Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, & Epistles

Study the Bible, geography, and history together as a family!

In this fourth book of their popular six-book series, the year of plans focus on the fascinating story of the events, places, and culture of the Middle Ages around the world, plus the Renaissance and Reformation. A geography study of South & Central America and Australia is paired with this time period to coincide with the Age of Exploration. Family Bible lessons bring in timeless principles from New Testament epistles (James, Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians), with additional assignments for older students to dig deeper into those same Bible passages.

The Charlotte Mason-style lesson plans

• Invite your students into the fascinating story of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation through living books.
• Help your students listen attentively and recall what was read by narrating.
• Let you teach the whole family together by sharing some books as family read-alouds, then challenging older students with additional reading and writing assignments from other books on the same topic.
• Connect geography to the people who lived there—both past and present.
• Help all your students, grades 1–12, feel at home in Scripture and challenged to keep growing spiritually through short, practical Bible lessons for the whole family and additional corresponding Bible studies for the older students.
• Keep things simple by providing helpful reminders of upcoming resources, teaching tips, and Book of Centuries entries.

Book List for History, Geography, Bible

Read the books listed under Family to all the students together. Add the grade-level books as individual reads for any children you have in those grades. For example, if you have students in grades 2 and 7, you will want to get the books under Family, Grades 1–3, and Grades 7–9.

[Exodus] Available from us
[SCM]: Available from SCM
[Book Store]: Purchase from another book store
[Library]: Check your library
[Public Domain]: Available free in the public domain

Family (all students)

• [Exodus]Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz
• Bible
• [Exodus]The Bible Smuggler by Louise Vernon
• [Exodus]Castle by David Macaulay
• [SCM]A Castle with Many Rooms: The Story of the Middle Ages by Lorene Lambert
• [Exodus]Cathedral by David Macaulay
• [SCM]Material World and [SCM]Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel
• [SCM] The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of the Middle Ages portfolio
• [SCM]Visits to South & Central America, Australia notebook by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)

plus . . .
Grades 1–3

• [Library]Brother Francis and the Friendly Beasts by Margaret Hodges
• [Exodus]Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess by Richard Platt
• [Exodus]Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson (currently out of print)
• [Exodus]A Medieval Feast by Aliki
• [Library]Pippo the Fool by Tracey E. Fern
• [Exodus]The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla
• [Exodus]Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla
• [Book Store]Are We There Yet? A Journey around Australia by Alison Lester (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia. This book is out of print but will give a great overview of Australia if you can find a copy.)
• [Book Store]Elena’s Story by Nancy Shaw (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)
• [Library]Hands of the Rain Forest: the Embera People of Panama by Rachel Crandell (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia. This book is out of print, but a library near you may have a copy.)
• [Book Store]Herbert: The True Story of a Brave Sea Dog by Robyn Belton (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)
• [Book Store]A Mango in the Hand: A Story Told through Proverbs by Antonio Sacre (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)
• [Book Store]Not Just Tacos by Shirley Solis (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)
• [Book Store]Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)

Grades 4–6

• [Exodus]Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
• [Exodus ]King Arthur and His Knights audio recording by Jim Weiss
• [Public Domain]“The Pied Piper of Hamelin” poem by Robert Browning
• [Exodus]The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway
• [Exodus]Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)

Grades 7–9

• [SCM]Book of Centuries (one for each student)
• [SCM]Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
• [Public Domain] or [Exodus] In Freedom’s Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce by G. A. Henty
• [SCM]Life in the Word by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
• [Exodus]The Magna Charta by James Daugherty
• [Public Domain] or [Exodus] The Prince and the Pauper by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
• [Exodus]The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff
• [Public Domain] or [Exodus] The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
• [Exodus]The White Stag by Kate Seredy
• [Exodus]Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)

Grades 10–12

• [Public Domain] or [Exodus] The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
• [SCM]Book of Centuries (one for each student)
• [SCM]Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
• [Exodus]Famous Men of the Middle Ages, with extra chapters by Rob Shearer (2008 edition, published by Greenleaf Press)
• [Exodus]Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation by Rob Shearer
• [Exodus]The King’s Fifth by Scott O’Dell
• [Exodus]The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
• [SCM]Life in the Word by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
• [Public Domain] or [Exodus]Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
• [Exodus]The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E. L. Konigsburg
• [Exodus]Voices of the Renaissance and Reformation edited by Rob Shearer
• [Exodus]Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl (optional, used with Visits to South & Central America, Australia)

High School Credit

For the completion of grades 7–9 or 10–12 assignments in this Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles study, they suggest that students should be awarded 1 credit for World History/Geography and 1⁄3 credit for Bible.

Sample Schedule

The lesson plans in Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles are very doable. Your weekly schedule would look something like this, with older students also spending time on additional assignments:

2nd Edition

This 2nd edition of Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles, published in 2017, features the fabulous living history spine, A Castle with Many Rooms: The Story of the Middle Ages along with lots of other wonderful living books to read together or use as additional reading assignments for older students. (The Famous Men books used in the 1st edition have been moved to independent reading for the upper grades.) The 2nd edition plans schedule The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of the Middle Ages portfolio and the Visits to South & Central America and Australia geography notebook. Family Bible lessons are now included in the guide itself, covering several New Testament epistles, and designed to be more user-friendly for young students. Additional Bible lessons are assigned to older students using the Life in the Word Bible study book. Out-of-print or hard-to-find books have been replaced and high school credit suggestions have been added for this exciting year of history, geography, and Bible.