YaelAldrich Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Looking to fill in a hole in the kids' education. Need a terrific US history curriculum for a mom who must have slept through her US History classes in school! Secular please. Multi-age would be a big bonus - I have a 7yo, 10yo, and 13yo - they can all read above grade level. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 We like Joy Hakim's History of US. But I think you are familiar with that one, right? :) I'm on the hunt for something new for this year, too, so following along to see what suggestions you find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 After much mucking about, we went with Hakim's History of US--the concise version from K12. I've actually used both versions in in their entirety (meaning I've read both aloud), and the concise version is far superior to the original, and for us, worth every penny. It's not a history program though, just a spine. The program would be the online course from K12 (which I have not used). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 We used Learning Adventures our first time through U.S. history. It's not secular, but it can be since bible is easily removed. I supplemented a LOT, even though we enjoyed the literature selections and unit topics. I have this one bookmarked for next year: Our Land Publications. Someone mentioned it on here and since my son loves the newspaper format books we have (Roman Times, Egyptian Times, etc), I thought this along with readers would make a fantastic year for him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Concise History of US published by K12 would be better than the 11 volume Hakim series given your age ranges. I have both sets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixpix5 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Level 2 of History Odyssey is pretty great and it has always felt secular to me. I haven't looked through the modern history but have seen ancient and middle ages. I did not like their level 1 but like I said level 2 is good stuff. Pandia press, same group who does Real Science Odyssey does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Paige Smith Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 We will be doing Build Your Library levels 5&6, which use Hakim's History of US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Concise History of US published by K12 would be better than the 11 volume Hakim series given your age ranges. I have both sets. I agree--the format is more kid friendly, with bigger font and color pictures. The content is streamlined (a huge plus in my view, as I thought the original wandered way too much) but the content is at the same level as the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraBeth475 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) The Drama of American History. Or Landmark History from Bookshark. Edited July 31, 2017 by LauraBeth475 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I didn't like the tone of Hakim, personally. Something about it just grated on my nerves. I used History Odyssey Level 2 Early Modern and Modern with the k12 Human Odyssey books for my daughter. It was good for world history but not great for US-specific. It really only hits the major highlights -- fine for world history but not much for US. My son is about to be a seventh grader. Neither he nor I liked the way it looked when we took out just the US parts of History Odyssey. He said, "Ugh, I already know this stuff." And he's right. Sooooo, after much deliberation, I ordered Notgrass's America the Beautiful for him. It goes more in depth into US history and hits some less-mentioned topics. And it includes a ton of primary source stuff too. He likes the looks of it, and I have high hopes that it'll be a good fit. He's a good reader but slow. The words seem a little easier than Human Odyssey (which he used for ancients and medieval and liked), but that will hopefully let him handle more pages a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YodaGirl Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 (edited) What about Build Your Own Library? Edit: What PP said. :) Edited August 1, 2017 by YodaGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleynne Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 What about A Concise History of the American Republic by Samuel Morrison and published by Oxford University Press? You can get used copies from Amazon for around $30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 (edited) Would you still suggest the concise version of Hakim if you knew I had two history buffs reading the material? The 13yo and the 7yo love history - reading Kingfisher (the white cover) over and over.... Maybe I have to get both? LOL Edited August 1, 2017 by YaelAldrich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Happypamama, I looked at Notgrass but they say the Christianity is pretty integral to the material. That won't work for me. :) Have you gone through it enough to tell me if that is true or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaCarter Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Happypamama, I looked at Notgrass but they say the Christianity is pretty integral to the material. That won't work for me. :) Have you gone through it enough to tell me if that is true or not? It is integral. We are conservative Christian and it is a bit much for even us. Plus it's kind of dry. I'm still looking for that US history I love. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Would you still suggest the concise version of Hakim if you knew I had two history buffs reading the material? The 13yo and the 7yo love history - reading Kingfisher (the white cover) over and over.... Maybe I have to get both? LOL I have not seen nor used the concise version. I have both the hard copy and audio version of the full version. My 7yo history buff loves the full version. She loves the chatty, meandering style. She does not love the small print, but that's why we have the audio version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fralala Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Would you still suggest the concise version of Hakim if you knew I had two history buffs reading the material? The 13yo and the 7yo love history - reading Kingfisher (the white cover) over and over.... Maybe I have to get both? LOL Not a curriculum, but have they seen The Making of America (published by National Geographic)? Setting history buffs loose with books is not a bad way of taking care of U.S. history! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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