I started using Little Footprints with my daughter who is turning 6 this year. I am a primary school teacher with a literature degree and I have always struggled with the difficulty of incorporating living, engaging thematic learning into disjointed seemingly arbitrary curriculums. Charlotte Mason principles have been a breath of fresh air to my soul. Your programme has given me the most liberating platform and foundation for applying this approach to the rest of her school career. ~ Bronwen Willans
We received our books today and I can’t wait to get stuck into The Last Century with my girls! Thanks so much for all the links and movie suggestions. My word, there is so much to look forward to! ~ Lizelle Lee
We are loving both Nature Quest and Footprints and footprints. I’m loving the integrated learning approach, as well as the story-based foundation. Just wanted to let you know. The kids were so excited about their own Notebooking pages and they are currently decorating their treasure chests. ~ Jessica Stanier
Voetspore 1 is een van die beste toevoegings tot ons tuisskool wat ons kon maak. Ons is mal oor al die lewendige boeke en oulike idees in die handleiding! ‘n Ware tuisskool-skat! ~Heidi Kluever
I opened our box this morning, and I was speechless. I did Little Footprints with my children a few years back. We enjoyed it so much. Ever since you announced the Afrikaans Voetspore, I was literally dreaming of buying the curriculum. We finally took the step, and WOW!! I am speechless. My husband asked me if I had to review this on Google what would I say? My answer was short and sweet “WOW”. I looked through the curriculum on the internet, but receiving it stunned my expectations. ~ Estelle Botha
I started using your [Little Footprints] programme in 2020, and I was blown away. The time has come to move onto the Footprints programme. ~ Donna
“As an Afrikaans family we’ve been using your Little footprints and Footprints on our land programmes and though they are great and we REALLY enjoy using them, Voetspore is by far the most enjoyable because it’s in our own mother language. I can’t describe to you how nice it is to open Voetspore and just read to my children in Afrikaans and I don’t have to translate all the time.” ~ Mrs Badenhorst, Western Cape.
We chose to do the Footprints curriculum over two years….really allowing the things to take root and focus on deeper learning.It has been absolutely amazing and watching my son grow, deepen in knowledge and wisdom. It has absolutely blown my mind. My dad who was the biggest critic (he is a retired principal) was absolutely blown away and won over somewhat. In fact most of the older members in my family hail from the educational sector and they are amazed at the growth. ~ Annuska [surname withheld]
“A big thank you for our wonderful parcel we received on Friday. Wow!!!! There was big excitement in our house when we opened the box!!! We just finished our first lesson this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, thank you!!! Looking forward to the rest of this wonderful curriculum.“ Jean-mari van Vuuren
“Ons geniet Voetspore verskriklik baie! Die boeke is pragtig en die geskiedenis word soveel meer lewendig daardeur.“ Elrika van der Merwe
“My kids got up early this morning to do their maths so they had more time in the morning for Footprints. They love it!” Rox Brummer
“This multifaceted curriculum has taken a big burden off our shoulders and hearts (and pockets)…We are the “first” HOMEschoolers in our family and friends circle… and it is a very daunting unknown path. But listening to you and Shirley has calmed us, and granted us confidence into the unknown (following your Footprints as far as we can). ” Judy-Lynne Lange
“Footprints has changed dreams I didn’t even know I had into a magical reality!” Hanneke Barlow
“Every homeschool family living in SA or SA expats should do this programme.” Simone Eichler
“Your curriculum has changed our lives and enabled us to have this lifestyle and know my kids are learning loads.” Elanza le Roux
“I would just like to congratulate and thank you both for such an outstanding contribution to homeschooling. Absolutely love Footprints, it’s made me fall in love with literature again and I have seen such a change in my children and am so thankful for their appreciation of books.” May Coomer, The Farm School, Ballito
“We have grown together. There is no stress and happy learning kids.” Shannon Strauss
“I am so THRILLED to see my son excited about BOOKS!” Colleen, Eastern Cape
“I’ve used and re-used our Footprints into the 21st Century three times with each of my high schoolers. It has been a unique journey and approach with each child, one I highly recommend. My eldest did almost all the assignments, my middle child worked very independently, finding value here and there, and I am currently working through the curriculum again together with my youngest teen. Because we do a lot of the reading together, I have really LOVED the course this round! This time we are stretching it out over 2 years, taking our time to enjoy the journey. As an adult studying our history through Footprints, I’ve been struck by how strongly I feel emotionally, about some of the literature! During my childhood and teen years, we were fed such terrible propaganda. It has been a delight to read of other’s perspectives and experiences through the wonderful collection of literature, and I find a renewed understanding of our history.” Nadene Esterhuizen, Homeschool Western Cape on Facebook
“Please know that we have absolutely enjoyed doing Footprints into the 21st Century. It has been much more than I ever imagined, and it has opened up different opportunities to address/talk about things that we would, otherwise, not naturally have started conversations on. Even myself … I have learnt much and have been challenged to revisit some of my own beliefs, interpretations and understandings. I feel liberated! I also feel this curriculum has helped give my teens a push into being far better prepared for life after the school years.” Charmaine Ressell
“I have done both Little Footprints and Footprints Heritage, and I am going to start Footprints in the 21st Century next year. My kids and I have absolutely loved following this beautiful curriculum and every homeschool family living in SA or SA expats should do this programme – your children are seriously missing out on the best way to learn about our beautiful country if not!” Simone Eichler
“I would highly recommend Little Footprints. After 10 years homeschooling, I have not found a nicer, or more lovely and relaxed approach to homeschooling that stirs up a love for learning like this programme does. Beautiful SA based stories with lots of stimulating activities in the mommy manual based on wonderful South African children’s stories. You can contact Shirley Erwee on this loop for more info. She is one of the writers of the curriculum.” Saskia Guy
“I am delighted with the books and your work material. I feel energized once again to do something which is fun for both me and my child, thanks!” Marjo, Zambia
“Footprints curriculum package is a wonderful, rich learning experience for those who can read the amazing ‘living-books’, research online and go on some relevant outings!…I highly recommend Footprints On Our Land!”Nadene Esterhuizen, Practical Pages – click to view some of her family’s inspiring learning activities using Footprints on Our Land
“The courier delivered the box today. We are all in homeschool heaven. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.” Margaret Lesley
“Just also to say, this is order constitutes my daughter’s 3rd phase of Footprints – having done Little Footprints & Footprints on our Land previously. So enjoy the heart behind your material & it has been a great blessing not to have to “filter” much out of our daily teaching.” Bridget Roodt
“I couldn’t put lovely l inspiring it down. Needless to say we have no food and this evening’s dinner consisted of leftovers! I was riveted!”Anonymous
“We are doing Footprints on Our Land. You cannot go wrong. My boys LOVE the stories. And you can research the topics as much as you want. There are no time limits, you work at your own pace. Soon we will be building a mini replica of Bartholomew Dias caravel. It’s very hands-on… definitely our favourite part of our homeschool day.” Candice S.
“We used the program and it was great fun. Because of the difference in age in my kids, we read some stories together, and some on their own providing the others with summaries… the content was engaging and there is soo much scope to add to elements that interest the kids. We are lucky to live in Cape Town, so we could do a lot of expeditions to find the facts. Definitely a great way to introduce kids to theme-based learning.” Isabel L.
“We are thoroughly enjoying it. It makes you love and appreciate South Africa. It makes you want to go and explore your own backyard and your city/town to try and find our local treasures. You can also chop and change and make it your own as much as you want to. I as a parent might even be enjoying it more than my kids!” Bronwyn M.
“We love every aspect. It is an adjustment. Once you find the routine the kids and parents learn so much together. We have grown together. We love all the books, tasks, hands-on. It opens their imagination. There is no stress and happy learning kids.” Shannon S.
“Mainstream friend hates SA history, we love it all because of Footprints! Huge opportunity to enrich it even further.” Mandy W.
“I just wanted to let you know that I think the Footprints programme is outstanding and we are so enjoying it. I am especially very appreciative of all the effort and extras you have put into the manual. You have it all there for me. We have all been enriched by Footprints. I have learnt with the kids and we have enjoyed all the books immensely. Even Andrew, our 5-year-old has enjoyed them and he loved hearing about the“whopper” and The Big Hole at Kimberley. It has been a special experience; the heroes and heroines and families have become our friends; we identified very strongly with many of them.” Pam, Sedgefield
“You have put together a very interesting and comprehensive course.” Miriam, Private schoolteacher, USA
“I was really excited when I heard that something similar existed for South-African history. Thank you for the tremendous work you did to make South-African history fun!” Missionary family, Peru
“I can hardly wait until my son is old enough to do Footprints.”
“Very well researched! Something that South African homeschoolers can be proud of.”
“We are LOVING Little Footprints. Thank you for making my life easier with this programme.”
“I am so excited about the Footprints into the 21st Century program!”
“Thank you so much for putting so much effort into making our lives easier.”
“It fits in so well with our lifestyles as we travel all over South Africa”
More Testimonials
More encouraging great homeschool curriculum customer reviews:
From Wendy Botha, October 2014
I am doing Footprints in our Land with our boys Joshua (age 11) and Matthew (age 8) and we are loving it. The boys are so enjoying the stories and the concept of stepping into history with the characters that it is almost impossible to put the books down, the end of each chapter is met with cries of “Oh no! Please don’t stop, just one more chapter!”. At this stage we are doing all the books as read alouds so as to cover the work together.
We’ve also incorporated the lap books and find them very enjoyable too. As we work through the various activities outlined in the Footprints manual, we’ve had great fun. For first-time bread bakers we did a pretty good job, in our opinion, but alas not the same can be said for our ginger beer … it was more like ginger BEER, think we left it to ferment a tad too long (we added ginger beer as part of experimenting with yeast and what it can do).
Our boys have a natural love for history and this curriculum absolutely speaks to them. Long after we have finished a story a conversation often spontaneously starts going back to something in one of the stories, I can see that the cogs are turning and they’re thinking!
Our further studies and interests take us to other faraway places and periods in history and it is so interesting to hear as one of the boys will piece together where another part of history fits in with what was happening in South Africa at the time, or whether a specific incident in history happened before or after the arrival at the Cape, using the start of South Africa as an anchor.
We have just finished Land of the Watching Eyes and have been blessed with an opportunity to visit Cape Town in October as Matthew has qualified for SA gymnastic finals.
We have extended our trip by a few days and plan on visiting as many of the sites suggested in the Footprints manual as we possibly can fit in.
Thank you Wendy and Shirley for putting together this most amazing curriculum.
Thank you for your time and effort in inputting into various Facebook groups and the tuisonderwys group (I only know of the ones I have joined, I am sure your sphere stretches much further), always ready to offer a word of encouragement, Godly direction and sharing your years of research and personal experience.
Footprints On Our Land
From Kathleen – Sept 2010
We have been doing Footprints for about a month now. I must say that we enjoy it very much. As a child, I hated history at school, especially South African history but now I can’t wait to discover more.
Footprints has made the history come alive. My son was imagining something today about the Khoi-Khoi people and shared it with me in his playtime. What I like too is that they identify with Ghamka and his people and feel sad for them when bad things happen – what a good way for them to learn to see things from a totally different point of view.
My daughter who is only in Grade 1 understood the water cycle once we did the experiment of the water bowl in the sun and explained it to me. There is nothing like that feeling when your children understands something and you know that for life it’s embedded in their brain because they didn’t just hear about it but made it and drew a picture of it.
From a mother’s point of view, Footprints is the highlight of our school day – I love discovering more about the people of the past and about our country! And we’ve all discovered things about our family tree that I never knew!
November 2006
“Dear Wendy and Shirley
We have nearly completed our Footprints journey; I plan to read the last 2 books during the holidays. We have all been enriched by Footprints. I have learnt with the kids and we have enjoyed all the books immensely.
Even Andrew, our 5-year old has enjoyed them and he loved hearing about the “whopper” and The Big Hole at Kimberley. We are going to be in the Cape in February and will have a Footprints Holiday.
Jess and David are looking forward to seeing the places we have read about. It has been a special journey for us as a family as it has been the start of our homeschooling journey as well. I have to share with you something which I have been aware of ever since we started with Footprints which was October last year.
Life IS sometimes stressed and pressurized, but I was always aware, whenever I bent down to find the Footprints manual and the current book we were busy with, of a strange feeling of peace. Maybe it was due to the relief that we would now all be working with material that we all enjoy and derive pleasure from.
I like to think that it is also due to the prayer that has gone into the Footprints program and the fact that you both walk closely with God. It has been a special experience; the heroes and heroines and families have become our friends; we identified very strongly with many of them.
The timeline of South African history is very clear in both Jess and David’s minds, not because of any drilling on my part, but purely because each book evoked each period so vividly that it left an enormous and very clear impression.
Mark and I both have clear recollections of learning History at Primary School; it was very dry and boring and we are so glad that our kids have had this experience. A fun family activity which we enjoyed with my folks was our 1820 settler supper. Somewhere in the book Strangers in our Land, we read that the family was living off pumpkin fritters and mielie bread. We baked them as you suggested and then decided to have a dinner and invite the grandparents.
One thing led to another and when we all sat down together that night we had candlelight, wooden eating utensils (arranged by Mark), menus made by kids, wors and milk tart made by Granny. We had toy snakes crawling around us positioned by Andrew and most fun was we were all dressed up. Granny and Granddad arrived dressed like 1820 settlers and we all rushed around, raided our dressing up closet and all found something suitable.
The boys were chuffed to be armed with toy guns and Mark even found his old bayonet much to David’s delight. We had a lovely supper and pretended we were the Smith Family, newly arrived from England. Jess and David had a lot to contribute even down to wondering when their carrots would grow as they had planted them 5 foot deep.
Andrew eventually got scared with all the talk about wild animals and insisted we switch just one light on. It was a magical evening for all of us and one which made very special memories. I am sad that we are nearly finished with the program. We plan to do Sonlight next year and are excited about that, but we will definitely come back in a year or two for the next Footprints program.
Pam”
31 May 2007 – Another letter from Pam:
“I also just wanted to really thank both you and Shirley for the Footprints series, what an awesome way to learn. It is a very high standard against which I compare all our other learning material.
I am about to order [another curriculum] and I really hope that their way of teaching history is similar to yours, providing us detail within a very specific time frame without gaps. You really gave us such an excellent timeline to work with and also the detail we carry in our hearts is awesome.
I appreciate what you have done for South African homeschoolers studying our own country. I look forward to our next Footprints adventure in high school. We have held back [the seashore study] and are doing it together now. It reminded me of how much fun we had doing Footprints on our Land. A great blessing!!!
“When I first started home schooling, I looked at various curriculum, and felt most drawn to a literature-based, Christian-centred program like Sonlight, but I was concerned about the fact that there was such a strong emphasis on American History.
When I heard about a South African curriculum called Footprints on our Land which had a similar emphasis to Sonlight, I was immediately interested. Once I looked a little further, I was delighted to find that Wendy and Shirley had prioritised good quality literature, and ensured that the perspectives on the history of our country were as unbiased as possible.
It was only after I purchased the package, and began using it, that I could apply the real acid test however … which was to gauge the response from my son!! And he has thoroughly enjoyed discovering his heritage in this beautiful country through the captivating stories in the Footprints curriculum. Many days he begs me to read more than the chapter or two of recommended reading, because he simply can’t wait until the next day to see what happens!!
I have often thought that I would enjoy putting my own curriculum together for my sons, but practically it is impossible – so I have really enjoyed using Footprints as a starting point, and allowing it to inspire all sorts of wonderful and exciting journeys of discovery. We have found that many of the suggested activities in the parent guide have been done with gusto, but most times they lead into a delightful tangle of tangents, during which we’ve learned more about our world and each other.
“What a delightful curriculum! The quality of the reading books in this program is outstanding in every way. All the books are all rich in language, beautifully illustrated and communicate profoundly to our children through their insightful, touching messages.
As our family journeys through the reading and the recommended activities, I am constantly reminded of Marilyn Howshall’s exhortation, to ‘create a lifestyle of learning’ by remembering that ‘we are educating our children’s hearts first and then their minds.’
The Little Footprints program gets to the heart in a wonderful way, both through the reading material, and through the carefully thought-out activities which creatively introduce our children to the fascinating world in which we live. It is a curriculum which is rich with ideas, but at the same time acts as a catalyst for the mother, inspiring further investigation and sparking fresh ideas.
Shirley Royal”
Footprints On Our Land
“Dear Wendy and Shirley
I just wanted to let you know that I think the Footprints programme is outstanding and we are so enjoying it. I especially am very appreciative of all the effort and extras you have put into the manual. You have it all there for me.
For example, just yesterday I was wondering how I could make a melktert – and then I found your recipe! Again, when we did one of the books, it talked about baking bread. My son had asked me what yeast was and hey presto, there was your answer, complete with an easy, child-friendly method to make bread AND experiments! Perfect!!!
It is so easy on me and I do appreciate that – especially as we do not have available the usual SA library resources or even places to visit, and yet, we are able to make much of it and enjoy it. With four children aged four and under and two older ones, we are limited as to how much we can go “out” anyway so your book and the other books that I have been able to find here have made it very Mom-friendly too!! ? I also have appreciated how we have been able to pick it up and let it drop as needs must (we had twin boys 9 months ago) with no loss of interest or damage.
The little picture disc and book reviews that the boys do after each story have really helped develop their ability to remember the stories and our discussions and condense information to the salient points. The first time we did the summary, it took them ages to write, with me coaching every step of the way. (It was torturous – I groaned inside, wondering if it would be like this all the way through!!!) But now, they can just sit down and do it.
It is by far and away my older boys’ favourite “to do” and we have access to art courses, science work, etc and yet they always choose the SA books.(I confess, both my husband and I are right up there with them– we have recently cut down dramatically on TV and use that time in the evening, when the littlies are finally in bed, to read aloud.
It is truly a family thing!) It may seem most odd to be living in the UK doing a SA History programme but I really do believe that God wants us to embrace our culture and our heritage as a reflection of who He is, and this enables us to do this so well. So, thank you! And be encouraged!
Kerry “
Footprints On Our Land
South African Homeschool Curriculum
A literature-based South African homeschool curriculum series in unit study format for multi-level learning
