I had recently stumbled across the website for Heritage History — and loved what I saw. Many of the great (and hard to find) books often recommended for history readings – Story of the Thirteen Colonies by H.A. Guerber (listed in our TruthQuest American History study guide) for example – are here. You can read them online, which is great. I don’t know about you, I get tired of sitting at the computer too much. Sometimes you just want to bring your books with you- outside, on a trip, etc. I was really happy to learn this is an option. Heritage History has put all of these great books on CDs.
The CDs are available with certain collections — Ancient Greece, British Middle Ages, Early America, etc. There are two different types of CDs offered by Heritage History. One type is called “Classical Library“. These feature biographies, hero stories, historical literature, etc. for readers 4th grade and up (that is reading level, not necessarily the age of the reader). The titles of these “Libraries” are Early America, Spanish Empire, Christian Europe, and Modern Europe. These are available for $19.99. When you get the CD you will have the books formatted 3 different ways — pdf, EPUB, and MOBI. This is perfect to put on any and all e-readers in your family – or print if you really want to escape a screen.
The other type of CD collection offered by Heritage History is the Curriculum Collection. What makes the Curriculum Collection different from the Classical Library? The inclusion of the Study Guides and Teaching Aides (maps, timelines, accountability forms, etc.). The contents of the Study Guides and some sample pages are available on the website here. You could also purchase the Study Guides separately. The Curriculum Collection CDs contain all of the books (biographies, historical literature, hero stories, etc.) in all three formats and the Study Guide materials for $24.99. The titles are Young Readers, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, British Middle Ages, and British Empire.
We chose the Young Readers Curriculum because of the ages of our children. The books and series featured are delightful. Many of them I was previously unfamiliar with — “Our Little _____ Cousin of Long Ago” (Viking, Celtic, etc) and “______ Twins” (Puritan, Spartan, Japanese, etc). The stories have been enjoyed by all of us. We have been reading things as they relate to our history studies and others “just because”. The information in the Study Guide has been beneficial as well. This curriculum set is a bit different than the others. This set is intended for your younger children (elementary age/ability) and is an overview of world history. The maps, timelines, etc. that are part of the other sets aren’t part of this one.
The philosophy of Heritage History is such that formal history studies are best begun with older children, middle school or so. The Young Readers Curriculum could be read over the course of two years prior to the beginning of formal studies in history. We are using it with our favorite history curricula. Be sure to check out the website for Heritage History. They have a wealth of information.
Other Crew members reviewed selections from Heritage History’s Curriculum offerings. To read their reviews, head over to the Crew blog.
Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this curriculum at no charge to review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions expressed are my own.