This Year’s Feast

The Shared Selections for 2026–2027 — the artists, composers, poets, songs, and stories we’ll feast on together, unit by unit.

This Year’s Theme
Education is an Atmosphere
Semester 1 Scripture
Psalm 1
Semester 2 Scripture
Philippians 4:4–9

All Year Long

The standing feast
Shakespeare

Twelfth Night

This year’s play, selected by the Guild. Students 12+ study, read, and narrate it through twelve first-semester meetings, with voluntary practices building toward a fall performance. Scripts are provided by the chapter and stay at co-op.

Plutarch

Alexander the Great

This year’s “Life” — a living perspective on history, read and discussed in the after-lunch block alongside Shakespeare.

Morning Time

Our Daily Rhythm

  • Folk Song · Call to Order
  • Lord’s Prayer
  • Nicene Creed
  • Student’s Prayer
  • Scripture Memory
  • Chapter Morning Time Choices
  • Mother’s Blessing
Folk Songs

Sung Together

TermSong
Fall · 1st six weeksIf I Had a Hammer
Fall · 2nd six weeksEnglish Country Garden
Spring · 1st six weeksWaltzing Matilda
Spring · 2nd six weeksRoll the Old Chariot
Listen on Spotify Lyrics Document
Unit 1
Aug 21 – Sep 11
Artist Study

Sultan Mohammed

Iranian · Medieval
  • Shah Tahmasp and his Court at the Celebration of Id
  • The Lovers Picnicking
  • Untitled
  • The Court of Gayumars
Alternate: The Feast of Sada

Certain paintings contain religious themes in line with the Muslim faith — presented, as always, with historical objectivity.

Composer Study

Johann Sebastian Bach

Canon composer
  • Cello Suites (Yo-Yo Ma)
  • Coffee Cantata
  • Concerto for Three Violins in D major
  • Toccata and Fugue
  • St Matthew Passion
  • Mass in B Minor
  • Flute Sonata in E Major
Composer Playlist

One playlist holds all six composers — look for the Bach selections.

Poet & Literature Study

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Unit 2
Sep 25 – Oct 16
Artist Study

Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance · Canon artist
  • The Mona Lisa
  • The Last Supper
  • The Lady with an Ermine
  • The Baptism of Christ
Alternate: The Annunciation
Composer Study

Luigi Boccherini

  • Cello Sonata in F Minor
  • String Quartet in C Major No. 6 (on the Master and Commander soundtrack)
  • Complete Symphonies, Vol. I–VII
  • Cello Concertos
  • Guitar Quintets, Vol. I–III
Composer Playlist

One playlist holds all six composers — look for the Boccherini selections.

Poet Study

George Herbert

Unit 3
Oct 30 – Nov 20
Artist Study

Rosa Bonheur

Classical / Romantic
  • Plowing the Nivernais
  • The Horse Fair
  • Changing Pastures
  • Col. William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill)
Alternate: Weaning the Calves
Composer Study

Fanny Mendelssohn

  • String Quartet in E-flat major
  • Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 11
  • Notturno in G minor
  • Das Jahr (The Year)
Composer Playlist

One playlist holds all six composers — look for the Mendelssohn selections.

Poet Study

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Canon poet — Charlotte Mason loved him
Unit 4
Jan 22 – Feb 12
Artist Study

Albert Bierstadt

Impressionist / Realist
  • Long’s Peak, Estes Park
  • Old Faithful
  • Looking up Yosemite Valley
  • Chimney Rock, Ogalilah
Alternate: Sunlight and Shadow

There are two different prints titled “Long’s Peak, Estes Park” — the selection team preferred one; check with your Feast Cycle Majesty.

Composer Study

Edvard Grieg

Canon composer
  • In the Hall of the Mountain King
  • Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
  • Piano Concerto in A Minor
  • March of the Dwarfs · Troll Song
  • Norwegian Dances, Symphonic Dances & Lyric Suite (album)
  • Sigurd Jorsalfar
  • Six Ibsen Songs
Composer Playlist

One playlist holds all six composers — look for the Grieg selections.

Poet Study

Emily Dickinson

Canon poet
Unit 5
Feb 26 – Mar 19
Artist Study

Harvey Dunn

Modern
  • The Prairie is my Garden
  • The Flame that Cuts Through Sea and Steel
  • The Homesteaders
  • Jedidiah
Alternate: Just a Few Drops of Rain
Composer Study

Howard Hanson

  • Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” — Adagio
  • Lament for Beowulf
  • Merry Mount Suite
  • Rhythmic Variations on Two Ancient Hymns
  • New Land, New Covenant (oratorio)
  • Concerto for Organ
Composer Playlist

One playlist holds all six composers — look for the Hanson selections.

Poet Study

Edgar Guest

Modern
  • Courage
  • Ambition
  • Little Master Mischievous
  • No Place to Go
Unit 6
Apr 2 – Apr 23
Artist Study

Elin Danielson-Gambogi

  • Still Life
  • The Piano Player
  • En Solskensdag (A Sunny Day)
  • In the Vineyard

Note the difference between the Finnish and English titles when searching for prints.

Composer Study

Joe Hisaishi

  • Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (album)
  • Merry-Go-Round of Life
  • The Legend of the Wind
  • Kiki’s Delivery Service
  • Ponyo · Sisters Lend a Hand
  • Hey Let’s Go
Composer Playlist

One playlist holds all six composers — look for the Hisaishi selections.

Poet Study

Sara Teasdale

For the Littlest Listeners

The Preschool class uses Can You Hear It? as its composer study companion through the year. And for who’s teaching each Feast Cycle class this unit, see the Unit Class Assignments page.

“Education is the science of relations.” — Charlotte Mason

Shared Selections 2026–2027 · Education is an Atmosphere
Larkspur Chapter · Living Feast Collective
For member use only, please