Customer Reviews

The Mystery of History Vol 1

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is excellent for homeschooling - designed so that it can be used for three different grade school age groups - full of world history information paralleling it with the Bible - there are instructions for making maps, a time line, etc - lots of photos, especially of artifacts from museum which can help the student understand ancient times - bought this for my grandchildren who are being homeschooled but we are seriously considering using it to write curriculum for our church's Bible school - impressed with the easy-to-understand but carefully researched material -

I am a 16 year old homeschooled student who has never been satisfied with any of my other history books. I love this book! It is so informative and chronilogically complete. It has a wonderful Biblical worldview, and reveals Christ as the mystery of history at the end of the book. What a exciting new homeschooling tool to get students excited about HIS Story! I wish I had this earlier!

I just received my copy of Mystery of History Vol. I. I am excited to start this with my daughter in the fall (5th grade). I looked for a long time at the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, but I couldn't justify spending the money with our small family. I was so glad to find MOH! It is an affordable alternative to Tapestry with a similar scope and sequence, and seems to be a little more user-friendly. It's definitely more kid-friendly. It is written so that kids can read the lessons for themselves. It seems that it is not as labor-intensive for the parent.

I especially love the 'What do you know?' pretests that encourage them to see what they already know and makes them curious, and the 'take another look' or 'what did you miss' reviews & activities - then there are quizes every 2 weeks, too, which test their knowledge. All of this is in small bites so the information isn't overwhelming. There are many activities to do. Each lesson lists assignments for 'younger', 'middle' and 'older' students. There are 36 weeks of lessons in this volume. The author lists several examples of how organize your week.

You will need to inlcude real books from a library (or you can buy some) to flesh out the lessons - but the same goes for TOG. I plan on making a time line as well.

The only negative I can find so far is that the 5th (last) volume will not be published in time (planned for release in 2014 or 2015 ?), but we can find a substitute curriculum for that last little bit of history - no problem. The 3rd and 4th volumes should be released in time for us. (3rd this spring and 4th in 2011.) For more info you can go to the MOH website, but don't buy there. The prices are better elsewhere.

I was very disappointed in this text.
I like that bible history is included in the chronology. However, I wanted more world history...too much of this text is bible history. We have had to delve into Mesopotamia, Egypt and China and Greece from other sources and therefor are quite "behind" for the year. And we haven't gotten to Rome yet.
That being said, I did feel comfortable dropping our bible curriculum and just using MOH for that, although I do disagree with the author on some of the implications of the bible characters. (especially Gideon)
I think this is more of a biblical history, with some stuff that was going on at the same time in the rest of the world...as opposed to a comprehensive world history text that includes bible history.
My son does not care for history, and this text did not change his mind.
I adore history, but find this text difficult to relate to and not detailed about the most interesting bits.

I just have one complaint about this curriculum - I didn't write it! As a two-decade home educator, I've been trying to write a needed missing link in home education. This book is it!!

There seems to be two basic types of history books out there:

1. Textbooks that give trite summaries that fail to inspire our kids to interact with historical periods and that tend to instill a sense of boredom.

2. Exciting "idea book" type hands-on programs that give timelines, maps, ideas, crafts, etc. that you are told to integrate with historical instruction. The problem is, most of us don't have the time, knowledge, or money to buy or research these historical periods to teach the "meat" of information we don't know ourselves. Plus, there are those days as a homeschooler where we need the kids to be more autonomous than others. If the curriculum depends on us 100% of the time, we're going to fail. If the curriculum depends on handing a kid a big book or computer and hoping they discern what the key points to isolate, they will often become distracted and fail. With this self-directed approach, assessment becomes a big issue - either by neglecting to test or by exhausting the home educator who is required to create these constant assessments.

Mystery of History gives the beginner to advanced home educator the best of both worlds. A great, easy-to-read segment of history is covered each day. The student is able to read it themselves and then, is asked to write a summary card of the key point and dates. A timeline is recommended with the choice of format. The teacher can be as involved or uninvolved in the process as life dictates that day and then, can assess student comprehension based on the cards and regular testing provided in the manual. Additional ideas, crafts, reading etc. are given for varying grade levels that allow the teacher to amplify and expand the info given when desired.

It's chronological (very helpful with learning challenged kids) and a perfect balance between self-directed and teacher supervised. Ample opportunities for creativity abound, but consistent no-frills flow is also insured. It works well with multi-grade teaching since the text is supplemented with advanced work suggestions.

I love this and will just have to file away my efforts at writing the same concept.

We are using this along with Story of the World Volume 1. It's been a great history program for our family. It gives our 5th grade just a bit more to chew own. If you google Paula's Archives you will get a list that correlates the two programs together. We use the Story of the World Activity pages and suggestions.

I have used Mystery of History Volumes 1-3 with my eldest and am using MOH 1 again with my two younger children. This is the best history program I have found from a Christian perspective. It is not a Bible study curriculum, but does extensively include Bible history. It is not an in-depth program when used without doing any of the activities. Each lesson includes activities and there are lists of other resources that can be used to add further depth. The text covers major events and major trends in history, but doesn't go deeply into anything. This is where it is important to include assignments from the activities sections.

The activities section is how the curriculum allows the teacher to delve more deeply into the areas of interest or that she thinks are important to cover more thoroughly. The curriculum is meant to include those not as extra activities, but as part of the curriculum. For older students, the activities are even more important than for the younger students.

The main problem I have had in using Mystery of History 1 is in finding the information necessary to complete maps. Hobar does not appear to use a particular atlas that one can find all the information on. In the front of the book she suggests, "You'll also need to have on hand atlases from which to obtain information to record on your maps. I recommend both a Bible atlas and a historical atlas." I have several good historical atlases, but there is still information she asks for that I am unable to find without also searching an encyclopedia and sometimes even then I cannot find what I need without extensive searching on the internet. I hope once she finishes this series she will go back and correct that problem by revising this volume. This is the one real problem I have with this volume. It is time consuming to have to search for information that she should have taken the time to give information on where to find it or better yet, to include the completed maps in the curriculum. We had a much easier time with this in MOH 3, but I can't remember if it was a problem for MOH 2 or not.

I appreciate Linda's biblical foundations and biblical framework for teaching history. I have implemented her timeline activity for my first grader and we both enjoy it. Having said that, I will say that I much prefer reading the historical narratives, legends, and stories from "The Story of the World." When I read to my first grader from Mystery of History, it goes over her head. I would not enjoy using Mystery of History on its own. I recommend this book and when we start the next section of history next year, we will be ordering her Volume 2 and the Story of the World, Volume 2 as well.

Five stars is not enough for this product. As a Christian home schooling parent, I have been searching for a world history that teaches one true history. I wanted a curriculum that taught traditional world history along with biblical history. After trying several, I finally hit the jackpot with Mystery Of History. The presentation allows the reader to clearly see where biblical history falls in the timeline with traditional ancient history.

I especially appreciate the author's work in putting together a "wish list". I was able to review her list and choose additional resources that I felt would work specifically for our family. In addition, at the end of each section she recommends exercises for children in 3 different age categories. The instructor is sure to find extending exercises that will work for his/her student.

Homeschooling or not, if you desire for your student to understand true world history, you MUST have this resource.

This curriculum is just what I was looking for! The events are in chronological order, integrating Biblical history with "secular" world history. This key element helps my kids see that Biblical characters were real and not fairy tale. So often we get one or the other but not both combined. This book also points out that man was created intelligent and innovative, judging from ancient artifacts, which are shown in photographs throughout the book. The pretests, map work, engaging activities, memory cards, reviews, and timeline reinforce what they've learned. The activities are divided for Older, Middle, and Younger students, so it is perfect for multi-level teaching. The lessons can be read to early elementary students, while the older students (6th grade & up) can read and study independently if desired. Further research and supplementation would be necessary for high school students. It is not overwhelming as I thought it might be. It is just right and my kids love it!!!