Homeschooling History with Beautiful Feet Books

Have you ever found a homeschool curriculum that literally made you giddy with excitement? 

(I received this product for free and was compensated for writing an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.)

One that not only did what it promised to do, but also seemed to simultaneously fit your teaching style, your children’s learning style, and your homeschool philosophy? No?

Believe me, I hear you. As a homeschool mom of many, finding a curriculum that meshes well with our hectic lifestyle can be tough. Our ideal learning resource has to be interesting, cross-curricular, living books-based, and gentle, all rolled into one. 

And guess what? I’m exceedingly grateful to say that we’ve found that perfect resource in Beautiful Feet Books.

 

When it comes to my littles, I’m all about keeping things as simple as possible so my youngest children will have plenty of time for play – something I believe is crucial to their intellectual development. One thing I really want to emphasize, however, is that simplicity doesn’t mean dumbed down, and it doesn’t mean boring.

It means gentle.

So when I happened to come across Around the World with Picture Books, I was more than a little thrilled. After all, not only is this curriculum for primary aged children based on learning through literature, but we’ve worked with Beautiful Feet Books before. Believe me when I say that you will not find a better homeschool curriculum anywhere.

Why We’re Loving Around the World with Picture Books – Part 1

I’m going to be honest here – I don’t even know where to begin because there are so many things this curriculum has to offer. Here’s a quick list of what’s included. Afterwards, I’ll delve a little more deeply into each individual feature.

• Beautifully illustrated living picture book selection
• A study guide that actually helps, instead of making you overwhelmed
• Notebooking tips and ideas
• Nature study activities
• Video recommendations for various subjects
• Art activities
• Additional book recommendations to get from the library
• Printable maps and animal outlines to include in a notebook

Let’s start with the books. Each book included contains not only a timeless, character-driven theme, but they also have beautiful, detailed illustrations that will even draw in children who don’t particularly enjoy being read to.

 

As for the study guide, if you’ve visited my blog before, you know that I’m not one who typically jumps at the chance to follow a teacher’s manual. They’re often written more for a classroom setting than a homeschool setting, and, in my opinion, they’re too contrived and contain too much busywork. The Beautiful Feet Books guides are nothing like that, though!

These guides are written in such a way that they’re simple to follow, each activity is well worth doing, and the topics aren’t written down to a “child’s level.” They encourage critical thinking and the oral discussion questions pave the way for children who haven’t yet started narrating.

Besides offering quality activities for your homeschool, the study guides also offer notebooking tips and reproducibles such as maps, flags, and animals indigenous to the countries being studied.

I don’t normally do notebooking with my littles, but the suggestions were so straightforward and simple that both of my daughters enjoyed completing their very first Around the World with Picture Books (Part 1) notebooks.

 

Remember how I mentioned that I prefer cross-curricular curriculum? Although this resource is classifed as a literature-based approach to history, it’s so much more!

Not only does it include nature study ideas to learn about the animals from each individual country, but it incorporates different art techniques, such as painting with watercolors on rice paper in the China unit. I truly believe that, coupled with phonics/reading and math, this is a complete curriculum. No extras needed.

How We Use This Beautiful Feet Books Product

As a large family homeschool, it has become necessary for us to break up into groups of three. Because of this, we only use Around the World with Picture Books twice a week.

On our Beautiful Feet Books Day (Yes, we actually call it that!), we start our day with devotions and a Bible story. We sing the continent song using the Maps book included in this curriculum, and then I will read aloud the picture book that corresponds to the activity for the day. We discuss it, and sometimes do a picture study of the illustrations. Sometimes there may be a short video to watch.

There are days in which there is no scheduled read-aloud included in the lesson. On those days, I often read one of the suggested library books mentioned in the guide. Otherwise, I choose any book that interests them. The reason some of these lessons do not include a book is because these are often the nature study days. On those days, the children will learn about a specific animal by watching the suggested video (which can be found on YouTube), coloring or painting the printable included in the study guide, and then writing a fact or two in their notebooks.

After the lesson is complete, the girls do a reading lesson with me, spelling, and math, and then they’re done!

One of my favorite pieces of homeschooling advice I like to share is that learning needn’t be boring, stressful, or drawn out. I am fully confident that my children will be lifelong learners because we’ve been blessed with a product as fantastic as Beautiful Feet Books.

If you’ve been searching for that “perfect” curriculum, I cannot emphasize enough how much you should give this resource a try. 

Care to see more? Visit their website to order a free catalog. I’m telling you, it’s well worth the time.

One more thing – I’ve got exciting news. You can enter to win a $100 credit towards your Beautiful Feet Books purchase right here! (Ends: 5/16/2018 6:00 AM EST)

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