Parents of high school-aged students will want to choose a history curriculum that encourages students to read and think about original documents. Older Students Should Focus on Original Documents These quick stories make for perfect starting places to begin asking questions with your student about the character of these figures, the morality of their decisions, and their impact on future events. In order to encourage this curiosity and discussion, parents will want to choose a history curriculum that asks open-ended, thoughtful questions rather than simply providing multiple-choice answers.įor instance, if you are studying American history with your middle-school aged student, The American Experience Storybookoffers clear presentations of the lives of great historical figures in the history of the United States. Students at these ages want to know why a particular strategy worked for Napoleon or why the South lost the Civil War. Middle Students Should Focus on Questioning and UnderstandingĪs students progress into the junior high years, parents will want to consider a homeschool history curriculum that gives students many opportunities to ask and answer good questions about history and to have good discussions with their parents and peers.
Because young children need to build this timeline of history, many parents choose a homeschool history curriculum that teaches history in chronological order.Īs far as resources, there is no better comprehensive overview of world history for young students that is also told from a Christian worldview than that provided by The Story of the World. And if you are looking to supplement your history studies at home with great read-alouds, look no further than the Echoes trilogy, which walks parents and children through the history of the ancient, old, and new world periods with classic poems and tales perfect for reading aloud. This prepares the way for students to make sense of their later history studies. For example, in the Classical Conversations ® Foundations program for students ages 4 and up, we encourage parents to sing with their children what we call the “Timeline Song” and practice recalling dates on the Classical Acts and Facts ® history cards.
Very young students should be delighted to meet the major figures of history and to hear stories of their triumphs and defeats.Īt the same time, they should begin to assemble a mental timeline of world history. Young Students Should Focus on the Historical Timelineįor elementary-aged students, the best homeschool history curriculum will include two things: good stories and activities to memorize key names, dates, and events. And the best history curriculum will make sure that they study each of these periods once in elementary school, once in the junior high years, and once in the high school years to reinforce their knowledge and understanding of these times. Students should be exposed to ancient history, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, American history, and recent history.
For very young children, the aim of any history curriculum should be to introduce the important people and places of world history.
CLASSICAL CONVERSATIONS HOMESCHOOL CLASSROOMS HOW TO
So, then, if you are on the search for the best homeschool history curriculum, keep in mind another quote, this time from British poet and statesman John Milton, that education should stir our students “with high hopes of living to be brave men and worthy patriots, dear to God, and famous to all ages.” How to Choose the Best Homeschool History CurriculumĪs you choose a homeschool history curriculum, you should consider the idea that history studies should inspire children to be brave and worthy men and women. How and what you teach your children about the past can have the power to shape their worldview and their future choices. What should be included in the best homeschool history curriculum?Įveryone has heard that the phrase, “He who doesn’t know history is doomed to repeat it.” The clear takeaway from this statement is, of course, that history is important.
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