My First Charlotte Mason Based Curriculum
At some point in our home education I was feeling frustrated with all the worksheets and textbooks, especially with history and science. In researching what else was out there, I stumbled up on Miss Mason and her insistence on learning with living books. When I realized there was curriculum designed around living books, I was all in!
Beautiful Feet Books was the one I was initially drawn to. Simple and short lessons with notebooking for narrations. Amazing books lists that were nothing like textbooks, but still kept the integrity of subjects intact.
What We Have Used from Beautiful Feet Books
We have purchased and used Around the World with Picture Books Volume 1 and 2 and Early American History for Primary and Intermediate. We loved each of these literature packs, and so when they reached out to see if we wanted to try History of Science for review, it was a no brainer.
The Feast of Books!
Living books included with this pack we have used so far:
- The Picture History of Great Inventors
- The Way Science Works (DK)
- Archimedes and the Door of Science
- Leonardo Da Vinci
- Along Came Galileo
- Isaac Newton, the Scientist Who Changed Everything
- Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
The curriculum contains 85 lessons, and we complete 2 per week, on average. I was used to purchasing science lab kits in the past, so since this one does not have that option, we have not done most of the experiments. This works okay for me because I feel this is more of a history of science (oh hey, that’s the title of this literature pack!), than a lab science.
The website says it is designed for grades 4-7. However, it is working just fine for my 7th, 4th, and 1st grader. Living books seem to translate to a wide age range, and draw in little ones with impressive storytelling. My plan is to use this over 2 years and work in a traditional lab science in the remaining months.
In addition to this, I work in a natural science throughout the year twice a week. These two paired together has felt like a smooth partnership!
[…] We are currently using Around California, exploring our state in such an engaging way. My kids are LOVING Island of the Blue Dolphin. Have you read it yet? We’ll pick back up with the History of Science in the new school year, and you can read a mid-year review of our experience. […]