Our History Resources for 2011-2012

One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is being able to learn alongside my children. I enjoy combining all of my children for read alouds, Bible time, science, and history lessons. This year, we are using The Mystery of History  as our spine for history lessons.We are planning on going through the entire series of the Mystery of History books, using one per year. This year, we are starting with book one, which covers history from Creation to the Resurrection. I love that The Mystery of History is chronological, Christian, and  can be adapted for various age ranges. We complete three lessons per week, which seems substantial enough, yet not overwhelming.

Veritas Press History Cards

The Veritas Press cards can be used to make an easy timeline!

This is our first year using the Veritas Press History cards, and they are so impressive! They each contain a famous work of art depicting the historic event. On the back of each card, there is a brief synopsis of the event and resources to further one's study about the event. The Mystery of History isn't very colorful , yet it is meaty, and I find these two resources to complement each other very well. The Veritas Press cards provide much color and visual stimulation for my children as I read aloud to them. One of our favorite games is for me to show them the Veritas Press cards,one at a time, and see who can tell me about each event. Whoever described the most events is the winner.

Hold that Thought 

Hold that Thought's Tower of Babel page

The 10 Commandments page

My third grader and first grader each have a history binder, which we are beginning this year. Each binder is divided into four sections, one for each year of history we will be studying in chronological order. We using a combination of blank notebooking pages, as well as some sheets from Hold That Thought. Hold that Thought sells simply amazing notebooking sheets, which cover a plethora of topics. They sent me a couple cds to review, and the one we are using most of all this year is the Advanced Old Testament cd. These pages are stunning, and correspond beautifully with the rest of the history materials I am using this year. I was so surprised by how many printable sheets are on one cd! They also sell cds of timeline figures, which are of great quality!

Here is a screenshot of the event sheet topics for the Advanced Old Testament cd:

I am hoping that the history notebooks we are creating will be treasured by my children, as they grow. Hold that Thought sells so many amazing notebooking sheet cds. I would love to try this for my kindergarteners, one day!

Books, Books, Books

We go to the library once a week or bimonthly, to pick up the books I have reserved via inter-library loan. Rather than searching for various books with my four children in the library (aka....known as chaos) , I generally reserve the books online. We are enjoying reading a variety of books correlating to our history and science studies.

Between using The Mystery of History, Veritas Press History cards, Hold that Thought notebooking pages, and reading a ton of books, we are having a great time learning history, this year.




I would love to hear how you enjoy learning with your little ones!


Disclaimer: I received Veritas Press History cards and Hold that Thought cds for free, in exchange for an honest review.