A Gentle Feast is a Charlotte Mason-based homeschool curriculum designed for students from elementary to high school. It focuses on rich literature, nature studies, and the arts, allowing families to learn together across different ages.
Research from the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) shows that homeschooled students typically score 15 to 25 percentile points higher than public school students on standardized academic achievement tests. Most homeschool families report completing core academic subjects in 3-4 hours per day for elementary students, compared to the 6-7 hours typical of traditional schools, due to the one-on-one instruction and absence of classroom management overhead (NHERI, 2024).
What is A Gentle Feast?
A Gentle Feast is a homeschool program created by Julie Ross, a seasoned homeschooler. It covers grades from elementary to high school. The curriculum follows a four-year cycle, allowing families to teach multiple kids at once. Instead of using textbooks, it uses living books—stories written by passionate authors that make learning enjoyable. It covers almost everything except math, giving families the freedom to pick their own math curriculum.
Curriculum structure
A Gentle Feast organizes students into Forms based on their age and development. Form I includes grades 1-3, Form II is for grades 4-6, Form III is for grades 7-9, and Form IV caters to high schoolers in grades 10-12. This setup lets siblings of different ages study the same topics in history, science, and literature but at their own levels. With a four-year cycle, you’ll go through all the content before repeating it, keeping things fresh for long-term homeschoolers.
What sets it apart
One standout feature is the morning time. Each day starts with the family gathering for Bible reading, hymn singing, poetry recitation, picture study, composer study, and read-alouds. This routine builds a strong family culture and introduces children to beauty before diving into subjects. The curriculum also offers a lot of parent support, including a 90-page ebook on the Charlotte Mason philosophy, scheduling advice, narration techniques, and an outline of what to cover. This guidance is especially helpful for parents new to the Charlotte Mason approach.
Honest limitations
There are some costs to consider. While the curriculum is priced fairly, buying all the living books can get pricey. Families often use libraries or subscriptions like Scribd to help with costs. The high school program stays true to Charlotte Mason ideas but skips formal literary analysis—students read classics but don’t do the structured study that many college-prep programs require. Additionally, the science content might not be as rigorous as some families want for STEM preparation. For others, these points could be seen as features of the Charlotte Mason method.
Who this works for
Families who love a literature-rich and gentle-paced education will find A Gentle Feast a great choice. It’s perfect for households with kids in different grades, making it easy to teach siblings together without chaos. Parents who value beauty, nature, and character development alongside academics will appreciate this integrated approach. If you’re looking for a ready-to-use Charlotte Mason curriculum without the hassle of creating it yourself, this is it. However, if your focus is on rigorous STEM or detailed literary analysis for college prep, you might need to look elsewhere or plan to add in extra work.
The bottom line
A Gentle Feast is one of the easiest ways to get into Charlotte Mason homeschooling. Julie Ross has done the hard work of selecting books, scheduling lessons, and explaining the methods. This curriculum is great for families who want to learn together across different ages while immersing kids in quality literature and the arts. Keep in mind that book costs need budgeting, and families with high schoolers planning for college might need to supplement some subjects. For the right family, it can turn homeschool days into enriching experiences.
