• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Faith
    • Kids in the Word
  • Motherhood
    • Depression
    • Recipes
  • Homeschooling
    • Printables
    • Curriculum
    • History
    • Math
    • Science

The Pelsers

A Shelter for the Heart

Join our community of over 10,000 for more faith, motherhood, and homeschooling encouragement and resources for you and your family!

Awesome! Now check your email to confirm!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Free Guide!

Dsc00583

Do your kids struggle with their Bible study and "devotional" time?

I'd love to send you my FREE guide with tips for teaching your kids to have their own devotional time!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your email address.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

By Amanda Pelser 3 Comments

The Mystery of History: First Impressions

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure statement here.
Pin58
Share9
Tweet4
71 Shares

I shared a while back that I moved from Story of the World to The Mystery of History this year for history with Jonathan. We jumped into history after our first module of science. If you're not familiar with our modular schedule experiment, read more about modular or block scheduling here.

Before I tell you about our first impressions, let me say that we are really enjoying The Mystery of History. I'm so glad that we are using this curriculum. Also, a huge thanks to Bright Ideas Press for providing us with our book and the supplemental materials so we could share our journey with you this year.

Our First Impressions: The Mystery of History Volume 2. I'm so glad we switch to MoH. Click to read how we're using it and why we like it. #homeschool At ThePelsers.com.

How We Use The Mystery of History

A week of The Mystery of History is designed to be done over 3-5 days and is made up of three lessons. With our modular schedule, we complete a “week” of The Mystery of History in 3 days. Here's what that looks like for us:

Day 1

  • Pretest
  • Coloring page during reading of lesson #1
  • Notebooking
  • Activities

Day 2

  • Coloring page during reading of lesson #2
  • Notebooking
  • Activities

Day 3

  • Coloring page during reading of lesson #3
  • Notebooking
  • Activities
  • Timeline Figures
  • Maps
  • Quiz or Exercise

We do history every day, Monday through Friday when we're in a history module, so the next day we start the cycle over again with the next “week” of lessons in the book. I know that might look like a lot of work at first glance, but even on the third day of a “week” it only takes us about an hour to complete history.

Our First Impressions

I was really hoping that Jacob, who is 3, would listen to the lessons as I read. Unfortunately, he's a little too busy to be bothered with history right now. I'm sure he's hearing and picking up on some things, but he is not actively participating with us.

Jonathan is 6 years old and in 2nd grade. He's in the younger age group for using The Mystery of History. One of the nice things about The Mystery of History is that is has activities for each lesson divided into three sets: one for younger/elementary, one for middle school, and one for high school. Jonathan doesn't care for a lot of hands-on activities, so we pick and choose those that interest him and skip over the others. He enjoys the maps and notebooking, so we spend more time on those things.

Here are some of my first impressions as the teacher:

  • I think that The Mystery of History is really versatile.
  • It works well across age ranges.
  • It's easy for me to teach.
  • There's no preparation needed on my part. I just pick it up and read.
  • The supplemental materials are great.

Keep an eye out for more about our journey through The Mystery of History Volume 2!

Bright Ideas Press is running a great deal right now. If you're thinking about using The Mystery of History, need supplement materials, or any other products from Bright Ideas Press, now is a good time to buy. Take a look at the following coupon codes:

Great discount codes for Bright Ideas Press. Good thru 2-28-14. At ThePelsers.com.

These codes are good through 2-28-14.

Material Disclosure: Bright Ideas Press provided us with our books and supplemental materials. Affiliate links are used in this post.

Teach Your Kids to Have a Devotional Time

Teaching your kids grow their own faith doesn't have to be difficult. Get this downloadable guide to help you teach your kids to have their own devotional time!

Awesome! Now check your email inbox to confirm your email address so we can send your free guide!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

Pin58
Share9
Tweet4
71 Shares

Filed Under: History, Homeschooling Tagged With: Bright Ideas Press, middle ages history, Mystery of History

About Amanda Pelser

Amanda is a former church communications director turned work-at-home(schooling)-mom. She has a MA in Old Testament Studies and a BA in Bible. She's married to her high school sweetheart and they have four boys. She writes about faith, motherhood, and homeschooling at The Pelsers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maryna says

    Is there a reason why your son started his formal school years so young? I was totally surprised when you said he is 6 and in second grade. (just wondering)
    We just started our journey with Story of the World. I was unsure which to go to SOTW or MOH but due to the fact that we are in RSA I opted for SOTW due the fact that an e-book was available for purchase as we can’t afford those shipping fees.

    Reply
    • Amanda Pelser says

      He is almost 7 and only a year ahead by our state age cut-off for starting school. He was an early reader and ready to do more formal schooling early. I follow his lead and we’re doing well with our current schedule and curriculum choices.

      Format is definitely a consideration when choosing curriculum. We liked SOTW last year, but I like MoH more so far.

      Reply
  2. Lana @ ilovemy5kids says

    My kids love history. Sometimes we act it out or field trips to “off the wall” museums help bring to understand what is being taught. They may not get it at first then they have those “Aha” moments and it makes me want to dance.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to The Pelsers!

My name is Amanda and this is my family, The Pelsers. Here you'll find a shelter for your heart in the midst of the busy and the chaos with stories about faith, motherhood, and homeschooling. Make yourself at home, take part in the conversation, and enjoy the journey!
Read more about The Pelsers...
The Pelsers in Facebook Amanda Pelser on Twitter Follow Amanda on Pinterest Amanda Pelser on Instagram

Teach Your Kids to Have a Devotional Time

Teaching your kids grow their own faith doesn't have to be difficult. Get this downloadable guide to help you teach your kids to have their own devotional time!

Awesome! Now check your email inbox to confirm your email address so we can send your free guide!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
Homeschool Launch 2016
How We Saved $7,000 per Year on Health Insurance | ThePelsers.com

Footer

  • Privacy Policy
  • PR & Sponsors
  • Contact

© Copyright 2016 The Pelsers - Amanda Pelser · All Rights Reserved ·
Designed by The Multi-Taskin Mom and The Pelsers Media

Copyright© 2021 · Brunch Pro Theme by Shay Bocks