I have always shyed away from world history so my older two never got much formal study in it. With my younger two, ds10 (11 in Aug.) and dd8 I’m thinking I want to do something with them. Maybe a brief overview? Or I guess I could wait until they’re a bit older…
I’m trying to simplify my curriculum a bit and seem to do better when I just pick and choose and combine as much as possible. I have to be honest and say I find a lot of resources for the Ancient/Middle Ages time periods to be boring and tedious so I think that’s why I never started. And I’m sure they would be more interesting once we get into it.
I’m considering using MFW CTG because it’s something we can do together and has some activities along with it. I like how they integrate Bible…I tend to try boxed stuff and then scale back to doing my own thing - HOD is just too much everyday and I can’t really combine, Sonlight books are great but that’s all there is and I feel @the Bible is tacked on. Some of those really CM programs are too, I don’t know, unrealistic for my family. We just are not going to study Plutarch. No offense. I need something simple. Any suggestions?
Have you looked at Simply Charlotte Mason? https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/product-category/product-history/. There’s no Plutarch and plenty of Bible. You can go as fast or as slow as you want.
Schoolhouse Teachers (www.schoolhouseteachers.com) may have some courses you’re interested in, too. They’re a subscription site, but right now are holding a sale.
We did Sonlight world history core b+c this past year and it was really good. It moved fast though, as to be expected. We didn’t do bible or much of anything else except the history part and the read alouds. I got a scratch off map (like a lotto ticket) of the world and when we came across a new country in the guide, we’d read a page from our CHILDREN JUST LIKE ME book or our Masterbook geography book and call it a day. Kids got a good overview of the world and had fun doing it!
If that’s too much, then head over to Guest Hollow, she has a free curriculum for world history with books, movies and activities listed all in one place. It’s a great list to pick and choose from. She even has book descriptions on there.
Or just read Child’s history of the world and leave the first few sections out, it’s secular. They even have it on audible.
My last recommendation would be to use Beaufitul Feet Books. I love their stuff and it’s sooo simple and easy to do. The teachers guide is super thin and very doable. If the age range is above your kiddos, just read the books to them instead. (The age ranges is usually by reading level) you can always call them too and get advice.
HTH!
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll look into those! Anybody ever use TruthQuest?
I relate to you in this matter. I also like to mix and match curriculum and make it fit to what works for us and what I want to use.
Currently I do use Truthquest history. I like it because it is so versatile, you can pick and choose which topics you are going to cover. You actually need to do that because there is just so much that it is impossible to do it all. And I like it because it adds living books to our studies. So, because it is a list of living books and I don’t cover everything in the guides, I like to add a lighter study that will more quickly (and that will not be too in-depth) cover the time period being studied and add hands on activities, especially for up to 8th grade or so. For this purpose I use Time Travelers or Project Passport by Homeschool in the Woods.
And I will mention History Revealed! by Diana Waring. I have the material and I haven’t used it yet but we will be taking some ideas from it. It is similar to doing the above two that I mentioned together but all in one. It’s worth taking a look at. I really like it and the cds are very good, and also mentioned in the TQ History guides.
Hope this helps!
The Story of the World series are perfect for young children. They are written in a conversational style and there are four history periods to choose from. Some Biblical events are studied in the Ancient Civilizations volume, but I couldn’t say it integrates Bible. I am using them with kids ages 8-14 and everyone loves them.
The Mystery of History is similiar and it integrates Bible, the first level looks amazing but it seems to me that each level increases in reading difficulty.
Other option could be The World’s Story by Angela O’Dell from Masterbooks. It is also written from a biblical perspective.
I hope you find what you are looking for!
We are in a similar boat but this year we are trying Sonlight core W for my 12yo. He loves to read and retains a lot from it, so I’m hopeful that this one-year world history program will be a good fit. Last year we did Horizons for grade 6, which covered major civilizations of the world and I really liked that too, but my son felt there were too many tests.
Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I’ll look into those.
We used TruthQuest a few years ago and I loved it. I am still using it alongside another program for quality book suggestions and just received three in the mail from Abe Books that were suggested by TruthQuest and I already love them and know my kiddos will, too. I am actually considering returning to TruthQuest when we finish with our current program in a few years. 