Explore resilience and history with ‘The Great Depression’ curriculum—a Charlotte Mason approach to uncovering this era in your homeschool.
Discover the Resilience of the Past with ‘The Great Depression”- A Charlotte Mason Curriculum
Step back into one of the most challenging periods of American history with “The Great Depression,” a Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool curriculum designed to bring this era to life.
Through living books, hands-on activities, and thought-provoking discussions, your family will explore the economic struggles, creative solutions, and enduring resilience of the 1930s. From studying how families adapted to scarcity to understanding the societal impact of the New Deal, this curriculum is both educational and deeply meaningful.
Perfect for upper elementary to high school students, “The Great Depression” integrates history, literature, and critical thinking, providing a rich and immersive learning experience.
Let your homeschool journey connect past and present as you teach your children valuable lessons about perseverance, innovation, and hope. Learn more about “The Great Depression” curriculum and see how it can enrich your homeschool today!
Make History Come Alive with this Great Depression Era Tea Time Spread
One of our favorite activities included in this curriculum is a historical tea time section full of recipes from the Great Depression era! Sample Chocolate Wacky Cake and try your hand at making Mock Apple Pie, discovering the flavors of history! Each weekly recipe is paired with a tea time reading selection for you to dive deeper in your study of the Great Depression with and spark discussion over the table for you and your family!
- Mock Apple Pie
- Water Pie
- Tomato Soup Spice Cake
- Chocolate Wacky Cake
- Bread Pudding
- Butterless, Milkless, Eggless Cake.
Above is a close-up view of just a few of the delicious historical recipes we have in store for you! Learn more about the creativity and innovation of those who cooked and baked during the Great Depression, and try a piece of history for yourself!
Add a Poem to Your Tea Time:
We’ve included several poems that beautifully capture the spirit and perseverance of those who lived through the Great Depression. You’ll find selections from Carl Sandburg, a renowned poet of the era, alongside inspiring works by John Clare, Emily Dickinson, and more. To deepen the learning experience, we’ve added a biography of Carl Sandburg and copywork sheets for students ranging from primary to high school. Here’s a sample of one of our favorite pieces:
The Instinct of Hope
by John Clare
Is there another world for this frail dust
To warm with life and be itself again?
Something about me daily speaks there must,
And why should instinct nourish hopes in vain?
‘Tis nature’s prophesy that such will be,
And everything seems struggling to explain
The close sealed volume of its mystery.
Time wandering onward keeps its usual pace
As seeming anxious of eternity,
To meet that calm and find a resting place.
E’en the small violet feels a future power
And waits each year renewing blooms to bring,
And surely man is no inferior flower
To die unworthy of a second spring?
Explore Resilience & Hope Through the 200+ page “Great Depression Morning Time Session”!
Discover history with our beautifully crafted “Great Depression Morning Time Session!” This 200+ page guide has everything you need to immerse your family in the study of the Great Depression through creative, hands-on learning activities.
Inside, you’ll find:
- 6-week Calendar with each subject scheduled on it
- Prayer and scripture memorization
- Copywork selections from The Prayer for Truthfulness, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Hope is a Tattered Flag by Carl Sandburg, The Instinct of Hope by John Clare, To Hope by John Keats, and “Hope” is the Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickenson, in primary, elementary, cursive, and a notebook sheet for high school students (and moms)
- Memory Work: Prayer and scripture memorization
- Living Books recommended reading list
- Artist & Picture Study: Dorothea Lange with six printable photographs
- Composer Study: Jelly Roll Morton with four classical pieces (+ listening links)
- Hymn Study: Blessed Assurance, with sheet music and listening links
- Folk Song Study: The Arkansas Traveler, with sheet music and listening links
- 6 Teatime Recipes: Mock Apple Pie, Water Pie, Tomato Soup Spice Cake, Chocolate Wacky Cake, Bread Pudding, and a Butterless, Milkless, Eggless Cake.
- 1 Storytime Tea, a Mythology Tea, a Fairy Tale Tea, a Fable Teatime, and a Music Teatime: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Golden Touch” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Little Snow-White” by The Brothers Grimm, “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” by Aesop, and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” by Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney
- History & Geography: The Great Depression Facts study, selections from Home Geography by C.C. Long
- Handicraft: Decoupaged Glass
- Art Lesson: Red Hot Franks Collage
- Nature study: Great Depression Nature Study
- And more!
Ready to explore history using tried and true Charlotte Mason methods? Get your guide today and let your adventure begin!
Have a Historical Painting Party!
We have included an art lesson in this curriculum recreating “Red Hot Franks” by Leon Bibel, a Great Depression-era artist. “Red Hot Franks” depicts a man selling street food in New York city and is notable for its depiction of an everyday city scene brought to life with imaginative colors and a distinct style. We recommend getting some tea time recipe leftovers for a snack and putting on music from our featured composer, Jelly Roll Morton, for an even more immersive experience while creating this!
Red Hot Franks, recreated by Olivia Gratehouse.
Enjoying your paint party too much to stop? Grab these lessons from the Masterpiece Society to keep the fun going!
Living Books to Explore the Great Depression In Your Homeschool
Discover more about this pivotal period with these living books that will make history come alive for your family. Check them out from your local library or add your favorites to your family’s permanent collection by grabbing them below!
Elementary & Middle Grades
Meet Kit: An American Girl 1934 (The American Girls Collection, Book 1)
Welcome to Kit’s World, 1934 : Growing Up During America’s Great Depression (The American Girls Collection)Bud, Not Buddy: (Newbery Medal Winner)Children of the Great DepressionA Year Down YonderRudy Rides the Rails: A Depression Era Story (Tales of Young Americans)My Name Is America: The Journal Of Cj Jackson, A Dust Bowl MigrantThe Mighty Miss MaloneOut of the DustRose’s Journal: The Story of a Girl in the Great Depression
Upper Grades
CrashMoon Over Manifest: (Newbery Medal Winner)The Grapes of WrathEsperanza Rising (Scholastic Gold)Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch CampWhatever Happened to Penny Candy? A Fast, Clear, and Fun Explanation of the Economics You Need For Success in Your Career, Business, and Investments (An Uncle Eric Book)
Geography
Home Geography for Primary Grades (Living Book Press)
Family Read Alouds
Where the Red Fern GrowsSarah, Plain and Tall: A Newbery Award Winner (Sarah, Plain and Tall, 1)Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
We hope you and your family are inspired by learning tales of perseverance and hope as you explore the Great Depression!
As you delve into the stories and lessons of ‘The Great Depression,’ you’ll find opportunities to inspire your children with tales of hope and resilience. This curriculum is more than a study of the past—it’s a chance to connect with the values that carried a generation through adversity. Let history come alive in your homeschool and leave a lasting impact on your family’s understanding of perseverance and courage! And remember:
“It may be that the souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living.”
-Charlotte Mason
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