iSchooling: Homeschooling with Your eBook Reader for Free

Below are links and information on how to obtain books that are used for many different homeschooling methods and curricula.  There are books for the teacher, as well as texts and literature for the student.  The file format is noted in each case, along with downloading instructions for use with your Kindle or Kindle App.  For use on iPad, you could save the files on your computer, and then sync with iTunes to get the books onto your device.  Better yet, download and read the files directly by adding the free Stanza app from the App Store.  Happy reading!


Charlotte Mason:


Homeschool Series, by Charlotte Mason


These books are available free from Amblesideonline.org.  Click on the links below, and then right click on the "plain text file" link and save to your computer.  If you want to transfer the files wirelessly, this is extremely simple, as the site works well with the Kindle browser!  Use Kindle's Basic Web browser to navigate to "amblesideonline.org" (without the quotes).  Scroll to page 2 and click on "Charlotte Mason Series".  Scroll down to page 3, and you will see the entire list of Charlotte Mason books.  Select the book you desire.  Then, click on "plain text file", near the top of the page, and the entire file for the book will download directly onto your Kindle.  These plain text files work tolerably well, and include notes about original page numbers, which is great for referencing specific passages in web posts or study groups.



Maria Montessori


  • The Montessori Method



    • [download id="8" format="2"]   I custom created this Kindle/Mobipocket version of the book, including the original charts and photographs.  Interesting browsing, even if you don't want to read the entire book.  Love those vintage photos!  (Mostly in the second half of the book.)

  • Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook




  • Spontaneous Activity in Childhood





Thornton Burgess


Most famous for his The Burgess Bird Book for Children, Thornton Burgess wrote many books of nature stories for youngsters.  His books are used by hordes of Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, are recommended by Ambleside Online, and are used by the Waldorf-inspired Oak Meadow curriculum, too. Kindle users will be happy to know that Amazon has more than 15 of his books, including the Bird Book, available in the Kindle Store for instant wireless download.  These free editions generally contain the text of the stories, but do not usually come with the illustrations.  (Except for the Bird Book, the illustrations are sweet but do not seem to be integral to most of the stories, with only 4 or 5 per book.)

You can view a few of Burgess' books, with original illustrations included, on your computer at The Baldwin Project.  You can view others with illustrations at Google Books, where you can also download the files in PDF or EPUB format, but not Kindle/Mobipocket.  (PDF's can be viewed on Kindle, but it is often difficult to read the scanned pages that Google uses in the PDF's.)  I don't currently know of a source for free downloadable versions that are pre-optimized for Mobipocket/Kindle and include the illustrations, so I plan to make it a priority to create some and post them here!

Tapestry of Grace


While TOG mostly uses more modern books, there are several that are available in the public domain.  Since we are using TOG, I am listing these books as I come across them!  I'm beginning this listing with books found in Year 2, because that's where we are!  I'll be expanding the list to the other years shortly.


Year 2


  • Foxes Book of Martrys - Rhetoric level, multi-unit, years 1, 2, and 3 for worldview



    • Free Kindle wireless download on Amazon

  • The Struggle for Sea Power by M.B. Synge - Dialectic level, multi-unit, years 2 and 3 for history



    • Browsable online text available free at The Baldwin Project
    • No downloadable versions located yet

  • This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall - Dialectic level, multi-unit, years 2 and 3 for history



    • Available in Mobipocket (Kindle) format, as well as plain text, EPUB, and many others, free at Project Gutenberg.  Scroll down and click on the "main site" Mobipocket download link to download the file onto your computer.
    • To download wirelessly directly onto a Kindle, enter this address into Kindle's Basic Web browser:http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3761.  Scroll down to the "main site" link to the right of the Mobipocket line, and click to download.

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