The Playful Pioneers Volume 1

This curriculum is being used by our co-op and I haven't been impressed. There's no solid connection between the books being read and any activities or assignments. The copy work pages are vague. There is also no connection to any of the additional readings and the rest of the work. It all just feels random and thrown together. I wish there was more depth in the history and science areas as well. Especially for older students. It's an okay curriculum for young elementary but that's it.

I homeschooled 3 children with almost the same method. It's a great classical take from the Bluedorn's book on how to teach children using the Trivium. Now that I have one younger daughter left, I love that it's all laid out for me. This is my favorite bought type curriculum.

I think the content is great. I would love to see more color and beauty to the pages

I was wanting to read my girls the little house series and we also participate in classical conversations, next year is cycle 3 and pairs perfectly with this curriculum. It looks so fun and I’m excited to have all the things tie together into one amazing year!

The Playful Pioneers Volume 1

I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful this curriculum is! My family teamed up with one other family to do all the weekly hands-on projects and also to encourage imaginative play with pioneer costumes. We have loved every aspect of this curriculum! We literally cannot wait to do school each morning!! Thank you for creating a resource that not only makes learning so much fun, but is also giving my family so many beautiful memories together that we'll be sure to treasure all of our lives!!

Here are some fun extra ideas to further enrich a year of Playful Pioneers:
- find another family or two to do the study together and make it a mini co-op!
- take photos of your kids doing all the hands-on projects and recipes and then make a homeschool "year book" at the end of the year
- buy time period costumes for your kids to encourage historical play (i.e. pioneers, colonial dresses, George Washington, pilgrims, cowboys, etc).
- pick up some old tin cups/plates from a thrift store to serve your "pioneer food" on. A bowl with a ladle to dip water out of is a great activity for kids of all ages.
- convert a regular kid wagon into a "covered wagon" by adding some hoops (hula hoops) and a white bed sheet for the canopy. Add a few stick ponies and "saw horses" and a rope for the cowboys!
- plan a cattle drive day! Cook food over a campfire, song some cowboy songs, set up a chuck wagon, try to learn harmonica.
- learn about "branding" cattle and design your own personal "brands". Then wood burn them into a keepsake.
- embroider little fabric squares with different things you learn during your school year, and then create a doll quilt out of the squares. (i.e. betsy ross flag, alphabet sampler, cattle ranch brand, name & school year, etc)
- check out extra books from the public library on whatever topic you're studying
- create a "history notebook" for older students to record their insights and what they learned from all the readings.
- try watercolor painting the weekly art prints as a way of studying them
- put on a skit or play of a favorite history lesson (i.e. the pilgrims and the first thanksgiving)
- the Little House books can be purchased as audiobooks, which make it convenient to not fall behind on readings while driving around town on busy days

❤️😊❤️ We love Playful Pioneers!!

Great quality and prompt with responding!

Love this special time I have had with my kids going through this curriculum!

My kids (ages 4 and 6) are using this and it’s engaged both of them. They’ve been really enjoying reading Farmer Boy and have especially enjoyed the recipes and crafts. I love that there’s copy work that’s age appropriate for both of them.

The Playful Pioneers Volume 1

I've used many other Charlotte Mason style curriculums and this one is the most succinct and efficient I've found. The others have left me feeling like I never finished but I like how this one actually feels very "peaceful" as it's name would suggest. I can sense the prayer and thought that has gone into curating this study. I would consider it a work of art in itself. Thank you Jennifer and team!

We are doing Early American History this year and I bought the Playful Pioneers to go along with our other curriculums. I plan to pick and choose to crest my own feast. What I appreciate most about Playful Pioneers compared to others are the fun, hands-on activities….build a fort, make a stew, weave a basket. These are so much more valuable to me than a worksheet about a fort. Excited to use this curriculum to bring history to life for my kids!

We’ve only just started, but it’s been easy to follow and fun, creative way to learn about American history, my first grader loves the book (little house on the prairie) we’re using this curriculum as more of a unit than every day work.

So far we are really enjoying this curriculum! We used playful preschool last year and loved it also. This year we are incorporating Playful Pioneers in our local co-op using the free co-op guide. It makes things so simple and fun!

I just received this curriculum and cannot wait to start it with my children! We completed the kind kingdom last year and loved it!

My son is starting Kindergarten this year and he loves the Little House books! I was super excited to find the Playful Pioneers curriculum by Peaceful Press that highlights this series. Thank you for a quality resource that my son has already started to enjoy and I expect we will be able to do some of the activities with my two year old as well.

I’ve been so excited to start this! My son is 6 and we’ve already been reading the Little House series. After looking it over, the curriculum looks like just what we need. Looking forward to this school year.

We are finishing up our last week of the Playful Pioneers, volume 1. My 5th and 1st grader really enjoyed the hands on projects and recipes. This helped them to connect with the characters and story in a meaningful way. Also, high praise for the well curated selection of picture books and the list of additional American and World History books for older students. I saw improvement with narration and my children produced beautiful and detailed art. It made for a well paced, peaceful, and connected year! I look forward to The Kind Kingdom next!

I was ready to quit homeschooling our young sons, after years as a homeschool mom. After joining a book club with some local moms, and learning more about Charlotte Mason’s philosophies, I started researching curricula that would encompass educating the whole child. Playful Pioneers is exactly what we were looking for! My reluctant readers and writers are diving in, with their best efforts and imaginations. They are asking so many more questions and their faith is growing stronger too! We are excited to continue along with Playful Pioneers and have seamlessly added in our math and other enriching activities.

We were struggling in our homeschool journey. I contemplated The Playful Pioneers multiple times, but was afraid it was too craft and cooking heavy for me to handle. However, my middle son did not like school. He said he wished he could do the preschool curriculum (also peaceful press) with his brother because it looked more fun. That’s when I realized I should give The Playful Pioneers a try, and I am so thankful I did! It’s brought so much joy and connection to our homeschool. My son is now thriving and enjoys learning. It’s adaptable to different age levels and all 3 kids are loving this year. This is also the first year my husband is jealous that he has to work and can’t join us. This has been just what we needed!

We were not thriving in our homeschool. I came upon playful pioneers and made the switch and it was like night and day. The littles in our family are even enjoying it and it has made whole family learning easier. Highly recommend playful pioneers if you are looking for something to simplify but not take away. I feel like we actually get through more now than before.

Our family is primarily a Charlotte Mason instructional home. However, we are also a missions family. During times of travel and high activity, we needed the ability to flex and combine topics, while still spreading the feast. Playful Pioneers was THAT solution!! Love this program so much I’ve told all my mom friends about it!

We love it!

My 8 year old daughter will be exploring American history next year and I wanted something that her kinder aged twin sisters could join in on the learning adventure with us. Just what I was looking for.

A last minute schedule change left me needing to outsource the heavy lifting for planning our school days this year. Both of my children have previously completed The Peaceful Preschool so I was familiar with the layout and our history timelines matched up to make The Playful Pioneers the easy choice. We are starting week 15 and my children have already asked to use this curriculum again next year! The lovely literature and hands on projects have been a delight for both of my children (ages 9 and 7). Day to day planning has been simple and manageable for me just as I had hoped!

I have really enjoyed reading a loud to my children every day and they have too! Plus, it’s so fun to have a theme for the week! In the first month it’s been: horses, snow, gardens & wool. In the afternoons when my 5 & 6 year old daughters need something to do & want direction, it’s been great to do the art projects listed for the day, sometimes with them, sometimes on their own so I can get a few things done. Really loving the fun, structure & connection time to my children it’s added to our homeschool!

I love that it gives you a daily layout that you can follow if you would like. It helps me to stay on track. The weekly baking is fun and enjoying. Sometimes it can be hard to find the books needed but a lot of them are on YouTube if you can’t find them in the library.

We are loving this it is so simple to follow and such a break from the stress of workbooks and checking off the boxes. The girls ages 9 and almost 8 love it!!

We have really enjoyed using this plan. My son is very engaged.