Simply Charlotte Mason Resources

Beyond the all-in-one Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum, Sonya Shafer publishes standalone Charlotte Mason resources. Spelling Wisdom, Using Language Well, Laying Down the Rails, that families across many curriculum approaches integrate piecemeal. This review covers the standalone titles.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Charlotte Mason (specific resource lines)
Worldview	Christian-evangelical (broadly Protestant)
Grades	Pre-K through 12, varies by resource
Formats	Print and digital
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	4
ESA-common	Sometimes
Accredited	No
Established	Resource lines published from 2008 forward
Website	simplycharlottemason.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Substantive Charlotte Mason method applied resource by resource
Ease of teaching	3	Parent-led; method requires understanding before execution
Content quality	4	Carefully edited primary-text source material throughout
Flexibility	5	Resources designed to plug into any curriculum framework
Value for money	4	Reasonably priced; many resources reusable across children
Worldview scope	3	Christian source texts (Bible verses, hymns, Christian literature) embedded
Visual/design	3	Clean utilitarian design; not ornate
Support resources	4	Strong free podcast, planning helps, video tutorials

Who the publisher is

Simply Charlotte Mason is Sonya Shafer's publishing imprint and one of the most recognizable Charlotte Mason resource brands in the American homeschool space. Where the previous review covers SCM Bible, the Bible strand of the broader curriculum, this review covers SCM's standalone subject and habit-training resources, which are widely adopted outside the SCM curriculum proper. Families using Ambleside Online, Charlotte Mason Institute curricula, A Gentle Feast, or no specific Charlotte Mason curriculum at all routinely buy individual SCM titles to fill specific subject gaps.

The standalone catalog has grown from a handful of resources in the late 2000s to a substantial library by 2026. The most-adopted titles include Spelling Wisdom (a six-book dictation-based spelling sequence using passages from classic literature); Using Language Well (a grammar program built on living-book narration rather than workbook drill); Laying Down the Rails (Sonya Shafer's guide to Charlotte Mason's habit training program, with both a parent's resource and a children's companion volume); and a number of related titles covering geography, picture study, hymn study, and other Charlotte Mason subject areas.

The resources are theologically Protestant in source-material selection. Spelling Wisdom passages include Bible verses and Protestant-tradition hymns alongside secular classics; Laying Down the Rails draws on Mason's own Christian framing of habit and character development. Catholic and Orthodox families have used the resources widely, with most Christian-tradition source material translating across denominational lines, and the secular passages and grammar work being denominationally neutral. Fully secular families would find selective use of the grammar and dictation work possible while skipping the explicitly Christian content.

The core pedagogy

The SCM standalone resources each apply a specific Charlotte Mason principle to a specific subject area. Spelling Wisdom uses passage-based dictation: the student reads a passage from classic literature (a Dickens paragraph, a Bible verse, a hymn), studies it for spelling and punctuation features, then writes it from dictation. Errors prompt re-study and re-dictation; the student does not memorize spelling lists in isolation but encounters words in their natural literary context. Using Language Well teaches grammar through narration of living books rather than through diagramming exercises and worksheets, a student narrates a passage from her current literature reading, then identifies grammatical features in her own narration. Laying Down the Rails systematizes Charlotte Mason's habit-training approach (attention, obedience, truthfulness, perfect execution, personal initiative) into a sequence of habit-formation lessons that span childhood, with the parent guiding and the child gradually internalizing.

Scope and sequence varies by resource. Spelling Wisdom runs six volumes covering roughly grades 3 through 12, with passages graded by complexity. Using Language Well runs across multiple books for the elementary-and-middle-school span and assumes the student is already engaging with literature, this is a grammar program for children who are reading, not a phonics program. Laying Down the Rails is structured by habit rather than by grade and is used across the full childhood span. Hymns in Prose and the picture-study sets follow Charlotte Mason's prescribed weekly rhythm (one hymn or one painting studied in depth per term).

Signature mechanics: (1) Primary literary sources. SCM resources draw passages and texts from actual classic literature, Scripture, hymnody, and historic poetry rather than from worksheets composed for the program. The implicit pedagogy is Mason's: children think well in proportion to what they have heard well written. (2) Method-as-product. Buying a SCM resource means buying both the materials and the implementation method. Spelling Wisdom assumes you will do dictation Mason's way, Using Language Well assumes you will do narration-based grammar. Families uncomfortable with the method should look elsewhere. (3) Habit formation as pedagogy. Laying Down the Rails treats habit training as an explicit pedagogical project parallel to academic instruction. Few American curricula make this as systematic.

A day in the life

A fourth-grader using Spelling Wisdom Book 2 alongside a non-SCM curriculum (perhaps Math-U-See, Apologia science, and Story of the World history) sits down for a fifteen-minute spelling block on Monday. The week's passage is a sentence from Charlotte's Web, say, a passage about Wilbur in the barn. Today is "study" day: she reads the passage, identifies the spelling features (the doubled consonants in "stubborn," the silent letters in "knew"), and notes punctuation. Tuesday's session is dictation: the parent reads the passage aloud, the student writes it from dictation, the student then compares to the original and corrects any misspellings or punctuation errors. Wednesday and Thursday repeat the dictation with the same passage; Friday introduces a new passage. The whole spelling commitment runs ten to fifteen minutes daily.

A family using Laying Down the Rails treats habit training as a parallel weekly focus rather than a daily lesson. A specific habit (perhaps "attention") is the family's focus for a month; the parent introduces the habit, frames specific opportunities to practice it ("we are going to do mathematics with full attention for the next twenty minutes"), and notices and reinforces the habit across daily life. Laying Down the Rails the children's volume gives the child age-appropriate vocabulary and self-reflection prompts.

What they do exceptionally well

Genuine Charlotte Mason method, modular. Editorial view: SCM's standalone resources are among the most faithful Charlotte Mason adaptations in print, and their modular design means a family can adopt the method for one subject without committing to a full Charlotte Mason curriculum. A family running a math-strong primarily-classical curriculum can plug in Spelling Wisdom for spelling without disrupting the rest. This is genuinely valuable for families wanting Charlotte Mason method without Charlotte Mason curriculum lock-in.

Spelling Wisdom as a passage-based spelling alternative. The single most-adopted SCM resource is Spelling Wisdom, and for a real reason: passage-based dictation produces strong spellers in students who would not benefit from word-list memorization. The literature-based passages also expose the student to good prose at the same time, accomplishing two ends in one fifteen-minute daily commitment.

Laying Down the Rails as a unique-in-market resource. Few American homeschool curricula treat habit training as a systematic pedagogical project. Laying Down the Rails is essentially the only widely available curriculum specifically devoted to executing Charlotte Mason's habit-training framework. Families committed to character formation as central to education find it indispensable in a way no competing resource matches.

What they do poorly

Method-dependent execution. SCM resources are not turn-key. Spelling Wisdom requires the parent to do dictation correctly; Using Language Well requires the parent to understand how Charlotte Mason narration works as grammar instruction. Parents who do not understand the underlying method get poor results from the materials. SCM provides supporting podcasts and how-to guides, but the resources reward parents who have spent time on the method's foundations.

Less rigorous than parallel classical or traditional resources at upper levels. Spelling Wisdom Book 6 is solid but not in the same rigor weight class as a high-school-level Vocabulary from Classical Roots or a college-prep grammar program like Analytical Grammar. SCM resources are excellent at the elementary and middle school levels and adequate but not standout in high school.

Christian source material is integrated, not optional. Spelling Wisdom passages include Bible verses and hymns alongside Dickens and Stevenson; Laying Down the Rails draws on Mason's Christian framing of virtue and obedience. Families uncomfortable with this material would need to skip selectively, which makes the program feel patchy. Fully secular families are better served by Charlotte Mason-influenced resources from non-Christian publishers (perhaps Build Your Library or self-curated literature-based programs).

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick SCM Resources if: the family is sympathetic to Charlotte Mason method and wants to apply specific principles to specific subjects without committing to a full SCM curriculum; the parent is willing to learn the method through SCM's free podcast and supporting materials; the resources will be used across multiple children, amortizing the cost; a Christian framing in source material is welcome or acceptable.

• Skip SCM Resources if: you want fully turn-key materials that do not require method understanding (consider Spelling You See for spelling, Easy Grammar for grammar); the family is fully secular and the embedded Christian source material is unwelcome; the student is in high school and needs more rigorous specialized resources at that level (consider Analytical Grammar, Vocabulary from Classical Roots); the family wants a complete Charlotte Mason curriculum rather than standalone resources (consider the SCM curriculum or Ambleside Online).

Cost honest assessment

Individual SCM resource books retail at roughly $15 to $35 each as of April 2026, with Spelling Wisdom volumes at the lower end (roughly $20) and the larger Laying Down the Rails volumes at the higher end. A family adopting Spelling Wisdom for the full sequence (all six books) plus Using Language Well (multiple books) plus Laying Down the Rails would spend roughly $200 to $300 on the full SCM resource set.

Compared to All About Spelling ($300 to $400 for the full sequence with manipulatives), Spelling Wisdom is substantially cheaper. Compared to standalone grammar programs like First Language Lessons (roughly $30 per book, four books in the sequence), Using Language Well is comparable in cost. Compared to character-curriculum resources like Doorposts (roughly $30 to $50 per resource), Laying Down the Rails is similar in cost but more systematic in its method.

A realistic per-family cost adopting major SCM resources across many years and multiple children: $150 to $300 total for the resource library, used across an entire homeschool career.

ESA eligibility notes

SCM resources have appeared on state ESA marketplaces with growing frequency as state programs have broadened approved-vendor lists. Florida Step Up For Students, West Virginia Hope Scholarship, Arizona ESA, and Arkansas LEARNS Act families have submitted SCM resource purchases for reimbursement in language-arts and character-curriculum categories. Christian-content materials face restrictions in some state ESA programs; families should verify their specific state's policy and the specific SCM resource before ordering.

Alternatives

• Spelling You See, a family would pick Spelling You See over Spelling Wisdom for a similarly Charlotte Mason-influenced passage-based approach with more turn-key parent guidance and stronger visual design.
• Easy Grammar, a family would pick Easy Grammar over Using Language Well for a turn-key workbook grammar program that does not require the parent to understand narration-based grammar instruction.
• Doorposts, a family would pick Doorposts over Laying Down the Rails for a Bible-verse-and-character-curriculum approach to virtue training that is less methodologically systematic but easier to plug into a busy family rhythm.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed simplycharlottemason.com, the standalone resource catalog pages, sample lesson pages, and the publisher's About and methodology pages in April 2026. We cross-referenced the resources against Sonya Shafer's published work, the SCM podcast archive, and Cathy Duffy Reviews' coverage of Spelling Wisdom and Laying Down the Rails. Pricing verified April 2026 from the publisher's storefront.