2023 centenary conference
You’re invited to the Charlotte Mason Centenary Conference from July 19-21, 2023 in Ambleside, England and hosted by the University of Cumbria and CMI! Come continue conversations on education in the very places Miss Mason began them.
Charlotte Mason’s Design for Education: An Enduring Legacy for Today?
charlotte mason 2023 conference
You’re invited to the Charlotte Mason Centenary Conference from July 19-21, 2023 in Ambleside, England and hosted by the University of Cumbria and CMI! Come continue conversations on education in the very places Miss Mason began them.
Whether you’re a homeschool educator, a classroom teacher, an academic, an author, a naturalist, new to Charlotte Mason, or a Charlotte Mason veteran, this conference is for you. Like all CMI conferences, the time will be filled with lively discussions, active learning, and beautiful experiences oriented around Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and continued relevance for today.
Each day of the conference will focus on key aspects of Mason’s philosophy–Wednesday afternoon and evening is dedicated to considering who Mason was and how her legacy has continued, Thursday is devoted to Nature, Science, and the Outdoors Life, and Friday will focus on Mason’s use of narration and the narrative throughout the curriculum.
Panel presentations and discussions, practical immersions and workshops, and
pub-style springboard chats will lay out the important ideas behind Mason’s design for education and focus on what a relational education actually looks like in practice so participants will leave with a greater sense of not only what a Charlotte Mason education is but also how to implement it in homes and classrooms and all of life. And with a warm sense of community and inspiration for the future.
Pre-conference opt-in immersions, including visits to local schools, and experiences with local and international experts are planned for several days before the conference, and the conference will conclude on Friday evening (July 21) with a community celebration featuring dramatic readings from Mason’s works and other literary and artistic contributions.
Come explore the beautiful Lake District, gather at the Armitt Museum to explore the Charlotte Mason collection or the Beatrix Potter works, and wander through green English sheep folds and the surrounding fells. The entire time will be touched by the beauty of the campus, the echo of history throughout the town, and the beckoning of the natural beauty of the region.
Affordable on-campus accommodation options are also available from July 14-July 24, 2023, for pre-conference visits and walking in the area.
Spots are limited, so register now!
Speakers
Come continue conversations on education in the very places Miss Mason began them. The full speaker list will be posted this spring.



sessions
Pre-Conference Events
Immerse yourself in the beauty of the Lake District, visit local schools, discuss Mason's legacy and a relational education with others, dive deep into some of her key practices such as Nature Journaling, and more in these intimate pre-conference events.
Grasmere: Echoes of Mason and Wordsworth

Langdale Valley: Educating Out of Doors
Nature Journaling Immersion

Session Descriptions
Browse the wide variety of sessions below to prepare for the conference.
The Gift of a Charlotte Mason Philosophy: A Practical Theology of Joy in an Age of Depression and Anxiety
From Plato to Bacon to Coleridge
Life without Charlotte - Four Principals' Experiences (1923-1960)
Beyond the Bounds of Time and Place: How Charlotte Mason’s Philosophy Inherently Supports a Diverse and Vibrant 21st Century Education
Mason Education and the 21st Century: What It Looks Like and Its Results
Using Narration in the Classroom
Narration to Essay: Understand, Experience, Facilitate
Narration 3.0 - Further Up & Further In
Education is an Atmosphere
Meaning and Memory: A Second Look at the Role of Memorization in the Teachings of Charlotte Mason
The Power of Visual Memorisation: How to Teach Effective, Lasting Concepts in a Simple Way
"We are but Torchbearers": Continuing Charlotte Mason's Legacy the Charlotte Mason Way
Charlotte Mason's Philosophical Premises: An Antidote to Modernist Epistemology
Charlotte Mason’s Approach to Reading the Bible and the Context and Purpose of her ‘Saviour of the World’, Part 1
The relevance of Charlotte Mason’s ‘Saviour of the World’: moral and biblical learning in the 21st century – part 2
Why Atmosphere May Be “the Most Important Ministry of the Educator” - It May Be the Harder to Achieve
Nature Study: Keep it real! Making it Happen... Consistently
Out-of-Doors Life of and for Children: Contesting environmental discourses in pedagogy and practice
Prioritising the Real: A Charlotte Mason Approach to Screens in Schools
How to Teach Nature Journaling: Reclaiming the Art of Natural History

Narration in a Wide Curriculum: The Process & Progression



Nature Journaling in the Field, Parts 1 & 2*

Where Did It All Happen? - Ambleside & Campus Walk
Fully Resourced: Pulling Diverse Living Books, Things, and People into the Charlotte Mason Canon and Community
The Joys and Challenges of Leading a CM School Today
The Seven Ages: Possibilities for applying Mason’s pedagogy for formal and informal adult learning
Charlotte Mason Had No Kids: An Exploration of the Role of the Modern Homeschooling Parent
The History of Narration (and its future)
The Narrative Abilities of Autistic Children and How to Support Them to Develop Narrative Skills
The Goods of the Gods: The Gift of Narration
The Goods of the Gods: Narrative in the 21st Century
Narration of Heroic Becoming: Plugging into the Collective Unconscious
The Storied Life of the Child - Narration and Meaning-making
Narration in the Study of Law
Making Citizens: Demonstrations of Participation as Narration Through Cases of Inclusive Creativity, Social Mobility, and Action Research
Learning Backwards, Living Forwards: Medical Education, Christian Narrative, and Virtue Formation
A Mental Transfiguration: The Consistent Use of Narration Develops Global, Relational Thinking
The Enduring Power of Stories and the Empowering Practice of Narration: Teaching Literature the Mason Way in Modern Day Britain
Schedule
See session descriptions above.
PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS
WELCOME & PANEL 1: An Abundant Legacy
DINNER
PANEL 2: An Enduring Legacy
3:00-5:00pm
5:30 6:30pm
7:15 - 8:45 pm
BREAKFAST
MATINS
WELCOME & PANEL 3: Charlotte Mason’s Out-of-Door Education
LECTURE: Nature Journaling Toward Relationship with John Muir Laws
LUNCH
AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES & IMMERSIONS
DINNER
SPRINGBOARD CONVERSATIONS
7:00-8:45 am
8:00 - 8:20am
8:45 - 10:30 am
11:00am - 12:00pm
12:30-1:30pm
2:00 - 3:00 & 3:30 - 5:00pm
5:30 - 6:30pm
7:30 - 8:30pm
BREAKFAST
MATINS
WELCOME & PANEL 4: Narration – a practice effective then and now?
PANEL 5: Connections from and through Narration
LUNCH
PRACTICAL IMMERSIONS
DINNER
CENTENARY CELEBRATION & CONCERT
7:00-8:45 am
8:00 - 8:20am
8:45 - 10:30 am
11:00am - 12:15pm
12:30 - 1:30pm
Option 1: 2:00 - 5:30pm
Option 2: 2:00 - 3:00pm & 3:30 - 4:30pm
6:00 - 6:45PM
7:00 - 9:00pm
University of Cumbria (Co-host)
venue impression



more information
FAQ
Please fill out this form and send it to cm2023@cumbria.ac.uk to request a refund. Requests received by March 15, 2023 will receive a refund minus a £30 cancellation fee. After March 15, no refunds will be provided.
Great! You can find information about accommodation on our registration page and forms. If you are coming with a group, please note the names of others you’re attending with in the “further notes” section of the registration form, and we’ll aim to place you near each other. Any additional questions can be directed to cm2023@cumbria.ac.uk.
We’re excited to hear of your interest. Please read through the Call for Proposals document and email conference@cminst.org with any further questions.
With the emphasis on putting together this international conference, we will not be hosting an in-person conference in the states in 2023. However we are working on putting together resources and plans for regional retreat options that will likely take place during our usual conference week in June to support those who aren’t able to join in Ambleside.
If you are a university or graduate student, you are welcome to attend at the discounted student rate!
All meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) from Wednesday dinner through Friday dinner.
limited spots available
decide to join today!
Spots are limited, so register now! Affordable on-campus accommodation options are also available from July 14-July 24, 2023, for pre-conference visits and walking in the area. (Accommodation now sold out).