A Free Catholic Homeschool Formation Program
Fruit of Light Foundations
Fruit of Light Foundations is a free homeschool formation program for teaching Catholic faith education, narratives of the Bible, and character virtue development. It serves as the Formation portion the Fruit of Light curriculum.
...for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true - Ephesians 5:9
About Fruit Of Light Foundations
This homeschool formation program is designed for grades K-5 but can be adapted for all ages. This is perfect for families and can be used in family-style learning.
The Fruit of Light Curriculum is focused on a foundation of goodness, righteousness, & truth. You will explore the bible from creation to the Apostles with beautifully illustrated Bible stories. You will read inspiring tales, sing beautiful hymns, and invite your children to learn and grow in what is good, right, and true.
Fruit of Light Foundations covers the Formation aspect of the Fruit of Light Curriculum. You can use this program to fulfill the religious education and character development portion of your overall education plan. It can be used alone to support your individual curriculum choices or it can be paired with the full Fruit of Light Curriculum for a complete homeschool program.
Fruit of Light Foundations covers the following concepts:
Bible reading
Saints
Prayers
Catechism
Virtue stories & Character virtues
Traditional Hymns
Marian Antiphons/Anthems
& Much More!
This program is intended to be paired with a compatible academic homeschool curriculum.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Let me know if you don't see your question!
How Many Weeks Are Planned Inside This Curriculum?
This program consists of 36 completely planned weeks.
Is This Open-And-Go? Are There Lesson Plans?
This program offers weekly lesson plans. Everything is planned out for you per week. While not necessarily an open-and-go curriculum, the only preparation required on the teacher's part is minimal: review the upcoming readings, gather the required books or hymnals, and preview or choose any audio that may be optionally used for the lesson.
How Do I Use This Along Side Another Curriculum?
Fruit of Light Foundations is a Formation program. You can treat Formation as its own subject and schedule alongside your academic curricula selections throughout the week.
I recommend starting your day with this program before moving on to other daily studies.
How Much Of The School Week Does This Curriculum Occupy?
This program is designed to be completed over five (5) days. However, you can choose to combine some of the once-weekly tasks to complete each week within three (3) or four (4) days.
For those desiring a four (4) day week, I recommend combining the weekly hymn and weekly saint reading, as these are the shortest weekly tasks to complete.
Are There Workbooks Or Worksheets?
No, there are no modern worksheets in this program. Instead, there is a narration page template you can use to encourage your children to retell the Bible stories in their own words. Narration helps build communication, writing, and grammar skills. There are also memorization cards which you may display, cut-out, or reference as needed.
Why Do I Need This? What Is The Advantage Of Using Fruit Of Light?
Our children are growing up in a time where education is void of God. Children need a solid foundation in knowing who God is, why He loves them, why there is beauty in the world, why there is suffering, and what God calls us to do for Him and for others. In the modern world of today, the formation of our children is more critical than ever.
Fruit of Light Foundations aims to form children in faith through education. We want our children to know that God exists outside of our churches, that He is alive in them and around them, that He guides their paths, and that He loves them.
Can This Formation Program Be Used As A Family Subject?
Yes! While designed for elementary levels, Fruit of Light Foundations is designed to work across all ages and to be used as a time of family fellowship and faith formation.
We Are Already Using A Curriculum Plan For Bible. How Can I Use This?
The Bible readings in Fruit of Light Foundations give an overview of the narrative of the Bible. However, it also offers a more comprehensive approach to Formation beyond stories. If you're already following another Bible plan of Old Testament and New Testament readings, you will still benefit from the Catholic catechism lessons, memory verses, traditional hymns, character virtues, stories of virtue, saints, and prayers!
Can I Use This Curriculum Even If I Am Not Catholic?
Yes, you can! However, you may want to substitute some portions of the program to better fit your Christian denomination.
How Does This Curriculum Align With Charlotte Mason?
Bible stories (knowledge of God and knowledge of man) are crucial in a Charlotte Mason education. Beyond this, a feast of ideas and living books help inspire our children and shape their love for God. Fruit of Light Foundations offers biblical narratives with inspiring illustrations, stories of saints and tales of virtue to strengthen the will, traditional hymns and Marian antiphons to inspire the ear and voice, as well as memory verses to remind children of God's love for them their whole lives, and more.
Can I Use This Curriculum For Children Outside The Suggested Age Range?
Yes, this program is appropriate for all ages. Adjust your expectations according to age. Allow little ones to play while listening to stories and hymns. Read straight from scripture for older students and encourage discussion. You may also look for a book of saints for older children as a substitute for the one in this program. For families with older and younger children, encourage older readers to read aloud to the younger children and to lead prayers.
Why Is All Of This Free? Will There Be A Paid Component?
I firmly believe the faith formation of our children should not be hidden behind a paywall. When searching for a program for my own children, I had trouble finding a comprehensive program for free. I planned out and used my own, and now I want to make that available to other families!
I do intend to release future formation programs that build off Foundations. These will be accessible at a minimal cost. The base program, however, would always remain free.
For The Early Years, How Many Books Do I Need? Can I Just Use One Book?
There are four (4) books recommended for Bible stories for the younger years. Yes, you can use just the Beautiful Story of the Bible if you would like. However, you will miss out on stories of the Magi, much of Jesus' ministry and miracles, and the parables. In an effort to ensure even our little ones have a breadth of knowledge of our Savior, I recommend using all four (4) books.
For weekly subjects, you could avoid using additional books by skipping the Tales of Virtues weekly read. For catechism and hymns, these texts can be found online within the public domain. You could also look up individual saint biographies online for the weekly saint tasks, though this would be more time consuming. I've chosen a saint book for this curriculum that is relatively affordable and features biographies appropriate for a younger audience.
Is There A Specific Time Of Year I Should Start This Program?
The biblical readings are ordered so that one could start the first week around September 1st and be reading about the birth of Jesus in December. If you know you will take breaks every few weeks, you could start your school year that many weeks sooner to have the Nativity weeks remain in December. (Ex. If you plan to take a week off in September and a week off in November, you could start this program two weeks before the September 1st.)
If you don't mind Christmas bible stories happening outside of when they are liturgically celebrated, then you can start and end your year however you like.
(As the date for Easter moves every year, the Easter bible stories may or may not line up with liturgical celebrations.)
Can This Be Used As My Child's Faith Formation For Our Local Parish?
This is intended to be used privately as a homeschool faith formation program and is not intended to replace the faith formation classes offered by your local church. If you think this program could be used to replace your child's class at your parish, speak to your priest directly as individual churches and dioceses often make decisions as to what can be used for Faith Formation and First Communion preparation.