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Like so many homeschool moms I read the book For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and was inspired by the Charlotte Mason philosophy. I read it when my kids were young along with books on other educational philosophies but my heart was drawn to this type of education. Short lessons, literature emphasis, lots of outdoor learning and play, starting at 6 rather than earlier. Giving my children beauty and truth as a core of their education. It resonated with me but I wasn’t sure HOW to actually pursue it practically. I didn’t know what I was doing so I kind of I made up my own thing. I tried CM inspired curriculum. I tried other CM inspired curriculum. I tried unit studies. I learned from all of them but at the end of every semester I would say I needed to simplify. I felt frustrated that we weren’t getting to everything the curriculum scheduled. I wasn’t sure what but I knew I needed to change things. This pattern went on for a few years.
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When I first looked at A Gentle Feast my kids were very little & we weren’t ready for it. I didn’t think about it again until several years later. When I found it again I wasn’t sure it was enough. It seemed too simple to be true. One of my favorite things about AGF are the videos about CM philosophy and WHY things are set up in the curriculum the way they are. I learned so much from those videos and they set me on a path to read and understand even more of the why behind things like narration, short lessons etc. The more I learned & the more I prayed, the more I felt like this was the right fit. So mid year I dropped ALL our old curriculum and bought AGF. I am not going to lie, I was excited but also a little nervous.
Best decision I made all year.
Here is what I love about A Gentle Feast so far. I want to be transparent though- we didn’t get through a whole cycle. Because we made the switch late in the spring we got through 1 term, which is 12 weeks. I will be sharing my thoughts on the curriculum as we use it more and also talking about ways we are tweaking it for our family.
- I love the ability to combine grades (in AGF they are called “forms”) Instead of me trying to teach each child from their own book, we do much of our school day together. We still do math, reading instruction and handwriting separately but everything else we do together. This simplified my day SO much and was part of what I had been looking for in other curriculums.
- I love the way AGF encourages you to adapt it to your family. No curriculum is perfect. Unless you write it yourself, no curriculum is going to be customized to you and your kids. All curriculums will require some modification. The difference with AGF is that it is set up to make that easier. Online editable lesson plans make it very easy to go in and make changes as needed. Whether it is switching a read aloud you have already read or substituting a book you already own for the one recommended, it is super simple.
- We LOVE the morning time artist, poet, and composer studies. This time learning with my kids has been so rich and I have enjoyed seeing their works of art & poetry as well as hearing them recognize beautiful music. We celebrated the birthdays of Vilvaldi and Longfellow not because of my urging but because the kids loved them and wanted to celebrate their lives!
- Narration has been a game changer in our home. I am still learning the power of this amazing tool but I am getting a glimpse of what my kids are retaining and it’s thrilling. I didn’t understand how to use narration until AGF. The information given in the teachers manual as well as the information in the training videos helped me gain confidence in using narration in our homeschool.
- The literature we are reading together and the suggestions for independent reading are fantastic. Even if you don’t want to make a big switch like I did you can get the booklists on the AGF website.
- I like the history spine throughout each cycle. Similar to a Classical education we learn history in 4 periods of history. You can choose where to start. All 4 forms will be in each teachers manual. You can find more info about where to start here.
Who won’t love this curriculum?
- If you and your kids love workbooks, this probably isn’t going to be a great fit. There is a Language Arts Packet that has a more workbook style but it is not the bulk of the curriculum.
- Those unfamiliar with Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy may struggle to understand why the curriculum is set up the way it is and may not like AGF. Although the CM model is beautiful, it does come with a little learning curve. Most of us were not educated in this way so it requires the teacher to look at things in a different way. I encourage you to learn more about the Charlotte Mason philosophy by checking out the 4 day intro course under “learn more”.
- Families that need or want video learning will not find AGF a good solution. There are videos included as resources for learning but there is not a video lesson component to this curriculum.
- If traditional style testing is the main form of assessment you prefer, you will not find this in AGF or in most CM curriculums. Charlotte Mason did not encourage testing as a form of assessment. You will find it in some CM inspired curriculums but not in A Gentle Feast. This doesn’t mean assessment isn’t happening, it just looks different and Julie Ross helps explain this in her videos and parent packet.
There is no perfect curriculum. Homeschooling has been and will always be sanctifying work. I treasure it and am inspired to reach higher and do better each year. This curriculum has really helped me put into practice some of the things I wanted to do but just wasn’t sure how to practically accomplish. It has also encouraged me to learn and grow as a teacher in ways I wasn’t expecting. Challenging my thinking on what standards I was using to measure success for my kids and for me as a teacher. It was absolutely worth the switch!
The Lord is always gracious to guide our steps and I am thankful for where He has us right now and for the people who have gone before and left a trail of beauty and truth to follow.
If you are interested in making the switch, please consider using my link.
-Thara
