sounds more like soul food than schoolwork, doesn’t it?
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“School Books” means “real, living” books, because real learning occurs with real books.
Charlotte Mason didn’t mean textbooks. A school book, in her world, might be a beautifully written biography, a gripping historical novel, or a science book full of wonder and discovery. In short: living books—books rich in language, thought, and truth. Books written by knowledgeable authors with passion for their subjects.
“Just as long as they are living books (i.e., books with ‘living ideas’) that inspire our children’s minds.”
This is why using exceptional children’s literature in your homeschool–especially in subjects like science, history, and language arts—-can be so powerful.
You might introduce your children to the world of trees, botany, forests, and much more through a book like The Magic and Mystery of Trees, or learn about medieval life through the pages of a novel like Adam of the Road. These books don’t just deliver facts–they deliver meaning.
Narration: The First (and Most Natural) Stop
So, how do you know your child is actually learning from these wonderful books?
Charlotte Mason’s go-to method was the simple and brilliant practice of narration.
“The simplest way of dealing with a paragraph or a chapter is to require the child to narrate its contents after a single attentive reading…” –Charlotte Mason, Vol. 3.
Narration isn’t about reciting facts. It’s about your children telling the story back to you in their own words, pulling together (or assimilating) the ideas that resonated with them. You can learn more about the basics of narration in this post
Beyond Narration: Digging Deeper with Real Books
Narration is foundational–but it’s not the only way to engage deeply with living books:
“But this is only one way to use books; others are:
–to enumerate the statements in a given paragraph or chapter
–to analyse a chapter
–to divide it into paragraphs under proper headings
–to tabulate and classify series
–to trace cause to consequence and consequence to cause
–to discern character and perceive how character and circumstance interact
–to get lessons of life and conduct
–to gain the living knowledge which makes for science….”
There’s so much richness here! These aren’t rigid assignments—they are invitations to engage with ideas, ask questions, organize thoughts, and connect the dots between content and character.
And isn’t this the time of critical thinking we want to teach our children, instead of just “reading the chapter and answering the questions at the end”?
Try it with a Real Book
Let’s say you’re reading The Magic & Mystery of Trees. Here are a few ways to help your child use the book beyond just narration:
Practicing these “little” habits of thought build big mental muscles over time.
want to learn how to expand this into language arts? Grab this…
Have you experienced real learning with real books in your homeschool?
Do you have a favorite “real” (school) book” that’s caused real learning in your homeschool? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
