TOS Crew Review: Heritage History

My Sophomore has expressed interest this year in being a History major in college.  She has always enjoyed history, but this year I have seen a passion for it develop and come alive in her.   We were driving home one night this week and she said, "Mom, do you know why I want to teach about the early Greek and Roman gods?"  I really didn't know so she told me this:  "I want to teach about early Greek and Roman gods and then be able to segue into telling my students about MY GOD.  The One, TRUE GOD."  Now, I don't know about you, but that gave me chills.  To know that my sweet daughter is thinking now how she will share GOD with others makes me proud.

And what better way to deepen a passion for history than to take a narrative approach to bring history to life?  Heritage History is a homeschool curriculum that does just that.  When the opportunity to review Heritage History came available, I knew the Sophomore would be excited to study Ancient Greece -- and I was right!  When the package arrived, she was as excited as I was to see what all it contained.  (The photo below shows you what was in our package.  Fun!)


Heritage History Ancient Greece contains books in the following categories:  Comprehensive History, Military History, Biographies, Legends, Adapted Literature, Historical Fiction and Mythology.  These categories are divided further into reading levels -- beginner, intermediate and advanced.  (You can see the full library for Ancient Greece here as well as check out all of the other histories offered.) A classical curriculum, Heritage History uses a multitude of books to fascinate your students and turn them into readers of history.

From the website:  The Ancient Greece collection covers Greek history from the earliest days of myth and legend, through the Golden age of Athens, to the Greco-Roman Era. Of special interest to older students is a selection of simplified classics based on the works of renowned poets, historians and playwrights. 

Because I'm a notebook junky {I do like to put together a good looking notebook!}, we jumped right in and organized the notebook immediately.  Included in the notebook kit were the pages to slip inside the front and back cover AND the label for the spine.  Cool, huh?

Inside the notebook is divided into five sections.  The full-color Study Guide is 86-pages that include recommended readings, timelines for Greek history and maps.  The Accountability Section contains a Book Selection Register and a Reading Register for students to keep up with how many minutes they read per day.  The Curriculum User Guide is 24-pages that explains the recommended sequence of reading based on age level and how to best utilize the curriculum.  There's even a section that explains how to use electronic texts.


Now my Sophomore has me beat when it comes to technology.  She took the Ancient Greece CD and quickly loaded it onto her Kindle Fire.  It didn't take her long at all and she was ready to begin reading.  Did I mention she was excited?  She took the Kindle and headed to her reading spot and quickly lost herself in the literature.  I gave her no direction on what or how long to read.  I simply left it up to her because I wanted to get a real feel for how Heritage History worked and if it would be a good fit in my house.

To say that it was a good fit is quite the understatement.  She began reading and didn't stop.  The way that Heritage History is designed, there is much more to read than a student will probably have time for in just one year.  With over 45 electronic books, there is plenty of literature to keep the attention of your student.  My Sophomore enjoys what she's reading SO much that she will probably read all of it before the year is over.  Amazing, huh?

She likes it so much that I asked her to share her thoughts with you.  Here's what she had to say:

When I started reading Ancient Greece from Heritage History I already had a good idea about what was going to happen.  I already have a deep appreciation and love of Mythology (and I've tremendously enjoyed reading about the fictional world of Percy Jackson), but what I didn’t expect was for so much of this information to be new to my ears.  From mythological tales of throwing rocks over ones shoulders in order to "make" people to the stories of Jason and the Argonauts who sailed the seas the fetch the Golden Fleece, I've learned quite a few things.

When I read these stories I didn’t feel like I was just reading some boring words on a piece of paper that made absolutely no sense. No!  These stories were alive -- and I was being pulled into them full force.  The respective writers made me feel like I was actually right there with them on the fields of Troy.  I was watching first-hand as the Greeks built the wooden horse.  Never has any kind of history I’ve read really had this effect on me.  It was amazing.

  

I absolutely love Greek History.  It is one of the main reasons I want to be a history teacher.  The Heritage History course put all of it into a new and different perspective -- a much brighter perspective.  In return, that’s what I want to do for other people one day.  I want to help students see the real value in studying history.  I want it to come to life for them.  I would like for people my age to see History and view it like I do, and I think that what I’ve obtained from this course will help me help others.  I now have an even better appreciation for history.  It is alive!

Heritage History is one of our new favorites.  I'm so glad that it found us this year.  With the enthusiasm that Ancient Greece has created in my Sophomore, I'm excited to try out some of the other time periods of history they offer.  The Ancient Greece Curriculum CD is available for only $24.99.  This is an incredible deal for an entire history curriculum.  The Study Guide is included on the Curriculum CD so you do not have to purchase it separately.  If you do not have access to a color printer, you do have the option of purchasing it.  The Study Guide is available separately in print format for $24.99.  The reference materials included complement the reading program and help students remember basic historical facts.  IF you act now, you can get an even better deal!  The Spring Curriculum Sale gives you a FREE Curriculum CD when you purchase two.  Neat, huh?

~~Disclaimer:  I was given the opportunity to use Heritage History:  Ancient Greece as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  I received the curriculum in exchange for my honest review. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of  Heritage History HERE.~

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