Disclaimer: We received this product for review purposes through The Melanated Gold Review Squad in exchange for my honest review. As always, we are not required to write a positive review. All opinions are honest and my own. This post may contain affiliated links.
We were gifted Notgrass History: From Adam to Us to review.
What is Notgrass History?
Notgrass History was created by Ray Notgrass. He earned a bachelor’s in history from Middle Tennessee State University, a master’s in history from the University of Kentucky, and a master’s in New Testament from Harding University.
In 1999 we began to combine our homeschool experience with our love of history to develop Bible-based, easy-to-use homeschool curriculum. Our curriculum uses narrative lessons, original source documents, rich literature, and hands-on activities to help parents and children love history.
-Notgrass
Details:
Grade Level/Age: Notgrass History: From Adam to Us is geared towards 5th graders to middle schoolers (6th-8th). A family with multiple kids within this age range can definitely use this as a family subject; comfortably.
Parent Involvement: Hmmm, this really depends on your child’s abilities. If your child has the maturity and attention span to read the lessons and complete the assignments at the end of each lesson alone, your involvement is very minimal.
If you are using this as a family subject, you can read the lesson aloud during breakfast or lunch and then discuss the lessons and/or have the child(ren) do any of the suggested activities at the end of the lesson. Your involvement depends on your kid(s)’ needs.
Schedule: The year-long curriculum is divided into two textbooks/volumes, totaling 150 lessons. Depending on how your homeschool, you can complete one lesson a day for 180 days or stretch out the lessons to cover your personal schedule over an entire year. The curriculum is pretty adaptable to your family’s needs.
Lessons: There are 30 units that are covered throughout the year:
- Unit 1 – In the Beginning God
- Unit 2 – A Fresh Start to Mankind
- Unit 3 – The Fertile Crescent and Beyond
- Unit 4 – Civilization Across the Globe
- Unit 5- Kingdoms Along the Mediterranean
- Unit 6 – Great Empires Rise and Fall
- Unit 7- The Spread of Ideas
- Unit 8 – The Beginning of the Roman Empire
- Unit 9 – God Sends Jesus to Save the World
- Unit 10 – The Gospel Spreads After Pentecost
- Unit 11 – From Presecution to Acceptance
- Unit 12 – Beyond the Roman Empire
- Unit 13 – Early Middle Ages Around the World
- Unit 14 – Medival Europe
- Unit 15 – Crusaders and Conquerers
- Unit 16 – Chivalry, Trade, and New Freedoms
- Unit 17 – The Early Renaissance
- Unit 18 – The Late 1400s
- Unit 19 – The Early 1500s
- Unit 20 – The Late 1500s
- Unit 21 – The Early 1600s
- Unit 22 – The Late 1600s
- Unit 23 – The Early 1700s
- Unit 24 – Age of Revolutions
- Unit 25 – Quest for Freedom
- Unit 26 – The Victorian Era
- Unit 27 – The Early 1900s
- Unit 28 – The Mid-Twentieth Century
- Unit 29 – The End of the Twenthieth Century
- Unit 30 – Us
Here is the Table of Contents, if you would like to see more details.
At the beginning of each lesson, there is an introduction page about the unit for that week, a list of the 5 lessons covered within that unit, and the literature selection for the week.
Product Format: We received the From Adam to Us curriculum package which includes six books:
- 2 Volumes: Part 1 and Part 2 covers from the creation to modern times.
- Our Creative World: Stories Poems, Documents, Art and Architecture from World History
- Map Book
- Timeline Book
- Answer Key
Costs: Its priced at $110
However, if you wish to add additional elements, like Literature and Writing, to the history program, there are some options at a cost:
- Student Workbook
- Lesson Review
- Literature Package, however you can easily get the books from the library
- Audio Supplement
Overall: We will not be using this specific resource in our home since it severally lacks diversity and I do not teach from a biblical worldview perspective, however, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the noteworthy curriculum layout. The textbooks are beautifully laid out and filled with brilliant images. The lessons are easy to read and follow. The reading passages would not take more than 20 minutes to complete.
The student assignments are conveniently and clearly listed at the end of each and every lesson. (hopefully reducing the ‘Mom, what are we suppose to do next?’ questions.) There are even some family-style hands-on projects attached to some lessons, WITH step-by-step instructions at the back of the textbooks. Further, the timeline books and map books are NOT overwhelming. The black and white images and text are easily understood. Additionally, when you open the map book, the map is located on the right side and the map information is on the left side. No need to flip pages.
Notgrass History may be a very good choice for the right families who wouldn’t mind a Eurocentric, biblical worldview perspective on history.
Wanna Know More?
- In case you are wondering, Notgrass History is “tightly integrated with the curriculum since our goal is to assist the student in developing a Biblical worldview.” per, Notgrass.
- FREE Bonus Download of the Lesson Assignment check List.
- FREE Curriculum Supplement Links
I hope this review was helpful in your research for a history curriculum. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! If you need further information, please visit Homeschool Advice and Encouragement.
Happy Homeschooling!!
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