How it works

Kindred Thicket follows the structure of a Charlotte Mason reading lesson, and does the preparing for you. You bring your children together and press play. We carry the pacing (press pause whenever you need more time), the transitions, and the “what do I say next,” so you can stay present.

The shape of a reading

Kindling interest. Each reading opens with a short introduction that draws your child in and wakes her interest in the chapter, the way Charlotte Mason asks us to prepare the way before a reading.

A moment to tell back. Your child is invited to tell what she remembers from last time, gathering up the thread of the story before we go on. This telling back is part of the Charlotte Mason method, and the video makes room for it.

The vocabulary made clear. Some words in these older books are no longer familiar to a child the way they once were. We bring forward the words she may need and make them clear, so nothing keeps her from understanding the story.

The geography that matters to the chapter. When a place is important to understanding the chapter, your child is invited to find it in her atlas, so geography is something she does with her own hands, not a separate chore for later.

The living book, read aloud. The reading itself, read aloud in a clear voice, with the real words on the screen to follow along.

The Kindred Thicket Revised Edition. We write a Kindred Thicket Revised Edition of each book, which corrects the factual mistakes, historical errors and outdated science of the original, brings old animal names up to date, and puts right dated and offensive wording. Matters of perspective are left and flagged, so you decide. The notes that explain each change come with the paid materials, not the free video.

An invitation to narrate. Afterward, your child is invited to narrate what she heard, with the chapter’s people and places listed on screen to support her, so the names are right there instead of just out of reach.

Closing. The reading comes to a close.

That is the whole rhythm, and all of the preparing is already done.

Isn’t this just more screen time?

It is a fair question, and one worth asking. Most screens are built to be addictive and to keep a child watching alone. Ours is built to do the opposite. There is no flashing animation, no clamor, no rewards designed to pull your child back for more. What appears on the screen is clear and uncluttered: the words of the reading, a soft page-turning sound in the opening sequence, and, where they help, a character’s picture or a scene from the chapter, like a picture book. There is a living book, read aloud in a clear voice, with the actual words on the screen so your child is looking at them as she hears them. It is meant to be watched with you, not instead of you. You can pause, talk, narrate, and gather everyone close.

Charlotte Mason wrote that “children have no natural appetite for twaddle… What they want is to be brought into touch with living thought of the best.” We agree. This is the living room television used as a vehicle for living ideas, not a babysitter.

Why are the words on the screen?

Because Charlotte Mason asked us to keep children looking at the words. And because when the family gathers for a reading, not everyone can see the page. There is a baby on a lap, a toddler leaning in, several heads crowding one book. Putting the text on the screen, steady and large and easy to follow, lets every child see the words while the story is read aloud. It is the same instinct as singing a hymn or a folk song with the lyrics on screen, only here it carries the whole reading.

Will this work with several ages, or a baby in arms?

Yes. This was made for real family life: babies in arms, several ages gathered together, dishes in the sink, the ordinary interruptions of home. Everyone watches the same reading at once, and the narration prompts invite each child to narrate in her own way, so one reading serves the whole gathering.

What about a child who struggles to read, or cannot yet?

Listening is a real way in. A child who finds decoding hard can still take in a living book by ear, and often narrates it beautifully once the burden of sounding out the words is lifted. With the reading carried for them and the words on screen to follow, a dyslexic or pre-reading child can sit with the same rich stories as everyone else.

What do I have to prepare?

Nothing for the reading itself. That is the point. The hook, the moment to tell back, the vocabulary, the places to find in your atlas, the reading, and the invitation to narrate are all ready. You press play and stay with your children. We do the planning. The books come alive. Your child does the learning.

See the books · Begin with a free set