Mom28kds Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I'd like to do US History for my kids next year. They will be in 4th 5th and 6th. I like christian perspective and I not much planning. Years ago I did Sonlight but sold all the books haha. Now I'm on my 2nd round of kids and need some ideas of what some good ones are. I'd like it to be budget friendly because I'll be done with homeschooling and won't need it any more. Any suggestions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanabug Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I will have a 5th and a 3rd grade next year, and we are going to use Notgrass' America the Beautiful. It's designed for 5-8 grade, but I'm planning to stretch it out over 2 years. Lana 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Notgrass. My son will be using their world history for high school. All their books are full color, interesting and readable and include primary sources. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Agreed. Notgrass' middle school stuff is meant to work for that range of ages. It's open and go and laid out for the kids to do themselves if you want it to work that way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 We LOVED America the Beautiful here! My older kids were ho hum about the upper level US History, so I was hesitant to get this one, but middle ds loved it in 6th-7th. (We did it in one year, just started during the last half of 6th.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) I just got CLE's new 8th grade textbook, Changing Frontiers. It's beautiful and very unbiased from all I've read thus far. It could be used as a read aloud spine. https://www.clp.org/store/by_course/80 Edited April 9, 2016 by mom31257 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Agreed, Notgrass. We aren't even the right kind of Christian for it (we lean more Progressive, Social Justice Catholic vs Conservative Evangelical Christian) an my son is an agnostic, and we still have really liked their stuff. We are using the high school American History and my son is having very good retention with it (hard for him..he has poor working memory) and I ADORE the primary source book. Like, love it love it love it. It has a FANTASTIC collection of primary sources...things like poems (My Captain, My Captain!), hymns, speeches, letters from famous presidents, even an excerpt from a New England Primer! I could sit with it for hours. And again, my son, who hates schoolwork, came to me after reading the letters from John Adams and said, "Mom, why don't people write that well anymore?" So yeah, it's not as deep as I'd want in some places, and we don't agree with some of the Bible stuff, but that's easy to skip for us when we need to, and the rest has been totally worth it. Another option is the Catholic Textbook Project From Sea to Shining Sea, but it might be too much for your younger, and of course, it's Catholic. And honestly, as much as I love the Catholic Textbook Project books they don't have the same level of ease of use in a homeschool setting. Close, but not there. For instance, CTP has sample test questions for your use in the teacher's manual, but then I have to type them out. With Notgrass they come on perforated pages that you teear out of a pack and hand the kid. Stuff like that just makes it easier on a day to day basis. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Another vote here for Notgrass! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wehave8 Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 What about Heroes and Heroines of the Past by Amy Puetz I have it to use for next year....then again, I'm torn between it and Notrass. Mine will be 9, 11, and 13 next year. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I just got CLE's new 8th grade textbook, Changing Frontiers. It's beautiful and very unbiased from all I've read thus far. It could be used as a read aloud spine. https://www.clp.org/store/by_course/80 Quick question...are the Light Units supposed to serve as workbooks to go along with the text? I always thought of the units as separate self-directed courses. (It looks like you choose a "study method", either Light Units or the worksheets, to go along with the text which also has its own exercises and questions. Is that right?) I like the look of the text! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Quick question...are the Light Units supposed to serve as workbooks to go along with the text? I always thought of the units as separate self-directed courses. (It looks like you choose a "study method", either Light Units or the worksheets, to go along with the text which also has its own exercises and questions. Is that right?) I like the look of the text! Yes, these light units do go along with the text. Using it with younger children, you might just read and discuss using the discussion questions throughout the book. There is an answer key for those. The LUs are to review and prepare for tests. I have them here for next year if you have questions. I believe the worksheet content would be some of the same. The LUs are for more independent work while the worksheets are for classroom use and would probably require more of a lecture format. I couldn't see them at the convention, so I just went with the LUs. My ds will be in 8th, and I plan on him doing the full program. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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