My 2024-2025 Classical Charlotte Mason Curriculum Pick | The Children's Tradition with Amanda Faus

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

To save myself from answering what I expect to be asked quite a bit: Why didn't I choose the CMEC again? 1. My co-op was not using the CMEC this year for our common subjects, so I no longer needed that half of the curriculum. 2. I was already making quite a few swaps for natural history, history, tales and literature. (Pulling from the larger classical tradition-and things like the One Thousand Good Books List-I wanted to continue with fairy tales and fables beyond Form 1B, and I wanted to "shop my shelves" as I've been collecting classic literature for years for my family. 3. I loved the continued Mothers' Education Course but didn't have the time to complete it. ^ Because of these reasons, it didn't seem prudent to pay $300 for a quarter of a curriculum. It was not because I didn't like the CMEC or felt it failed in some way. It was logistical! But once I started thinking I might not sign up, other points became clear. 1. I had unintentionally worn myself out trying to complete two curricula: the CMEC and my classical must-haves. Why would I work that hard when I could make the classical must-haves the curriculum? 2. I started pulling together my own version of The Children's Tradition before I knew Amanda was working on hers. Since we love many of the same classical philosophers, we had a great deal of overlap but hers was complete and had a steady path for the full grammar years. So, I thanked her for her efforts and adopted her program.

[@2mpdavis]

I would say that CMEC does not leave fairy tales behind after form 1B. What is The Princess and the Goblin but a fairy tale. Many literature reads from Shakespeare, to MacDonald, to Tolkien are fairy tales.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@2mpdavis Yes, when using "a story which touches on Faerie", as Tolkien defined them, you will find fairy tales beyond the Grimms/Anderson picks for Form 1B. You are correct! However, to put it more clearly, I think children need a rich diet of folk fairy tales to properly engage with later stories like MacDonald, Tolkien, etc. And they certainly need them longer than a few per term for the first year. They were the very diet that allowed the following authors to create such good works!

[@annagracehayes]

​@@2mpdavis100% agree. I actually love that the CMEC encourages so much leisure reading. It doesn't have to all be during the official school time.

[@2mpdavis]

@@annagracehayesyes I found that we continue with many fairy tales in the evenings, weekends, summers and the many that are built in. I think we actually have done a fair number off senior’s list by grade 7. Slow and steady.

[@SwissAdelina]

I was homeschooled, partially classically, and now my babies are very young and I love learning from your ideals from the beginning. I gotta say- this video is so freeing for me just to see a real time example of someone who was *all in* for one curriculum and now you’re fine tuning your family’s needs and going all in on a new one. None of these leaving CMEC reasons imply “bashing” the program or that other people shouldn’t be using it for their own growth. I just see reasons that it wasn’t suiting your particular family vision anymore. I was the youngest in my family growing up and we did bounce around and try different curricula for my siblings and for my early years. Nonetheless by the time my family really settled on a curriculum that cast a unified vision for education, we were *all in* till I graduated. It got to a point of excitement about the program that communicated to me as a young person, probably quite unintentionally from the adults POV, an exclusionary mindset towards those who were not or who stopped using the curriculum. (It felt similar to the exclusionary mindset that I felt from my earliest years towards those who chose not to homeschool). I love home education, but I don’t want to repeat any of those mindsets. It’s really refreshing to see that I can go all in when I find a curriculum worth being excited about without closing my curiosity to continue to find tune new things down the road. Thanks for all the little ways you’re encouraging young moms! Even those of us not starting out totally new to it all!

[@Shelfaroundthecorner]

This nearly brought a tear to my eye. It is so heartening to see people doing this good work to give humans the best possible childhood, the best possible food for the soul!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Thank you for listening and for the encouragement! I’m so proud of Amanda’s efforts to bring this to families!

[@humblyhaley]

I love the idea of having “no formal subjects” as far as the kids can tell and letting their education blend together naturally. How am I just now hearing about John Senior’s 1,000 Good Books List? Further into the wardrobe I go. . . 📚

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Oh, I think you will love that list!

[@hillaryenloe]

More from this guest PLEASE! I know you are very well planned ahead for your podcast Autumn- and love your generous sharing but Amanda was a guest those of us new to the classical world can understand, see ourselves in, not over our heads! I will find her podcast next! You two make a great team explaining things.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Amanda is the best! You should definitely check out her podcast (The Wonder Years) and I have other interviews with her in Season 4 and 2!

[@Ashgutierr]

I love this pivot towards more Classical education and drawing upon all of the richness of Mason but also the tradition of thousands of years. (I agree with your assessment on Mason being Classical, but you know what I mean). This was a great conversation.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Woo! You're tracking with me!

[@beccadahlberg1738]

Im going to be checking all of the links and really diving into my research of the TCT because I've been praying for 2 months about our curriculum and asking God how to fill in the gaps I was feeling from the CMEC as well. Amanda I am so grateful for this option for my family because ever since I learned who Charlotte Mason was from Autumn's "Why We Read Fairy Tales" video a friend sent me I have not been able to "leave the wardrob" but I've struggled to know how to best DIY my own curriculum that could really feed my childrens whole soul because I saw holes in everything that I was researching. Your work seems to be a true answer to prayer in a way I struggle to form into words because it's more of a yearning deep within my heart that I have laid before God. I'm hopeful and excited. Becca

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

What a lovely note. I'll make sure Amanda gets to read it!

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

Thank you for this encouraging comment, Becca! I really think of TCT as a DIYer's guide to classical elementary education. If you end up purchasing TCT I pray it gives you clarity for how to bring together all the pieces of this beautiful approach to education! - Amanda

[@beccadahlberg1738]

@@TheWonderYearsPodcast I did purchase it! We're on week 2 of Term 1 and my kids LOVE it. I love the DIY section, it really equipped me to set up this curriculum in a way that worked for our family, building on habits we already had established. I also REALLY am loving that when we feel like we can't fit anymore learning in, my kids are 6 & 7, we "just read a book" for a break. It replenishes my kids and myself to keep going. It's also sparked in depth conversations between my husband and I about living books vs not-so-living books and they impact us. This has enabled us to build a home around reading rather than screens and it is truly such a gift.

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

@@beccadahlberg1738 This is a beautiful testimony to the goodness of these books and this way of life. Thank you for sharing!

[@elenatrius]

A curriculum inspired by John Senior? You ladies make my dreams come true!!! Great interview, now I have a lot of research and reading to do.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Right? It's hard not to want to follow the IHP once you know about the IHP...

[@crazychicken4063]

I must look into this deeper! Now that we've graduated 3 out of 4 of our children 🥺 Throw away the subjects - yes! That's what I've wanted to do in my heart!! I didn't know how to proceed if i dared do such a thing. No narrations for music and picture study - yes! 😢 We left those because it wasn't feeling natural and i didn't know how to implement them.. it seems so silly now. This video made me cry. What Amanda said about how a mother feels is natural but then feels the typical way of schooling is the thing that is supposed to be done.. that was me.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Oh, I'm so glad it resonated with you! You can learn more from Amanda from her podcast (along with her husband, Patrick): The Wonder Years. I think you'd love it if these ideas made your heart leap!

[@crazychicken4063]

I see it doesn't cover the high school years yet. So I'm wondering, how could we implement the principle on our own for high school and especially for science

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@crazychicken4063 if you contact Amanda at TCT (via the website), she’ll be able to help you with this!

[@SeleenaOtt]

I have to say, you have become my favorite KZbin person. Thank you for these life giving conversations, and for always being an encouragement! Also on a side note, if you haven’t heard the song “Old Neptune, He’s Roaring” by Brian Sauve, I think you’d love it! Blessings 🫶🏽🤍

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I'm so glad you've enjoyed the conversations! I'm having a lovely time too! And yes, I do know this song! I think it was sent my way 100+ times the week it was released. Happy to be the Narnia-dragon-story lady!

[@DaniellaWard-er6pc]

WOW! What an insightful, moving, inspiring, and applicable interview!! As a teacher who left public school behind to begin motherhood, I am eager to dive into the world of classical, Charlotte Mason pedagogy. It is clear that there is a better way of educating than the average student-parent has been conditioned to know and I'm jumping on this train!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Thank you! So happy to have you here!

[@rootsfarmedu5198]

Just heard the name John Senior on a webinar. I’m so excited to learn more. You girls are killing it. What a great conversation.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Woo! A John Senior wave is hitting the Charlotte Mason world!

[@cocoandhonu]

Wow, such an answer to prayer. I'm in the early years with my toddler and reading CM's volumes and constantly having to fight the urge to buy preschool curriculum. I love that there are books included on John Seniors list and in Amanda's curriculum for the nursery age! Why is it so hard for new mamas like myself to wait out these early years quietly?! I'll try to busy myself with loading up on mother culture and the good books till then... BUT I do see that Beatrix Potter is on the list... do you think something like A Year of Tales Preschool would be a gentle sort of warm up to TCT and perhaps satisfy that urge to "do something" that coincides with Senior's list? Or is that sort of curriculum considered a unit study and not truly Mason? Thanks for your thoughts! (If Amanda creates a preschool TCT product I'll be the first to buy it! LOL)

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Oh, it's so hard because you love your child and can't wait to offer the feast! We've all been there. Trust me. But(!), a young child does need and deserve what Mason called "a quiet growing time". If you're reading good books, spending time outside, doing the everyday things together with good habits in mind, you're giving your child an education suited to their age and season of life. Truly!! (I know Amanda would agree!) Feel free to read those Senior nursery reads but just DELIGHT in them with your child. That's the curriculum.

[@cocoandhonu]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool Thank you!! We shall delight and enjoy our time together. I'm so glad that that's enough, ya know? Such a relief.You're like a homeschool fairy godmama! 🧚‍♀📚

[@britcochran]

I feel this so much! I’m struggling too. My daughters friends all just went off to kindergarten (she’s a year behind anyway because of birthday) but it’s still hard to wait lol

[@StorybookHouse]

I would love to hear more conversations like this, thank you for posting it! I was wondering if you had a link to a website that would explain what the Eastern Orthodox church teaches?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Ooh, hard to peg one perfect place. (It would be just as difficult to find one website that captured classical education!) You could peek at this: www.goarch.org/-/introduction-what-is-the-greek-orthodox-church- But I recommend the podcast At the Intersection of East and West.

[@AndersonChronicles]

In this same line of thought; is Amanda, Orthodox? Catholic? Or non denomination? Thanks:)❤

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@AndersonChronicles she’s OPCA (orthodox Presbyterian).

[@novelbytheglass]

@@thecommonplacehomeschoolbut John Senior was catholic, right?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@novelbytheglass yes!

[@pylesofbooks]

This is so exciting! Have you heard of the Thomas Jefferson Education philosophy? This feels like it could be the bridge between the worlds of CM and TJEd that I've been trying to create for my family. I can't wait to dive into these links and things!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

No, I haven't! I'll have to look into it!

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

I remember my mom having TJEd on her shelf when I was in high school and she gave it to me to read as an inspiring idea for how to approach my learning as self-education in those years. That was fifteen years ago, but now that you mention it I can see why you would see overlap there! - Amanda

[@pylesofbooks]

@@TheWonderYearsPodcast that's neat!

[@Dreblueskies]

I had heard CMEC was intense so personally I knew it was not for me. Thanks for sharing your whys. Per the website linked, I find her take on history to be refreshing and one that completely makes sense. I know of only one other curriculum that takes a similar approach and that is Five in a Row (literature based unit studies). I personally do not recall any bit of history from elementary school and do not find it necessary to study it chronologically. I’m very interested in this interview and look forward to watching. Thanks! *6 minutes in and I love this already!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I loved our time with the CMEC. They are the most faithful to Mason/the PNEU that you can find today! I really only have wonderful things to share about them. At the same time, since I put Mason within the tradition and pull from others besides the wonderful lady, I want certain things that a pure Masonite wouldn't consider.

[@Dreblueskies]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool I don’t doubt that, I personally cannot be such a purist which is why I wasn’t drawn to their program. I too like to take inspiration from others.

[@Emmannie]

​@@DreblueskiesThis is perhaps why I won't stay for next year as well. (We're only in Kinderleben so who knows yet if we're called to do 1B in a couple of years..) I seem to be an unschooler at heart but I don't mind some structure.. and having such a seemingly rigid list of MUST-DOs felt too constricting. At the same time I've been hearing its Science selections aren't up-to-date, and I know my software engineer husband will question them and want to swap them. Then as a Kumon fan, I wanted that for Math, so yet another swap? 🤷🏻‍♀️ Good thing we have a little < year to decide. I love videos idk this to help me with that discernment!

[@Dreblueskies]

@@Emmannie I think you like all of us out there we are finding out what works best for us and our children. I definitely like freedom and being able to adjust things. I hope you find works best for your family. Are you considering the children’s tradition?

[@eking6246]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool As a newbie to "the Wardrobe", would you mind sharing some of those things that a pure Masonite wouldn't consider? I'm coming late to the classical game having older children, and only a basic CM knowledge. I really need to get my classical ducks in a row!

[@crystalrenz1431]

I LOVE this!! Does this also include suggested artists and composers for each year?

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

It does. We have a book that we follow for each!

[@hannahbaker2856]

I'm re-listening to Voyage of the Dawn Treader right now...is that what's behind you in your Editing section (31-33 minute mark)??

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

We call that painting the Dawn Treader but it's not. My husband's great-grandfather painted it!

[@Mamato12_blessings-md8xw]

What do you do? How do you catch an older kiddo up? Can you do this family style? I feel so behind already! What about older kids/teens…is it too late?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

It's never too late to start! You can do family style (although the specifics will depend on the family); I'd recommend trying to find the best "grade" match for what your children have read and use "free reads" or "family time" to pull from the 1000 Good Books List (find online or in Amanda's curriculum) and catch up on the other missed ones.

[@crazychicken4063]

This was my question as well, except I have only one child left in homeschool she is in her last school year🥺 I wish I knew of these ideas when my children were just starting school

[@angelamarie8634]

I have an almost-4yo but would love to see what is coming for us. Do you think there are elements that would be useful to me now even for preparing myself?

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

I would say absolutely, because the philosophy surrounding the poetic mode of learning applies equally to a 4 year old, and then you could reference the books I list from Senior's 1,000 Good Books list as "early years" in the Appendix. There are many poetic habits like prayer, family chores, time out-of-doors, and reading aloud that you can focus on cultivating right now. - Amanda

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I agree with Amanda!

[@angelamarie8634]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback, now to convince the husband! 😀

[@hillaryenloe]

Yes! Start reading and planning now!

[@BrookeHerrera-l9z]

Are you going to supplement or add anything to this curriculum or keep to it pretty strictly? As a new homeschooler I’m curious about adding in a handwriting, grammar, and possibly more story driven history lessons. I bought the curriculum but do have gaps in my own knowledge about what to do with my kids and these books. I don’t really know how to do narration or keeping notebooks and I’m assuming we should still do that with this curriculum? I could use a little more support with the practicals of how to implement the curriculum!!

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

This curriculum should not need any supplementation. Copywork is handwriting, we do scientific grammar lessons beginning in 6th grade, and the history books are about as story-driven as you can find! As to filling in the gaps in your knowledge, that is totally understandable. FYI I offer consultations on my website, so feel free to make an appointment and I could walk you through all the details and how it could look for your family!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Oh, I'm so glad you're here! While Amanda has made this amazing curriculum for the table, my work centers on equipping mother-teachers with the philosophy needed to teach (and live) classically. I have four seasons of The Commonplace podcast available and if you go through my KZbin videos you'll see videos covering narration, story, timetables, pre-reading, and much more!

[@eking6246]

A fairly brazen question, but would you assume you would finish Senior's 1000 good books list for the upper years (7+), or do you think you would move on to the Great Books, or something else? My little kids turned into big kids!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Ah! Big kids already. I hear that happens quickly. The 1000 good books list is a path to the Great Books, so, in some respects, they're necessary before the Greats and shouldn't be skipped!

[@anotherhomeschoolmom1367]

How do y'all feel about a child doing a drawing for a narration about something being read to them? Or even acting out the reading with their toys or puppets? Especially for a child who is very young or one that may have a language disorder or dyslexia.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Okay, a learning disability changes things but I'm not studied enough to know how much and when. I do recommend A Delectable Education for further listening! They have a couple episodes around neurodivergence! But I, personally, let my children draw a narration whenever they ask to do so. In Form 1, the focus is oral narrations, so I require those and always respond, "Thank you!" when they finish while marking in my logbook if the narration was good, average, or poor for that student. (My kids don't see these notes; they're for me to remember in my assessment of that term.) Drawing isn't required but always welcome and I find I see another layer to their understanding based on what they draw. I think it's helpful!

[@TheWonderYearsPodcast]

I completely agree with Autumn! Because we want children to imagine the images of the story we are reading to them, drawing a picture fits nicely into keeping them in the poetic mode as they try to imagine (dare we say, contemplate?) what they "saw" in the story, through the words. Like Autumn said, we want to prioritize oral narrations because of how well it strengthens their intellectual muscles. But a drawing sometimes is great, too!

[@TruthSeeker2996]

So - when do you guys start history? In the upper grades ? And what do you recommend ?

[@hillaryenloe]

Dyslexia child, we do lots of drawing as it’s a strength and oral narration as well as it’s a strength! This all works so well to adapt as you feel called for your child’s needs.

[@mikeandambermotsch9122]

So for a 7 and 8 year old do you have kids narrate after each reading? If not, do you randomly pick what they are to narrate? One a day? I am excited to start this curriculum and have read it twice, but struggling a little on the daily implementation of it. Thank you!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Generally, orally narrate after each book reading (but not bedtime read alouds!).

[@Hillariousj]

Where can I find John Senior’s list of 1000 books?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

seascs.net/documents/2017/10/John%20Senior%20The%20Thousand%20Good%20Books%20List.pdf

[@hillaryenloe]

Thank you for sharing the list!

[@anotherhomeschoolmom1367]

Can you explain how this is different than Ambleside Online?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Amanda wrote a full answer to this here: thewonderyears.substack.com/p/how-the-childrens-tradition-differs

[@SepiaSerenade]

If you had middle school-aged students and had to pick a curriculum for the 2024-2025 school year (until Amanda comes out with the Logic stage curriculum) which one would you (or she recommend? Any direction would be greatly appreciated :)

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

She's not following a neo-classical "ages and stages" model but she is working through the Grades 7-12 in Norms and Nobility (by David Hicks) currently to see how she might structure upper years!

[@SepiaSerenade]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool Thank you very much! That’s so refreshing to hear that this is not “following the (neo) stages.”

[@luccalele9740]

hold me back from wanting to do this with my upcoming kinder! ahh so beautiful!

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Haha! There is a huge section of "nursery years" reading on the Senior list!

[@luccalele9740]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool do you mean the 1000 books list?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@luccalele9740 yes! Sorry!

[@luccalele9740]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool We are working through it! Do you find that kinder is a “hard year” to figure out? I want to keep him engaged and expose all the beautiful ideas and habits but not do too much and it feels disjointed without a plan but a plan/curriculum feels like too much 🤔

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@luccalele9740 I did something called The Benediction Table for those years so I had a loose plan but didn't get overwhelmed or overwhelm the kids. Delight is the main thing. If you have that-and time outside and good books-that's a great kinder year.

[@Hillariousj]

Suggestions on printing and binding the curriculum?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I just used Office Depot!

[@LunaParaSiempre]

I couldn't afford the curriculum AND to bind it, so I printed it at home, single sided on regular paper; I had a ton of plastic page covers and put them in a 3 ring binder (but made the pages double sided so they are heavy and feel thick with the two printed pages). I like it because I can highlight with those white board markers. I am hoping down the line I can print and bind on a thicker paper (but want to wait anyhow to see if I want the updated version). Editing to say: I have a little one, so I also only printed the pages I needed right now to save on ink.

[@pixiebride1]

I feel like this may be a slightly foolish question but I’m wondering how to comply with state homeschool laws when using a curriculum that isn’t divided into subjects. (Totally on board personally, just wondering about logistical implementation.) In my state, MO, we have to provide 1,000 hours or instruction and 600 of those hours have to be in specific subjects. So how would you document that?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Not foolish at all! I live in a regulated state too (PA), so I keep my notes for the state organised into subjects. When Amanda says we don't do subjects, she means we don't fragment and separate knowledge into unrelated categories. She does use "bodies of knowledge" and one book may count for many: natural history, geography, history, literature. It's not hard to make it back into subjects for state checks!

[@pixiebride1]

@@thecommonplacehomeschool Thank you so much for your reply! That’s very helpful.

[@unraveledmotherhood]

Okay maybe a more practical question: did you bind it yourself or get it done somewhere?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I used Office Depot!

[@01Camillag]

I'm interested to know what all the differences are in your teaching method compared to Charlotte Mason, and your reasoning behind it.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Amanda has many helpful essays on her Substack: thewonderyears.substack.com/p/how-to-teach-reading-poetically

[@ruthmaryprays8455]

What would you say the main difference is with the AO curriculum? I’m interested in this but I currently pull a lot from AO and I’m thinking I may have quite a lot of the information in this curriculum already.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

Oh, they’re pretty different! AO pulls strictly from Mason so you’ll find a lot more wider classical philosophy in TCT. But Amanda wrote a whole thing about it: thewonderyears.substack.com/p/how-the-childrens-tradition-differs

[@anotherhomeschoolmom1367]

I love the idea of "no subjects" but I am not sure I understand that idea in the context of this particular curriculum. When I looked at the flip through video on Instagram, it looked like it was divided into subjects. What am I misunderstanding because I am very much interested in possibly giving this curriculum a try.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

There are real categories by which we describe different aspects of knowledge, yes! But knowledge cannot be wholly divided as if history isn't related to literature or natural history, etc. Amanda wrote more on this here: thewonderyears.substack.com/p/the-childrens-tradition-does-not

[@sandraruiz4737]

Where can I see a sample of this?

[@sandraruiz4737]

I am using AO so I will likely not switch this year!

[@baileyaspenson3028]

@@sandraruiz4737My oldest is 5, and I have been so set on AO, but this seems wonderful as well!

[@Dreblueskies]

I would like to see a sample as well.

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

You can see an in-depth walkthrough here: instagram.com/reel/C83w01eO1KF/ She also has some photos on the website: thechildrenstradition.com

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

See above!

[@jessicakramer398]

What IS a tutorial day??

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I believe this is Amanda's name for her co-op day!

[@katrinasimmons9288]

If this curriculum is revised, will those who purchase prior to that have access to the revised content?

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

I believe that's on the FAQ page now! (I don't think so. I think you have to repurchase if you want to have the non-beta version next year but double check the page!)

[@LionWolverine]

@@thecommonplacehomeschoolthat's what the FAQ says, yes. Honestly, for me that is a turn off. As an example, beta testers with A Gentle Feast were given the curriculum for free, and any updates to AGF are given to all users for free. (I've never used AGF but thought they were a similar enough example.)

[@thecommonplacehomeschool]

@@LionWolverine Ah yes, I understand. Feel free to shoot Amanda an email! She’s very kind and will be happy to explain further.