QUICK LINKS: Our Curriculum Pick for 2016/2017
Introduction: SEVEN PAGES?!?!
Wayfarers by Barefoot Ragamuffin: Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum
Language Arts: English Lessons through Literature
Math: RightStart + Prodigy
History: Wayfarers: Revolution History
Geography: Wayfarers: Revolution History
Science: Simply Charlotte Mason’s Nature Studies + MysteryScience
Bible: Telling God’s Truth by Peter Enns (maybe)
Literature: Wayfarers: Revolution History
Jump ahead to our 2017/2018 Curriculum Picks
Wayfarers by Barefoot Publishing: Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum Pick for 2016/2017
First, a super quick introduction. Wayfarers consists of four year’s worth of books which are like teacher’s guides or manuals. Each year’s set covers a different time in history (Ancient, Medieval, Revolution, Modern) with separate lesson plans for the three age groups:
- Grammar (Grades 1-4)
- Dialectic (Grades 5-8)
- Rhetoric (Grades 9-12)
Sometimes the readings overlap for the different age groups, while other times the kids each have their own lists of living books and great literature. The lovely part is that I can keep my kids in the same time period — so next year when Harbour begins Grade One, I’ll start her in Modern History along with River who will be in Grade Five. That’s the dream, anyway.
As the kids grow older, they will each loop through the Wayfarer books three times: first in the grammar stage, then in the dialectic stage, and finally in the rhetoric stage. Each time, the readings become more challenging.
Wayfarers is more than a history curriculum though! It’s science, geography, literature and so much more. Charlotte Mason homeschoolers will especially love the way that the Wayfarers books schedule in narrations, composer study suggestions, and art lessons. Last year, these suggestions were a life saver for me because I didn’t have to plan anything myself. I just had to open to the right page and see what was scheduled for the day.
“One of our customers coined the phrase Classical Mason, and we like it!
Wayfarers is classical. By following the four-year history rotation, the entire household can study the same time period, paving the way for shared extracurricular activities and discussions.
Wayfarers is Charlotte Mason inspired. With a focus on living books, copywork, and narrations instead of textbooks and busywork, Wayfarers provides a rich learning environment to feed the imagination.” http://barefootmeandering.com/site/wayfarers/
Of course, you don’t have to do Charlotte Mason to appreciate Wayfarers. It’s a very flexible program. There are often multiple book lists to choose from, and I’ve found that some lists lean more towards non-fiction picture books and kid’s encyclopedias, while other lists consist of novels. Choose the style that suits your family. I also like that the multiple book lists let you switch your reading selections with subsequent children. Personally, I tend to cherry pick the books that appeal to me most.
Wayfarers also schedules extra assignments that are 100% optional, like science experiments and geography activities. Are you the kind of mom that builds volcanoes? Not me. Life is not long enough for paper mâché. Are paper mâché volcanoes even scheduled? I have no idea, but it seems homeschooly.
Maybe you’re a family that enjoys unit studies? Each week ends with a few topics from the readings that might be an interesting jump off point for families to learn more about. We don’t use these pages, but I appreciate that they’re there; it’s a constant reminder that everyone does school differently and that the books are just a tool that we can use as we see fit. Wayfarers truly lets me customize our homeschooling experience but never leaves me feeling overwhelmed.
Let’s look at a typical day in the planner…
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