Medieval History (5-8)

We've used Beautiful Feet Books for science, geography, and history for many years now, and the curricula just get better and better. I agree with the other reviewer who requested a bit more help for parents in the answers portion of the guide. In terms of content, however, the books, websites, videos, recipes, and discussions were all perfect for my 8th grader. We particularly enjoyed the Crash Course videos. We didn't quite finish all the lessons before the year ended, but she read the remaining book on her own time, minus the "lesson" portions. She will progress to the Early American History pack next year. In order to allow my children to read the books included in each history pack at their own pace, I haven't had them working together, which means I'll use this curriculum with my 6th grader next year; as she enjoys reading 19th-century writers on her own time and carries a copy of William Blake's poetry with her, I don't anticipate any comprehension issues for her, though I do think the content is probably better suited for 7-8th grade.

I am familiar with several luterature-based curricula and I absolutely love the unique Teacher guides that Beautiful Feet Book provides. They are well done and a big help in navigating through the curriculum.

My seventh grader, who is a prolific reader, struggled with a few of the early choices (1001 Arabian Nights, Beowulf, Queen Eleanore, and the Magna Charta) and understanding or just feeling a little overwhelm. Some of it was speech or keeping it all straight. I ended up finishing reading the Magna Charta to him and that helped a bunch. Overall we really like the guides and book suggestions and are looking forward to Early American next year. In fact he already has picked up and read three of next years books he saw in the pile of new curriculaOne thing that would make the guides over the top is a bit of a summary or info on the answers at the back (only some answers provided as discussion is expected). With five kids and lots of books to read between them, I cannot always pre-read them for the eldest age group who mostly works independently. That is just a personal preference that would make it a 5 star for me.

My 6th grade son is about 3/4 finished with this study. The new teacher’s guide is very well done and beautiful to look at. There is a LOT of reading, so we’ve taken pauses to slow things down and really chew on the books. Some books were a little dry and my son just couldn’t get into them. But I think there is a lot of benefit for him to be reading all kinds of books. There were other books that I was expecting to be boring that were really quite incredible. “Morning Star of the Reformation” was a delightful book that prompted a lot of discussions. This study was definitely challenging for my student who struggles with reading comprehension, but as with most BF studies we’ve done, it was so easily customizable. The more time I’ve spent with him on a lesson, the more he’s gotten out of it. The map work was great, and my son has also enjoyed all the video links included with the lessons.