A Gentle Feast or The Peaceful Press? Which one is the right curriculum for my family?

Our family has used and loves resources from both The Peaceful Press by Jennifer Pepito as well as A Gentle Feast by Julie Ross. I am asked all the time about which one I recommend. Let's discuss each curriculum and then you can decide the best fit for your family!
To learn more about, or to purchase A Gentle Feast:
agentlefeast.c...
To learn more about, or to purchase curriculum from The Peaceful Press:
thepeacefulpre...
__________________________________
Let's be friends!
IG - / kindle_togetherness
Sign up for our email list & a freebie:
view.flodesk.c...
OUR WEBSITE: www.kindletoge...
COLLABS: [e-mail]
📦 AMAZON SHOP - www.amazon.com...
ETSY SHOP - www.etsy.com/sh...
__________________________________
#agentlefeast #thepeacefulpress #playfulpioneers #kindkingdom #preciouspeople #curriculumreview #homeschoolcurriculum #charlottemason #charlottemasonhomeschool #homeschooling
THANKS FOR WATCHING!!!
___________________________________
AFFILIATE NOTICE I do get a small commission if you use the links above. It is always a NO cost to you! Thank you for supporting our channel and helping me make time away from my family count. :)

[@maryd8813]

This channel is so underrated! Thank you Sarah Ruth for all your efforts. You've helped me tremendously in my homeschool journey. God bless you!! 🙏

[@katrinasimmons9288]

Thank you for this review with thoughtful feedback! I’d love to see a video for the under 6 crowd. I have a 3 and (almost) 5 year old and I’m trying to find the best option for our family 😊

[@Mamaisawake]

Yes I am interested in under 6 stuff!

[@kindletogetherness]

I did share a bit more about toddlers and preschool in a video. I’ve not really deep dove into great preschool resources yet.

[@LittleBlessings3]

I second that! I'm not sure if you have one or not already, but I'd love a video with more detail on the under 6 crowd from Peaceful Press!

[@laurenkirwan1186]

Thank you so much for this!

[@kindletogetherness]

Absolutely! I love both of these curriculums and so many other families have enjoyed both too. You can’t go wrong with either one. 💕

[@RootedHomeLife]

Love love love that you encourage mamas to seek the Lord in their curriculum choices!

[@kindletogetherness]

Thanks, Christina! Let’s seek Him first in all things.

[@Busybeeexplorers]

So happy to find your channel! I watched your talk at this years CMI conference and your testimony touched my heart. I haven’t been able to watch many live sessions but I happen to be able to watch yours and I know why! The Lord had timed that perfectly for me to be able to listen . God is Good!

[@kindletogetherness]

Praise God that you were blessed by it. I love the connections I make in these spaces! Thank you for commenting and following along.

[@kayladigiovanni1790]

I’m really curious about A Gentle Feast, but I have a history question… As kids are getting into older elementary/middle school, when and how would you incorporate more world history?

[@kindletogetherness]

Hello Kayla! In Form 1 students doing a CM education focus on their home country. Then, in Form 2 (grades 4-6), they begin additional history streams. In grade 4, they begin learning about a “sister” country (a country whose history is intertwined with their own country’s - usually England for the US). In grade 5, they add another history stream by beginning Ancient History as well. So, once a student is in grade 5 they are learning about their own country’s history, a sister country’s history, and ancient history simultaneously.

[@christinawhite4482]

Thank you for this video! We’ve been using AGF for two years now and love it, but I also have a copy of Playful Pioneers that I feel God’s been nudging me to explore as my younger ones move into schooling age. My hesitation has been about the repetition of the time period for my oldest (10yo), but I bet extra enrichment will be great for him. Your comparison of the two was very helpful. 💕

[@kindletogetherness]

I’m so happy it was helpful. Both are great curriculums I recommend obviously. I definitely think Playful Pioneers is a super US History study.

[@carmellegarcia7900]

I’d love to see any reviews about the peaceful preschool and other preschool curriculums

[@kindletogetherness]

I plan to get on this soon!

[@omne-trium-perfectum]

For us, Peaceful Press fits our family best for now. My youngest (almost 6,) has special needs and requires a lot of attention. So the PP feels a lot more relaxed. My oldest is 8, I’m looking to transition him into AGF or something else as he gets older. You did a great job introducing people to AGF and PP. ❤

[@kindletogetherness]

I can see that and I do agree that The Peaceful Press can be more relaxed. I’m so happy you’ve found the best fit for you and your family!

[@desireerobinsonco]

I’d love to learn more about what the peaceful press seasonal guides are like!

[@kindletogetherness]

I might not be that girl! Haha. It’s been a bit since we used them and we have since gifted most to a dear friend.

[@desireerobinsonco]

@@kindletogetherness oh okay, did you not enjoy them enough to keep using them or?

[@kindletogetherness]

@@desireerobinsonco We liked them a lot! My kids are a bit older and we have some other things that are working better for the season we are in now. I wouldn’t feel like I could properly review them now without them printed in hand.

[@RootedHomeLife]

My boys love Little House!

[@kindletogetherness]

It is so wholesome!

[@ash71724]

This was so so helpful! You've helped me realize that Playful Pioneers is what will work best for us this upcoming year. Thank you!! ☺

[@kindletogetherness]

I’m so happy to hear that it really was helpful! Made my day. I hope you have the best year with your crew!

[@tori.homeschoolingmom]

This is a very thorough comparison, thank you!

[@kindletogetherness]

Glad it was helpful! You're welcome.

[@jordangholson3210]

I bought the nourishing nature kindergarten and it looks wonderful! I definitely want people to make videos reviewing it though I think it needs some! Loved this video!

[@kindletogetherness]

It does! I haven't seen many on Nourishing Nature Kindergarten, but it's a really sweet program. I love The Peaceful Press materials. Especial for preschool and K.

[@jordangholson3210]

@@kindletogetherness Yes, there are not many videos for peaceful press materials but I keep seeing more and more and I’m glad more people can discover them!

[@jenniferpepito6889]

Thanks so much for sharing this Sarah Ruth! I appreciate you.❤

[@kindletogetherness]

Absolutely! Your resources serve so many families well. You’re a gift to homeschooling mamas.

[@rachaelvelius3661]

Thank you for this great video, SarahRuth! I would love to see videos reviewing/talking about the Peaceful Preschool and Nourishing Nature Kindergarten.

[@kindletogetherness]

I can certainly do The Peaceful Preschool sometime soon.

[@vanessaiacovelli554]

I would appreciate a video on these two curriculums as well.

[@avenleacooper8099]

My homeschoolers between 6 and 14. Which one will you suggest?

[@kindletogetherness]

Both would work for those ages. The Peaceful Press doesn’t have specific High School plans, but Jen provides a list of suggested reading for older students so you can encourage them to pursue some of the topics more in depth. You’d also need to invest in a writing/LA curriculum and math for students 4th grade and up in PP. With AGF, you’d have all the plans for all of your students in one planner. They would study the same period of history, but have a variety of readings based on their level. Many larger families combine books and don’t separate everyone as much as the plans instruct you to. You would need a math curriculum for each student but nothing else. It’s honestly a preference thing. How confident are you in the Charlotte Mason method? If you feel good going that route, AGF. If you like more unit study style learning using living books, The Peaceful Press is a better fit imo.

[@wendycunningham-zi5xj]

Hey there! I just discovered your channel! I love your description and helpful videos! I’m an aspiring homeschool mom coming Autumn 2023 hopefully ! Thank you so much for creating this content!

[@kindletogetherness]

Hello Wendy! That is so exciting. I have found that homeschooling is such a blessing to me as the mama as well.

[@kristincurby8916]

Does A Gentle Feast also contain world/European history from the time periods? And how do you think it would go switching from one to the other?

[@kindletogetherness]

Hi Kristin, AGF follows a CM history timeline. The students in Form 1 (grades 1-3) study their country of origin. Then in Form 2 (grades 4-6), they study their country of origin as well as a neighboring country's history (in our case, British). In 6th grade, an ancient history stream is also added in.

[@kindletogetherness]

As in, you started in Playful Pioneers and the next year go to AGF? Or vice versa? Is that the question?

[@vanessaiacovelli554]

I have a son with special needs. Does anybody have experience in which curriculums has work best with someone who has Autism level 1 and Adhd?

[@jenniferpepito6889]

The Peaceful Preschool and Nourishing Nature Kindergarten include practical life skills and motor skills so they are great for children who need the kind of activities they would get at occupational therapy.

[@kindletogetherness]

Hi Vanessa, my eldest has some special needs and ADHD. I feel like it’s very specific to the child, BUT if you plan to help guide your student and work with them directly, I’d agree that The Peaceful Press has more projects and opportunities for students to switch around based on interests. AGF is more of a pure Charlotte Mason philosophy and doesn’t have the extra projects etc that TPP has.

[@vanessaiacovelli554]

@@kindletogetherness Thank you. 😊

[@vanessaiacovelli554]

@@jenniferpepito6889 Thank you 😊

[@Seashellsbytheseashore21]

Hi there. If you are open to other curriculums or apps that are not Charlotte Mason, I would like to mention that my child does really well with readings eggs, math seeds, homer, khan academy, easy peasy homeschool, accelerated Christian education, as well as the abeka videos. My child does not really do well with CM based courses however we do family style as much as possible =) good luck and see what works for your child 💜

[@lindsaywelsh3079]

Hi! Thank you for sharing, this is incredibly helpful. Also listened to your segment in AFG and was curious where in your family timeline with your kiddos you used TPP and AGF? I believe you mentioned starting AFG with your first son when he started his first formal year? I’m guessing that was 1st grade? And so would love to now where you used TPP with kiddos? My girls are 4 & 6 now and I’m looking at curriculums for next year when my first starts her first formal year. Thank you!!

[@kindletogetherness]

Hi there! I got your email and responded there. Sorry for the delay, I was taking a bit of a hiatus. We used Playful Pioneers as sort of a very gentle kindergarten year. We loved the picture books included as well as all of the handcrafts. It was a true "shaking of hands with the greats" of our nation, like Miss Mason suggests. We began with AGF when my eldest was 6. He is now about to turn 11.

[@RootedHomeLife]

This is so helpful! Would you say A Gentle Feast is less user-friendly? Also, do you have any experience with 5 in a Row?

[@kindletogetherness]

I’ve worked with families who use it but I’ve never used it myself. Their book recs are wonderful. It’s a lot of activities for preschool if you also have older kids.

[@kindletogetherness]

I actually found AGF a bit more open and go than Peaceful Press. Reason being, you have to gather supplies for projects, etc in TPP. Also, if you have older kiddos, you go back to book lists on your own and pull things in, but with AGF it’s all on one two page spread what kids grades 1-12 do.

[@RootedHomeLife]

@@kindletogetherness ok, good to know!! Thank you!

[@kelsiemorrow2041]

Hi! Thanks for a great breakdown of these two. We started our year with AO but I realized I wanted something with more family learning, as well something that started with American history, so I switched to Playful Pioneers with a few of the AO books we enjoyed mixed in. I’m planning on doing AGF next year. Would you suggest starting with cycle 4 since we covered history up to that point with TPP or should we still start with Cycle 1 since it’s a bit of a deeper dive?

[@kindletogetherness]

Hello Kelsie! Sorry that it took me so long to respond to this! We loved our year with PP and chose to begin in Cycle 1 of AGF because while PP covers some of cycles 1-3, it is done more like a "shaking of hands" but not an in depth journey into the time period. So by beginning in Cycle 1, I felt like my boys were able to dig deep into each historical period and really grasp the big ideas and influential people during the period. That said, I think this can be approached in a variety of ways based on how your family is situated - like if you have older students and really want to start later in history, etc.

[@homeschoollifemom]

I would love to see a video on the Peaceful Preschool and if you have any insight or experience with the Simply Charlotte Mason’s Delightful Reading series.

[@kindletogetherness]

The Peaceful Preschool is one of my favorite preschool curriculums. Truly CM. Truly gentle and literature based.

[@homeschoollifemom]

@@kindletogetherness I’m using 100 lessons in letters and sounds this year with my 4 year old. And not because I want or think he needs to do School but because he was begging for it and picked up almost all the letter sounds from me teaching it to his older sister. I want another year of something similar to the 100 lessons in sight and sound but maybe slightly more advanced but also not reading. Maybe I’m looking for a needle in the haystack. He should have done an easier one this year and then done 100 lessons in sight and sound but I can’t change that now. 🥴 all that to say the Playful Preschool seems like maybe it’d be a step back?

[@kindletogetherness]

@@homeschoollifemom The Peaceful Preschool is very similar to what you’re using right now. You might peek at Five in a Row.

[@homeschoollifemom]

@@kindletogetherness I have looked at that before! I’ll revisit it. Thanks for the suggestion. Are you familiar with Simply Charlotte Masons Delightful Reading? If so do you not recommend it for some reason?

[@kindletogetherness]

Sorry I took so long to respond. Delightful Reading is a solid CM reading curriculum!

[@relissaclark1350]

Just to clarify- When placing a 6 year old in AGF, with and older student in Cycle 3, the 6 year old would skip up and be in Cycle 3 correct?

[@kindletogetherness]

Right. Your whole family does the same cycle. So if you’ve got kids already using the curriculum, put your next student in whichever cycle the older child is in.

Thank you for this comparison! I was actually thinking of combining the 2 together since they seem similar. Then I can pick n choose different things from both. Do you think that would work good? My daughter is 8, and I also have a 3 year old.

[@kindletogetherness]

I had actually hoped to do this too, but it wound up not working for us. There are definitely several overlapping books between AGF cycle 3 and Playful Pioneers, but they are different in a lot of ways and I wasn’t able to combine them.

[@OurFrancoFour]

Thank you for your videos and your heart! I appreciate what you have on your channel😊 You mentioned in one of your videos the history piece of where GF starts vs AO. Does Peaceful Press start with history in the same way as Gentle Feast? I love how organized A Gentle Feast is for future years - but I love how simple and gentle Peaceful Press appears for my little ages.

[@kindletogetherness]

Such a good question! Yes, The Peaceful Press has an amazing early American history curriculum called The Playful Pioneers it is family style learning and starts at the beginning of known US History. It’s truly a stellar curriculum. You can take a peek at it here: www.thepeacefulpress.shop/?ref=ot2m0ZzfSjcY3

[@OurFrancoFour]

@@kindletogetherness Oh wonderful! Thank you so much. Love all of your tips by the way! My little is going to love the busy beeswax and tiny blocks you recommended. :)

[@amberwheeler2896]

Thank you for this great in-depth review! I’ve been trying to decide which of these to use this coming year and this video was very helpful. We are heading into our 8th year of homeschooling, but we have always gone the more traditional curriculum route. I’ve been feeling a pull to move more towards the Charlotte Mason method. Coming from a more traditional approach, would one of these be better than the other? Or would both still be great options?

[@kindletogetherness]

I think both of these will stretch you if you’re more used to a scripted curriculum or workbook style. Stretch in a good way if you are ready for it. I suggest making sure you understand Miss Mason’s ideas by reading her volumes if you can. Either of these curriculums could work great depending on what you’re looking for. I’d ask myself this: - Do my kids like lots of recipes and hands on activities/projects? TPP - Do I need curriculum for a wide range of elementary through high school ages? AGF - Do I want a broad, big picture overview of a time period? TPP - Do I want my children do go deep into one time period and really know it well? AGF Another difference I failed to mention in the video is that everything in AGF is based in the time period. Your history, science, composer, artist, poet, etc. All are from the same time period. With The Peaceful Press, those parts are all in the curriculum, but not necessarily all from the same era. Hope that makes sense.

[@amberwheeler2896]

@@kindletogetherness These are all good things to consider. I do think my girls would enjoy hands-on projects every now and then, but I also don’t want to feel overwhelmed by them either. I will check out Jennifer’s videos on the Playful Pioneers and see if I could hang with the hands-on things. Haha! Thank you for you advice and insight!

[@kindletogetherness]

@@amberwheeler2896 It’s definitely not an overwhelming amount. 😉

[@chynnajade1660]

This would “technically” be our second year homeschooling BUT this first year has been so tough. I will have a 12 y/o and a 6 y/o. Which would you recommend for a more easy going homeschool year. Honestly, this first year has been a fail curriculum wise, we’re throwing out everything and starting over.

[@kindletogetherness]

I’m so sorry to hear about it being a challenging year. I think that both of these curriculums are rigorous. In my opinion, AGF is the most open and go but for your 12 year old, it may be a lot if you’re looking for a slower and more gentle pace. Peaceful Press resources will be easier to do the most family style.

[@emilyferguson9759]

I am looking between these two so loved this video! I will have a first grader and a pre-k (but he’s advanced so will be working on some K material). I love the idea of fun activities, experiments, recipes etc. But I’m thinking I like the idea of family doing history together like it seems like AGF does. Can a family study the same history with peaceful press?

[@kindletogetherness]

100% yes! Sorry if that was unclear in the video. The Peaceful Press full year elementary curriculums (The Precious People, The Playful Pioneers, and The Kind Kingdom) all have your students studying the same history time period.

[@candacehowes6163]

Do you think it would flow ok to go through the three history curriculums with Peaceful Press and then switch to Gentle Feast when the kids are a little older and start with Cycle 1?

[@kindletogetherness]

Yes! I think the two curriculums both serve families well and you could absolutely enjoy one at a time.

[@hannahwyatt2756]

Thanks for this info! I'm leaning pretty hard on AGF! Kinda nervous to switch, but I'm excited too. What math are you guys using?

[@kindletogetherness]

We enjoy the elementary arithmetic series from Simply Charlotte Mason. My eldest is currently using Beauty & Truth math since the 4th edition of from SCM wasn’t ready in time for him.

[@jcav7]

I totally thought you were a redhead!

[@kindletogetherness]

I have a lot of copper in my hair, but not a red head.