Beautiful Feet Books publishes homeschool curriculum. We are using Around the World with Picture Books this year for Isaac and Esther, my first and third graders. We just finished a two week section on China and had so much fun!
It was a bit hard to tell from the Beautiful Feet website what exactly we were getting into, so I will do my best to describe things here. I wish they had better, clearer samples up for people to look through. I’m going to write this post question style with some of the questions that came to mind as I was researching this guide. Feel free to ask more in the comments and I will try to answer. The kids and I are loving this curriculum so far!
What do you do each day?
We sit down with the guide and do whatever the next lesson or section tells us to do. There are picture books to read with discussion questions included, videos to look up online and watch, pictures to color and paste into a notebook, and so on. The guide is full color and includes photos to look at with the children. The book Maps is one of the super cool resources that my kids love looking at. The recommended picture books have been great too.
How long does it take?
Each day we work for about 30 minutes to an hour. We do this daily but it can also be used just a few times a week. The guide is really flexible in that you could spend more time researching things the kids are interested in, or you can do something quicker on days you have less time. We’ve been finding it hard to move on to our other subjects each day because there is so much to look at and learn in the guide.
How much prep work is there?
I actually love looking through the guide because it is so pretty. I have spent a little bit of time looking for recipes, adding a few small ideas of my own, and putting books on hold at the library. Once you have the books, the guide is fairly open and go. I’ve added a few little things that were just “extras”. For example, I looked through the international aisle at my grocery store and picked up some candy from Japan for our next unit. 🙂
Are the library books necessary?
Yes! While the guide comes with picture books that are recommended for purchase and sold on Beautiful Feet Books website right along with the guide… there ARE also books that you will want to buy or get from the library. In the China section for example there were three library books that had discussion questions included for them, six more books on various historical events and people, and five picture books to read just for fun – aside from the books you purchase. I highly recommend getting the library books, they have all been fabulous choices and really round out the guide. We read some of the books over lunch or in the evenings with Daddy. I look at the unit ahead of time and request everything we need from the library and maybe purchase one or two if I can’t find them. The books seem to be fairly popular titles as my library has had several copies of each and I’ve not had too much trouble getting them so far.
What do we add?
In addition to Around the World, my first grader does Math Mammoth, Rod and Staff phonics, handwriting, and reading (using the Emerging Readers Set from Heart of Dakota).
My third grader does Math Mammoth, Rod and Staff phonics, handwriting, and reading (using the Emerging Readers Set from Heart of Dakota) plus Rod and Staff spelling, piano, and Duolingo Spanish.
I bought Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Science Grade 2 for them both to do, but it probably wasn’t necessary. Studying the animals in the guide has been plenty for my kids and could easily be expanded just a bit by looking up more information on each one. I haven’t pulled out the Evan Moor science yet and I’m hoping my kids forget about it. Ha.
I feel there really is a lot in the guide. We added a few fun touches – I bought some plastic pandas (because I have younger kids to entertain too), a small bamboo plant from the grocery store (to draw in our journal and for the pandas to climb on), and we decorated for our Chinese feast with lanterns and banners. These were just fun things that we ended up doing; I didn’t feel the need to go searching for more ideas or add to what is already in the guide.
What is your favorite part?
The stories! I am impressed each time we pick up a new book to read or I flip through the guide reading about what is to come. The recommended picture books include fun well written fiction books as well as true human interest type stories. I am just as excited as the kids are to pick up the next book! Go here and click on each book and take a look at what you’ll be reading, this is what sold me on the guide. This is just a small taste though because the library books in the guide are equally as fabulous.
Ok, I have one more favorite part – our journals. Esther and Isaac are doing such a good job with these! We color and paste in a map of the country, the flag, animals, and various other things that we study. I actually have my own journal going right along with the kids just because it looked like so much fun.
I’ll admit that yes, we’ve only used the curriculum for a few weeks now, and my opinion may change over time. I wanted to go ahead and post about it though while my thoughts were fresh in my mind. This curriculum is a wonderful fit for us right now, my kids are thriving with it, and I look forward to using it on a daily basis. We’re savoring every bit of it, and I’m already planning on doing part 2 next.
Any questions? Leave a comment. 🙂
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Humbled by the Honor 