Disclaimer: Complimentary Product Received.
If you ask any homeschooler what the most difficult subject to source is, they’ll tell you quickly – it’s History. It’s a subject whose material is based largely on politics, religion, point of view, and bias, and causes division amongst the most reasonable of individuals. As a home educator, I have the luxury of choosing history for my son without outside opinion, but what do I choose? What history can I find that’s based largely on fact, primary resources and logic without having to write it myself?! What you choose ultimately is up to you, but I can show you all the wonderful stuff Cash and I discovered in Curiosity Chronicles, Snapshots of Ancient History (@curiositychroniclescurriculum)!
Curiosity Chronicles, Snapshots of Ancient History, is a homeschool history curriculum for elementary students. We received a beautiful, hardcover textbook, an Instructor’s Activity Guide, and a consumable Student Guide. First impressions to me are everything, and the first thing I noticed were the adorable brown faces on the cover. We got to follow those characters, Mystery Mulling Mona and Time Talking Ted, throughout our lessons. There are 36 Chapters and can be completed over a traditional homeschool year by reading a chapter per week. The book starts with an introduction to History and continues by hitting highlights in chronological order as a gentle introduction to a very in depth subject.
I was very impressed that the author, Rachel Meyers, M.A., starts out with a “Statement of Bias”. That alone let me know that we were going in a positive direction. It’s meant to be secular and suitable for learners of all beliefs and cultural backgrounds. It’s presented with a global and inclusive worldview. Five major civilizations are covered and the Timeline and dates are presented in BCE/BC as in common in academia. Women are intentionally included to avoid gender bias.
The Chapters in Snapshots begin with dialogue between Mona and Ted. It’s presented as casual conversation discussing the chapter. The parent or a sibling can read one part (Mona’s is longer) and the learner, the other (Ted’s lines are simpler and easier to read). They are the founding members of the Curiosity Club and are presenting to you, the reader, the Snapshots of Ancient History. The pages include Timelines along the bottom, color photos with captions, maps, and little blue boxes to extend the learning. Cash picked up pretty quickly that this study of history included a lot more than just history. Sumerian counting amazed him and he loved the Base 12 system they used. And his favorite activity was STEM based – Cash built his own pipes for toilets and bath houses on the fridge, just like the the people of the Indus Valley.
It’s not just what you find in Snapshots – sometimes it’s what’s suggested as an addition that pulls everything together. In the Instructor’s Activity Guide, you’ll find lots of Book Recommendations. I had a few of the Usborne Encyclopedias already, and could find the other books on their list easily. Each Chapter also comes with Reading Suggestions in both Picture Books and Early Readers. I had a number of these in my collection and loved seeing Magic Treehouse and SkippyJon Jones. You can make your own Timeline, a Paint Like A Caveman, Create Your Own Archeology Dig, or even have the kids use Minecraft to build Ancient Dwellings. You don’t have to come up with these ideas yourself. Everything is outlined very well in the Guide. I’m looking forward to our next lesson when Cash gets to “mummify” one of his stuffed animals!
We are really enjoying Curiosity Chronicles, Snapshots of Ancient History. It’s a gorgeous, diverse curriculum, packed full of great, factual information and fun activities to not only make the lessons enjoyable but to make them stick in your child’s memory. Cash and I can’t wait to see more of what Curiosity Chronicles offers for other grades. Want to see what other Melanated Gold Review Crew members thought of Curiosity Chronicles? Head to https://melanatedgoldhomeschool.org/melanated-gold-review-squad-curiosity-chronicles-review to see more reviews. Ready to get it for your homeschool? Head straight to their website at www.curiositychronicles.org.
@Mamasweetbaby 
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