This post is all about Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool curriculum we have used and loved.
Early on in our homeschool journey, I stumbled upon Charlotte Mason’s ideas on education. It happened while I was frantically researching what curriculum. I just knew there had to be more than textbooks I grew up using in public school.
I am so thankful to have found her ideas of providing a living education for building a love of learning. If you have not read her volumes yet, I highly suggest checking out Home Education or For the Children’s Sake (a quick read!).
In my 10+ years of homeschooling 3 kids, we have used different curriculum. Let’s chat about 6 different homeschool curriculum we have used, which are all inspired by Charlotte Mason’s principles.
This post is all about the different homeschool curricula inspired by Charlotte Mason’s ideas.
1. Charlotte Mason Inspired Curriculum: Simply Charlotte Mason
One of my favorite sources for general CM suggestions, thoughts, and guidance is Simply Charlotte Mason. Their team does an excellent job finding living books to include in their history, geography, and Bible cycles. The structure of days are easy to follow, and the years we used it were truly delightful.
I have heard parents either really love or really don’t love the 6 year history cycle. We used it for 3 years, and didn’t see anything wrong with it. My reason for moving on from this curriculum was mainly that we found one that offered more independent reading options, which was what my older kids were needing in that season.
Aside from their curriculum, I found their YouTube channel and blog to be particularly helpful in understanding how to start implenting CM principles into our daily schedule. Sonya breaks down concepts that sound complicated into palatable bites well.
I recommend so many things from SCM if you would like practical help with CM ideas, and want a rich, yet easy going year. Their Business Math series is another gem in their shop.
2. Charlotte Mason Inspired Curriculum: A Gentle Feast
A Gentle Feast takes the idea of a full meal to craft the different subjects. I never thought we could read as many books as we did with this curriculum! It challenged us in a great way, and also helped me to see how we can balance the different ages, books, and still feel sane and content with our workload.
We used A Gentle Feast’s cycles 3 and 4, as well as their 100 Lessons in Sight and Sound (Book 1 and 2) for preschool and Kindergarten years. Their 4-cycle curriculum can accommodate grades 1-12, and will take care of multiple subjects. The subjects I added in were math, writing, and science. To see an in-depth look into AGF and how exactly we used it, check out this post.
One common complaint I have heard is that if you fall behind in one of the subjects, it was hard to keep track of where you were in the weekly schedule. I fell behind or went ahead a few times for various reasons. My daughter read 3 more chapters than assigned that week or I skipped nature science for a couple weeks. My antidote to this was to use my own homeschool planner, and list out what I wanted to do that week. I would flip to the prior page to see what was accomplished in each subject, and simply write the next thing down to work on.
If you have multiple children in different grades, and need help with seeing how CM’s ideas can fit with a larger family, I highly recommend checking out A Gentle Feast.
3. Charlotte Mason Inspired Curriculum: The Peaceful Press
As I’m quickly moving out of the early stages of education, I often recommend The Peaceful Press to any homeschoolers in this fun stage. When I first started homeschooling, I was automatically drawn to the familiar. At the time, that meant whatever I used in public school. I wish I knew what else was possible back then!
The Peaceful Press is pure joy. It includes a weekly schedule grid along with poetry, recipes, book list, art studies, and more. It is incredibly hands on (optional) with many book selections available for young students. There is also a book list available if you want to include your older students, but I always found it more suitable for my younger children in our family.
We used The Precious People and The Kind Kingdom, as well as their beautifully created Christmas study called Unearthing Wonder. In each study, I loved their book suggestions, and nudge to add whimsy and playfulness to our days. As someone who is not naturally crafty, I would have to search how to do some of the crafts suggested online, but someone who is more talented may not need the extra direction.
The creator of this curriculum, Jennifer Pepito, is a veteran homeschooler. She has a great wisdom to share from her experience. Her book, Mothering By the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy feels like an ode to great stories, accompanied by her personal journey and encouragement in motherhood.
I would recommend checking out this curriculum if you’re wanting to add more hands-on experiences, find great books, and have time to do the extra things like recipes because that is a big part of the fun.
[RELATED POST: CURRICULUM REVIEW OF THE KIND KINGDOM]
4. Charlotte Mason Inspired Curriculum: Beautiful Feet Books
After a year of traditional schooling, and wanting something more life giving, Beautiful Feet Books entered. Their mission of teaching through the power of story really called me in. I fantasized what a difference the following school year would look like by this approach, and am so thankful for this shift.
[RELATED POST: AROUND THE WORLD WITH PICTURE BOOKS 1 AND 2]
Studies we have used with Beautiful Feet Books:
- Early American History K-3
- Early American History 4-6
- History of California
- Around the World with Picture Books 1 K-4
- Aroundt the World with Picture Books 2 K-4
- History of Science 4-6
- Teaching Character 4-6**
This curriculum helped me see the benefit of reading aloud. The age of my children did not matter. All of my kids were interested in the majority of the book selections. Depending on which subject, the teacher guide is packed with discussion questions, rabbit trail ideas, color photos, websites, recipes, artwork, and general teaching information on the topic of study.
I recommend one of these studies when you are skeptical about read alouds, and want guidance for reading comprehension. Also, it is most beneficial when you have time to follow a few of the rabbit trails. It was not possible for us to do everything in the teacher guide, so looking ahead to see what you have time for is suggested.
**I love many of the Beautiful Feet literature packs, but the Teaching Character study is one I would recommend for all.
5. Charlotte Mason Inspired Curriculum: Brighter Day Press
If you are a homeschooler and not following Whitney on Instagram, are you even a homeschooler? She was one of my very early online friends, and I have been so blessed by her sharing. You will find spiritual and homeschool encouragement, incredibly thoughtful resources for moms and families, and the most adorable family to top it off.
I am a fan of the Brighter Day Press Morning Time Volumes, and love the ease of incorporating poetry, composers, artists, and more into our family time together. You’ll also find convenient Morning Moments cards in her shop that are an even more simplified way of having meaningful mornings together, or just for mom. If you’re into cute mugs and bags, she has that too!
If you don’t already have a rhythm of incorporating beauty subjects with your family, the Morning Time volumes are a safe bet!
6. Charlotte Mason Inspired Curriculum: CM Simple Studies
I found CM Simple Studies at just the right time. It was a season where I needed a unit type of study that adopted CM ideas at the same time. We had finished our science curriculum early one year, and I wanted to finish off with a short nature study that was easy to add in. CM Simple Studies was just the right fit!
We started using Crystal’s nature studies such as Meadow Creatures, Farmyard Creatures, and Night Creatures. I also enjoyed her America study, which was a great addition to the summer we studies the United States. When my daughter had to do a lot of school on the road, I brought the English Fairy Tales study along with us. These studies are great to use when you need to pack light!
This post is all about our favorite 6 CM inspired homeschool curriculum.
Other Posts You May Like:
- Early American History Resources
- Charlotte Mason Inspired Resources
- Favorite Living Science Curriculum
What an incredibly helpful post, Trisha! Thank you for your kind words about Brighter Day Press. So thankful to know you and grateful for all that you share!