Welcome to the Simply Charlotte Mason podcast. I'm Sonia Schaefer. I just finished reading

an excellent book called Contentment, The Secret to a Lasting Calm, by one of my favorite

modern-day authors, Richard Swenson. This is one of those books that I need to reread often.

The definition of contentment is a quiet confidence that what I have is enough, an inner

satisfaction that this is all that is needed.

Discontent, on the other hand, is an anxious desire for more and

more, faster and faster. Now, as often happens when you are fed ideas, my mind started

looking through its files for other ideas related to being content, and up popped a quote from Charlotte Mason in

which she encouraged the teacher to be content to proceed very slowly, securing the ground

under her feet.

And then I started wondering if she used that word anywhere else.

So I went on a search to find out what Charlotte Mason said about being content, and the

results are very telling.

I found eight passages in Charlotte's writings that address eight different aspects of a Charlotte

Mason education.

Now as we go through these eight key quotes from Charlotte on contentment in teaching,

keep in mind that definition of content, a quiet confidence that this is enough, an inner

satisfaction that this is all that is needed.

All right, here we go.

First, she said that in beginning reading lessons we must be content to proceed very slowly.

Here's her quote,

The teacher must be content to proceed very slowly, securing the ground under her feet as

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