A year of American stories, read aloud at your table.
One value a week. Two or three audio stories your kids will ask for again: an American story, a classic, sometimes a poem. A printable pack for talking, narrating, copying and building a timeline. You press play. Nothing to prep.
How a week runs
Fifteen minutes a day, in whatever order fits your morning.
Every week has the same seven parts, so by October the children know the rhythm and run it themselves. Here is one way to spread them over five days.
| Mon | Press play | The 40-second opener and the first story. Ask the question at the table. |
| Tue | Talk it over | Discussion questions, two levels. Then the narration prompt, out loud or on paper. |
| Wed | Second story | The classic tale or the poem. Copywork from the week’s source. |
| Thu | Timeline | Date and place the American story on the wall timeline. Read “What really happened.” |
| Fri | Third story | Coloring page while they listen again. Pick a favorite line to keep. |
A sample week
What's something you've always wondered about?
For the youngest · What's something you really, really want to find out?
- 01Benjamin Franklin and the Kite in the Storm · American storyNobody knew for certain what lightning was, so Benjamin Franklin flew a kite with a key up toward a thundercloud to find out.
- 02Goldilocks and the Three Bears · Classic taleA girl walks into an empty cottage and tries every bowl, every chair, every bed to find which one is just right — curiosity and trespassing can look an awful lot alike.
- 03Helen Keller Learns to Read · American storyDeaf and blind since before her second birthday, Helen Keller lived in a silent dark until her teacher spelled W-A-T-E-R into her palm at the pump and she understood, for the first time, that everything has a name.
Talk it over · If you could find out the answer to any one question in the whole world, what would you ask?
Read the whole weekScope and sequence
Thirty-six weeks, following the calendar.
The year runs with the holidays, so Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day and Memorial Day each arrive with their own stories. Character study comes from the stories themselves, never from a lecture.
| No. | Week of | Value | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sep 6 | The Builders · Labor Day | Mother Jones and the Mill Children · John Henry |
| 02 | Sep 13 | Helpers | Sacagawea and the Long Road Home · Little Red Riding Hood |
| 03 | Sep 20 | Hard Work | Booker T. Washington's First School · Young Abraham Lincoln and the Books by Firelight · Audie Murphy, the Farm Boy Who Went to War |
| 04 | Sep 27 | Keeping a Promise | Martha's Winter Camp · Casey Jones · The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
| 05 | Oct 4 | Home and Belonging · Indigenous Peoples' Day | Young Martin in Atlanta · The Children at Ellis Island · The Refugee Family's First Thanksgiving |
| 06 | Oct 11 | First Peoples and the Land · Indigenous Peoples' Day | Sequoyah and the Talking Leaves · Sacagawea and the Long Road Home · The First Thanksgiving |
| 07 | Oct 18 | Curiosity | Young Abraham Lincoln and the Books by Firelight · Sequoyah and the Talking Leaves · The Wright Brothers and the First Flight |
| 08 | Oct 25 | Hospitality · Thanksgiving | The Refugee Family's First Thanksgiving · The First Thanksgiving |
| 09 | Nov 1 | Service · Veterans | The Tuskegee Airmen · Martha Washington and the Eight Long Winters · Casey Jones |
| 10 | Nov 8 | Service · Veterans Day | The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier · Audie Murphy, the Farm Boy Who Went to War · The Eleventh Hour |
| 11 | Nov 15 | Gratitude · Thanksgiving lead-in | The Refugee Family's First Thanksgiving · The Children of Charleston Carry the Roses |
| 12 | Nov 22 | Gratitude · Thanksgiving | The First Thanksgiving · Sarah Hale's Seventeen Letters |
| 13 | Nov 29 | Kindness | Beauty and the Beast · The Christmas Truce of 1914 · The One-Room Schoolhouse Teacher |
| 14 | Dec 6 | Peace · Dec countdown | The Eleventh Hour · Penn's Treaty with the Lenape |
| 15 | Dec 13 | Forgiveness · Dec countdown | Beauty and the Beast · Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper |
| 16 | Dec 20 | Peace · Christmas Truce | The Christmas Truce of 1914 · Androcles and the Lion |
| 17 | Dec 27 | Hope · year-end | Harriet Tubman and the North Star · Snow White · The Boy Who Rang the Liberty Bell |
| No. | Week of | Value | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Jan 4 | New Beginnings · New Year | The Children at Ellis Island · Rip Van Winkle |
| 19 | Jan 11 | Hope · MLK | Sleeping Beauty · Sarah Hale's Seventeen Letters · The Eleventh Hour |
| 20 | Jan 18 | Standing Up For Others · MLK Day | Young Martin in Atlanta · Remember the Ladies: Abigail Adams Writes to John · Mother Jones and the March of the Mill Children |
| 21 | Jan 25 | Kindness | Teddy Roosevelt and the Teddy Bear · Johnny Appleseed · The Gift of the Magi |
| 22 | Feb 1 | Curiosity | Benjamin Franklin and the Kite in the Storm · Goldilocks and the Three Bears · Helen Keller Learns to Read |
| 23 | Feb 8 | Honesty · Presidents' Day lead-in | Young Abraham Lincoln and the Books by Firelight · The Room Where the Words Were Written · Audie Murphy, the Farm Boy Who Went to War |
| 24 | Feb 15 | Leadership and Character · Presidents' Day | Washington at Valley Forge · Garfield and the Canal-Boat Lock |
| 25 | Feb 22 | Perseverance | The Tortoise and the Hare · The Wright Brothers and the First Flight · Helen Keller Learns to Read |
| 26 | Mar 1 | Patience | Helen Keller Learns to Read · Sleeping Beauty · Norman Borlaug and the Wheat That Fed the World |
| 27 | Mar 8 | Making Things | The Wright Brothers and the First Flight · Benjamin Franklin and the Kite in the Storm · Betsy Ross and the First Flag |
| 28 | Mar 15 | Cleverness | Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby · Jack and the Beanstalk · The Three Little Pigs |
| 29 | Mar 22 | Courage | Harriet Tubman and the North Star · Ruby Bridges Walks to School · Jack and the Beanstalk |
| 30 | Mar 29 | Humility | The Tortoise and the Hare · Norman Borlaug and the Wheat That Fed the World |
| 31 | Apr 5 | Generosity | The Gift of the Magi · The Farmer Who Fed His Town · Johnny Appleseed |
| 32 | Apr 12 | Wonder at Nature · Earth Day | Davy Crockett, Frontier Boy · When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer |
| 33 | Apr 19 | Caring for the Land · Earth Day | Johnny Appleseed · George Washington Carver: The Plant Doctor |
| 34 | Apr 26 | Hard Work | John Henry · The Three Little Pigs · Betsy Ross and the First Flag |
| 35 | May 3 | Responsibility | Ida Lewis and the Light on the Rock · Casey Jones · The Ant and the Grasshopper |
| 36 | May 10 | Teamwork | Paul Revere's Ride · The Travelling Musicians |
In the weekly pack
Seven parts. One PDF. Print it Sunday night.
- 01Press play
- A 40-second opener names the week’s value and asks the question. Then two or three 8–12 minute audio stories — an American story, a classic tale, sometimes a poem.
- 02Talk it over
- Discussion questions written for the table, with a simpler version for your youngest. No right answers to grade.
- 03Narration prompt
- One prompt for oral or written narration, Charlotte Mason–style.
- 04Copywork
- A short passage from the week’s source — a line of the Preamble, a stanza, a quotation.
- 05Timeline card
- A dated card for each American story, to build a wall timeline across the year.
- 06What really happened
- A one-page history note for each American story: what the record says, what we don’t know, and where to read more.
- 07Coloring page
- Line art from the week’s cover illustration, for little hands while they listen.
How the stories are told
History, told honestly. Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Sequoyah, Helen Keller, the Wright Brothers. Real people at real moments, as adventures a child can ride along with. Every American story comes with a one-page note on what the record says and what we don’t know. Nothing is sanitized: Washington owned slaves, and the stories say so at a level a child can hear.
The canon, read aloud. Aesop, Grimm, Perrault, Andersen, Stevenson and Lear in faithful retellings, not the cartoon versions. When a source carries faith, it stays: the fourth verse of the anthem, Andersen’s endings. We never add religion a source doesn’t carry, and there are no living political figures and no side to take.
Made for the whole table. One story for everyone, with questions at two levels, so the kindergartner and the fifth grader hear the same thing and talk about it differently. It is audio, so eyes stay on the coloring page, the timeline or the window. No ads, no autoplay.
Questions homeschool parents ask
- What ages and grades is it for?
- Ages 4–10, roughly K–5. Mixed-age families use it together: everyone hears the same story, and the questions come in two levels.
- How long does it take each day?
- About 15–20 minutes. Play one story, talk about it, and do one printable. Most families use it at Morning Time; it works just as well at lunch or in the car.
- Are the stories true?
- The American stories are real history, told as adventures a child can ride along with. Every one comes with a “What really happened” page, so you always know what’s in the record and what’s storytelling. We don’t sanitize. Washington owned slaves, and the stories about Harriet Tubman, Ruby Bridges and Sequoyah say what happened, at a level a child can hear.
- Is it religious?
- It’s secular. When a source carries faith, we keep it: the fourth verse of the Star-Spangled Banner, Andersen’s endings, Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood church. We never add religious content a source doesn’t carry.
- Is it political?
- No. It covers the founders, inventors, ordinary heroes and the classics. There are no living political figures, and no side to take.
- What does it cost?
- The Homeschool Edition is planned at $79 a year per family. That covers all the audio, every week’s printables and the scope and sequence. Families on the waitlist get first access and the founding price.
- Can I use ESA or scholarship funds?
- We’re working on marketplace listings so families can pay with ESA funds. Join the waitlist and we’ll tell you which states and marketplaces are approved.
- Do you have co-op or micro-school licenses?
- Yes, we’re planning them. They include multiple seats and a discussion guide for the leader. Email contact@onceuponamerica.us and tell us how many children you teach.
- Can we start now?
- Yes. The audio stories and the weekly Almanac are live today in the Once Upon America app. The Homeschool Edition adds the printables, the school-year plan and a web player for laptops and Chromebooks.
First access, founding price.
We are building the Homeschool Edition with the families who sign up first. You will see the first printables before anyone else.
One email to confirm, then only Homeschool Edition news. Privacy