Warning.
I’m going to begin this review in an unconventional way. I’m going to begin by telling you who should not use TruthQuest Homeschool History curriculum.
You should not use TruthQuest History if:
- You want a daily schedule with exact pages to read.
- You want a weekly plan with a list of suggested books.
- Your student does not enjoy reading.
- You are looking for lots of hands-on-projects.
- You are looking for worksheets or discussion questions to accompany your reading.
- You are easily overwhelmed by an excess of resources and feel obligated to use them all.
- You do not wish to teach history from a Christian perspective.
Now you may be wondering what exactly you will find in Truthquest history programs.
The short answer is books.
Lots and lots of lists of books. All nicely ordered and categorized.
But it’s not just a booklist. At the beginning of each section, the author, Michelle Miller, has written a general overview of what the student will be reading about in each section. This is not just a factual summary, but looks at history through the lens of a Biblical Worldview. This overview sets the stage for what is coming up. It’s a very small part of the program if you just compare the total number of pages of commentary to pages of lists, but it’s a key component.
I warned you at the beginning of this review that this was going to be an unconventional review. Now I’m going to get really personal.
I received Age of Revolution III to review. This program is designed for students in grades 5-12 and covers the years 1865-2000. This really could not have come at a better time for us. We were just finishing up our study of the Civil War in our current history program. Truthfully, we have been limping through history for some time. I just can’t seem to make our current curriculum work for our family. My 8th grade son hates history and doesn’t want to do much reading, while my 6th grade daughter loves history and spends her free time reading historical fiction. And my other 2 students… Well, big confession. I haven’t even been doing any history with them. So my “family” history program is just not happening here. I knew I needed to look for a different option for next year, but as it turns out, I didn’t have to wait for next year.TruthQuest History is ideal for my daughter. It gives us a thorough outline for her studies and provides book suggestions. So all I have to do it stay on top of ordering books from the library to make sure she has several books to choose from. She’s a very self-directed learner and I’m excited about the freedom from a schedule that TruthQuest provides. I’ve felt the need to move towards a more relaxed homeschool for years now, but my perfectionist tendency to push through a schedule hadn’t allowed it. TruthQuest History is helping me to relax and let my daughter enjoy her studies. It allows her time to dig deeper into some topics. We can add in projects that she wants to pursue.
Now I know I’m gushing. That’s why I started this review with the limitations of this program. I am not going to be using it with my older son. But I am really excited about the rest of this year and next year for my daughter. If this sounds like a good program for your family, take a look at their website. You can view the Table of Contents and Sample sections for any of the 11 books they offer. There are 3 American History manuals for younger children and 8 World History manuals for 5-12 grade. Prices vary depending on the size of the manual, but Age of Revolution III is $34.95 for a printed version or $29.95 for the pdf.
Disclosure: I received a pdf copy of Age of Revolution III in order to write this review. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.