A gentle, story-rich introduction to learning for South African homeschoolers
Stories are where learning begins.
Before children ever sit at a desk or open a textbook, stories capture their imaginations, build their vocabulary and awaken their curiosity about the world around them. Research shows that children who are read to daily benefit from a 1.4 million word advantage over their peers—an incredible head start that gives them a lifelong academic edge.
That’s why Little Footprints – South Africa in Stories uses the power of living books and hands-on exploration to nurture your child’s love of learning naturally and stress-free.
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 Willams
Watch our Little Footprints video “explainer”
Discover South Africa through Stories
This Charlotte Mason–style curriculum introduces your family to South Africa’s people, places and wildlife through beautifully illustrated stories and gentle activities that bring social studies, geography and nature to life.
You’ll meet brave children, inspiring heroes and fascinating animals as you read together—then expand the learning through art, poetry, music and delightful hands-on projects. Each story opens a door to discussion, imagination and discovery.
The stories in Little Footprints include a wide variety of children from all cultural groups and all walks of life. These stories take place in settings as far-flung as the Bushveld of Mpumalanga to a township in Cape Town, from the rolling, green hills of KwaZulu-Natal to the dry, sandy Kalahari. There are Karoo stories, seaside stories, desert stories and a river story, rural stories and city stories. There are families that look just like yours and there are stories of families who look nothing like yours at all!
Your children will see not only their own culture but also others reflected in the pages of the stories. They will learn that we are not all the same, but we are all significant. They will also discover that we all have an identity, we all belong and we have a shared humanity that binds us. At Footprints, we strive to make learning come alive through stories that honour all the people who make up our nation.
What’s new in the updated full-colour edition?
Our newly updated edition offers even more of what Charlotte Mason called “a generous education.”
It now includes:
- Poetry study to inspire a love of language and rhythm
- Music appreciation introducing children to South African and other musicians
- Art appreciation with picture studies and creative activities
- Beautiful full-colour pages and updated design with checklists for record-keeping
- Printable templates and activities for nature study, journaling and creative expression
- New South African children’s stories replacing out-of-print titles
- Access to our new online course webpage, filled with bonus materials, short videos and free printables to enrich your lessons
- Vital tips and encouragement for mothers to build your confidence
With everything thoughtfully planned and at your fingertips, you can focus on what really matters—spending meaningful time learning alongside your child.
For children at Grade 1 level or above, just add your chosen Maths and Phonics programmes.
Why stories work
Reading together doesn’t just teach words, it builds brains. The language and ideas absorbed through stories shape a child’s ability to think, create and connect. Unlike textbooks, which only stimulate the language centres of the brain, stories also activate the sensory centre, the emotional centre and even the motor centre of the brain. By captivating attention and engaging children’s emotions, story-based learning is powerfully effective.
Modern neuroscience shows that stories make learning stick!
Charlotte Mason believed that education should be a delight, not a drudgery. Little Footprints follows that gentle philosophy, guiding your child to learn effortlessly through stories, observation and conversation.
We love all the books, tasks, hands-on. There is no stress and happy learning kids. ~ Shannon Strauss
With Little Footprints, learning happens naturally:
- No endless worksheets
- No classroom pressure
- No stress for you or your child
- No tears and struggles
Just meaningful, story-based learning that fits beautifully into your family rhythm.
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.
Beautiful SA based stories with lots of stimulating activities in the mommy manual…
~ Saskia Guy
Why families love Little Footprints
- Simple open-and-go method: Minimal prep, maximum engagement
- Local and relevant: South African stories, settings and values your child can relate to
- Flexible: Easily adapts to different learning styles and family schedules
- Connection-focused: Encourages conversation, imagination and family bonding
Give your child a lifelong advantage—through stories
When you read aloud, you’re doing more than teaching words, you’re shaping a lifelong learner.
With Little Footprints, you’ll cultivate curiosity, creativity and a deep connection to South Africa’s rich heritage, one story at a time.
Let stories do the teaching.
Let curiosity lead the way.
Start your journey with Little Footprints – South Africa in Stories today.
What’s inside?
Little Footprints is aimed primarily at children between the ages 4-8 years, but the lessons are easily adaptable for younger or older children.
The lesson topics, over 140 in total, vary from story to story, according to the subject-matter of each book and include the following categories:
- Social Studies
- Nature Study
- Science
- Geography
- Language
- Poetry
- Music Appreciation
- Art Appreciation
- Bible Study
- Memory Verses
- Copywork for handwriting
- Maths Skills
- Life Skills
- Art
- Crafts
- Cooking
Children are made readers in the laps of their parents.
EMILY BUCHWALD
What do you get when you order Little Footprints?
The Little Footprints package includes
- Curriculum guide for parents
- 29 story books to read aloud
- 2 SA poetry books
- 3 South African reference books
- 3 Colouring books featuring SA flora and fauna
- SA children’s atlas
- South African outline wall map
- Picture discs to cut out and colour
- Printable maps and templates for various activities
- Course webpage with enrichment videos, printable templates and other resources
The Curriculum Guide
The curriculum guide contains all the lesson plans, teaching advice and scheduling tips.
Each book is summarised at the beginning of the lessons and a checklist of subjects and topics is provided for your convenience.
If you are concerned about ‘doing enough’, you can rest assured that Little Footprints meets and exceeds about 90% of the topics suggested in the government’s Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS). You will be giving your children a far richer learning experience than any textbook-based or classroom experience could offer them. Read the comparison: Little Footprints and CAPS
All you will need to add to these story-based lesson plans is an age-appropriate maths and phonics program, if your children are ready for that.
Articles about how to give your children a generous education following the ideas of the revered 18th century educator, Charlotte Mason are also included for your convenience, plus tips and encouragement about homeschooling, drawn from our 25+ years of experience.
The Map and Picture Discs
We supply Little Footprints picture discs, one for each story, which you may print or photocopy, cut out and colour for your own children’s use.
On completion of each story, the appropriate disc should be placed on the South African map, which is included with the curriculum. In this way your children will develop a good sense of the geographical setting of each story and have a visual reminder of what they have learnt.
See what our happy customers say …
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
We have been doing Little Footprints for probably 2 years now. Yes, we are doing it slowly and calmly. There are so many things to discover and do, so many beautiful books to read. ~ Merinda Nagel
My son is graduating with an American high school diploma this year, Lord willing, and we’re looking back on many blessed years of home education. Little Footprints helped form a firm foundation. ~ Tania Hattingh
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
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…
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.
Highly recommended!
~ Shirley Royal, Durban
Order Little Footprints
Everything you need is included in the package. Below are some optional extras.
- ABC Fun & 1-2-3 – a preschool guide to the alphabet and counting for children between ages 3-6 years
- Little Footprints Copywork pages – printable templates containing the sentences for copywork for each lesson.
