Charlotte Mason homeschool all-in-one curricula, compared

What this list holds

Charlotte Mason programs use living books, short lessons, narration (the child tells back what was read), copywork and nature study.

An all-in-one curriculum sells a year as one plan: the subjects, the schedule and the books or lessons that go with them. It saves the work of matching separate programs, and it means one publisher's choices across the board.

Not sure this approach suits your family? The homeschool style quiz asks ten questions about your goals and time and gives a starter week for the closest match.

At a glance

• All 5 show a price on the publisher's site. For one child and one year of the main package they run from free to $677.06, and 1 is free.
• How the child works: 5 books and workbooks.
• 4 of the 5 have a placement test or level guide on the publisher's site, linked on each card.
• Grades: all reach pre-K or kindergarten, all reach the elementary grades, all reach middle school and all reach high school.

Each program in a line

• AmblesideOnline: A family that wants a free, book-centered Charlotte Mason plan, with a parent who enjoys reading aloud and is happy to choose a math program.
• Build Your Library: A family that wants a book-centered year planned for them at low cost, with time to read aloud together.
• Heart of Dakota: A parent who wants open-and-go daily plans built on living books, with a known length of school day and a choice of math program.
• Master Books: A family that wants low-cost, open-and-go printed courses with short lessons and a Charlotte Mason flavor.
• My Father's World: A family teaching several children that wants one plan for history, science and the arts, with books, notebooking and hands-on projects.

Before you buy

Look at how much the parent reads aloud and whether the program schedules the books or only lists them. Many leave math to a separate program.

Check which subjects are really in the package for your child's grade. Several full curricula leave math or language arts out and expect you to add your own, and science is sometimes a separate purchase.

Most publishers post samples and a placement test; each card links the placement test where the publisher has one.

Side by side

• AmblesideOnline vs Build Your Library
• Heart of Dakota vs My Father's World

Related lists

• Homeschool all-in-one curricula 22
• Homeschool all-in-one curricula for middle school 21
• Homeschool all-in-one curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 21
• Homeschool all-in-one curricula for high school 20
• Print homeschool all-in-one curricula 17
• Faith-based homeschool all-in-one curricula 14
• Charlotte Mason homeschool curricula 9
• Secular homeschool all-in-one curricula 8
• Faith-based Charlotte Mason homeschool curricula 7
• Traditional homeschool all-in-one curricula 7
• Literature-based homeschool all-in-one curricula 6
• Classical homeschool all-in-one curricula 4
• Every program, with a filter for any combination

How we label

Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.

No affiliate links, no sponsored places, no ranking. Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money.