Ah, books! The passion of all CMers! We want to make it easy for you to find great living books and helpful CM resources. Our exclusive line-up will help you save time, stay encouraged, and teach more effectively.
Click any cover or title to get more detailed information and download a free sample. Plus, the links in the More section at the bottom of the page will direct you to other places where you can find great living books for the whole family. If you have any questions, please see the Ordering and Shipping Frequently Asked Questions or contact us. Enjoy!
Art Study
Picture Study Portfolios—Everything you need to do art appreciation, all gathered into one beautiful package: gorgeous art prints, an artist biography, information on the pictures, and more! Choose from an ever-growing selection of artists. (Grades 1–12)
Creating a Masterpiece—Looking for a good art teacher? Check out this encouraging and professional art instruction in a wonderful series of DVDs, covering a wide variety of art media: watercolor, pencil drawing, pastel, sculpture, acrylic painting, ink, and more! Available in Level 1 for beginners of all ages and Level 2 for students with some experience in their medium of choice. (Grades 1–12)
Bible Study
Come, Lord Jesus: Lessons from Revelation—A Bible study designed for the whole family covering the exciting book of Revelation. Encourages students of all ages to read through the Scripture and draw or describe each scene. Additional in-depth studies are included for older students and adults. (Grades 1–12)
Wisdom for Life: A Proverbs Bible Study—Encourage your teen to discover the wisdom from Proverbs about eight important, life-related topics, including friends, money, self-control, handling temptation, and more. (Grades 7–12)
GOAL Bible Study Journal—This long-term journaling project walks your family through many of the epistles of the Bible and puts an emphasis on life application. (Grades 1–12)
Jesus Is Better: Lessons from Hebrews—Learn how Jesus is better than anything as you work through this study of the book of Hebrews designed for the whole family. Additional in-depth studies are included for older students and adults. (Grades 1–12)
Foundations in Romans: A Romans Bible Study—Teach your student how to do an inductive study of a Bible book. Your child will become grounded in both Biblical truths and correct Bible study habits as he reads through the book of Romans chapter by chapter, identifying main ideas, defining key words, looking for comparison and contrast, narrating each paragraph, and more. (Grades 7–12)
Life in the Word—Give your teens this tool to learn how to do a variety of Bible studies on their own. Students will learn the principles of inductive Bible study and how to accurately and effectively do a word study, a topical study, a book study, a character study, a narrative study, and more. (Grades 7–12)
Jashub’s Journal: An Old Testament Law Story—Make the Old Testament Law come alive! Your student will join Jashub and his fellow Israelites as they learn to resolve everyday situations according to God’s Law. This living story combined with a Bible study is designed to highlight God’s wisdom in the laws He made. (Grades 7–12)
Discovering Doctrine: A Personal Bible Study—Help your students develop the habit of learning doctrinal truth as they read the Bible for themselves. This long-term journaling project helps students record what they discover the Bible says about ten major doctrines. (Grades 7–12)
CM How-To
The All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD—Gain confidence to teach your children with the Charlotte Mason Method! Through this seminar you will learn how to teach each school subject the Charlotte Mason way. A 4-DVD set with a 64-page seminar notebook designed to give you the know-how and the encouragement you need.
Books & Things Seminar on DVD—Learn how to simplify your home school. This seminar takes a close look at how good living books and the things around us help our children form personal relations and emotional bonds. And those bonds are what makes learning stick. A 4-DVD set with a 60-page seminar notebook that digs deeper into living books and narration.
Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education—Take the guesswork out of planning for your Charlotte Mason homeschool. In this book and DVD you’ll find clear instructions and examples that walk you through five simple steps, from determining the Big Picture all the way down to planning your day.
Free Resources
Getting Started in Homeschooling—A free e-book that helps you determine which approach to homeschooling will fit you and your family best, plus lots of practical tips for fostering a love of learning in your home.
Education Is . . .—A free e-book that explains the basics of a Charlotte Mason education, one that includes the atmosphere of your home, the discipline of good habits, and the life-giving ideas that come from great books and methods.
Smooth and Easy Days—A free e-book that looks at Charlotte Mason’s common-sense ideas and practical tips for cultivating good habits in your child’s life. A great introduction to the concepts in Laying Down the Rails.
Lessons from the Valley—Biblical hope and encouragement for any parent walking through a valley time. Sonya shares Scriptures that helped her walk through the first year after diagnosing her daughter with autism.
Masterly Inactivity—A free e-book that explores the freedom that can be found when we set boundaries and then allow our children to discover and learn within those boundaries. Discusses the Charlotte Mason principle of “wise and purposeful letting alone.”
A Thinking Love—A free e-book that explores what mothers should carefully weigh and consider if they are to give their children what Charlotte Mason called “a thinking love.”
The Way of the Will with Charlotte Mason—A free e-book that highlights Charlotte Mason’s sensible approach to understanding your child’s will and helping him learn to choose between “I want” and “I will.”
The Swedish Drill Teacher—A free e-book that illustrates the technique of Swedish Drill that Charlotte Mason used in her schools for physical education, just in case you’re curious.
Check out our Time Savers for other free resources like manuscript copywork, inspiring bookmarks, a Book of Centuries template, our Scripture Memory System, and more.
Habits and Parenting
A Growing Time—The latest in our popular personal calendar journals, A Growing Time encourages parents to take a breather and stop trying to force growth on their own time-table. Growth will happen in the right conditions and on its own schedule. Reassuring articles, inspiring quotes, handy calendars, and plenty of room to write.
Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook—Our bestselling book on habit training! Here, compiled into one volume, are all the habits Charlotte mentioned in her writings with her thoughts and suggestions for cultivating each one. This work also includes Charlotte’s help for breaking bad habits, hundreds of inspiring quotes, and lots of practical tips.
Laying Down the Rails for Children: A Habit-Training Companion—A habit-training companion for the whole family filled with more than 400 pages of stories, Bible passages, poems, activities, quotations—living ideas that will nestle into your children’s minds and motivate them toward the habits of good character. Corresponds to the award-winning book, Laying Down the Rails (see above).
Laying Down the Rails Workshop (DVD or CD)—Our popular workshop on the power of good habits in your home school. In less than an hour you will be up and running with the basic principles and practical tips of instilling good habits. Couple this workshop with the Laying Down the Rails complete reference book to get the whole picture and the best deal.
The Early Years: A Charlotte Mason Preschool Handbook—What do the preschool years look like in a Charlotte Mason approach? In this book you will find Charlotte’s sensible, gentle, and practical counsel to mothers of preschool children, presented in bite-size chunks with modern-day examples.
Reaching Your Child’s Heart (Audio CD)—A mommy-to-mommy challenge about your priorities in your home school. Is your focus on academics and performance or on reaching your child’s heart? In this live workshop recording, Sonya draws six principles from Luke 1 that we can use to help us reach our children’s hearts.
Looking Past the Fear (Audio CD)—Homeschool moms around the world face many of the same fears, no matter how long they have been homeschooling. In this powerful workshop, Sonya discusses five fears that most homeschooling moms face and gives practical, encouraging ideas to help them look past the fear and look to the Lord.
Discipleship Is (Audio CD)—This live workshop will help you take a fresh look at what Biblical discipleship really is. Sonya explains the three facets of Biblical discipleship and how you can weave them into your home life.
This Anguishing Blessed Journey: A Mother’s Faith Journal through Autism—Sonya’s spiritual journal recording how the Lord walked with her through the first year after diagnosing her daughter with autism. Filled with encouragement for anyone walking through a valley in life.
Handicrafts
Handicrafts Made Simple—With the Handicrafts Made Simple DVD series it’s easy to add handicrafts to your school schedule. The step-by-step demonstrations and accompanying booklet walk you and your children through interesting and useful projects using a variety of life skills and handicrafts. (Grades 1–12)
History and Geography
Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt: A Family Study Handbook—Our award-winning history handbooks help you teach all your children together for history, Bible, and geography! This handbook, the first in our six-book series, walks you through the accounts of Adam to Moses, including a study of Ancient Egypt. It details Scripture passages, living books, Book of Centuries entries, narration ideas, geography ideas, additional assignments for older students, and optional hands-on activities for the whole family. (Grades 1–12)
Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece: A Family Study Handbook—This second history handbook from our award-winning six-book series walks your family through the accounts of Joshua to the end of the Old Testament events, including a study of Ancient Greece and the geography of the Middle East. Teach all your children together for history, Bible, and geography! (Grades 1–12)
Matthew through Acts & Ancient Rome: A Family Study Handbook—Now your whole family can learn together about the Life of Christ and the Early Church, including a study of Ancient Rome and the geography of the Mediterranean region. This third handbook in our six-book series lists all the suggested books and how to use them, plus Book of Centuries entries, narration ideas, geography ideas, additional assignments for older students, and optional hands-on activities.(Grades 1–12)
Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles: A Family Study Handbook—This fourth handbook in our six-book history handbook series walks you through the famous men of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation, including the geography of Europe and Asia, as well as several Epistles. Its daily lesson plans are Charlotte Mason in style and designed to teach all your children together for history, geography, and Bible. (Grades 1–12)
Early Modern & Epistles: A Family Study Handbook—The fifth in our award-winning history handbook series, this book gives you daily lesson plans covering the famous men and events of Early Modern times, including both American History and World History. Designed to help you teach all your children together for history, geography, and Bible, it also covers the geography of South America, Central America, and Australia, as well as several Epistles. (Grades 1–12)
Modern Times, Epistles & Revelation: A Family Study Handbook—Teach all your children together for history, geography, and Bible with these daily lesson plans covering the famous men and events of Modern times, including both American History and World History. This handbook, the sixth in our six-book series, also covers the geography of North America and the United States. The Bible lessons cover the rest of the Epistles with a separate family study on the book of Revelation. (Grades 1–12)
Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors—A fascinating narrative of life in Ancient Egypt intertwined with captivating stories of the other civilizations that existed alongside her—neighbors far and near. Makes the ancient world come alive! (Grades 1–6)
Boy of the Pyramids—The best living book we have found for younger children studying Ancient Egypt! This gentle mystery teaches so much about Ancient Egyptian culture, but in a way that is appropriate for children. (Grades 1–3)
Letters from Egypt—When Mary went to Egypt to start a school for girls, she never thought she would stay so long. Her letters back to her family in England reveal Egyptian culture, weather, traditions, animals, plants, and more. A fascinating living geography book from 1879 that will touch your mind, your imagination, and your heart. (Grades 3–12)
Stories of America, Volume 1—This collection of stories from American history will make the era from Columbus to the Alamo come alive for your child. Includes corresponding poetry and helpful maps of the era. (Grades 1–6)
Stories of America, Volume 2—A second collection of American history stories to make the past come alive for your child. This volume contains narratives from the Oregon Trail to the present day, approximately 1850–2012. Includes corresponding poetry and helpful maps of the era. (Grades 1–6)
Stories of the Nations, Volume 1—A delightful feast of stories relating famous people and events in world history from 1550 to 1850. The conversational tone and flowing narrative makes this book a joy to narrate. (Grades 1–6)
Stories of the Nations, Volume 2—Another delightful feast of stories relating famous people and events in world history, this time from 1850 to present day. The conversational tone and flowing narrative have been preserved in these chapters, making this book a joy to narrate. (Grades 1–6)
Only a Dog: A Story of the Great War—A retelling of a true story from World War I. Appropriate for younger children as well as older. Introduces aspects of the war from the eyes of a loyal Irish terrier who is rescued from No Man’s Land. (Grades 1–6)
The Story of Thomas A. Edison—Combines an engaging narrative of the inventor’s life with pages from his diary and original drawings and patents from his work. Vintage photographs are included. (Grades 1–12)
My Book of Centuries—This timeline in a book will help your child create his own record of what he has studied and form those personal connections that make history come alive. (Grades 4–12)
The Stuff They Left Behind portfolios—Awaken your children’s minds to the treasures of the world’s famous artifacts and architecture! These large, full-color photographs, along with background information and leading discussion questions, will help your students gain a deeper understanding of history. All conveniently collected and stored at your fingertips. (Grades 1–12)
Language Arts
Hearing and Reading, Telling and Writing: A Charlotte Mason Language Arts Handbook—Your complete reference guide to building a Charlotte Mason language arts program! This book tells you exactly what Charlotte said about good literature, vocabulary, teaching your child how to read, narration, composition, English grammar, and more.
Language Arts the Charlotte Mason Way—Discover what exactly is included in language arts and how to teach it in an enjoyable and simple way. A quick overview of the complete reference handbook, Hearing and Reading, Telling and Writing, described above.
Delightful Reading—A complete reading curriculum kit that faithfully reproduces Charlotte Mason’s method of teaching reading. Uses sight words and word-building, rich reading selections, word and letter tiles, creative sentences, a word notebook, and more. Now reading lessons can be delightful! (Early Years–Grade 2)
Delightful Handwriting—A gentle handwriting course that allows you to progress at your child’s pace from simple strokes to letters to words to copying beautiful phrases and sentences. Uses words and rich reading selections from Delightful Reading (see above) to reinforce and review. (Early Years–Grade 2)
A Child’s Copybook Reader—This reader and copybook in one gives your student practice in reading and review by writing. Quality selections from classic children’s poetry, Aesop’s fables, the Bible, and more! A great way to help your beginning reader gain fluency and confidence! (Grades 1–3)
Print to Cursive Proverbs—Gives your student opportunity to continue practicing printing while learning cursive—all centered around more than thirty wisdom verses from the book of Proverbs. A great way to make the transition from print to cursive gently and gradually. (Grades 2–3)
Hymns in Prose for Children—A beautiful reader, recommended by Charlotte Mason, that encourages a love and reverence for God and His handiwork while reinforcing reading skills. A teacher’s guide and copybooks in a variety of styles are also available. (Grades 2–3)
Spelling Wisdom—Our CM-style spelling curriculum that teaches today’s 6,000 most frequently used words presented in the writings of great men and women of history. Available in both American and British spelling versions! (Grades 3–12)
Spelling and Handwriting Wisdom—Ban the boredom and lose the lists. This workshop will show you how to teach handwriting and spelling in a pleasant, effective way that also reinforces good habits.
Math
Mathematics: An Instrument for Living Teaching—Learn how Charlotte Mason taught math from beginning numbers through algebra and geometry. A ground-breaking handbook that reveals what every parent-teacher wants to know about Charlotte’s life-related approach to mathematics.
Your Business Math Series—Children practice their math skills while running a pretend pet store, book store, or sports store. Great “living math”! (Grades 3–6)
Science
106 Days of Creation Studies—This award-winning science handbook outlines all the details of the living books, nature study, science experiments, Bible verses, and additional assignments that one family used to study creation with all their elementary children together. (Grades 1–6)
Hours in the Out-of-Doors: A Charlotte Mason Nature Study Handbook—An excellent resource for anyone who wants to lead her students in nature study with confidence. This handbook explains all about nature study in Charlotte’s own words. Full of inspiring quotes and lots of practical tips!
Jack’s Insects—Learn fascinating facts about insects as you follow Jack and Maggie’s adventures inside Jack’s new insect book! A classic living science book used in Charlotte Mason’s schools for grades 4-6. (Grades 4–6)
Jack’s Insects Narration and Nature Study Notebook—Now your student can expand on what he learns from Jack’s Insects Additional learning opportunities with leading narration questions, prescreened websites and recommended reading, nature study tips, and lots of room to record findings all organized in one attractive notebook. (Grades 4–6)
Outdoor Secrets—A delightful collection of nature stories for the young and young at heart. Discover the secrets that may be hiding in your own backyard. Available as a printed book and an audiobook. (Early Years–Grade 2)
The Outdoor Secrets Companion—Additional learning ideas that correspond with the stories in Outdoor Secrets. Includes nature study, additional living science books, beautiful poetry, and nature notebook suggestions. (Early Years–Grade 2)
More
CM Bookfinder—More than fifteen hundred CM-style books (and other resources, like audio tapes, videotapes, and CDs). Browse or search by title, subject, recommended grade levels, time period, and more to find the books you want to use.
Early Years Books—More than seventy living books that were introduced to our children in their early years (ages 3–5) and which they have loved ever since.
Incredibooks—A Web site designed, built, and operated by CM homeschooled kids that highlights and reviews their favorite books. Great resource for leisure-read books.
A Growing Time Calendar Journal
Laying Down the Rails for Children
Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors