Looking for homeschool classic literature resources? In this post, I share all about Heritage Humanities, a free platform for kids and families.
Some of my favorite parenting moments revolve around reading. Snuggling under the covers at bedtime, feeling their warm, soft little bodies cuddled up next to mine as they ask for one more chapter.
Or all of us sprawled throughout the living room eagerly discussing our latest read-aloud and what we think might happen next.
Books and literature are an important part of our homeschool and our family. Which is why I was excited to hear about Heritage Humanities.
The platform is a wonderful resource for classic literature books and homeschooling. We’ve used it for a few months now and in this post, I’ll tell you all about our experience.
I was compensated for my time reviewing Heritage Humanities and writing this post. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided.
Why Classic Literature for Kids
Before we get into the details of Heritage Humanities, let’s talk about why classic literature is great for kids. I advocate for reading anything your children will listen to, but if you get a chance, it’s worth exploring classic books.
When most people hear about classic literature they think “Oh, I had to read that in high school.” Books like these are also often used in homeschool philosophies like Classical Education, Charlotte Mason, and Literature-Based.
As an eclectic homeschooler, I like classic literature because they’re great books. They’re classic for a reason. They’ve stood the test of time and are a wonderful educational tool.
Reading classic books can:
- Enhance reading comprehension
- Offer insights into history and different cultures
- Introduce moral and ethical values
- Develop critical thinking skills
One of the things I like best about classic literature is it helps us step back from our busy modern lives and experience something different.
A disclaimer about classic literature
As much as I see the value in sharing classic books with kids, it does come with some downsides. One of which, is that it’s not uncommon to come across culturally insensitive or offensive themes and language in older books.
I’ve found it best to read ahead of my children so I can be aware of certain language and decide how I want to handle it. At different ages, I have different approaches to dealing with those situations.
For example, with my son who’s 6, I reword sections when I can or skip certain books altogether. However, with my daughter, we might read it and then stop to talk about how the author thought back then, and why that was wrong.
At 13, she’s mature enough to have these discussions, while my son is not. As the parent, you can decide how to handle it with your child.
Here are some resources I found helpful:
- How Do We Address Racism in Classic Children’s Literature?
- Little House, Big Problem: What To Do with “Classic” Books That Are Also Racist
- What to do when you realize classic books from your childhood are racist
Homeschool Classic Literature (Free!) With Heritage Humanities
So where to find homeschool classic literature? Try out Heritage Humanities! It’s a free platform with a growing collection of classic books.
The platform is described as an online library of Western Heritage Education. They’ve got books by Aristotle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Homer, William Shakespeare, and many more.
The collection spans five categories including:
- Greece
- Rome
- Judeo-Christian Theology
- British Inheritance
- Additional Electives
Grade/Age Range
The collection at Heritage Humanities covers ages 6-18. They’ve got McGuffey’s Eclectic Readers and Aesop Fables all the way through The Federalist Papers and Hamlet.
It’s nice to find a resource with options for the whole family. I found books for my son (1st grade) and my daughters (3rd grade and 8th grade). And even more I could use later down the line.
How to Get Started With Heritage Humanities
Using Heritage Humanities is super simple. All you do is:
- Head to Heritage Humanities.
- Click the button that says “Go to Application.” From there you’ll be taken to the library of books where you can find one you want to read.
- Click a book you’re interested in. From there you can click:
- “Start reading” – This will take you to the beginning of the book.
- “Start listening” – This will take you to a page where text-to-speech technology will read the book to you.
- Choose a chapter from those listed below to jump to a certain section of the book.
That’s it. From there, you’re ready to read or listen to any of the books in their extensive library.
Creating an account
Heritage Humanities also allows readers to create an account on the platform. Like everything else on the site, the account is completely free.
Creating one allows you to keep your place in each book and the platform will keep track of your progress. I like having an automatic bookmark as we read, especially if I have multiple children working on different books.
It’s also nice because we can easily track what’s been read.
Why Use Heritage Humanities Over Other Learning Resources
So why choose Heritage Humanities for your homeschool classic literature? Between Kindle, Audible, and Libby, it’s not hard to find books, right?
Well, Heritage Humanities has a few features that help it stand out:
It’s free
When it comes to homeschool curriculum of any kind, I’m all about free. One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is being able to start and stop curriculum or programs depending on how they’re working for my kids.
I can’t tell you how many times we’ve paused a curriculum to work on another one for a while and then picked it back up 3 months later. Or I’ll have a program work great for one kid and the other 2 hate it.
Having free resources like this to fall back on gives me so much peace of mind. We can use it when we need it without stressing or feeling guilty about whether I’m using it “enough” to justify the cost.
No late fees or overdue books
Libraries are great resources for free books, but they have their limitations. First, you have to ensure the book you want is available.
Then, you only get it for a limited time before you have to give it back. Or if you’re like me, you keep it for 3-4 extra weeks because you forget to go back to the library and rack up a bunch of late fees.
With Heritage Humanities, you get 24/7 unlimited access to their full collection of homeschool classic literature. It’s there waiting for you whenever you want to use it.
Audiobook and ebook
Another great feature of Heritage Humanities is that you can choose between audiobooks or ebooks for every title. With their text-to-speech technology, every book can be read to you on the platform.
That’s a feature you can’t get borrowing from the library.
This is a great way for children who aren’t strong readers to still enjoy classic literature and learn from it. As parents, we can listen along with our children to monitor their understanding and discuss the books as needed.
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A Few of My Favorite Things
As a self-proclaimed ebook nerd, I’ve been around a few e-reading platforms. Here are a few things I like about Heritage Humanities:
Easy to navigate
For starters, the platform is simple to navigate. You can easily search and filter through all the titles in their library.
I also like that you can search by age through the different books. It gives me a nice starting point to decide what to read.
Easy to adjust font sizes
I’ve got pretty poor eyesight, and my daughter is worse than me. We need big text to read comfortably.
Heritage Humanities allows you to adjust the font size to be bigger and switch between color themes. Considering how often I’ll read in bed from my phone, this is a great feature.
Built-in dictionary
Another nice feature of Heritage Humanities is they include a built-in dictionary. Right at the top of the application, you can search for the meaning of any word.
Type the word in the search bar and click the search icon. A box will pop up with pronunciation, grammar, and a definition.
This a great tool for kids reading independently or even parents who come across words they aren’t familiar with. I can’t tell you how many times my kids asked “What does (random old word nobody uses anymore) mean?” and I looked it up for the accurate definition.
Books for all age ranges
The last thing I like about Heritage Humanities is their large library of books for all ages. You’ll find something for the whole family.
You don’t have to hunt through different platforms for each age. Everything is easily accessible in one place.
The Best Ways to Use Heritage Humanities
Now let’s go over the best ways to use this resource for homeschool classic literature. These are a few of my favorite suggestions:
Read-alouds
Classic books make great read-alouds. You can have everyone gather around the table after breakfast, lay out on a blanket outside, or even listen while riding around in the car running errands.
You can use Heritage Humanities to add more classic literature to your family reading list.
Part of Your Lesson Plans
Another way to use Heritage Humanities is to add homeschool classic literature to your lesson plans. Many homeschool philosophies emphasize the use of classic books. Some of the most common are:
- Classical Education
- Charlotte Mason
- Literature-Based Learning
Heritage Humanities would be a great way to supplement those homeschool methods.
Reading Practice
Another great way to use Heritage Humanities is for reading practice with your kids. For younger students, the McGuffey Primers and Readers are great resources.
(I actually used the paperback version of McGuffey Eclectic Primer to teach my son how to read.) For older students, they have everything from Treasure Island to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Memory Work
Heritage Humanities also has a selection of popular speeches, poems, and documents that can be used for memory work. This is great for classical education or to have your child practice memorization skills.
Your child can choose a piece to memorize and recite back to you.
Family Discussions
Another great way to use Heritage Humanities and classic books is to spark family discussions. You can choose a book and read it together. Then afterward, you can discuss it.
Classic books present a safe, fictional space to tackle tough subjects like character, morality, racism, and injustice. It’s a great way to engage your children in meaningful conversations.
Copy Work
Another great way to use Heritage Humanities in your homeschool is for copy work. Copy work is when you have your child copy sentences or passages from a book.
It helps with handwriting, spelling, and grammar skills. Classic literature provides a variety of sentence structures and vocabulary to practice.
This method of teaching is often used in Classical and Charlotte Mason homeschooling.
Bedtime Stories
My favorite way to use Heritage Humanities is for bedtime stories. It’s my favorite time to read with my children.
We’re snuggled under the covers and everyone is winding down from our day. It’s nice to pull up a story that takes us to another place and time as we get ready for bed.
Because the books from Heritage Humanities are always available and free, I never have to worry about rushing through our reading. We can read at whatever pace we need.
I also like that we can reread stories as often as we want without worrying about returning a book to the library.
FAQs About Heritage Humanities
If you’re new to Heritage Humanities, here are some common questions:
What devices is Heritage Humanities compatible with?
Heritage Humanities is compatible with all devices. You can use it on the computer, laptop, mobile, and even your tablet. If you create a free account, you can easily switch between devices and still keep your place in your books.
Do I need an account?
You don’t need an account, but the platform is much easier to use if you have one. The account is free, so there’s no reason not to get one.
How often are new books added?
The platform has an extensive collection already. However, they do ask for donations and support so they can continue to expand their library and improve the platform.
How do I know if the books are appropriate for my child?
This can be a tough question. As I mentioned before, classic books can contain culturally-insensitive language and themes, even in children’s literature.
I recommend researching the book ahead of time if you haven’t read it before. A quick Google search can give you a summary of the book including important themes, what to avoid, and recommended age guidelines.
Heritage Humanities has a description for some books and an age filter. However, I found language I wouldn’t want my kids reading on their own in books for kids 6-9.
It often depends on the author and the timeframe in which the book was written.
Where can I sign up?
Head over to Heritage Humanities’ website to explore their library of books!
Final Thoughts on This Homeschool Classic Literature Free Resource
If you want free homeschool classic literature books for your family, check out Heritage Humanities. Whether you’re looking for your next bedtime story or want more resources for your lesson plans, their extensive library has books for the whole family.
Their easy-to-use platform lets you easily add classic books to your curriculum no matter what homeschool style or method you use. And you can’t beat the convenience of a free resource you can access anytime and anywhere.
Have you tried Heritage Humanities before? Let me know what you think in the comments below. Want more homeschool curriculum reviews and recommendations? Join my weekly newsletter for homeschool parents and families!
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Candice is a mom of 3 who has been homeschooling since 2013. She has an A.A.S. in Early Childhood Studies and cares deeply about helping other parents get the information and resources they need to help them homeschool their children with confidence.