Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – High School

This post contains affiliate links and we may earn a commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Please note: this article is part of a series on Charlotte Mason-style homeschool curriculums. This article discusses curriculums for the high school level. If you have a younger child, check out our articles Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – Elementary and Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – Middle School. 

Our picks for the best Charlotte Mason homeschool curriculum – High School:

Most of the information you’ll find about Charlotte Mason-style homeschooling is focused on elementary-aged kids. Thus, many followers of this homeschool approach find themselves a little lost when their kids reach high school. You may be wondering if your homeschooled high schooler can still experience a Charlotte Mason-inspired education. The answer is a resounding yes! In this article, we’ll tell you about our favorite high school curriculums in the four core subjects (language arts, social studies, math, and science) that align with the Charlotte Mason approach to learning. If you have younger kids, don’t forget to check out our other articles: Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – Elementary and Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – Middle School. 

Best for Language Arts

Learning Language Arts Through Literature – Gold, Common Sense Press

If you are looking for a Charlotte Mason-inspired high school language arts curriculum, consider the excellent Learning Language Arts Through Literature series by Common Sense Press. The program immerses students in high-quality literature and teaches them how to better understand, contextualize, and write about these classic stories and poems. 

The Learning Language Arts Through Literature series assigns colors to each of its levels, with gold being used for its high school courses. Four gold (high school) level courses are available: American Literature, British Literature, World Literature, and Literary Criticism. The courses can be taken in or out of order with no problem, but do note that the Literary Criticism course is geared more toward college preparation and so is probably best taken in a student’s senior year. Any of the other courses can also be taken in the twelfth grade in place of the Literary Criticism course. 

All four courses are nicely structured around a 36-week school year. Composition exercises, grammar and vocabulary lessons, and discussion questions are included in the weekly lessons. The program is rigorous yet flexible, and it provides a solid foundation for college-level writing and reading skills. 

For the American literature course, you’ll need to purchase the following texts:

Also recommended is the supplementary Notes, Tests, Answers book. 


The British Literature course requires the following texts:

Additionally, it is recommended that you purchase the supplementary Notes, Tests, Answers book.

The World Literature course requires the following materials:

It is also recommended that you purchase the supplementary Notes, Tests, Answers book.

For the Literary Criticism course, you’ll need to purchase the following items:

Best for Social Studies

Beautiful Feet Books Literature Packs

If you are looking for a wonderful Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool social studies curriculum for your high school student, consider the literature pack courses offered by Beautiful Feet Books. Each course consists of a pack of quality literature – including fiction, non-fiction, and biographies – focused around a theme, such as American history or ancient history. Also included in each pack is a teacher guide, which provides discussion questions and plenty of ideas for extension activities. 

Beautiful Feet’s literature packs are wonderful to use if your high schooler loves reading but struggles with traditional textbook curriculums. It’s also a great option if you have multiple students in different grades who want to work together. The teacher guides provide step-by-step lessons that can be used one-on-one or together as a family. 

The following literature pack courses are available at the high school level:

To find out more about Beautiful Feet’s literature packs and how to use one as a complete social studies curriculum, check out bfbooks.com.

Best for Math

Life of Fred High School Math Series, Stanley F. Schmidt

If you are looking for an unconventional math program that helps students really see how math relates to “real life”, consider the popular Life of Fred series by Stanley F. Schmidt. Written like a funny novel, Life of Fred tells the story of Fred Gauss, a six-year-old math professor. As Fred goes about his daily adventures, he encounters the need for math, and students are challenged to help him out. 

Many Charlotte Mason-style homeschoolers appreciate Life of Fred because of both its short, simple lessons and the way it relates math to real-life situations. It is an excellent program for many types of learners, especially those who struggle with textbook curriculums and feel like math doesn’t apply to real life. While on one level the program seems quirky and funny, it is nevertheless a complete math curriculum that is carefully structured and very effective at teaching math concepts. 

The Life of Fred high school series consists of Beginning Algebra (grade 9), Advanced Algebra (grade 10), Geometry (grade 11), and Trigonometry (grade 12). A single textbook is all that is needed for each course, though practice problem supplements are also available for both of the algebra courses (Beginning Algebra and Advanced Algebra). As with all math programs, the grade levels that correspond to these courses are only suggestions, and students should take the course most appropriate to their current level.

Best for Science

High School Science Series, Elemental Science

If you are looking for a Charlotte Mason-inspired high school science curriculum, consider Elemental Science’s high school science series. Although these courses follow the classical homeschooling approach promoted in The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, they also incorporate many elements of the Charlotte Mason philosophy, such as hands-on experimentation, writing, sketching, and nature observation. The program also offers built-in flexibility, making it a popular choice among many Charlotte Mason-style homeschoolers.

Currently, Elemental Science offers three high school courses: Biology for High School; Chemistry for High School, and Physics for the Rhetoric Stage. A fourth course, Earth Science for High School, will be released soon. Three scheduling formats are offered for each course: a survey course with no lab component, a standard course including lab, and an honors course. The program includes online videos, hands-on experiments, and reading assignments. It is an excellent option for independent, self-led learners. 

Elemental Science’s programs are what might be called “gently secular” and are a good fit for both secular and religious homeschoolers. The programs do include topics such as evolution and the Big Bang theory, but these are treated as optional units and may be skipped over if you prefer.

Conclusion

There are several excellent Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool curriculums available at the high school level. If you have younger kids, check out our articles Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – Middle School and Best Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum – Elementary. If you have questions or would like more information, please email us!