Charlotte Mason Worldschooling with Ariana Herbert

World schooling by definition is an educational philosophy that combines travel with learning, using the world as the classroom. It simply emphasizes immersive, experience based education where children engage with cultures, histories, languages, and environments firsthand. World schooling allows us to experience deeper curiosity, independence and global awareness. World schooling was my reason for wanting to homeschool.

So, what does world schooling look like for a Charlotte Mason student? It simply provides a harmonious balance between the freedom of world exploration with the structure and beauty of a time tested philosophy. Charlotte Mason’s quote “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life” is the motto we go by, and world schooling naturally provides a rich atmosphere that is filled with new cultures, new discoveries, landscapes and languages. 

Our living books, albeit some online while being on the road, still travel with us. I do allot suitcase space for our books! Oftentimes, our travels will take us through regions we’re currently studying, which allows us to gain deeper historical and cultural insight through engaging narratives. For example, last year we visited Egypt after reading about the ancient Egyptian civilization. My girls each get a travel journal and put their “Marco Polo” hat on journaling their experiences. 

Artist study for us could be visiting the Uffizi gallery in Florence to marvel over Botticelli’s work, or making our way to Nüremberg to visit Albrecht Dürer’s home, or visiting the Kunsthistorisches museum in Vienna to see the largest Pieter Brügel the Elder collection the year we studied his works. One year, just for fun, we visited the Stille Nacht museum in Hallein, Austria where our favorite Christmas carol Stille Nacht (Silent Night) was written by Franz Grüber in 1818. 

World schooling also lends itself phenomenally to nature study, another pillar of the Charlotte Mason philosophy, which becomes even more vibrant on the road. Just last night we were star gazing and saw a few familiar stars we otherwise haven’t had a chance to spot in New York. A European horse-chestnut is my 9 year old daughter’s favorite tree, and she gets to collect their seeds while in Bosnia. My girls love to buy new art supplies and notebooks overseas for all their journaling needs. More than once have I had to buy an additional suitcase to bring books and supplies back to New York! 

Furthermore, history and geography are by far our favorite subjects to experience through a “living education.” When my Form II daughter read the Book of Marvels I promised to take her to see the Hagia Sophia. Last September I fulfilled that promise. This year Form II Alveary students get to read The Voyage of Captain Kidd for their geography lessons, and his journey takes him to some interestingly close places to the ones we will visit. For example, his travels take him to London, but we’ll be visiting Copenhagen. He goes to Madeira; we will visit the Canary Islands. He goes to Madagascar; we will be in Mauritius. But we found one place where we will “meet” Captain Kidd: the Cape of Good Hope!

I believe the most important skills to have while world schooling are flexibility and good organization. A loop schedule works well for us and we have a heavy focus on science so we can do the labs at home. We also work to keep up with our US history readings, because we like to explore the local history when traveling. Other things we prioritize while home in New York are: grammar, written narrations, Book of Centuries, poetry, plenty of the “Our Work” lessons, art lessons, and sol-fa, sloyd, practical skills, and handicrafts. 

This is our first year that we are using the amazing Alveary curriculum so I had to be innovative and make adjustments to my typical “school” on the road schedule. I recently discovered Trello, which allowed me to upload all of our lesson plans for the subjects we will be working on while being on the road. Our school days on the road often include readings, journaling, and narration in the mornings and then cultural exploration in the afternoons. This allows us to maintain both academic consistency and space for discovery. 

The lessons we tend to take on the road with us are typically literature, church history, world and ancient history, Bible, copywork, and dictation. We also keep up with our French lessons with Miss. Julie at CM Everyday French, who has been amazing at accommodating our erratic schedule.  I’m hoping for some Shakespeare this year as well! However, flexibility is key because some days we don’t check off all the boxes, and one must be okay with that. 

Ultimately, combining the Charlotte Mason method with a world schooling lifestyle gives our children a holistic, meaningful education. It nurtures their hearts, character and their intellect, giving them the opportunity to see the world not just as a source of knowledge, but as a place to belong, grow and serve. It allows us to honor the child as a person no matter where we are in the world, because the world is their classroom – full of wonder, wisdom, and living education. 

Ariana Herbert (@lilahrose) is a Charlotte Mason worlschool mom to three girls. Growing up in Germany, Ariana herself was educated under the Charlotte Mason philosophy and is thrilled to be able to give the same rich feast to her daughters. At the tender age of nineteen she changed continents and decided to try her luck in New York. There she acquired a Master’s degree in Finance and became a part of the corporate world. She ultimately gave that up to become a stay-at-home mom and plan her world school adventures. Her family splits their time between living in New York and Bosnia, where her daughter is currently working towards a professional soccer track. Ariana is multilingual and is passionate about creating unique itineraries to explore different parts of the world that will connect to her family’s learning environment. When she’s not traveling, she is working on her naturopath certification and drinking organic, mold-free coffee in her backyard surrounded by the woods.