Curriculum
These three come up constantly in Charlotte Mason homeschool groups, and for good reason — they take the same underlying philosophy (living books, short lessons, real ideas over dry facts) and package it three very different ways. Here's what actually differs between them, based on what each one publishes about itself.
| Curriculum | Cost | Format |
|---|---|---|
| AmblesideOnline | Free | Published schedules and book lists you source yourself (library, used, or new) |
| Simply Charlotte Mason | Buy by subject — pay only for the guides you need (history, science, geography, Bible, language arts, etc.) | Paper schedules built around books you purchase; free planning tools and a book-finder tool are also available |
| A Gentle Feast | Roughly $150–$250/year depending on cycle and add-ons | Full online curriculum with video lessons and support calls included |
AmblesideOnline is usually the recommended starting point for families new to Charlotte Mason — it's free, comprehensive, and the book lists are considered thorough by the wider CM community. The tradeoff is that you're doing your own sourcing and organizing; there's no bundled purchase that hands you everything at once.
Simply Charlotte Mason is built for family-style learning — multiple kids at different ages working through the same subject guide together, rather than separate grade-level tracks for each child. Buying subject-by-subject also means you can build out your curriculum gradually instead of committing to a full package up front.
A Gentle Feast is the most structured and most "done for you" of the three — video lessons and scheduled support calls suit families who want more built-in guidance and less planning from scratch, at the cost of an actual annual price tag.
None of these is objectively "best" — the real question is how much planning and sourcing you want to do yourself versus how much structure you want to pay for. Free (AmblesideOnline) costs you time and organizing; paid (A Gentle Feast) buys back some of that time; Simply Charlotte Mason sits in between, letting you pay only for the pieces you actually need.
Sources: AmblesideOnline's own comparison page, Simply Charlotte Mason cost/format review, CM curriculum package comparison.
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