Product Description
Create a custom plan for your family in 5 simple steps!
Reviews
“Sonya has done it again with her ability to simplify things in a way you can really understand. The timing of Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education couldn’t have been better for me. I walked away inspired, comfortable and with a schedule that I could actually do the next day!”
“Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education by Sonya Shafer is a breath of fresh air. I was so frustrated and felt like I just kept hitting the wall trying to ‘get it all in.’ Sonya’s step by step method of looking at the big picture goals (graduation and beyond) down to today’s goals is so freeing and helped me to fit our schooling into this season of life well! You will be blessed.”
“I can see this planner being just as much help to someone embarking on a Classical route, or even a mixture of methods. Whatever your educational leaning, this planner will make your life a lot less complicated. For those who truly love the CM philosophy, there are lots of helps and notes about her actual methods included, as well as how to school with preschoolers in the mix. The whole thing is just brilliant and I am not over emphasizing that. The relief and the time saved are just two things I was not expecting when I set out on this journey. There have been many blessings and I can only say I wish I had discovered this treasure earlier. It is an absolute gem.”
“Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education is an incredible resource for putting together your education plan for your family, and not only if you’re using Charlotte Mason’s ideas.”
Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education takes the guesswork out of planning for your Charlotte Mason homeschool. In this book you’ll find clear instructions and examples that walk you through 5 simple steps, from determining the Big Picture all the way down to planning your day.
Easy-to-use charts and lots of practical tips and ideas will help you get organized and feel confident with your schedule.
- Real—Helps you succeed in your situation, using Charlotte Mason principles and guidelines combined with a healthy dose of homeschooling reality.
- Flexible—You decide what to teach and when to teach it.
- Easy to Use—Gives you the tools and a step-by-step process for creating your own plan for your unique family.
- Helpful—Offers plenty of reproducible charts, suggestions, and sample schedules.
- Complete—The companion DVD lets you watch and listen to Sonya talk through the step-by-step process. (A second edition of the DVD was recorded and released in 2012.)
- Printable Charts—Buyers of the printed book will receive a link to an electronic PDF copy of the charts and forms found in the book.
Companion DVD
The companion DVD walks you through the planning process step by step. It’s like having Sonya has your personal guide.
Here is a short sample from the companion DVD.
Please note, the DVD is not a substitute for the book; it goes along with the book. The DVD refers to pages in the book and automatically pauses when you need to complete a step in the book. It’s the next best thing to having Sonya sit down next to you and talk you through the process!
ChristyH – :
This has to be the best planner I have ever used. Tons of examples. My favorite part is how it takes a daunting project and breaks it down. You go from big to smaller. I love following the story of how a mom named, Christy has planned out her children’s education. How can I not like a story about a homeschool mom who shares my name? ;0) This will probably be one of the investments I made for homeschooling.
Laura – :
Would you recommend this resource for a a seasoned homeschooler familiar with CM’s methods or is this better for someone unfamiliar with the CM approach?
Sonya – :
This resource is for anyone who finds planning and scheduling a challenge. I’ve had both seasoned CMers and newbies tell me that it was extremely helpful to them.
Jenna – :
Is this a resource I would purchase once and use it every year, or would I need to buy a new one each year?
Sonya – :
This is a one-time purchase. It explains the process and gives you the charts and forms to use. You can reproduce the forms and charts to use and re-use any time you need them.
Kysha – :
I’m putting this on my wish list. Why am I just looking at this? LOL! And Sonya is so adorable! I wish I lived next door to her. Thanks for all of your hard work.
Malissa – :
Will you be selling this at the conferences you are going to be at? I will be going to the NICHE conference in June and would prefer to buy this there. Along with several other resources you have.
By the way, I LOVE your book “Laying Down the Rails.” It has been wonderful to read this year. I’m strongly recommending that all my friends (whether they homeschool or not) read it. Thank you for doing it.
See you in June. 
God Bless YOU!
Sonya – :
Yes, we will be selling all our products at the conferences we attend. Also, at the NICHE conference in June (and the NCHE in May) I will be presenting a workshop that gives an overview of the Planning Your CM Education principles.
Thanks for the encouragement, Kysha and Malissa!
Angela D. – :
I can’t find the workshop in the NCHE conference guide. I would love to but the cd to the workshop. Is it on Friday or Saturday? I’m attending the Charlotte Mason and her methods, but can’t find the other two. We are going on our 5th year of homeschooling and just switching to CM. I’m unsure of what I’m supposed to teach. With the other curriculum, I followed their guide. Will this book help?
Sonya – :
Here are the workshop times, according to the schedule NCHE sent me:
* Friday, 12:30 – Charlotte Mason and Her Methods
* Friday, 2:00 – Laying Down the Rails (good habits)
* Saturday, 1:50 – Planning Your CM Education
The Planning Your CM Education book won’t tell you what to teach, but it will help you decide what you want to teach, which resources you want to use, and walk you through the process of how to put the pieces together to create a custom plan for your family.
We did a blog series covering the basic concepts of planning; that might be helpful in getting an overview.
You might also want to take a look at our SCM Curriculum Guide with its suggestions for what to teach when. It’s certainly not chiseled in stone, but it should be a nice starting place for you.
Marci – :
If you purchase the printed book, can you get the downloadable copy as well? I do much better reading a “real” book but prefer being able to print forms, etc off of the computer rather than trying to make attractive, clean copies on my sad little multi-tasking printer. I just love your products and wish I could have them all!
Sonya – :
Thanks, Marci. When you purchase the printed book, you also receive a .pdf file of the charts so you can print them off your computer as desired.
Jenna – :
Sonya – thank you so much for creating all of these wonderful resources. I am beyond excited to get started on a CM education in our house!! Until I came across your website, it just didn’t seem doable to me and now I cannot imagine doing anything else. So, thank you, thank you. Would I be correct in assuming that the downloadable version of this planner and the hard copy are exactly the same, content wise?
Sonya – :
Hi, Jenna. Yes, the e-book is the same as the printed book.
I’m glad our site is encouraging you!
Linda – :
Sonya,
I’m more of a textbook homeschooler, but like to incorporate some CM into our schooling.
Would you recommend the book & dvd even though I’m not 100% on board with the CM method of homeschooling. It looks like a good way to plan and see the big picture of getting school organized.
I have researched CM and love what have read. I’m just not ready to commit yet
I’m considering using some of your other books as well.
Sonya – :
You know, Linda, I’ve had several people mention that the Planning book works well to put together an eclectic type of schooling plan too. While the specific suggestions that I make in the book relate to CM, the five steps seem to work with any given books or materials.
mrskatie – :
I am going through this now and LOVING it! Thanks Sonya for your simplistic breaking down of a daunting task.
I think that anyone who homeschools – CM style or other – should have this resource.
Linda – :
I purchased the book & dvd. Read the book immediately and watched the dvd. Sonya, broke everything down beautifully. Even though we are not CM homeschoolers (we use textbooks) I am able to use this resource. I love how simple it is. Print the forms, grab all your child’s curriculum and start filling in the blanks. When your all done you know exactly how many pages, lessons or chapters your child needs to complete a week.
I give this a five star rating
Kate Hagan – :
Dear Sonya,
I absolutely love the philosophy of Charlotte Mason and am on the brink of homeschooling my sweet, smart, but bored and busy work bogged down 6th grade son.
We are not of the Christian faith but certainly recognize the impact of all world religions and will substitute our own faith where appropriate. Do you have any adjustments that you can offer for those of us who are not strictly of the Christian faith?
Will your planner work for me?
Sonya – :
Sounds like you and your son are going to have some wonderful times together. I love how you described him!
It’s hard for me to think of CM from any other standpoint but Christian, Kate. Charlotte loved the Lord and taught that we are working in cooperation with Him as we teach our children. We can encourage and nurture and instruct, but He is the only One Who can change them (and us) from the inside out. In fact, our whole curriculum here at SCM comes at things from a Biblical worldview, starting in Genesis and focusing on the one true God and salvation through His Son, Jesus, as revealed throughout the Bible. In my mind it would be very difficult to separate the Christian faith from a Charlotte Mason philosophy. So I’m afraid I don’t have any suggestions along those lines.
The Planning book is designed to help you determine what you will teach, when you will teach it, and how you will organize your resources. It gives many suggestions and ideas, including Bible and Scripture memory and such, but I suppose you could disregard those suggestions and just follow the step-by-step instructions for whatever subjects you plan to use. It doesn’t lay out a preconceived plan for you to follow; it just walks you through the steps of developing your own plan based on the resources you want to use. In that respect, I would think it would work for you.
Mandy – :
Hi…I am new to CM methods and I love your site! I was wondering if the information that is in the Curriculum Guide is in the planning guide as well. Thanks.
Doug – :
Hi Mandy,
The curriculum guide and these planning materials are very different. The curriculum guide gives you ideas on what to teach for each grade level. Whereas Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education doesn’t tell you what to teach, but how to how to put together a custom plan for your family to teach with whatever materials and style you like.
Being new to CM, you might also want to take a look at our All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD. It takes you through how to teach each school subject using Charlotte’s methods.
Penny – :
This is the best planner I have ever used. I will use this every year. I have never been this organized. It is wonderful. I purchased the ebook on a Friday and by the following Monday I had everything mapped out and ready for our entire school year. I highly recomend this.
Cindy K. – :
How does this planner compare/work with/duplicate the CM Online Organizer that you offer here?
Sonya – :
Planning Your CM Education helps you create a custom plan for your family; it helps you decide what you want to study and when.
Once you get your plan figured out, you can use the CM Organizer to walk you through that plan day by day if you want to. Just tell the CM Organizer which books you decided to use, in which order, on which days, and it feeds you your plan one day at a time. You can check off what you get done when you get it done, and if some days don’t go exactly as you had planned, the CM Organizer will flex with real life. You can also run reports quickly and easily to see what you have done over the past day, month, year, whatever.
Jennifer Wells – :
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This planner has made it possible for me to continue to follow several CM principles in our homeschool. I have always loved the idea of a CM education but was so overwhelmed with the planning that I began to doubt if it would wok for us. This planner and DVD have made it all so simple.
I purchased it in the middle of our year this year, and our 2nd term went beautifully! I love the idea of 3 terms. It gives enough time to focus on certain subjects but not such a long time that we get burnt out on other ones. And it was so easy to size up our 3rd term, too. Now I know that we can sail smoothly through the rest of our school year without worrying if we are finishing what we set out to do.
With our 5th child due in June, I have already started planning next year’s curriculum. This planner, with all of its helpful charts and powerful encouragement, is now back off the shelf and into my stack of books I’m using now.
Tiffany – :
This planner and DVD helped me realized that I could teach my children using a CM style of education. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Kellie Barley – :
Could I just purcase the e book and be successful? Or do I need to purchase both?..Also, not sure if this is the right topic under which to ask this question…but if I am starting out with a 5th, 7th, and 8th, grader would I start at their “grade” or for example should I start my 8th grader in the 7th grade apologia science before skiping ahead to the physical science?…In other words will they be able to understand without starting at the “begining”
Sonya – :
Certainly, Kellie. The book has all the information you need, whether you get the printed book or the e-book. The video is optional.
You should be able to jump right in at the levels that your children are. Physical Science would be a great place to start your 8th grader, as long as he/she has had some science studies in the past. General Science is just an overview of the different branches of science.
Remember that there is a difference between skill-based subjects and topic-based subjects. (You’ll learn more about those as you go through the Planning book.) Skill-based subjects need to be taught in a certain order and are usually done one-on-one at your child’s pace. So place your children wherever their skill levels would fit for subjects like math and spelling and other individual subjects. With the topic-based subjects, it doesn’t matter which topic you pick when. So pick a history time period, for example, and start in any time.
Julie Martin – :
I am one who very much likes to have the hands-on book to work with, but as we have no income right now, the shipping price added onto the book makes me realize I should purchase the e-book instead. How much printing would be involved if I just print the pages to work on?
Sonya – :
Let’s see, you would most likely want to print these charts:
One Ratings chart
One Big Picture overview
One Year overview for Family, plus one for each student
One School Year Calendar
One Term Outline for Family, plus one for each student
One Weekly Work worksheet for Family, plus one for each student
One Weekly Schedule
Five Daily Schedules (assuming you will do school five days per week)
Momof2blessings – :
I have to admit when I decided to use SCM for my DS 17 & DD 13, I felt a bit overwhelmed at the thought of putting it all together. I hesitated for several weeks on mapping out our school years and also on purchasing this book/dvd. WOW is all I can say after receiving it in the mail. What I was so confused on Sonya has explained so well. I now feel as though I can conquer anything with this wonderful book and dvd. My hat is off to you Sonya for providing a thoroughly explaining the ways I can set up “My Own” way of implementing SCM in my home with my children!
Many Blessings to you!
Melissa
Veronica – :
I am looking to purchase this book and DVD but I would like to know if grades are addressed here and how are the grading (A, B,C, etc.) is done. Also, where on this site can I go to get more info on this. Thank you and so thankful for what you do, Sonya.
Veronica
Sonya Shafer – :
Hi, Veronica. Grading is not address in the Planning book, because Charlotte did not advocate grades. There is a short blurb in this article on Four Methods to Avoid in Charlotte Mason Homeschooling that mentions why she avoided grades. Now, that being said, we have discussed some ideas for when grades are required, like for calculating high school transcripts, which I suppose could be used for any age if needed. Those are the main information bits that come to mind on the site. Hope the links help!
Ruthanna – :
I am looking for an easy to use form to record what we study for multiple children. I like the online organizer but can’t always have access to a computer. Does this include a form or chart that would allow me to write down what each child does individually in math and Language Arts as well as all the subjects we do together as a family? I am so tired of writing separate pages for each child to show all that he does.
Jordan Smith – :
Ruthanna, the forms included with Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education are for planning your home school, not for keeping track of the work completed.
There was a recent discussion on our discussion forum about ways to keep track of work completed without a computer that you might find useful.
Janet Gandolfo – :
My family and I are new to homeschooling and although I have them currently using an online curriculum I am not happy with it. I have been researching all the different ways to homeschooling and curriculums to use and I have to say I have fallen in love with the SCM method. I am getting myself familiar with all the material on the website. I am contemplating purchasing the Planning Your CM Education but was wondering if there was something that should come before?
Sonya Shafer – :
Hi, Janet. Sounds like Charlotte Mason’s methods resonate with your heart. That’s great! Two resources provide a wonderful foundation after you’ve read all the free stuff on our site: the Planning Your CM Education book (& optional DVD) and the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar (4-DVD set with notebook). They serve two different purposes.
The All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar covers the “how” of the methods. Planning Your CM Education assumes you have a pretty good feel for the “how,” so it focuses on helping you decide “what” and “when” you will teach.
Does that help any?
Janet Gandolfo – :
Than you Sonya!
Sue – :
Hi – I am currently in my 4th year of home schooling my 9yr old. I have used 2 -3 other curriculums and none of them seem to match her learning style or to connect with her. She is in the 3rd grade but has struggles all the way through. A friend introduced me to your site, and I must say I am intrigued. Coming from being a professional teacher for 13 yrs before home schooling – this concept is very difficult for me to wrap my mind around. As you can guess,I have been very textbook oriented and am now seeing this is NOT how my DD relates to learning. Where should I start in learning about this method of home schooling and seeing if it will work for her? We recently found out that she is multi-sensory learner, but auditory is her lowest style? We are currently involved in other testing for what appears to be other learning deficencies. How does the Mason method deal with those issues?
Sonya Shafer – :
Hi, Sue. Welcome to the paradigm shift.
You’re right, it is a completely different approach from the way most of us were taught or have taught. Yet so much of it makes total sense.
Probably the best place to begin would be downloading our free e-books and reading them. The book Getting Started in Homeschooling has a good comparison of CM methods to traditional textbooks methods, so that might help you see more of the philosophy difference. It also has a chapter on making the transition in stages, which would give you some ideas for dipping your toe into the water and seeing how it feels for your daughter.
Charlotte did most of the work orally in grades 1-3 for the main purpose of not holding the children back while they were still getting their reading and writing skills solidified. Since she wanted to give them the “good stuff” in their living school books, she knew their reading skills would not be up to that task those first few years. That’s why the teacher would read aloud all their books. If your daughter is a pretty fluent reader, she could start making the transition to reading the books for herself. Then she could narrate either orally or begin writing her narrations, whichever works best for her processing. There are many other ways she could narrate, as well. For example she could draw a picture and then explain it to you, or she could act out her favorite scene. Some of those alternate methods would give you a good feel for what she took from the book without frustrating her learning style. You can find a list of alternate narration ideas on our site.
My youngest daughter has autism and some other developmental delays, and I’ve been using CM methods with her all along. Sometimes along the road I wondered whether any of this was working, but then something would happen to give me a peek inside her head and heart to know that “it’s in there.” This method is nourishing her mind and spirit and she is growing. And as Charlotte said, the goal of education is not to “know” but to “grow.”
I hope these resources help you wrap your mind a little more around Charlotte’s wonderful approach.