The Ultimate Curriculum Guide to the Middle Ages for Frugal Moms

You can enjoy an amazing, full-blown, literature-based study of the Middle Ages for FREE by reading this post. I have researched and gathered all sorts of resources and created a guide that will give you monthly, weekly, and daily instructions so that you don’t have to “strain your brain.”

It all began with a nudging from the Holy Spirit. Big changes were in the wind, and He led me to think of ways I could put more of our day-to-day learning on a sort of “auto pilot.”

So, I started looking into purchasing one of those programs where they send you a guide and stacks of books for your kids to read. Watching all of those videos of mamas opening boxes with new books and seeing those nifty boxes all filled in put a longing in my heart for a system that didn’t cause me to constantly redesign the wheel…

So I prayed something like, “Lord, I really need a program like that!” with faith that God wanted to bless me.

Then I put feet to my prayers and started doing some research. I did straight searches for literature-based history via my new favorite search engine, Duck Duck Go and then I went on Pinterest and took a look. That’s where I found a link to Heritage History.

Wow! Here was a site full of my favorite things; vintage books!

The more I looked, the happier I became. These were not boring, twaddle-filled textbooks from years past. These were story books of history, definitely in the line of what Charlotte Mason would have labeled, “living books.”

And…these living books were FREE!

And…they were crisp, reformatted, illustration-filled and offered in these formats:

  • PDF
  • ePub
  • Mobi

This meant they could be read in a number of different ways:

  • Directly on the computer screen
  • Printed out and bound
  • On a hand-held device, such as a tablet, phone, Nook or Kindle

Besides all of this, Heritage History offers guides, with overviews, timelines, maps, and suggested reading programs.

It was as if the Lord had placed a treasure chest before me.

I immediately began familiarizing myself with every aspect of the Heritage History website. There is so much there to explore that it took me hours upon hours to go through a good part of it (I still haven’t explored every sector). Since I know most moms simply don’t have the time to thoroughly familiarize themselves, I thought it would be great to create something to give them a head start.

Sooo…I have spent the better part of the last few weeks developing a program, including monthly, weekly, and daily plans which you can download and share with your children!

Here is what you will find in the PDF download:

  • Introduction
  • Procedures (including routines and suggested daily schedule)
  • Suggested books (mostly FREE)
  • Suggested movies
  • People of the Middle ages
  • Special projects
  • Monthly schedules
  • Middle ages notebooking guides (pages of templates for those using notebooks, including a list of possible topics)
  • Printable notebooking templates and samples

And…here are the links you will need to use the guide. The first list is composed of books to be found on Heritage History. These pages are the PDF and EPUB links, for Mobi (Kindle) go to the name of the title on the Library page:

If you would like to print and bind these books for yourself (something I am doing with a few of them), you can find recommendations on the Heritage History site and a tutorial right here on my blog.

The following are suggested (optional) books for purchase (some could be checked out from the library). Keep in mind there are used versions of these that are much cheaper than the new.

Here are links to the suggested movies (most are the older versions done before the end of the Hays Code in 1968, but the ones with * denote caution for modern treatments of violence, language, etc.) Your library might have a copy of one or two of these:

Some other things to take advantage of on the Heritage History site:

I must tell you, after doing all of this research, I am really in love with the Middle Ages. It has been so much fun taking a good, deep look into this part of our past and find so much evidence that God was at work, and that Jesus really did make a difference. The children and I are going to have so much fun together!

Here is the link to the PDF:

 

I hope you and your children will have a joyous time delving into this part of our history, too!

 

 

 

 

 

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34 thoughts on “The Ultimate Curriculum Guide to the Middle Ages for Frugal Moms”

  1. Sherry, you are amazing! I’m so glad that the Lord led you to do this. Thank you for this. May the Lord bless you.

    Reply

  3. My husband is out of work for the second time this year and I’m trying to plan curriculum for the new school year. I’ve come back to your website time and time again to use your free resources and suggestions. It has been such a blessing and the Lord’s provision for me right now. Thank you so much for all you offer here and just for your testimony that we can do this! God is sufficient!

    Reply

    • I really, truly understand where you are coming from, Jeanette. While I was pouring over all of the information I sensed this was going to be the answer to some prayers. I’m so glad it was the answer to some of yours 🙂

      Reply

  6. I am going over heritage history now, and just floored at this remarkable resource! How have I never heard of it before?! I’ve tried to make ambleside online work for us for too long; this is truly a God send. Along with your resources you so freely share, and explain. I feel like in our mere 5 years of homeschooling, we are finally enjoying and learning; thriving in what we are doing. And it’s so mom friendly, simple yet thorough!

    Reply

  7. Dear Sherry
    By complete accident, I stumbled across your blog! And am forever grateful for the amazing products you create and share with us, your fellow homeschoolers from all over the world (we are South Africans). I am definitely going to share this on my blog!

    Reply

  8. Sherry, I found you yesterday on youtube and tried to watch your video about the McGuffey Readers (too much background noise over here ☺️). You mentioned having 15 kids, and I got hooked. I only have 6, and in the beginning stages of my homeschool. Thank you for all the information you put out there on your blog and on youtube, it helps so much!

    Reply

    • Thank you for taking the time out of your very busy day to encourage me, Fritzie! It makes me so happy when I hear from a mom like you that has been blessed here 🙂

      Reply

  9. Hi Sherry, Thank you so much for sharing your homeschool wisdom. I was wondering if you can talk more about Heritage History some time? I am so overwhelmed by the amount of books available there, and I’m the kind of person that feels like I have to read them all! How do you choose your books? and how do you go through the time periods, do you cover each section that it is divided into? how much reading do you actually schedule together and individually? I will have 7 children from K-9th next year (+2 littles) and I am trying keep it simple and not spend $$$ on a curriculum for multiple children when I don’t have to! Would love to hear your thoughts, but I know I am asking a lot! 🙂

    Reply

    • Those are very good questions, but I don’t know if I can answer them succinctly 😛 I know how you feel about all of the marvelous books. One way you could quell your tendency to try and read all of the books is to follow the ones suggested in the outlines they provide (look for the resources part of the site). Other than that, you might try and peruse a few and find the ones most interesting to you and use that one as a read-aloud, then pick other books for your children that will be easy, but not too easy, for them to read to themselves. I try and give them just enough to read each day so that they will not become overwhelmed, especially if they are still doing their McGuffey’s work, etc. This might be an entire chapter if the chapters are short, and maybe a half of a chapter if the chapters are long. Hope this helps 🙂

      Reply

  10. This is great! I have already purchased my books for this year; but perhaps I will use this next year. Will you still have the content available?

    Reply

  13. Sherry – the resources on your blog and your website are SUCH a blessing to me and my family. Specifically: the way you share your focus on the Lord, his faithfulness, and leading of your homeschool (an encouragement to do the same!) as well as all the practical advice and resources you prepare for others. I am SO grateful! THANK YOU for sharing your wisdom and resources.

    Question: there are several resources like Adam of the Road and St George and the Dragon that you listed as possible items to purchase, but are not referenced in the month/daily plans. Are these books of interest for the kids to read in spare time or do you schedule them in this unit as foundational readings?

    We are so excited to start this unit – and so very thankful for the guide. Wow, what a treasure of information and fantastic resources!

    Reply

    • Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I became ill with a stomach bug so I have been a bit neglectful, but am on the mend now, and so very grateful to Jesus 🙂 I have a lot of fun serving other mommies, and I am glad I can be of help to you!

      As for the books and stories listed, that is completely up to you. You may find these resources are better than the ones you can find for free, so you could definitely substitute, have the older ones read on their spare time, or do a read-aloud with them.

      I hope to continue with more free helps in the future.

      Reply

  14. I love how God leads us to things in his perfect timing. My children just expressed an interest in studying the Middle Ages this school year, and I came across a Heavenly Minded Homeschool video on YouTube today that mentioned your Middle Ages curriculum. What a blessing! Thank you for sharing this with all of us!

    Reply

    • You are so very welcome–I hadn’t realized Heavenly Minded Homeschool had mentioned the guide–thanks for a heads up so I can go over and thank her!

      Reply

  15. Just wanted to reach out and say thank you for putting this together! Years after your original post and this is just what I was looking for. Thanks again!

    Reply

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