Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousands Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are says this of the Charlotte Mason Handbook Laying Down the Rails by Sonya Shafer: “Worth every penny and more.” “Needful, necessary stuff.” “I return again and again to this book, all underlined and dog-eared.”

It’s February 24th, and many of us who haven’t attained perfection in the keeping of our New Year’s Resolutions might be ready to throw in the towel. But hold on for just a minute….if you’ve already floundered or are on the precipice, I’d like to introduce a woman to you who might encourage you along the journey and even push you to take possession of habits you weren’t even aware that could be developed. Her name is Charlotte Mason and she was an Anglican British educator whose philosophy was based on current brain research of the day. Even though she has been dead for nearly one hundred years, her writings in the last twenty years have made a resurgence among home educators, charter schools, and independent private schools. “But wait a minute,” you might ask. “What does that have to do with me?” Of her six volumes written on education, the first volume is in large part devoted to habit and the role it represents in the development of character in a child. Simply Charlotte Mason presents that Laying Down the Rails is a summary of Mason's writings concerning habits. Although her writings on habit and education in general are directed specifically to training children, because we serve a God of grace who gives wisdom “generously to all without finding fault.”, even adults can learn new habits and ways of thinking later in life, albeit taking more determination and patience to instill the desired traits.

This post will focus on the three habits Charlotte Mason deemed most vital in the life of a child. (Charlotte Mason could have been the inspiration for the book wildly popular over twenty years ago: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum).

The three character traits are as follows and I have listed a couple of points she says about each:

1. Attention: Turning the Whole Force of the Mind to the Subject in Hand. The Fixed Gaze of the mind.

• The habit of attention is of first importance because all the other intellectual gifts depend upon it.
• The mind naturally makes multiple associations, but your child should learn to control his flitting thoughts.

She discusses our mind’s natural tendency to make multiple associations when working and how we can train ourselves to keep our attention on the task at hand. “We take a great deal too much upon ourselves when we suppose that we are the authors and intenders of the thoughts we think.“

2. Obedience: Submitting to the restraint or command of authority.

• Make obedience a top priority, even more important than academics.
• Treat willfulness as disobedience.
• Realize that you are on assignment from God to teach your child obedience.

3. Truthfulness: Aligning words and actions in accordance with fact.

• Train your child to state facts carefully and exactly, without leaving anything out or exaggerating.
• Lying can come through being careless in gathering the facts, careless in stating the facts, or through a deliberate intention to deceive. Teach your child to avoid all three causes, not just the third.
• Treat deceit as a radical character defect that needs to be corrected rather than excused.

I must admit that I have had this book for almost five years and it has just been in the last two that I have had the courage to open it again. There are more than fifty habits/character traits that Sonya Shafer has compiled from Charlotte’s writing in the book and the reader is encouraged to take one at the time and work on that trait for 6-8 weeks before progressing to another. A few examples of the more than fifty habits contained in the book are cleanliness, courtesy, kindness, thinking, and fortitude. If Laying Down the Rails has kindled your interest, I would encourage you to purchase a copy. Especially if you want to direct your children in good habits and/or you as a continuing pilgrim in the Christian life desire to grow in your love and respect for others and outward service to the Lord.

1. Sonya Shafer, "Simply Charlotte Mason Presents: Laying Down the Rails--A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook (Simply Charlotte Mason, LLC).