My second grader and I are now on the second volume of The Mystery of History for our history curriculum and I can say I would definitely recommend it as the best Christian homeschool history curriculum I’ve come across so far. Of course, no curriculum is perfect, and I have several quibbles with this one. But overall, it is worth the price – the textbook AND the companion guide.
Why a Chronological History Sequence
I grew up with Abeka’s history sequence, which alternated every year between US history and world history. It wasn’t terrible, but let’s just say that I think history could have been handled a lot better. Especially as a kid who grew up in England and didn’t understand why all of a sudden the British were the baddies, this approach really made me resent learning US history. It wasn’t until I was much older that I came to have a better appreciation for US history in its context.
Reading The Well-Trained Mind a few years back, I was first introduced to the idea of doing everything chronologically. And even though this has gotten blown way out of proportion and has actually been used incorrectly as the definition of a classical education, I must say that the idea of studying history chronologically makes the most sense to me. Why start a child with his country’s history when he has no understanding of the context of that history? It makes so much more sense to just start at the beginning and go in order.
Overview of The Mystery of History Series
There are four volumes to this history curriculum, written by Linda Lacour Hobar. They are intended to be able to be cycled through, from elementary through high school. For example, after going through all four volumes in 1st through 4th grade, you can start Volume I again in 5th grade and go more in depth with the projects and additional reading.
Volume I – Ancient History – Creation (c 4000 BC) to The Resurrection (c AD 33)
Volume II – Medieval History – The Ascension to the invention of the printing press (1456)
Volume III – The Renaissance – The War of the Roses (1455) to Isaac Watts (1707)
Volume IV – Modern History – Bach (1708) to the “War on Terror” (2014)
Volumes I-II Review: What Makes This the Best Homeschool History Curriculum?
PROS
- Beautiful and appropriate artwork and photography.
- Weaves Biblical events seamlessly with the rest of world history.
- Has craft and art project suggestions for every lesson. Though some are better than others, it’s a great place to get ideas. These suggestions are also divided into three categories based on age. So if we cycle through the books again, there will be more activities that are age-appropriate.
- There are many possible map projects throughout the text as well, making it easy to incorporate a more rigorous geography study.
- There are several good additional reading suggestions for a range of ages.
- The curriculum is designed to be a complete course of study for an academic year. There is definitely enough material to keep a history enthusiast busy.
- The lessons are not too long – about 3 pages on average. This keeps the pace moving and makes it easy to stay on track, even for busy homeschoolers.
Highlights
In all honestly, I’ve never been the artsy/craftsy type. My kids only get that kind of stuff in Sunday School (gluing cotton balls onto sheep outlines) or dance camp (making ballerinas out of popsicle sticks and muffin papers). So whenever I decide to do a craft project, it’s a big deal. The crafts and art projects in The Mystery of History Companion Guide have been great so far. Sometimes we do the crafts geared towards elementary students, and other times we get more ambitious and attempt the middle school appropriate projects. Either way, the projects have really helped to keep history fun, interesting, and hands-on. If it’s a busy week, you can easily just do the reading. But if you have a special interest in a topic, it’s just as easy to dive in and make a lesson more interactive.
Things to Consider
CONS
- The writing style is VERY informal. It is written in first person and contains many sentences that start with “I think…” I know it’s impossible to have an unbiased anything, let alone a history textbook. But the very casual tone and constant insertion of the author’s opinions are quite irritating. I’m always having to skip over them as I read the lessons to my daughter.
- The writing can also get quite preachy at times. There isn’t a single lesson touching on a religion that does not include a comparison with Christianity. In fact, there is almost an apology for the amount of time spent learning about Islam. I don’t understand this at all.
Bonus
This year, I had a moment of weakness on the Timberdoodle website and bought a book of historical paper doll characters to use with history. It’s been a hit so far. And even though the paper doll characters only pop up every few weeks, it helps keep things interesting and hands-on.
Looking Ahead
Even though I plan on finishing the series, I will probably not cycle through these textbooks. At least, not three times. I want to dedicate at least one year of history going through Our Island Story and studying British history in depth. Then probably a year for US history and government. I’m not sure exactly what I will do yet. But I do think that The Mystery of History is a really great way to give my elementary student the big picture of world history. Which is why I’m calling it the best homeschool history curriculum.
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