CM Homeschool Curriculum Options

I first became interested in a Charlotte Mason education when my oldest was only 3 years old. I bought the book, A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. I fell in love. That said, I didn’t fully understand the philosophy or try to implement it until years later. Many people hear “Charlotte Mason” and they think “nature study and books,” and they’re not wrong. However, there is so much more to a Charlotte Mason education. A few years ago I went from Charlotte Mason “inspired” to fully embracing and implementing it in our homeschool. You don’t need any particular curriculum and in some cases I think products advertised as CM are stretching the definition. One year I DIY’d everything and it was a good year. These days I appreciate having some of that legwork done for me. I really wanted to find the best Charlotte Mason homeschool curriculum. So I researched options, and below is what I learned.

The CMEC – annual membership fee

With CMEC you pay one yearly fee for the entire family and you have access to all the materials and mother’s education resources. I appreciate that I am able to mix and match. So, if my child is a form 1B in History, but a form 1A in Geography, we just choose the guide that we need. It provides a summary of what should be accomplished each term, as opposed to daily lesson plans. It has a lot of freedom built right into the plan. This program is not what I would call “open and go.” You definitely need to have some understanding of a Charlotte Mason education, and be willing to do some upfront planning.

Though you will need to do some planning, CMEC offers many resources to help. It’s actually a little overwhelming when you first join, because there is so much to explore. It is well worth the time though. I know people who join CMEC just for the Mother’s Education courses. You also have email access to the Form leaders, who are a great resource when you have questions about how to implement parts of the program.

This program adheres closely to an authentic Charlotte Mason education. So much so that it uses some of the same books that CM herself used. A lot of thought goes into book selection, and it’s a really solid program. I really can’t say enough about CMEC. It’s a wonderful choice!

The Alveary – annual membership fee

The Alveary is another membership program. We have used this option, and I appreciate that the membership fee covers everything and like with CMEC, you have access to all grade levels.

The Alveary provides structure with daily lesson plans, but it’s flexible enough that you can adapt it to fit. A daily lesson plan can feel constraining to some, and I think I definitely felt that. I’m also not sure a true Charlotte Mason education needs lesson plans. However, it can be a good way to start.

Ultimately it wasn’t a good fit for us in terms of book choices and our family values.

A Gentle Feast – This is another great all-in-one option. The history cycles are very similar to Alveary and CMEC. We briefly tried AGF, and there was a lot I liked about it. Ultimately it just wasn’t what I was looking for in our home education.

Simply Charlotte Mason – cost varies, including some free resources.

We have used many SCM resources in our homeschool over the years, and I absolutely love their Picture Study Portfolios. They are such high quality and I love the additional details provided for the artist and the pieces.

In addition to the blog and shop, Simply Charlotte Mason also has a podcast with really good information. I think that Sonya has been so generous in sharing of her knowledge and helping other Charlotte Mason homeschoolers.

Charlotte Mason Help – free

This is a really cool resource. I used it as a reference one homeschool year when I was DIY’ing our curriculum. I don’t think it’s currently being updated, but you can find some really good information and ideas here.

Ambleside Online – free

Years ago (and I do mean YEARS ago), when I first looked at AO I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. When I revisited it over the few years it finally clicked. It’s an extremely robust program and is entirely free. They provide you with a complete booklist for each year, as well as a daily schedule! I have pulled from AO many times. That said, I don’t personally like the history rotation. I really like doing American/World on a rotation in 4 cycles – like CMEC, Alveary, and AGF. I also prefer that all ages be learning about the same time period. In my family, we currently only have two kids homeschooling, both technically in the same form/grade. However, because my older daughter has special needs, I often need to use younger resources for her. That would take a lot of extra work with AO because the younger years are doing a different time period for history. However, if you are ok with each child being in a different history period, it’s a wonderful option. And even if you don’t use it as your primary curriculum, it has a wealth of resources.