Hi there, classical homeschoolers! If you’ve decided to start homeschooling using the classic method, this page will give you all the great options you’ve been looking for. We will cover Classical homeschool curriculums that encourage critical thinking, logic skills, and excellent language abilities. We’ll examine my favorite conservative curriculum with rigorous literature, theology, Latin, and critical thinking training. But with so many classical homeschooling curriculum packages, what do you choose? I’ll make it easy for you.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog post. If you want to do my course on how to homeschool, click here.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.
- Veritas Press – online LIVE or self-paced classes – book a free consultation with them here.
- Memoria Press – mailable program
- Compass Classroom – affordable video-based classical program
- Classical Conversations – homeschool co-op focus
- Classical Academic Press – customize your curriculum with this one
- A Well-Trained Mind
- Tapestry of Grace – Unit Studies approach to a Christian curriculum
- and more…
Now, let’s take a closer look at each classical curriculum!
Veritas Press
If you’re searching for a classical homeschool curriculum program that’s easy for parents, Veritas Press is one of the best.
Veritas has online and offline options for Grades K-12th.
They have LIVE online, pre-recorded teacher-led lessons, and teach-it-yourself options.
What sets Veritas apart is its emphasis on classical Christian education and its fantastic video lessons.
Plus, students can socialize with other Veritas students in virtual classrooms, adding extra excitement to the homeschooling experience.
With Veritas, your children can access online lessons, interact with teachers online, and choose to do self-paced or live courses online.
It’s so easy to get started—just choose the grade, customize the curriculum, and place your order to receive a boxed classical education curriculum in the mail.
If you’re unsure about homeschooling, Veritas offers FREE curriculum consultations to help you make the best decision for your family.
Memoria Press
Memoria Press is one of the best classical homeschooling curricula on the market today.
This classical program offers physical books for purchase, so you’ll receive a box with the books/work paces you’ve chosen for your child.
This program is also probably one of the best conservative homeschool curriculum programs today and is an ideal fit for a homeschool.
The Homeschool Review Crew gave the Memoria Press Latin program the best foreign language curriculum award in 2017.
Memoria offers lots of preschool and kindergarten material, too, so you can start early.
Memoria Press is available as a boxed homeschool curriculum if you want to keep things offline too.
This curriculum is also from a Christian perspective, with some writers being Southern Baptist Seminary graduates and others being from different places.
Compass Classroom
Compass Classroom is a new online classical program written from a Christian worldview.
The curriculum is most suitable for classical homeschoolers in middle to high school and offers countless video lessons on almost all subjects.
Parents can purchase courses individually for life or get a subscription to the entire platform.
A subscription means you get access to everything they have to offer, including:
- Latin,
- Art & Music,
- Economics,
- Filmmaking,
- History,
- Homeschooling subjects,
- Languages and Vocabulary,
- Literature and Poetry,
- Logic,
- Philosophy,
- Science & Creation,
- Writing & Grammar,
- and more!
So, you’ll get everything on a subscription except mathematics.
This program is mostly true to the classical method but includes some Charlotte Mason elements.
You can try Compass Classroom on a 2-week FREE trial.
Classical Conversations
Classical Conversations is a classical curriculum designed for homeschooling families, but it is typically done in a co-op format.
Families come together to learn in groups for a few hours each week.
This allows children to socialize and engage in discussions and debates with their peers.
The program is offered for grades K-12.
Primary (Grammar)
Children in the grammar stage (ages 4-8) start with the Foundations course.
Middle (Logic)
Studnts the dialectic or logic stage (ages 9-12) do the Essentials course.
High School (Rhetoric)
Students in the rhetoric stage (ages 12+) do the Challenge course.
The cost varies depending on the course, but overall, it is considered reasonably priced.
While the program can be used as a mailable curriculum, it is designed to be used in a co-op format, with children engaging in discussions and debates with their peers to build critical thinking skills.
The curriculum is available internationally, and communities are located worldwide, including in Asia, Australia, Canada, Chile, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Classical Academic Press
Classical Academic Press aims to teach a rigorous form of classical education.
Their big aim is to revive the liberal arts tradition in education establishments and homeschool today.
CAP offer Latin, Greek, Writing and Rhetoric, Poetry, Literature Guides, and more.
Cost of Classical Academic Press and Grades Offered
This classical learning homeschool curriculum offers all grades in three sections:
- Lower Grammer – Pre K -Grade 3
- Upper Grammar – Grade 4-6
- Logic and Rhetoric – Grades 7-12
It isn’t easy to figure out the cost of Classical Academic Press as they don’t seem to offer a curriculum set for each grade.
To get the total price of this classical curriculum, educators must choose the book or book sets they wish children to study.
Perhaps this is an intentional move to give parents the freedom to choose the subjects they like and skip the subjects they’re not keen on.
True North Homeschool Academy
True North Homeschool Academy provides an exceptional (if not expensive) classical PLUS Charlotte Mason program.
They also add a dash of unit studies to keep kids on their toes.
This program is committed to small class sizes.
TNHA offers a very personalized learning experience that caters to individual needs.
Including self-paced courses adds another layer of flexibility, allowing students to progress at their own pace.
Moreover, the program introduces formal logic and informal logic courses, enriching the educational experience.
Rooted in a Judeo-Christian worldview, True North Homeschool Academy weaves foundational values into every facet of learning.
A Tapestry of Grace
Tapestry of Grace is an eclectic Christian curriculum.
It uses classical, Charlotte Mason, and unit studies approaches.
They cover kindergarten through twelfth grade.
ToG offers many subjects, including history, writing, literature, fine arts, geography, church history, missions, and the Bible.
The program is organized chronologically and follows the classical Trivium stages of learning.
This lets all children learn the same subjects simultaneously but at their own level.
There are four-year plans that progress in difficulty, and instruction and activities are divided into four levels of learning.
Students read from recommended books, and there are multi-sensory learning options to address different learning styles and interests.
TOG is available in digital or print editions.
A Well-Trained Mind Classical Curriculum
A Well Trained Mind offers a more secular classical Christian education homeschool curriculum.
The program was made to help students gain a well-rounded education focused on classical values and principles.
It offers curriculum options for students of all ages, including elementary, middle school, high school, and college preparatory courses.
Despite its secular nature, The Well Trained Mind homeschool curriculum includes Bible study and faith-based topics in the core classes, as well as electives such as world religions or apologetics.
The program also provides instruction in more traditional academic subjects such as math, science, and language arts to ensure students have a solid foundation of knowledge.
In addition to this core content, the curriculum also provides support materials like reading lists, research projects, and writing assignments that enrich learning opportunities.
Gentle and Classical Press – Preschool
Gentle and Classical Press is a homeschool curriculum that aims to join the gentler side of Charlotte Mason’s teaching with classical education.
Compared with other homeschool classical curriculum programs, this program provides a curriculum for 2-4-year-old preschoolers.
They also create programs for children up to 12 years of age.
The preschool Gentle and Classical Press program aims to encourage children to learn through play.
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
The Classical Liberal Arts Academy offers maybe the best classical Catholic homeschool curriculum.
It is based on the seven liberal arts:
- Grammar,
- Reasoning,
- Rhetoric,
- Arithmetic,
- Geometry,
- Music, and
- Astronomy.
The curriculum follows the ancient tradition of education, focusing on cultivating wisdom and virtuous living.
The Classical Trivium encompasses language, reasoning, and communication skills, teaching proper reading, writing, and speaking.
The Classical Quadrivium emphasizes mathematics and natural sciences, covering numbers, magnitudes, ratios, and celestial bodies.
Additionally, the curriculum includes the study of classical philosophy and exploration of rational, moral, and natural philosophy.
While Catholic theology is not strictly part of the curriculum, it is encouraged to complement the pursuit of wisdom.
Secular Classical Homeschool Curriculum
A Well Trained Mind Academy is one of the only secular classical homeschool programs I know of.
The best classical learning curriculum for secular homeschoolers would otherwise be:
- Memoria Press or
- Classical Academic Press.
These are not secular, but they’re probably less overt on the religious front than other non-secular classical homeschool curriculum programs.
Other Classical Homeschool Curriculums – Eclectic and Free
Free Classical Education Curriculum
The following is a high-brow, high-IQ curriculum, which has been adopted by homeschoolers and schools. The creators of this free online curriculum have sought to address the lack of any sound online classical curriculum. Based upon the 19th-century German-Latin method and following the great-books model, this curriculum often attempts to be highbrow, emphasizing the best of occidental traditions while avoiding the anti-Western political correctness one finds in public schools. The following materials list can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or as a supplement to another curriculum. Many parents have said that this book list served as an outstanding supplement to other curricula. Our outline for classical languages, literature, and history is one of the best on the internet…The following curriculum can serve as a [secular] curriculum or a Christian [program]. While the following curriculum is non-religious per se and devoid of an explicit fundamentalist Christian worldview, it includes an implicit Christian perspective in that much of post-classical literature consists of a Christian worldview (e.g., Dante, Shakespeare, etc.)…
An Eclectic Curriculum – My Father’s World
If you don’t want a full-blown classical curriculum but want some of what a classical education offers, plus a conservative Christian homeschool curriculum, you might consider something like My Father’s World.
This program combines different homeschooling methods with a classical education.
Specifically, it combines classical schooling with the Charlotte Mason elements, Unit Study, and Bible (see picture below from MFW website).
Combining Classical and Charlotte Mason
Some people consider Classical homeschooling methods a little too rigorous and seek to soften them somewhat with the Charlotte Mason method.
Charlotte Mason was a classical educator who developed her education theory around the 1800-1900s.
Her method used a lot of classical education theory but somewhat softened it to reduce the memorization components and rote learning.
Instead, Mason said we should use more exciting books to teach children (called living books) and get children out into nature more.
She also said we should use more gentle ways of testing students, called narration.
If you buy the My Father’s World curriculum, you’ll get different elements from both these theories.
If you’re interested in knowing more about Charlotte Mason curriculum options, you can check some out here.
A Program that can Supplement Your Custom Classical Education
FAQs
Here are some common FAQs people ask about Classical curriculum.
What is a Classical Curriculum?
A classical curriculum uses the grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages of classical education in primary and secondary education. Tertiary studies expand to include the other 7 liberal arts.
What is the Best Classical Curriculum?
For a top classical curriculum, consider Veritas Press, Memorial Press, and Classical Academic Press, each renowned for their rigorous and well-structured programs. The best choice depends on your specific educational goals and preferences.
What is the Best Online Classical Curriculum?
Veritas Press is a strong option for the best online classical curriculum, known for offering an accredited program.
What is a Classical Homeschooling Curriculum?
There are many different types of homeschooling curriculum programs available today.
A classical homeschool curriculum is a program you can use to teach your children classical education at home.
A program like this will teach students in three stages:
- The grammar stage – where children acquire the tools they need to learn the intricacies in the Classics later on. Children aged around 5-9 do the grammar stage. They do plenty of memorization of basic facts they will benefit from recalling later.
- The logic or dialectic stage is where children sort through facts they learned and analyze them logically. Then, they start to form arguments with these facts. Children aged around 9 to 12 do the logic stage. Students do plenty of reading and ‘compare & contrast’ exercises. They also talk with other classical students to solidify arguments.
- The rhetoric stage is where teenagers synthesize the facts they learned and analyzed in the previous two stages and learn how to apply them to their lives. Students debate and learn how to deliver a speech convincingly and persuasively.
So what are the benefits of using this method?
Classical Curriculum Homeschool: Why You Should Use One
Some benefits of a classical education curriculum are that students:
- will know their facts well and relate them to principles in their lives
- can express themselves eloquently with sound arguments
- can write with structure and understanding
- find learning the intricacies of English easier with Latin as a background language
- will be able to learn new languages with more ease as they will have learned Latin
- are encouraged to think independently and critically and
- acquire principles for life (instead of just acquiring facts and skills).
Classical curriculum programs are once again being implemented in many schools, especially in many homeschools.
This educational method is now widespread among Christian educators in America.
What About Other Curriculum Options?
- Charlotte Mason curriculum
- Free Homeschool Programs
- Kindergarten homeschool curriculum
- High School Curriculum
- Christian curriculum
- Other popular curricula
- Cheap/inexpensive homeschool curriculum
- Unit Studies programs
- Traditional/School at home curriculum
- Family-style home education programs
Want to Learn How to Homeschool?
There are two great ways to learn more about homeschooling: one is free, and the other is a $67 fundamentals course.
The $67 Course
Looking to take your homeschooling to the next level? Join Rebecca Devitt’s online Homeschool Parenting Program and learn the strategies and techniques needed to make homeschooling a success!
Learn more about the HPP here.
The Free Youtube Channel
Also, make sure you join the How to Homeschool Youtube channel, which will give you a fun and exciting look into the homeschool world and help homeschool your children. Check out the channel here, and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE.
If you’re not sure where to start, start with the following playlists:
- Starting homeschool playlist
- Homeschool Methods playlist
- Homeschool Curriculum playlist
- FAQs on Homeschooling playlist
You’ll love it and find it helpful and entertaining! Discover the channel here.
Great recommendations here. I also would like to point you to Classical Academic Press & their online Schole Academy. They offer a playful and restful approach to classical education. In 2020-21 Schole is also opening special instruction for students with specific learning needs or disabilities.
I need a classical education curriculum for k-12 for small private school.
Classical Academic Press do school-specific classical curriculum.
I was a CC-licensed business owner for five years. I would like to point out some things:
1. CC isn’t so much a co-op (which usually refers to a nonprofit organization where parents volunteer to teach different classes). CC is a strictly managed network of privately-owned for-profit businesses that pay a licensing fee to CC Corporate to use their name, advertising, and resources.
2. The price of CC has increased to include a $103 “enrollment fee” paid directly to CC. For Foundations and Essentials, the cost is: $125 application fee ($15 subsequent children per level), $103 enrollment fee per family per level, $375 tuition, $60 supplies (Foundations – $30 Essentials), and a facility fee that varies by location.
I have a complete review of CC’s tutoring program here: https://www.thissideofheavenblog.com/blog/classical-conversations-a-review
You can also find out more about CC from the perspective of former CC families, many of whom have ethical concerns with the corporate office, in the Let Us Reason For Real Facebook group.