Middle School: Modern American and World History

"We have Modern American and World History here...The book selections are terrific! The teacher's guide has great thought provoking questions. Great for conversations about the readings." -Carmen S.

"Beautiful Feet Books inspired us to learn together, dream big, and discover a more modern, global view of history."

Shawna from Not the Former Things

"The Modern American & World History is geared towards 5-8th grade students. This makes it the perfect study for middle school history using literature! This 83 pages, full color guide makes it simple and easy for you to open, read, and go!" Heidi from Starts at Eight

So many people ask us what to do after completely our Early American History studies for Primary and Intermediate grades and this is the answer! As we are deeply committed to the idea that students do best when taught what is familiar first, we strongly encourage beginning your history studies with Early American history. You can read more about that here, and listen to Rea explain it even more in a Episode 15 of the Wild + Free podcast. As this is foundational to our approach to teaching history, it makes sense that following our Early American History for Intermediate Grades study, we would offer a Modern American and World History study. The Modern American & World History study covers the American Civil War up to modern day for 5-8th grade students. It is the perfect follow-up to those who have already completed our Early American intermediate course. This new study uses the second-half of A Child's First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers as well as a host of new and classic literature. Characters studied over this year-long course include the Wright brothers, Teddy Roosevelt, Gladys Aylward, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, Sergeant York, Jackie Robinson and many others. Your student will come to appreciate and understand the most tempestuous period in history through award-winning literature. This full-color study guide includes notes on each book, recommended supplemental literature, resources, activities, comprehension questions, vocabulary, and web links. This guide will take you and your intermediate grade student from the year 1860 to modern day while covering the Civil War, Reconstruction, the turn of the century, WWI, WWII, Civil Rights, Korean War, Vietnam War, and contemporary America. Organized into easily followed lessons, students (and parents!) will learn the modern history of our nation along with corresponding Christian principles, poetry, geography, character studies, and much more!

Click on the thumbnails below to see sample pages from this study:

REVIEWS

Click on image to read complete review

Starts at Eight

Not the Former Things

It is our passion to make teaching history easy and accessible to everyone. Great literature is the best way and our guides make it approachable. And everything is available in a discounted pack that ships for free!

We hope you find this helpful. Please never hesitate to contact us with any questions. We can be reached at 800.889.1978, letters@bfbooks.com, on Facebook, and Instagram.

Early American History for Primary Grades

"The teacher's guide from Beautiful Feet Books is open and go."

"I loved the Early American History Primary Study Guide and how it was laid out. Unlike other guides there isn’t a lot of extra *fluff* or wording. Each lesson is laid out in a simple fashion that takes no prep time, which for this busy momma was really nice!"

"Just opening up the package of books over the summer got me excited to start this curriculum. "

Photo: Joy for the Journey

One of our best-selling and most popular programs has always been our Early American History for Primary Grades. The books are by best-loved authors like Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire, Jean Fritz, Margaret Pumphrey, Walter Edmonds, and Alice Dalgliesh. The Charlotte Mason-inspired study guide could not be easier to follow as the above testimonials attest, and the activities are designed to help students develop skills to research, reason, relate, and record. But the heart of the program is the time spent curled up on a couch reading aloud the tales of our nation's earliest days.

We've intentionally made our programs easy-to-follow and flexible so that they are assets to every type of home schooling parent. We don't want them to become task-masters. All of our studies stand on their own, or can be incorporated into another program that you are using. For instance, Aurie from Our Good Life used our Early American study along with Classical Conversations Cycle 3! She writes all about it here.

Photo: Joy in the Journey

Misty from Joy in the Journey is a book-lover and appreciated the emphasis on literature as well as the activities that helped a fidgety child focus on the readings:

 

"The lessons are short and to the point. This means that my fidgety kid doesn’t bore easily from the lessons. He actually has asked to read MORE than what is assigned. This is a win/win for us! The coloring sheets keep him busy, which means he is more engaged in what he is hearing. With kids who love to move, you NEED to keep them doing just that. Otherwise, they just aren’t learning. I love that most of the lessons have a coloring sheet assigned also." 

You can read Misty's detailed review here.  For those of you wanting to know more, here's some basic info. This guide will take you and your K-3 students from the year 1000 AD with the Viking discovery of North America to the exploration, colonization, Revolution and Western Expansion of the mid-1800's with the Civil War. Used as a one or two year study, parents will read aloud award-winning literature from great authors such as the D'Aulaires, Walter Edmonds, Alice Dalgliesh, Clyde Robert Bulla and others. Organized into easily followed lessons, students (and parents!) will learn the history of our nation along with corresponding biblical principles, poetry, geography, character studies and much more! There are 97 lessons in the study guide which can be used for 1-2 years. Click on the images below to see some sample pages. And everything is available in a discounted pack that ships for free! 

 

We hope this helps you get a good idea of what this pack is all about. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section below. If you have a question, chances are others do to, so please ask away! And thank you to our reviewers!

We hope you find this helpful. Please never hesitate to contact us with any questions. We can be reached at 800.889.1978, letters@bfbooks.com, on Facebook, and Instagram.

Catching up with Jessica

Today we're catching up with Jessica. She and her boys are working their way through our Early American History study. If you missed the first entries in her series, here they are: Part I and Part II. Today Jessica talks about how homeschooling through difficult times poses unique challenges and sometimes you just have to press through. We have structured our study guides to take these sorts of circumstances into account. We know as homeschoolers ourselves that life is unpredictable and everyone needs flexibility. So if it means stretching a six week term into eight weeks like Jessica did, our studies are easily adjusted. We also want your history studies to be a time of connection where you can take a break from all the pressures of school, curl up on the couch with your kids and get lost in great literature and story. 

Here's Jessica: 

I can just hear this long, deep sigh emitting from my oldest when I look at this picture – and that is how I feel.

Term two has been rough.

Outside circumstances have been unpredictable and tossed us to and fro on the waves of uncertainty and we have learned to cling to the rock that is higher than us and stronger than our problems.

So much in these past eight weeks have been miserable and just buckling down and getting through. Yes, eight weeks. Our six week term turned in to an eight week one as we just plowed through as we were able.

It’s the beauty and handicap of home education – the weight of it all is on you, and sometimes rest is required in order to handle it at all. So over the past eight weeks a bit of a lighter load was distributed and we focused on joy and good attitudes and thanking the Lord for His provisions and just breathing.

And things are looking much brighter as we head into term three and no one is worse for the wear for having taken things at a much slower pace. In fact, I would venture to say we are better off for it. We read some delightful books this term through our Beautiful Feet History curriculum. It is perfect timing as we head into the Thanksgiving season – we started with Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire. Can I convince you that these masterpieces are worth having in your collection?! The art work is beautiful and the stories are captivating. We are so enjoying reading through them and saturating ourselves in their beauty.

(See the blow dart gun in the above image? That is my life. Blow dart guns accompany many outdoor school adventures.)

From Pocahontas we moved to Jamestown, New World Adventures by James E. Knight which was another rich story (not quite the same compelling illustrations!) But written as a mother recollecting her father’s adventures and journal entries in the New World it is detailed and intriguing. 

 {a game we played – one that is said to have been played by the Native Americans and taught to the Pilgrims – see how to play the bowl game here.}

And from there we went to Pilgrim Stories by Margaret Pumphrey – I had never heard of this book before and, to be honest, it didn’t look like an exciting book. But wow! I was so wrong. This collection of stories about the Pilgrim’s adventures is excellent and the conclusion of each chapter had my kids asking for more and left me with a deeper appreciation and understanding over what the Pilgrims endured.  It is a great book to read leading up to Thanksgiving, and one I am going to be including in our Thanksgiving basket for years to come.

The guidebook for Early American History walked us through thought provoking questions and enrichment activities – and I added a bit extra in the form of a lapbook on Jamestown just because they enjoy such activities.

I am thankful for the Lord’s sweet provision and grace while homeschooling through hard times – we need to be faithful in our charge to educate our children and yet a thorough education is so much more than just open book learning. And the balance to be found can be hard. And maybe we leaned too much towards rest and taking things easy while homeschooling through hard times, but we can only do what we can do – and (I think!) we made it and things are looking up.

Thank you Jessica for sharing this part of your homeschooling journey with us! You can read her complete post here. 

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here. 

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

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Homeschool Veterans: Meet Helen!

Today I'm excited to introduce you to another veteran homeschooling mom! I have actually known Helen since I was a little girl and she's one of BFB's very first customers. Helen has homeschooled eight of her own children and now those children are beginning to homeschool their kids. What a cool legacy. Helen brings a great perspective on how homeschooling. Enjoy reading her story!

BFB: What originally drew you to homeschooling?
Helen: Many of my friends were, and had been, homeschooling for a number of years–it was the beginning of the homeschool revival. I began first with just my oldest daughter when she was in 7th grade, just to see whether or not I could handle it, and what were the benefits and possible disadvantages. With three preschoolers and three others in public school I felt like I was testing the waters. My daughter Carolyn did fine but I mostly checked in to see if she was completing her assignments or needed help, not totally involved in what she was learning. It was a little frustrating to me but I could see benefit in the process despite my lack of total commitment. She decided she would rather go back to school when the next year rolled around. My next attempt was with my son Bobby in 5th grade. I knew he was struggling with school and soon discovered he has a form of dyslexia. Working with him really brought to light the benefits of homeschooling and after that I began pulling out some of my other children to homeschool.

BFB: How long have you been homeschooling? 

Helen: I have been homeschooling for 22 years. Now that my children have grown I am tutoring homeschool children–I just can't get enough! My son Stephen, and daughter-in-law, Faith, will begin homeschooling this fall, so I am very excited about that!

BFB: What is one thing you wish you had known when you began homeschooling? 

Helen:  I really wish I had known that I could teach my children - all eight of them - all the way through high school. I didn't have enough faith in myself, enough support, or encouragement back then. It has taken a lot of years and experience for me to realize that it is not only possible, but the best way to go.

BFB: What has been your greatest joy and greatest challenge of homeschooling? 

Helen: I think my greatest joy came first in finding a true love for learning. I grew up with textbook history lessons...boring! When I began teaching with the BFB program I discovered that history is really interesting! Who knew? This fueled my fire for learning and teaching. Now I can say that my greatest joy is to work with a child and see "the light go on" when he/she understands something and becomes excited about learning. One of my greatest challenges was to overcome curriculum confusion–there is so much to choose from! I think it's something you have to grow into, or out of, depending on how you look at it. Pay attention to the BFB philosophy! The next challenge would be in figuring out how to teach a child with a different style of learning and reach their understanding. It is a process and a goal to achieve. 

BFB: How did you discover BFB? How has the philosophy behind BFB influenced your teaching in other subjects? 

California History Through Literature

Helen: I discovered BFB upon it's inception. Russ and Rea were living here in our county, Tuolumne, and attending the same church as we were. Rea and I were involved in several groups together and so I naturally was drawn to her vision behind teaching history through literature. I first used the California History Pack, fell in love with it, and have just about all of the packs in my library. I feel that the philosophy of BFB has affected by teaching in giving me the insight and ability to pull subjects together and make a more cohesive structure to total learning. I use Spalding Language Arts (The Writing Road to Reading) which fits in really well with BFB; I love how one subject overlaps into another, how you can teach writing and reading structure with what you are learning in history, or history in reading, etc. Making math problems out of time periods, or really any information read, is another way to expand thought. There are so many ways to weave your lessons that it is amazing.

Thank you so much Helen! If you have any questions for Helen, just leave them below in the comments! We're going to be checking back in with our veterans over the next few weeks with your questions–this is such a great opportunity to glean wisdom from these women who have walked the path before us!

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Thinking about using BFB?

Here's a peek into one family's experience of using our Medieval History program. 

Today, I'm reposting a review written by Audria Story on her blog, At The Well. She wrote about our Medieval History Through Literature for intermediate grades and I just had to share it here. She outlines how she and her son have progressed through the first six weeks of the study. Her review will really give you an idea of what doing BFB is like - how the lessons work, what the mapping assignments look like, what sort of books and topics are covered. And this quote basically sums it up: What more can a homeschooling mother ask for from a curriculum that a middle school boy begs to do while on summer break?!?" Here it is - and be sure to check out her blog!

Peek at the guide

We’ve completed our first six weeks of Beautiful Feet Books’ Medieval History: A Literature Approach for Advanced Intermediate and Junior High. Oldest loves history. It is his favorite subject to study. I think one of the reason’s he loves it so much is because I read many of the books to him. When we first started using Beautiful Feet Books a few years ago I thought reading books to my kids was kinda strange. I mean, they are old enough to read on their own now. Odd as it seemed to me at the time, I went along with the recommendation in the guide anyway. I (and my kiddos) am so happy I took the quirky counsel. Read-aloud time is one of our favorite parts of the homeschool day. I didn’t know it at the time but reading to our kids is not only beneficial to our children’s education but…oh my! I am getting off topic! For more information on why reading aloud is important check out the Read-Aloud Revival. I am currently listening to one podcast a week for my own time of summer refreshment.

Projects

This study dives the student right into a pretty good-sized workload the first week. Within the first three weeks of the study Oldest’s hand written glossary contained nearly one hundred words. We chose to break up the vocabulary words by doing only five to eight of the words each day. He wrote a small paper on Charlemagne, worked on a hand drawn map, completed an Anglo-Saxon rune art project, and copied and decorated King Arthur’s Code of Chivalry. The rune project was his own idea. The guide directed him to a website to learn about the runes and suggest he have fun making coded messages with someone. His rune page says, “Beowulf is cool!” and then he did some illustrations similar to those in the Beowulf book from the study. In the midst of this study Oldest was working on his final research paper (1000 words on the life of Julius Caesar) for his writing curriculum so I cut two of the writing assignments. An essay comparing the conflicting ideas of Christianity and Paganism and an essay on Judaism, Christianity or Islam. We simply discussed and explored these topics together. I think his

From The European World

favorite project so far is the map. He takes his time locating each place, marking routes, and adding a bit of color. Every week also includes internet sites to explore and Oldest has really enjoyed exploring these topics further. He spent a couple of hours on the recommended King Arthur webpages.

Oldest loves the spine book (The European World 400-1450) for this study. He strongly disliked Streams of Civilization used in the ancient history study and has suggested several times that every copy should have a proper Viking burial at sea. The European World is an excellent and informative text with photographs and maps. Our favorite part of the book is the little samples of primary sources of literature, biographies and other text usually dated from the time period covered in the chapter. Oldest found it fascinating that the tradition of decorating Easter eggs originated with feudalism.

Charlemagne report and peek at guide

Oldest’s favorite book for the first six weeks is Beowulf. The book is beautifully illustrated and even the younger children would listen to the story. As a mom, I just love when their imaginative play mixes with the books we are reading. Middle Boy even built Grendel with Legos. I read several stories from King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Through this book and One Thousand and One Arabian Nights we learned about literary elements and framed narratives. The guide suggested only a portion of each of the two books for reading. Oldest added the King Arthur book to his reading list and will do an additional report with it later in the school year.

We decided to finish The Arabian Nights as a read aloud. (I wish the book contained a pronunciation guide or the names and places…this Southern girl had no clue!) I had never read this book in the past and wasn’t looking forward to it honestly. I knew it was about an Islamic king who killed his new bride every day because he hated women. Much to my surprise we all enjoyed the book…yes, even me with my own admitted prejudice was charmed by Shahrazad’s stories. Now that I have read this book I also know where the writers’ of several episodes of Bugs Bunny received their inspiration. Ha! The book prompted some difficult conversations about how women are treated in other cultures…especially in Islamic regions. During this time I read about Ann Voskamp’s journey to Iraq

The whole book pack and guide

(you may want to skip this if you are very sensitive…it gave me horrible nightmares.) My sparkly girl is nine and so my emotions were a little high as I struggled with how much to share with my children. (And no, I did not share anything of Mrs. Voscamp’s report.) History and current events can be tough to talk about sometimes.

Oldest spent the last week learning about the differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We’ve studied this in the past so it was mostly a review for him. He did read the appropriate sections in The Usborne Book of World Religions by Susan Meredith. We found a few videos on YouTube to explain the basic practices of Judaism and Islam. I tried to arrange an interview at the Jewish Temple in Paducah but have not received a return call yet. As far as I know there are no Islamic practitioners that I feel comfortable exposing my children to in this area. This weekend I will take Oldest to a Catholic church and explain to him the Way of the Charlemagne Cross, Rosaries, scapulars, and transubstantiation. In fact, I will be taking him to the monastery chapel where I once lived and believed my vocation was to the religious life. We currently attend a Methodist church and I am looking forward to explaining to him the differences in practice between the two denominations. He’ll have some hard questions for me I am sure…

Extra books

We read two extra books that are not part of the study but are recommended for extra reading. The first book we read was Saint Augustine: Early Church Father by Rachel M. Phillips. This book covers the time period just before the fall of Rome. It is a nice bridge book between the ancient course we just finished and our current study. We pushed through the book as a read aloud but it was not easy. So much of the book is Augustine’s thoughts and that made it hard on Oldest to understand at times. The book also delves into sexual sin (not graphically) and womanizing. If you are not ready to discuss such things then skip the book. This is a book we will likely revisit in the high-school years. The other recommended book (but also not part of the study) we read was The Boy’s King Arthur by Sidney Lanier. The book I found was illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. The book is beautiful and after I got the rhythm of the older usage of the English language down we found the book delightful…it is one you have to give some time for it to become immersive. The illustrations alone are worth seeking for the book. Not all middle school boys are going to love the book…however if they are fans of Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail then they will love it. I guess it is the usage of the book’s prose…maybe…?

Oldest working on his maps

Oldest loves this course. He begs for history every day. This week we are currently on a one week summer break from school (Yes, that is all the summer break my kids get!). However, Oldest insisted that we read our next book in the study while on break this week. What more can a homeschooling mother ask for from a curriculum that a middle school boy begs to do while on summer break?!?

Thank you Audria for this great look into what using BFB looks like!

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages and visit BFB here. 

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Considering BFB? Here's the info you need, Part IV

Today we're returning to our series for those of you who want to know more about BFB. If you're coming here for the first time, check out the previous entries (Part I, Part II, and Part III) for back ground information on our philosophy, the history of how we got started over thirty years ago, and much more. Today, we're answering some of the most frequently asked questions about how to use our curriculum. First, here are links to two articles that answer two of the most common questions we get from parents and teachers: 

Why do you teach American history first?

When should I teach ancient history? 

Once you've understood our philosophy about teaching history in a chronological manner or starting with American history, the next question is naturally, where do I start? Here's our suggested study sequence using BFB:

Primary K-3rd Grade

Early American History (K-3rd grade)
Teaching Character/Primary (K-3rd grade)History of the Horse (3nd-6th grade)  
History of Science (3rd-6th grade) 
Geography through Literature (3rd-7th grades)

4th Grade

Early American History (Primary or Intermediate) 
Ancient History/Intermediate (4th-8th grade) 
History of the Horse (3nd-6th grade) 
History of Science (3rd-6th grade) 
Geography through Literature (3rd-7th grade) 
History of Classical Music (4th-8th grade) 
History of California (4th-6th grade) Semester program 
Teaching Character Through Literature/Intermediate (4th-6th grade) 
The History of Western Expansion (4th-7th grade) Semester program 

5th-6th Grade 

Early American History Intermediate (5th-6th grade) 

Modern American and World History (5th-8th grade)
Ancient History/Intermediate (4th-8th grade)

Medieval History (5th-8th grade)
History of the Horse (3nd-6th grade)
History of Science (3rd-6th grade)
Geography through Literature (3rd-7th grade)
History of Classical Music (4th-8th grade)
History of California (4th-6th grade) Semester program
Teaching Character Through Literature/Intermediate (4th-6th grade)
The History of Western Expansion (4th-7th grade) Semester program

Junior High 7th-8th Grade

Early American and World History (7th-9th grade) 
Ancient History Jr. High (4th-8th grade) 
Medieval History (5th-8th grade) 
History of Classical Music (4th-8th grade)
The History of Western Expansion (4th-7th grade) Semester program

Senior High 9th-12th Grade

Early American and World History (7th-9th grade) 
Ancient History (9th-12th grade) 
Medieval History Sr. High (10th-12th grade) 
US and World History Sr. High Pt I & II (10th-12th grade) 
US and World History Sr. High Pt III & IV (10th-12th grade)

Tomorrow we will provide information on the books that are included in each of our courses! If you need to know now, just click on any title above and you will be taken to our website where you will find a full list of each book required for the course.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!