Last night, our Shakespeare co-op gathered for our end-of-year performance. The kids had spent the semester working through scenes, preparing narrations, and rehearsing lines — a little each week, nothing overwhelming. But last night, one of otheres and read a letter her teen had written to her about why Shakespeare matters.
He talked about stamina. About appreciation. About how if you eat a little bit of spinach at a time, gradually, you acquire the taste. You don’t gag on it. You begin to want it. And eventually, you are strong for it.
I sat there thinking: that is the Charlotte Mason feast.
That is exactly what we are doing every single week when we open a Plutarch passage and define terms on the board. When we put on one composer for ten minutes during morning time. When my kindergartner hears one more chapter of Winnie the Pooh before going outside to play. It seems like so little. But over a term, over a year, over a childhood — it becomes a feast of ideas in their minds.
This is our Charlotte Mason curriculum review for the year. Not a highlight reel. An honest look at what we used, what worked, what I’d do differently, and why I’ll do it all again next year — with a few adjustments.
Not sure if your Charlotte Mason curriculum is actually working for your family — or just need help? Download the free Charlotte Mason Planning Guide → so you can plan your year in 4 simple steps.
Charlotte Mason Curriculum Overview: What We Used This Year
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Before I break things down by subject and age, here’s a quick picture of our household this year: I have three children — one kindergartner and two in Form Two. We are a full Charlotte Mason homeschool, and everything we use is filtered through that lens. If you’re new to living books and want to understand what that actually means before you dive in, start here: What Are Living Books and How to Tell If a Book Qualifies.
Now — here’s what our year actually looked like.
Our Charlotte Mason Kindergarten Curriculum: Gentle, Simple, and Living
The Backbone: A Humble Place Kindergarten Guide
We used A Humble Place’s Charlotte Mason kindergarten guide as our backbone this year, and I loved it. It is warm, gentle, and genuinely Charlotte Mason in its pacing and philosophy — exactly what a five-year-old needs.
Charlotte Mason Living Books We Read in Kindergarten
Our read-aloud list was a delight:
- Winnie the Pooh — all three of my children have loved this one, and this year was no exception
- The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter — perfect for this age
- Old Mother West Wind — my son’s absolute favorite this year
- Children Just Like Me– a simple introduction to geography by learning about children from around the world
- One Small Square series (One Small Pond, One Small Backyard) — a wonderful bridge to nature study
- Fifty Famous People — this one surprised me– some of the stories aren’t even illustrated. But my son was captivated. The stories are short, living, and completely engaging.
Charlotte Mason doesn’t recommend formal narration until age six, so I wasn’t asking for it. But by the end of the year, he was offering it on his own. I think it’s because he had heard so many living stories all year, and he’d watched his older siblings narrate. He just wanted in.
What a Kindergarten Morning Actually Looked Like
For math, we used RightStart Math, and I kept lessons to ten minutes with a visual timer. Simple. Concrete. Done.
His mornings looked like this: a short phonics lesson, some copywork (letter formation early in the year, copying sentences by the end), and then he’d join his siblings for morning time — hymn, Bible, a poem, a recitation passage, and then looping through our riches: composer study, artist study, French. He finished quickly and went outside to play. It felt rich and light, which is exactly what kindergarten should feel like.
What I’d Do Differently: The Lesson Length Mistake
At the beginning of the year, I scheduled too much and made the lessons too long. There was resistance every morning, and our whole day felt harder than it needed to be. A few conversations with experienced CM friends helped me scale back significantly. Once I simplified, the resistance disappeared. The lessons were shorter, the day ran smoother, and my son was happier.
If I could tell a new Charlotte Mason kindergarten mom one thing, it would be this: do less than you think you should. Charlotte Mason knew what she was doing.
Charlotte Mason Curriculum for Form Two: A Rich, Full Year
Both of my older children are in Form Two, and I did a consult with A Delectable Education to shape our year. It is a trustworthy, well-researched framework that takes the guesswork out of Charlotte Mason curriculum planning — I highly recommend it for families new to Charlotte Mason.
Living Books for History
Our history reading included:
These books are exactly what living history books should be: narrative, engaging, and full of real people making real decisions.
Science and Nature Study with Sabbath Mood Homeschool
We used Sabbath Mood Homeschool’s Form 2 Guides for science, and I cannot say enough good things about them. They are open-and-go in the best possible way. The books are wonderful, the guidance is concrete, and the Nature Explorer’s Guide made weekly nature study genuinely doable — not aspirational, doable. We also participated in a weekly nature group with object lessons and nature walks, which gave our nature study a wonderful community element.
Geography: Charlotte Mason Books That Brought the World Alive
We used A Delectable Education’s Form Two Geography Lessons. Geography is one of those subjects that can feel thin in Charlotte Mason planning, and having a dedicated guide made the difference for us.
Literature Living Books for Form Two
This was a wonderful year for literature. My Form Two students read:
- Robinson Crusoe
- Heidi
- A Little Princess
- A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls (Greek mythology — beautifully written)
Starting Plutarch: What Helped Us Actually Do It
We started Plutarch this year, and I used Anne White’s Plutarch guides. Let me be honest: it requires preparation. I pre-read ahead of time, printed a copy of each passage for each child, and defined terms on the board before we began. It is not an open-and-go subject.
But the discussions we had were extraordinary. These are stories from thousands of years ago, and yet every single week we found ourselves talking about issues that are alive and present in our world today. My kids were engaged. They had opinions. They pushed back and reasoned through things. That is exactly what Plutarch is for.
Shakespeare in a Co-op: Why Community Makes Hard Subjects Possible
We covered King Lear, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream this year — and we did it with our co-op, which made all the difference. Each family was responsible for narrations from certain scenes, and we performed at the end of each semester.
I have found this to be true with Charlotte Mason education generally: when a subject feels hard or unfamiliar, doing it alongside a group helps immeasurably. You learn from each other, you stay accountable, and you show up even when it feels difficult. Shakespeare was that subject for me. Last night’s performance — and that teen’s letter about spinach and stamina — reminded me why we keep showing up.
Languages: Latin and French in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool
Latin: We started Visual Latin 1 from Compass Classroom this year. I have no Latin background, and the video format meant I could learn alongside my kids. We completed about half the course and will continue next year.
French: We used Cherry Dale Press’s Speaking French with Miss Mason weekly, and paired it with the ULAT and Fable Cottage for French stories. The ULAT is immersive and wonderful — the teacher does speak quickly, which is a genuine challenge for beginners, but both my kids and I picked up more than I expected from that immersive approach.
Artist and Composer Study: Tying It to Your Time Period (and One Beautiful Exception)
For artist study, we used A Humble Place’s picture study guides and tied them to our time period. We studied Caravaggio and Giotto — with one delightful exception for our co-op. Our local art museum was displaying the work of another artist, so we studied that artist first and then went to see the paintings in person. Charlotte Mason described it as seeing old friends, and she was exactly right. I highly recommend doing this if you have the opportunity.
Our composers were Vivaldi, Handel, and — as a co-op departure from our time period — John Williams. The kids already knew his music from films, and studying him gave them a way into the larger conversation about what composers do and how music tells a story. It was genuinely fun.
The Mindset Shift That Changed Our Homeschool More Than Any Curriculum
Beyond the kindergarten lesson-length lesson, the other shift I made this year was this: I started treating homeschooling as my full-time job during school hours.
No chores. No work tasks. No inbox. When we are doing school, I am present.
It sounds simple. It wasn’t easy. But it changed the atmosphere of our mornings more than any curriculum decision I made. My kids felt it. I felt it. The feast requires a host who is actually at the table.
If your Charlotte Mason curriculum feels like it keeps falling apart no matter how carefully you plan it, this post is worth a read: Why Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum Plan Keeps Falling Apart — and How to Transform It in 4 Steps.
Related Reading
If you found this helpful, here are a few more posts to help you plan with confidence:
- What Are Living Books and How to Tell If a Book Qualifies
- Why Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum Plan Keeps Falling Apart — and How to Transform It in 4 Steps
- What Happens in the Plan Your Year Live Workshop: A Behind-the-Scenes Look
Ready to Plan Your Charlotte Mason Year with Confidence?
If you’re reading this and thinking about your own year ahead — what to keep, what to change, what to finally commit to — I want to invite you to join me for Plan Your Year Live on June 22nd.
This is a live workshop where I’ll walk you through exactly how I plan a Charlotte Mason year: how to identify what’s working and what’s creating friction, how to build a schedule that fits your family, and how to step into fall with confidence rather than overwhelm.
Registration is open now at livingideasplanner.org/workshop/ — and the presale price won’t last long.
And if you’re not sure where to start, grab the free Charlotte Mason Planning Guide → — a simple starting point for building a year that actually holds.
Come slowly. Come faithfully. The feast is laid.
Have questions about any of the curriculum we used this year? Drop them in the comments — I’d love to help you think through your own planning.
