Disclaimer: I received this product for free in order to write this review. I was compensated for my time invested. This is my honest opinion and I was not required to write a positive review.
ALuv {currently 1st grade} has been in a US History class with our homeschool co-op this school year. Each Friday when I pick him up, I am amazed at the passion he has towards history. I also quickly realized how much history I had forgotten. I won’t admit my ignorance with all the names and places he has reminded me of {you’d probably never want to read my blog again if I did}. So you can imagine how excited he was when we were asked to review Heritage History for the Young Reader and Early American Library. I was excited to compliment the things he’d been learning all year in his US History class {and learn/re-learn a little more myself}. We found much more on these little CDs!
What is Heritage History?
Heritage History is a story-based curriculum that seeks to foster and teach a love for history. Instead of reading a dry textbook or memorizing random facts about events in history, Heritage History curriculum tells about history through stories. Keep reading to find out more…
Building a “log cabin” like Abraham Lincoln
Some Exciting Things about Heritage History
- All the books come on a CD = less clutter! Yay! And there are a TON of texts on your CDs. On our American History CD, there are over 80 books. How much room would 80 books take up in your home?
- You can view the texts as a PDF on your home computer, download them to your Kindle or your iPad. And there are step-by-step directions {with pictures} on how to do this for those of us who aren’t as tech savvy as others.
- Great support as you teach and as the kids learn. A Curriculum Outline and Lesson Outline is provided for the teacher. There are also pages and pages of study aids to help kids visualize and comprehend the text {and history}.
- The CD is MUCH more than a history book. We enjoyed the Bible stories, historical fiction {some are told from a child’s perspective}, the stories surrounding legends and folklores, and stories of Early American “heroes”. {Found on both the Early America Library and Young Readers Classical Curriculum introduction CD.}
- The price. The introductory Young Readers CD alone has over 80 books at only $24.99.
- The main purpose of the curriculum is to encourage the child to discover history and teach himself through reading. It plays off of a child’s natural curiosity about history and historical people.
Some Things to Keep in Mind
- The texts included on the CD start at approximately a 4th grade level, so if you have younger readers who love history, you will probably need to use the curriculum as read aloud texts.
- We divided up some of the reading passages, even shorter than chapter length, as the material is very meaty {a good thing}.
- If your young reader (4th grade and above) is struggling to read, this curriculum features A LOT of reading. This may be a deterrent to your young reader. You will need to provide more support as a teacher instead of using the texts as an independent reads. On the flip side, if your struggling readers loves history, this curriculum could motivate him to learn through reading. Reading research shows that struggling readers will stick with something longer if the text is of high interest to them.
- Even if your child can read on a 4th grade level, there are several terms that you may need to introduce to your child before reading to ensure that he understands the text. Just one example from our most recent story on Abraham Lincoln was the term “rail-splitter”. While that term was used and understood by the common man back then, it’s not now. {The picture above shows the list I pulled out ahead of time for my 1st grader.}
I am super pumped to continue to learn about history alongside my 1st grader! And the great news is, he has room to grow into this curriculum {and apparently so do I.}
Disclaimer: I received this product for free in order to write this review. I was compensated for my time invested. This is my honest opinion and I was not required to write a positive review.
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