Book Hearth Guides
Discover the freedom of building multi-age blocks
Gather Your Family Together...
Get comfy...
Settle into your favorite chair with your coziest blanket...
Gather your children around...
Pour everyone a cup of tea...
and explore what's possible when you let just ONE story guide your homeschool block or unit of study!
🪄 ✨ ❤️🔥
ONE Book for ONE Block
The Book Hearth approach is a unique, comprehensive way to bring stories and lessons to your children or students.
We've found that many homeschool families (including our own!) greatly appreciate the simplicity of centering learning around just one book for one block.
And we show you how in our Book Hearth Guides!
You literally pick a single book for the whole family and build main lesson work around that story, while delivering the lessons in an individual way to each child.
This approach kindles conversations and ignites experiences to savor long after the last page has been turned.
Each Book Hearth Guide is built on 5 anchor points:
- Story
- Self
- Senses
- Strengths
- Sharing
When you intentionally integrate these anchor points into your teaching, your students will gain knowledge, build academic & life skills, and take part in memorable learning experiences.
Inside the Guides
Each Book Hearth Guide is 3-6 pages full of clear guidance, including:
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BOOK HEARTH BRICKS ~ so you can build a family culture of learning, living, and loving through literature
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THEMES & CONNECTIONS ~ so you can tie in curriculum topics for different ages
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LAYING YOUR BOOK HEARTH BRICK ~ with a 4-5 week reading schedule and activity suggestions so you can bring the book to life with the lively arts
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BOOK BASKET IDEAS ~ so you can discover great go-along books for various ages
The Gardener ~ Book Hearth Guide
For children in grades 1-4, The Gardener is the story of a young girl whose parents have both lost their jobs. Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds to the big gray city, where she goes to stay with her Uncle Jim, a cantankerous baker. There she initiates a gradual transformation, bit by bit brightening the shop and bringing smiles to customers' faces with the flowers she grows. But it is in a secret place that Lydia Grace works on her masterpiece - an ambitious rooftop garden - which she hopes will make even Uncle Jim smile.
Heartwood Hotel ~ Book Hearth Guide
For children in Grades 1-4, Heartwood Hotel: A True Home (Book 1) is the charming story of a small mouse named Mona who finds refuge in a quirky hotel for animals hidden deep in the Fernwood Forest. This enchanting story will captivate young children (and their parents!) from the get go. Moss-covered beds, acorn cups of honey tea, and walnut-shell lanterns await your arrival!
Coo ~ Book Hearth Guide
For children in grades 3-7, Coo is the story of a young girl's determination to save the flock she calls family. This story will pull you in from the opening line, exploring the bonds of family, friendship, and the importance of being true to oneself.
Echo Mountain ~ Book Hearth Guide
For children in grades 5-8, Echo Mountain is a celebration of finding your own path and becoming your truest self. After losing almost everything in the Great Depression, Ellie’s family is forced to leave their home in town and start over in the untamed wilderness of nearby Echo Mountain. Ellie has found a welcome freedom, and a love of the natural world, in her new life on the mountain. A family accident sends Ellie up the mountain in search of the healing secrets of a woman known only as “the hag.” But the hag, and the mountain, still have many untold stories left to reveal.
A Single Shard ~ Book Hearth Guide
For children in grades 4-7, this beautiful adventure story tells of a young potter in Ancient Korea who is determined to become a master potter even if it means going on a dangerous journey. Tree-ear, the young potter, travels to present Min’s work in the hopes of a royal commission but arrives at the royal court with nothing but a single celadon shard.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond ~ Book Hearth Guide
For children in grades 5-8, The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a young adult novel that takes us into the harsh and rule-bound world of Puritan New England in the years immediately preceding the Salem Witch Trials. This story is infused with compelling historical detail and coming-of-age themes, engaging characters, and descriptive scenes of the marshland and rivers of the East Coast.
We're Passionate About Education and BOOKS...
Hi, I'm Jean Miller! As the homeschooling mother of three now-grown children, I've loved sharing stories in so many ways through the years – reading, telling, and dramatizing stories. In my 25+ years of homeschooling, I've savored the stories as the vehicle for teaching new content ~ while integrating language arts and history ~ and all the creative ways of combining stories with the lively arts. In our homeschool, we also loved spending time outdoors and having fun with circles of song, poetry, and movement. These days, I spend my time mentoring homeschooling parents at Art of Homeschooling.
Hi, I'm Alison Manzer! Waldorf-inspired homeschooling, and working together with Jean, have been a very big part of my life for many years. Our collaborations and friendship continue to guide and inspire me as an educator. We both love books and teaching how to use them as main lesson containers. I've homeschooled our three boys, taught yoga to teenagers, and currently, I serve as the president of the Little Angels Service Team, a non-profit whose mission is to change lives through the power of education by supporting struggling students and teachers in rural India. My passion for India's people and culture was kindled during our homeschooling years with the ancient India main lesson block in 5th grade!
Together, we've taught children of all levels, from preschool to high school. We've worked together for 15 years at the annual Taproot Teacher Training for homeschooling parents and alternative educators.
Over the years, we’ve presented numerous workshops where we talk with teachers and parents about how to “start with stories.”
Parents and teachers tell us that these workshops are game changers for them and that they leave feeling prepared to teach their children with more ease and a deeper sense of purpose.
Have Fun with books!
💜 Jean & Allison
“We used a Book Hearth Guide alongside a block on genealogy. Both of my kids (ages 11 and 14) said this was their favorite block of the year! Jean and Alison have many ideas and options for activities to go along with the book as well as detailed reflection questions to use alongside the book. You choose which activities suit you best. I highly recommend these Book Hearth Guides. They help me to infuse new energy into my lessons.”
Rebecca, mother of four