This year I am moving to a Charlotte Mason style homeschool. Last year we used Time4Learning. It went okay the first year, but the more I got used to homeschooling, the more I wanted to be the one planning our education based on the season and our day to day life. So we moved to mom-taught lessons with digital worksheets on Google Slides. I couldn’t stand the amount of screen time that came with it. My boys would do their school on the computer, get off school, and then either watch TV or play on their Switch. Very little outside time.
I knew something had to change, and that’s when I found Charlotte Mason. Getting the kids outside and reading more fit perfectly into the vision I had for our homeschool. My children LOVE when I read to them. My oldest reads more now too, since we’ve limited screen time to an earned reward, which I love and want to keep up.
This year is all about encouraging reading, and to do that I needed a book list. Here are 10 living books I’ll be adding to our homeschool year for my 3, 6, and 9 year old.
1. The Squire and the Scroll: A Tale of the Rewards of a Pure Heart by Jennie Bishop
One of the themes my kids and I will be going over this year is virtues, and for our first week that virtue is obedience. This story is about a young squire who gets picked to go on an adventure with a knight to retrieve the kingdom’s lantern, stolen by a dragon. Along the way he comes across a choice where he has to remember the rules written on his scroll. He keeps his heart pure, makes the right choice, and eventually marries the princess and one day leads the kingdom.
It’s a beautiful story representing our obedience to God, a reminder that it isn’t always the knight who inherits the kingdom, it’s the person who can follow the rules and keep their heart pure. This one ties in perfectly with the virtue we’re learning about our first week.
2. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
My kids absolutely love the movie Ferdinand, so when I saw it was a Charlotte Mason staple, I knew it was going on this year’s list. It’s a beautiful story about a bull named Ferdinand who is different from your average bull. He doesn’t want to fight, he loves nature, flowers, and just being authentically himself. He’s a softie, and he’s okay with that..
3. A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
This one is more of a book of poems, and I’ll mainly use it for copywork and memorization. But it’s filled with beautiful poems that paint beautiful pictures in a child’s imagination, so I felt like it belonged on this list.
4. Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier
We’re starting at Creation for history this year, and this illustrated version of Noah’s Ark is full of adventure and beautifully painted pictures, great for a child’s imagination. We’ll read this one when Noah’s Ark comes up in our history studies.
5. Good Saint Joseph by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.
Saint Joseph is our first weekly saint, and this was one of the first books I came across when looking for recommendations. I loved the classic feel of it, and the reviews were great, so into the cart it went. I’ll share more thoughts on it once we’ve read it, so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss that.
6. Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History by Richard Hannula
Another cart add based on recommendations, and this one’s been recommended again and again in Charlotte Mason circles. With our history theme this year, I think it’ll be a great fit for my 9 year old, who’s ready for a little deeper understanding than his brother and sister. Honestly, I might end up reading this one myself too.
7. The Children’s Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett
I found this one through a YouTube video by Kayla Buell. We’ve added a weekly (or maybe monthly, still deciding) virtue to reflect on this year, and this book is packed with stories, poems, biographies, and fables covering virtues like courage and honesty.
8. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
This one, and the next, are mostly nostalgia picks. I just really want to see what my kiddos think of some of my own childhood favorites. I’m planning to read through the whole Peter Rabbit series.
9. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
I mean, do I even have to say anything? Who doesn’t love Charlotte’s Web? I can’t wait to read this one aloud this year. A story about a spider saving a pig from slaughter teaches us all about the value of friendship and the cycle of life. It was a childhood favorite of mine, and now I get to pass it down.
10. Katie and the Starry Night by James Mayhew
I wanted a fun story to go along with the first artist we’re studying this month, Van Gogh, and after some digging I landed on this one. It’s part of a series about a girl named Katie who visits an art museum with her grandmother and discovers she an step inside the paintings. In this one, Katie “borrows” a star from Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and once it’s removed, the rest of the stars come spilling out. Katie has to gather them all up before the security guard notices. Along the way you also get glimpses of four other Van Gogh classics: The Midday Nap, Vincent’s Chair, The Olive Grove, and The Fishing Boats on the Beach.
I’m still working my way through reviews, hauls, and Charlotte Mason videos, so this isn’t even the full list, just a few of the books I have planned so far. I’ll keep track of these throughout the year and see how many we actually get through. I have never been more excited for a homeschool year.