It’s no secret that most homeschool curricula is lacking in…well…color. There is certainly room for many lesson plan providers to grow in that area, but I also realize that (1) they’re not all interested in taking up the task, (2) their task is not easy and (2) it would be nearly impossible for any of them to fully satisfy me because I don’t just want a little. I want a TON of color. All the colors. And the white stuff too. It may sound picky, but as my grandpa used to say, “You can be as picky as your wallet and your will to work allow.”
Well, my wallet has certainly been streeeeeetched as I’ve tried to build a home library that reflects what I want my children to know and believe about our great country and the beautiful world outside our borders. And I’m willing to continue working late nights and early mornings until my children – and yours – have what they need. It requires diligence, but if we work together and share resources, it won’t be too much for any one of us.
If you want a truly multicultural curriculum, it is likely that you’ll have to build it from the ground up or take what you love about what’s available and combine it with your own resources.
That’s where I come in.
Ever since I spoke about mirrors and windows, chatted about how Charlotte Mason and your heritage are intertwined, and wrote Should I scrap my Charlotte Mason curriculum?, I’ve received many messages asking for advice on how to begin including other voices in a traditional homeschool curriculum.
Each time I’m asked about how I do things in my home, I talk about sprinkling my special sauce on our school lessons, and guess what?
I bottled that sauce up to share with all of you by launching Heritage Packs!
These lesson guides include robust booklists with scheduling recommendations to help you shake things up a bit. You can use them as part of the curriculum you’re building or weave them into what you’ve already purchased or found online for free. And if you listened to my talk at the Charlotte Mason Inspired conference then you’ll understand what I mean when I say that they can even be “brown bubble gum” this year if that’s what you need most!
There are currently three Heritage Packs to choose from, and I’m working on a few more as we speak (so please forgive me if I’m not as responsive to messages for a few weeks). I hope these guides will bless your family and provide you with the one gift that’s on the wish list of every homeschool mama I know:
The gift of time.
Time to enjoy your children. Time to enjoy the books. Time to pray and reflect. Time to be present for the man who made you a wife.
And time to enjoy this amazing, enriching, crazy journey we’re all traveling together.
I love you guys, and I’m so excited about what this school year will bring our way!
You can find me on Instagram at @heritagemomblog.
Woohoo!! I’m so excited about this!
Thank you for that, Lee Ann! It means a lot to me that you like the sound of it 🙂
This is one of the best things I’ve seen all week. Thank you!
I’m just starting on homeschooling, and I really want my son’s education to be much more inclusive than mine was. This gives us a good place to start.
I want that for my children too. So happy to be on this journey with you!
This is an amazing idea! Thank you for thinking of other homeschool moms. I’m so excited that my girls are going to have a much better view of the world than I did.( I’ve already ordered Tobe and the great cake mystery based on your recommendations!)
Thank you for the encouragement. Oh, I love those books. I hope your family enjoys them!
Hi Amber! You have been such an inspiration to me and I thank you for all your efforts that you have poured into helping all of us homeschool moms to give our kids a beautiful and diverse educational experience. I will be definitely making a purchase. I had a few questions to ask but wasn’t sure if this was the best platform to ask my questions. I understand you are very busy so if you prefer me to ask here, I will. I just wanted to respect your time and not go off the topic of your present blog post.
Just emailed you!
Thank you so much for sharing your journey. I am so grateful to the Lord right now as I’m just coming across your site and seeing what I’ve been looking for for a while. I’m a brown-skinned mama who loves the CM philosophy but has been struggling with the very things you communicate. Know that you’ve been used by God to show his faithfulness to me on this journey.
You are so very welcome. I knew for sure that there were other moms out there who were feeling the same way, and it warms my heart every time someone raises their hand or speaks up to let me know that I’m not alone.
New to the game! What subjects are covered in the heritage packs?
No worries! The 4th-6th grade packs cover part of U.S. History (African American or Black history, specifically). The 1st-3rd grade packs cover geography/social studies (Amazing Africa) and literature (Melanated Tales).
Which pack or packs would you suggest for me? I have a 7 year old and I am looking to add something like this for her but I listened to your talk about mirrors and windows and I don’t want to start with the “slave” story of blacks. This summer we have been reading from your “black kids just being kids”. Next year in history we get to the slave story so I want her to see the kids being kids and families and their culture before we get there. What do you think!?
I definitely think Amazing Africa! would be an awesome choice for her. It will ground her in the way of life in many African countries. It will also help her see that there are flourishing towns, villages, and cities in African countries full of families who go to school, work, and play. This will help her understand more when she learns that people were kidnapped and sold from their homes there and brought here when she studies enslavement next year. I also love Melanated Tales for her age though because she’ll get to hear folk tales, tall tales, and fairy tales with African and African American characters and that’s just so rare. I’m not much help am I? But I vote for Amazing Africa because it’s a wonderful precursor to the heavier African American history she’s going to learn about next year.
No, that was a great help! I love the idea of both of those and especially the Amazing Africa for the very reasons you listed out. Now, one more question! Am I able to easily make the lessons short in keeping with the CM style? I am starting to think Amazing Africa for this 2nd grade, then Melanated Tales for that summer before we start up 3rd grade that gets into slavery. Boom!
Yes, it’s very easy to have short lessons because of the way the lesson guide is laid out. But there is also plenty available for those wishing to add more into the week – at bedtime, afternoon read aloud, etc. The various options work well together yet they’re completely independent so you can flexibly do as much or as little as you’d like.
Perfect! Thanks for helping me work this out!