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

Last week we provided some articles and videos on education and educational philosophies that, we hope, helped you understand a bit more about the thinking behind Beautiful Feet Books' approach to history. This week we will be providing more information on what we believe as a company and how that shapes our study guides and literature choices. If at any point during this series, you have questions, please feel free to post them in the comments or on our Facebook page. 

Today, we'd like to share with you a series we wrote on BFB Fundamentals. If you've ever wondered if BFB is classical, what teaching history through literature looks like, who is the Charlotte Mason you keep talking about, this is the series for you! Check it out by clicking the following links:

1. Why Teach History?
2. Why Teach History Through Literature? 
3. What is Classical Anyway and Who was Charlotte Mason?
4. Is BFB Classical?

Later this week we'll address the questions of chronological history, teaching American history first, and much more! We're excited about this series and hope you enjoy it!

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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The Role of Story in Instilling Meaning in our Children's Lives

One of the greatest gifts a parent can give their children is a sense of meaning and purpose. Often times parents say that they want their children to "be happy" and while this seems to be a laudable goal, I believe it misses the point. Teaching children that their happiness is the ultimate goal in life will, more than likely, result in children who grow to be deeply unhappy and disappointed adults. Recent research bears this out. Social scientists have found that "having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression" (source). Happiness is a byproduct of a full and meaningful life.

Meaning vs. Happiness

Additionally, as observed by Nazi concentration camp survivor and psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl in his book The Meaning of Life: "It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness." While this may seem like a contradiction it bears out both in experience and in research. "Happy people get a lot of joy from receiving benefits from others while people leading meaningful lives get a lot of joy from giving to others," explained Kathleen Vohs, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania where researchers found that those who pursue a happy life are associated with being "takers" and those who seek to live a meaningful life are more often "givers".

Where do stories fit in?

So, how does one instill in a child a sense of meaning and purpose? I believe that every parent wants their children to know that they inhabit a unique place in this world and that their lives have meaning. Whether we're affirming our children's value by loving and nurturing them or teaching them that their actions affect others, these are all a part of affirming a child's value. Fostering a connection to others is one aspect of showing our children that their lives have significance. Investing in the lives of others gives children an opportunity to see how they can positively impact those around them. One of the most effective ways to do this is to introduce them to the magic of story. Not only do stories educate intellectually, they reinforce emotional values. 

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is one of my favorite children's books. In it the young

protagonist, Wilfrid, makes friends with an elderly woman who lives at the nursing home next door. They both have four names and become fast friends. His friend, Miss Nancy, has "lost" her memory and Wilfrid is determined to help her find it. And while the boy is only four-years-old, he accomplishes his goal. Reading stories like this to children from a young age shows them that even the youngest children can have lives of significance. Stories open up the world to youngsters who are naturally very self-centered and in doing so show them the limitless possibilities that are available to them. The relationship between Miss Nancy and Wilfrid is not one-sided, it's a beautiful friendship from which both individuals gain tremendous benefit. And I think that is an important part of teaching our children to be wholeheartedly empathetic and kind. Obviously, we don't want to raise children with martyr complexes who give of themselves out of an unhealthy compulsion. Instead, we want to encourage our children to see their immense value and worth and  then invest of themselves in rich relationships and meaningful projects.

Historical Context

There are many wonderful fictional stories like Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge that provide examples of dynamic people living meaningful lives. Many can be found in Honey For A Childs Heart or Books that Build Character or our Teaching Character Through Literature curriculum but the stories of history can be just as effective. It is in history that we meet other "givers" – people who shaped history and made the world a little better by their having been in it. We also meet people who serve as cautionary tales. The richness of history is that it is about people just like us and if we can teach our children that they will understand that they also have a place in history. By connecting our children with the great "course of human events" through stories, we can instill that sense of value and meaning that may just result in their leading happy lives!

I would love to hear about your favorite stories! What books do you read to your children in the hopes that they help your child understand his or her value? What historical characters do your children connect with?

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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Announcing our Revised and Expanded Early American History Study Guide!

Quick reminder we're offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $50! Only 2 days left! Use FREESHIP in the coupon code box.

It's here! Our revised and expanded Early American History Through Literature for grades 4-6!! We're very excited about the changes. Josh Berg and Rea worked together to make this guide more user-friendly and enjoyable! Several books were eliminated, lessons were expanded, links to interactive websites were added and much more! The most significant change is the addition of A Child's First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers. 

Now an integral part of our revised Early American Study Guide! 

This teacher's guide provides daily instruction in reading, notebooking, map-making, biblical principles, character studies, government, writing exercises and use of our Early American Time Line. Authors include such fine writers as Esther Forbes, Elizabeth Yates, James Daugherty, Jeri Ferris, Carl Sandburg, among others. Contains 101 lessons and it is suggested that 3 lessons be completed each week. See list below for new features! You may also click on the pictures below to see examples of lessons and assignments. 

Quick feature list for new Intermediate Early American History Study Guide:

*Beautiful full color layout including historic art, paintings, charts, and maps.

*Internet links throughout guide for further interest and enhanced study.

*Guide now includes an Answer Key.

*Many optional activities listed, especially having to do with geography.

*Expanded comprehension questions.

*Now features A Child's First Book of American History by Earl Schenck Miers.

*Biblical principles.

By purchasing this Guide you will receive a free download of the Early American Intermediate Picture Packet with corresponding clip art necessary for the study.

The study guide is available for instant download. For those of you who would prefer a hardcopy, those will be available in mid to late October. If you already own the old edition of the study guide, we are offering a special upgrade price of $10.00 to those of you who would like to replace your old guide. Just give us a call at 800.889.1978 and we'll be happy to process that for you.
Quick reminder, we're offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $50! Only 2 days left! Use FREESHIP in the coupon code box.

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Preserving a Tradition

Over at the MindShift blog, Annie Murphy Paul has written a fantastic post on the importance of teaching today's students how to read deeply. Arguing that this skill has been threatened by an increasingly utilitarian approach to reading, Paul makes a convincing argument that in losing the ability to read in such a way that it becomes a sort of spiritual experience, we are at risk of losing our cultural heritage and identity.

I found her article fascinating and am in perfect agreement with her as I have seen the effect that utilitarian reading has on students when it comes to studying history. More often than not students who are taught history using textbooks written in technical "informative" language fail to develop an interest in the subject. History becomes reduced to names and dates and other "facts" and loses its human element. Reading about racial segregation becomes nothing more than a few paragraphs of facts and students may think "Well, that sounds awful" but fail to truly comprehend what it was like to live under Jim Crow legislation. Give them a book like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and their experience is transformed. Their brain engages in an entirely different way and they are drawn in to a story of deep human suffering allowing them to develop a sense of justice, empathy, and emotional engagement. It is for this reason that we at BFB are passionate about teaching history using literature. If a student's education fails to teach him to read on a deeply human level, it has failed him. And, unfortunately, most students are not reading in this way. As Paul states in her post: "This is not reading as many young people are coming to know it. Their reading is pragmatic and instrumental: the difference between what literary critic Frank Kermode calls “carnal reading” and “spiritual reading.” 

Paul goes on to state: 

"If we allow our offspring to believe that carnal reading is all there is—if we don’t open the door to spiritual reading, through an early insistence on discipline and practice—we will have cheated them of an enjoyable, even ecstatic experience they would not otherwise encounter. And we will have deprived them of an elevating and enlightening experience that will enlarge them as people. Observing young people’s attachment to digital devices, some progressive educators and permissive parents talk about needing to “meet kids where they are,” molding instruction around their onscreen habits. This is mistaken. We need, rather, to show them someplace they’ve never been, a place only deep reading can take them."

She is so right! And anyone who has traded in the history textbooks for great literature knows exactly what she's talking about. The initial transition may be difficult as this sort of reading is a skill that is developed over time, but it will completely transform a child's understanding and experience of history. There is light that is suddenly lit in a student's mind and his imagination is engaged in ways it never was before. We've seen it happen time and time again and it's a wonderful thing to witness. 

Most teachers, stressed by an overwhelming amount of paperwork and testing standards do not have the time to devote to teaching their students how to read deeply. For those of you who have made the choice to educate your children at home, you have a unique opportunity to impart the gift of "deep reading" to your students and children. And while it will be a gift that they will come to cherish, it will also be a skill that helps preserve our very heritage. The ability to read helps us to understand who we are and where we have come from. Paul sees this as essential to preserving our history and our literary traditions: 

"There’s another reason to work to save deep reading: the preservation of a cultural treasure. Like information on floppy disks and cassette tapes that may soon be lost because the equipment to play it no longer exists, properly-educated people are the only “equipment,” the only beings, who can unlock the wealth of insight and wisdom that lie in our culture’s novels and poems. When the library of Alexandria was lost to fire, the scarce resource was books themselves. Today, with billions of books in print and stored online, the endangered breed is not books but readers. Unless we train the younger generation to engage in deep reading, we will find ourselves with our culture’s riches locked away in a vault: books everywhere and no one truly able to read them."

 As you prepare for this coming school year and are looking forward to all those wonderful books you'll be reading, take a minute to read Paul's article. You will, undoubtedly feel inspired to challenge your students in their reading, to impart to them the wonderful experiences found in the pages of great literature. All the best to you and your family as you begin this school year - may it be full of adventures, literary and otherwise.

If you feel you need some direction in choosing great historical literature, check out our study guides and book packs! We've assembled some of the best literature for teaching history and have produced lesson plans to help you work through the ins and outs of teaching history using great books!

And don't forget about our great 30% off sale on Your Story Hour CDs!

Don't forget to enter our contest for a $50.00 gift card and other great prizes. Entries must be in by Aug. 17 at midnight. Details here!  

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Historical Women: Pocahontas

Last Friday was International Woman's Day and on our Facebook page many of you shared your favorite female authors.  It was fun to see a few votes for the Elliots, Pearl Buck, Jane Austen, Harper Lee, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. We also love the writings of all these amazing women and are thankful for their contributions to the literary world. Their writings have made our lives richer and it is worth celebrating! If you haven't shared your favorite author, be sure to chime in here.

March is also Women's History Month and we thought this was a great opportunity to share with our readers a few of our favorite women from history. These women, like those wonderful authors above, made indelible marks on the world. They challenged the status quo, stood up against injustice, showed courage and compassion, fought for their beliefs, and provide great role models for us today.

Today we'd like to talk about Pocahontas. This incredibly brave and adventurous young woman only lived to be around 22 years old, but those brief years were packed with daring. While the exact year of her birth is unknown, it is thought that she was born around 1595. Her father was Powhatan, the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of around thirty Algonquian groups and small tribes in what we now know as Virginia. Her mother was one of dozens of temporary wives taken by the paramount chief. In this custom, each wife bore the chief a single child before being sent back to her village where the Powhatan would continue to support her until she found another husband.

It seems clear from historical documents that Pocahontas was "the most deare and wel-beloved" of Powhatan's children but that does not signify that she would have been an "Indian Princess" as is commonly portrayed in popular culture. In seems that Pocahontas had quite the endearing nature as her name means "little wanton" indicating a playful, loving, and "frolicksome" nature.

Pocahontas life takes an unexpected turn when the English arrive in America seeking to establish a permanent colony. In a dramatic account of his capture, John Smith records the story that preserves Pocahontas in the historical record. Smith had been captured by a hunting party and brought before Powhatan when "two great stones were brought before Powhatan: then as many as could layd hands on him [Smith], dragged him to them, and thereon laid his head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines, Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death..." Incredibly daring for a young girl, thought to only be 10 or 12 at the time! 

Pocahontas would continue to help the English, bringing supplies of food to the starving settlers at Jamestown. Despite Pocahontas' friendly relations with the explorers, relationships between Powhatan and the English broke down and in 1609 the two parties went to war. Pocahontas was captured by the English as a prisoner of war and held for ransom. While the English demanded that Powhatan release various English prisoners of war and furnish the settlers with tools and supplies in exchange for Pocahontas' release, the young woman grew accustomed to living with the settlers. She converted to Christianity and was baptized taking the name Rebecca. 

During her year-long capture, it seems that Pocahontas grew disenchanted with her father at his refusal to fulfill the conditions of her release. When an encounter with a member of her tribe allowed her to send word back home she rebuked her father for valuing her "less than old swords, pieces, or axes" and
stated that she would continue to live with the English.  She soon caught the eye of John Rolfe, a tobacco farmer, who had lost his wife and child during the voyage to Jamestown. The two were married April 5, 1614 and lived on Rolfe's farm for two years. Their union is the first recorded interracial marriage in America! And so the Indian chief's daughter becomes the English farmer's wife, ushering in a period of peace between the two nations. in 1615, Ralph Hamor wrote: "Since the wedding we have had friendly commerce and trade not only with Powhatan but also with his subjects round about us."

Pocahontas' next adventure would take her back to England where she would not only be celebrated and feted, she would meet the king and queen!

As so the girl who defended a defenseless man, possibly changing the course of history, became the elegant and celebrated woman who would stand before the king. 

There are so many other wonderful details to this amazing story and I would encourage you to dig deeper. And check out these books:

Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire

The World of Captain John Smith by Genevieve Foster

Jamestown, The Perilous Adventure by Olga Hall-Quest

You may also enjoy these other blog entries featuring important historical discoveries or places:

The Bayeaux Tapestry

Hadrian's Wall

Announcing our New Medieval History Through Literature

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"Connection and love"

Following the series of blog entries on the American educational system (available here and here), we thought it would be nice to share something much more positive! Below is an entry from Vanessa Hill. You may remember Samantha's great entries on her experience switching from a classical program to BFB this year. Well, Samantha and Vanessa are friends and are both in the midst of their first year using our curriculums. In light of the downfalls of the industrial model of education, we find it so encouraging to see mothers like Samantha and Vanessa standing up and taking a different route. This takes courage, tenacity, time, and diligence and we feel honored to be able to partner with them on this educational journey. Without further ado, here is Vanessa:

I hope this finds you well as I describe my homeschooling experience and the gem I stumbled upon with Beautiful Feet Books. Currently, I am going on my third year of homeschooling with my 10-year-old nephew and 15-year-old daughter. Both of my kids are adopted and come from much heartache and backgrounds of trauma. Homeschooling has been the best thing that has happened to our family. Last year, at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions, I heard Rea Berg speak on the importance of children’s literature and was moved. I then visited her booth and after much discussion, laughter, and insight, I realized that I wanted what she had. Treasured memories and countless deposits of love developed throughout the years by reading rich literature with her children. I was hoping to gain the same. Well, it’s almost been one year of doing two curriculums with two different aged children, and the bonding is unexplainable. First, I feel like my 10 year old finds the details of history so intriguing and his appreciation is expanding so much more. His favorite time of the day is cuddling on the couch and laughing together while we read together. Now, what is happening between my best friend, my daughter and I, has been truly transcending. We read Uncle Tom’s Cabin together and so many emotions surface my heart and soul just thinking about it. The connection of mother and daughter being together and apart, the tears we wept, and the spiritual lessons that were learned were more than I expected. My children, who have learned to deal with real struggle and pain, can correlate their experiences to the hardships of the men and women they are now learning about. I am convinced that history through literature and great children’s literature did wonders for my children who yearned for true connection in their inmost beings. This way helps gear us to just that and I would recommend it to anyone and any family. Thank you Rea and Beautiful Feet for inspiring me and my home to gear towards what really matters….connection and love.
Thank You,
Vanessa Hill

Thank you Vanessa! I love her story because it shows that reading aloud is something that can continue long past the time your children learn to read themselves. Keep making time to read with your older children! It may seem unnecessary or awkward at first but it will be so worth the effort. Sharing the experience of stories like Uncle Tom's Cabin, To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare's plays and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales opens doors of communication that can otherwise remain firmly shut. Sharing great stories together allows bonds to form and trust develop even in wary teenagers who are asserting their independence. Discussing stories together can allow children to develop and express their own opinions as well as encourage compassion and empathy. No, reading together will not solve all the problems you may face with a hormonal teenager, but it will provide a shared experience that may very will encourage communication and, as Vanessa so beautifully states, "connection and love."

For those of you who are interested, Vanessa is currently using our U. S. and World History, Geography Through Literature and our Early American History for primary students.

You may also enjoy these other entries written by homeschooling moms:

Introducing Samantha

Update from Samantha

Stories from BFB Users and Product Updates

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