Mystery Of History || Curriculum Review

I stumbled upon Mystery of History after I started my online homeschool curriculum rental business, Yellow House Book Rental. Wanting to know more about it before I started renting and selling it at Yellow House Book Rental, I incorporated it into our Sonlight curriculum, and we loved it. My two oldest had graduated and I used it with my younger two, ages 11 and 13.

Linda Hobar, the author of this world history series, states,

“World history is far more than what man has or has not accomplished! From a biblical worldview, history tells us a bigger story, and one that is far grander than man can conceive. His-story is the slow, steady revelation of God to man, and mankind’s mixed response—some bow down to Him, some don’t. But the sovereign plans of the Lord remain the same, as Jesus Christ came ‘to seek and to save that which was lost.’ ” (Luke 19:10).”

 

What I love most about Mystery of History is that the author doesn’t leave the Bible, God, and the Israelite nation out of history. What a different view from most world history curriculum! We enjoyed learning what God was doing through His people, judges, and kings at the same time other historical events around the world were happening. I never knew how they coincided until Mystery of History.

Our youngest daughter was very much like her brother, learning to read took longer and she did not enjoy it. The Mystery of History was a better match for her during her middle school years. My other two daughters, who loved to read, thoroughly enjoyed all the reading that Sonlight had to offer through its award-winning book choices.

 

Why was Mystery of History best for my struggling reader? All four volumes are written in a short, interesting, conversational style. We went through Mystery of History Vol one and Vol two readers in one school year. I picked and chose what went best with what we were learning in Sonlight Core G. The two went together nicely. “K” my struggling reader, “C” my avid reader and I took turns reading each lesson. I used Mystery of History Vol 1 and Vol 2 to fill in the gaps that they had missed when they were younger. Their older sibling went through several Sonlight cores when they were little, and I had them sit in on the read-alouds and take part as much as they were able in the discussions.

 

What does Mystery of History look like? Each student reader is arranged by semester, quarters, weeks, and lessons. The lessons progress chronologically, with each week having 3 lessons. Volumes one and two Readers average two to three pages per lesson and volumes three and four Readers have between three to six pages per lesson.

 

Mystery of History has done the work for you by providing supplemental activities in the companion guides for each lesson. You don’t need to revise it to meet your child’s learning level.

The companion guides offer hands-on/research activities for younger, middle, and older students; memory card ideas; bi-weekly quizzes and exercises; timeline helps; maps; supplemental book lists; and more. I strongly encourage you to use these activities in the companion guide. There is so much to choose from. Just pick the one that fits best and change levels any time you want. They are an excellent addition to your child’s learning, especially for the hands-on learner.

Volume one and four have a download code for a free digital copy of the new Companion Guide included in the Reader. Volume two is the only volume that integrates the text with write-in activity pages in the one book; these pages are reproducible for family use or students can write directly on the worksheets. Volume three is the only volume that requires the companion guide be purchased as a separate book.

 

This is what a typical week for all levels looked like for us when we were strictly studying Mystery of History, (not incorporating it with another history course).

 

Monday: Take the pretest, which I would do orally with my children. Read lesson one. Do the activity*

Tuesday: Read lesson two and do activity*

Wednesday: Read lesson three and do activity*

Thursday: Review the three lessons and do Wall of Fame (timeline) and Somewhere in Time (Geography)

Friday: Free day or catch up.Sometimes we waited to do the activities on Friday.

*I rarely did every activity in the week. I would pick and choose. That’s the beauty of homeschooling!

 

History from creation to our modern times are covered. No time period is left out in this series of history books.

• Volume I: Creation to the Resurrection (c. 4004 B.C. – c. A.D. 33) 4th- to 5th-grade reading level
• Volume II: The Early Church and the Middle Ages (c. A.D. 33 – 1456) 6th- to 7th-grade reading level
• Volume III: The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations (1455 –1707) 8th- to 9th-grade reading level

• Volume IV: Wars of Independence to Modern Times (1708 – 2014) 10th- to 11th-grade reading level

However, these reading levels don’t reflect the wide range of ages that can benefit from this curriculum. Like I mentioned earlier, we used Mystery of History Vol 1 and 2 for my 11-year-old and 13-year-old as a companion history curriculum to Sonlight. All your children can benefit from The Mystery of History, especially if it is used as a read-aloud.

It can work for the following:

• Volume I, grades 1–12
• Volume II, grades 3–12
• Volume III, grades 5–12
• Volume IV, grades 7–12

If you are teaching several different ages at once Mystery of History (or Sonlight) is an excellent choice. My favorite time of the homeschool day was when we learned together as a family. History was the easiest to combine ages. MOH companion guides make it simple. Read together and do the age level activities for each child or make the activities a group project. I enjoyed learning along with my children and I know you will too with Mystery of History.

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Save an additional 10% on our always discounted rental or purchase of Mystery of History Volume I, II, II or IV now through June 25th when you use code MOHSAVE at second page of checkout!

I’d love for you to come over for a visit at Yellow House Book Rental. Rent or purchase homeschool curriculum and save a bundle!

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Hi! I’m Michelle, owner and founder of Yellow House Book Rental, specializing in providing homeschool curriculum for rent or purchase, as well as counseling and guidance for homeschool families. I’m a wife of 29 years, a 22-year homeschool veteran, and mom of four amazing children ranging from 18-26. We are just about to empty the nest. Oh, how time flew! I’d love to be friends! Send me an email or connect on social media and tell me about yourself.

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