TIP #5: Keep lessons short - Beginner Guide to Charlotte Mason

In most schools, children are required to spend an hour on average paying attention to a lesson focused on one subject area. At a certain point, most children start getting fidgety or bored, or their attention wanders off simply because the lesson is too long. Charlotte Mason believed that children should only be required to give focused attention to one subject for a short period of time, before taking a break or moving on to a different subject altogether. 

For 6-year olds this meant lessons were generally no more than 15 minutes long. As the child got older and their attention span developed, the lesson length gradually increased to 20 minutes, then 30 minutes and finally 45 minutes from age 13 upwards. Even for older children, not all lessons were 45 minutes long. The lesson length varied from 25 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the subject. 

With short lessons, Charlotte Mason was able to cover a wide variety of subjects  before lunchtime keeping the child's interest throughout. After lunch, she recommended as much time as needed be given for the child to do nature study, practice art, do free reading, perfect a handicraft, play a musical instrument or explore outdoors in an unhurried fashion.

You'll be surprised how much can be accomplished in a short lesson time when the lesson is focused and the child is giving their full attention and best effort.