l8-start
- Reviewed on Thursday, October 29, 2009
- Grades Used: 2nd
- Dates used: 2009
TruthQuest -American History for Young Students I
Not a good fit for us :(
I guess I am in the minority, but my DD and I did not like TruthQuest history. I really wanted to love it, I really did. I loved the concept and that is was in the Charlotte Mason style, but it just did not work for us. We are more hands on and less reading. My DD is just learning to read so I ended up reading most of the books and she would fall asleep. Here is a pros and cons list.
Pros:
1. Christian world view and shows how history is about what God did through people.
2. Interesting and informative narrations.
3. Extensive book list to choose from.
4. The guide is inexpensive.
Cons:
1. No lesson plans- this was hard for me since I am a list maker/check-er off-er type.
2. Very few activities that involved arts and crafts or cooking
3. many books were out of print, hard to find or too expensive to buy- my public library is pitiful here in the middle of nowhere.
4. too much reading for a beginning reader and for me too!
Needless to say we have switched to a FREE curriculum I found on the web at
http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/curriculum.html
Memorable Places American History Grades 2-6
It still uses living books, but it also incorporates crafts (my DD's FAVORITE subject in school...ART)recipes, and links the lesson to science and world history. The best part it is as only heavy on the reading as you want it to be. The lesson plans are done and are available for FREE download.
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carla36301
- Reviewed on Tuesday, March 31, 2009
- Grades Used: 4th through 6th
- Dates used: 2006 through 2009
We used American History for young students I, II, and III for 4th through 6th grade. We loved it! The first year, I tried having him keep a notebook, but that just wasn't working. Finally, I just relaxed, read him the commentary, and we picked books from the list (usually biographies) and sometimes watched movies and documentaries to complement what we studied. We did no tests, but I could see that he was learning. Later in the day, during his play with his legos or action figures, he would recreate what we learned in history that day. (He denies this, however! LOL!) While I loved it, I feel like starting next year in seventh grade we need to go back to a more traditional textbook approach as I want accountability with tests, etc., but we thoroughly loved TruthQuest!
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home4028
- Reviewed on Tuesday, March 24, 2009
- Grades Used: 2nd -
- Dates used: 2008-2009
Truthquest History consists of a very affordable guide to history that contains an extensive list of real books for reading and some commentary to guide you through the sections. It is very easy to implement. Our family has really enjoyed the reading selections suggested.
This guide is best used when you have a good library system to use. That, or, you could go through and pick out books you really want to read and buy them. ($$) We have been going through the U.S. History for young student guides. Each major section is divided into smaller subjects to study with a list of possible books to read. Each book is also labeled as to the possible grade level of the book - very helpful.
I will say that sometimes books that she says "don't miss" are ones that are out of date and even difficult to find in the very large library system in my city. That gets a bit frustrating. But, I have learned that finding a book on the same subject, even one not mentioned in the guide, works just as well. The idea is just to keep going in a certain direction with the teaching of history.
As I have mentioned, each major subject is divided into smaller subjects to study. Such as, a section on the Revolutionary War might include smaller sections on persons of interest with books to read on them, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Washington, etc. I found that if you try to read even one book from each small section, it will take you a very very long time to get through the guide. I thought the first guide would take us a school year. It took us 2. So, pick and choose. Don't worry about gaps - they'll be made up when the subject is brought up again with later studies of history.
We really like this curriculum. My ds very much enjoys the books we read about history as opposed to dry facts and dates to memorize. He gets excited about the adventures we read about. I do supplement this curriculum with some history activities in the form of arts, crafts, games, etc that help cement in what he has learned.
Very affordable. Great recommendations of books. A good guide. We will be staying with this curriculum for a while.
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tennmom
- Reviewed on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
- Grades Used: 1st grade
- Dates used: 2007-2008
I want to start this review off with a disclaimer. I live in a city with not one library, but 5. They allow me to put a hold on books on the internet. They also transport books from one library to another, free of charge. Take this into consideration. I would not have been able to afford all of these books if this were not the case.
When I began TruthQuest, I was very excited about it. I still am. This lady, has found some true gems, that I never would have known about without this guide. I feel like my daughter and I have really gained from these wonderful, but sometimes obscure books. Many were in "storage" at my library. Some I found for free on the internet and some I bought at Amazon for very cheap.
My daughter is only 6, but is a very excellent reader. She has extremely high comprehension skills. Still I felt like some of the books listed as 1st grade were a little to much. Maybe not in small chunks. But if you were to do small chunks for every book, you would not be able to cover half of the topics she covers. I found the Kindergarten level books to always be about right. Half of the 1st grade books were fine and even some 2nd grade books.
Do not plan on covering every topic. Be choosy. If you try to cover every topic, or even close to every topic, you're going to stress out. Also, this guide requires planning ahead of time. I always went through the guide, looked up books on my library website. Put the ones they had on hold. I would pick them up two days later.
Near the end of the school year, I considered not doing this again next year. I thought, even though it's wonderful and I love it, it's also my highest maintenance subject. But then I went to my daughter and asked her what her favorite and least favorite things were that we did. TruthQuest history was her favorite, especially when accompanied by a coloring picture :) So we will do it again. And though I kind of dread the time spent, I must say that I'm much better at it now and it goes much faster and smoother than it used to. Really I'm quite glad, because the books are that good!
Lastly, I want to mention some of my daughters favorites!
All of the biographies written by d'Aulaire
Boys and Girls of Colonial Days by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
Sarah Whitcher's Story by Elizabeth Yates
Elin's Amerika by Marguerite de Angeli
Little Runner of the Long House by Betty Baker
The Legend of New Amsterdam by Peter Spier
Joining the Boston Tea Party by Diane Stanley
If you buy TQ for a younger child, don't miss these books. If you've read any of these and love them, then you know what caliber of book Miller is offering. She gives grade level and sometimes writes a little blurb about individual books. I hope this has been helpful, if somewhat verbose.
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