I love history. I have loved it since I was a homeschool kid, and I have always loved teaching it to my own children. In fact, it’s central to my business. And in twenty-one years of homeschooling, I never loved a history curriculum more than Mystery of History. By popular request, I have been sharing how we use it in our homeschool, mostly with middle and high schoolers. I have lesson plans below, and continue updating them.
(You might also enjoy Linda Hobar’s podcast on using Mystery of History in a co-op setting.)
See my YouTube video about setting up our notebooks here.
Volume 1: Creation to the Resurrection Lesson Plans
(now including a printable PDF)
Read my blog post about why I love this curriculum
When searching for a history curriculum, please, I beg you, don’t settle. Don’t just look for cheap, online, or “hands-off.” Don’t just ask what credits your high schoolers needs. Don’t ask “is all that extra stuff necessary?”
Go. All. In.
Start at the beginning and go with your kids through the centuries. Pull out the maps and globes. Make a timeline. Study the Old and New Testaments. Peruse ancient writings. See historic artifacts at museums and online. Learn about old languages, customs, and battles.
History is the most neglected and butchered school subject in the public education system. Homeschool parents: don’t copy that. We, the homeschool community, have curriculum, books, videos, and supplements that blow public textbooks out of the water. I am not exaggerating.
Pour your heart into this. Make the time. Learn what you do not know. See what you missed growing up.
History is so fascinating when you take the time to explore it. It’s eye-opening, inspiring, and just plain cool. And you know what happens if a society doesn’t know their history…let’s not go there.
So ask: what history curriculum is going to give my kids the best possible education about the history of the world? What will teach them to see men, governments, and God differently? How can my kids get the kind of history education that produced a Churchill, a Jefferson, or an Alfred the Great?
Don’t just settle for checking off boxes. Go all in.
Mystery of History makes this possible.
Volume 2: The Early Church and the Middle Ages
In Volume 1, Christian apologetics gets a wonderful foundation. In Volume 2, it builds on the entire Old Testament and the life of Jesus by exploring Paul’s writings and the growth of the church and spread of the gospel. This is important because the secular world (schools, social media, entertainment) try to paint the church and God’s followers as many things: backwards, evil, murderous, and more. Our children need to know the truth. Yes, Christians have made many mistakes (we are human, after all). But that’s not the whole picture. Volume II of Mystery of History does a wonderful job of giving that whole picture.
Visit my main lesson plan page here with a printable PDF. There is also a link to my Medieval book list for kids, my Volume 2 YouTube playlist, and a free copywor download.
Volume 3: The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations
In this third volume of Mystery of History, I will add two things: a deeper dive into American history with additional books and units integrated into our lessons, and the Discover Texas history curriculum. Instead of separate units for American history and (our) state history, I want the flow of all parts of world history to be natural. The first settlers and colonists in North America are not a disconnected part of world history, and neither are the first Spaniards to explore Texas. These events happened for reasons that originated in Europe.
I’ve seen this question come up a lot, “What American History curriculum can I use with Mystery of History?” or, “What can I use for a full high school credit of American History?” I’m going to address all of that with this lesson plan. American history is world history. There’s no need to teach a separate course. Simply expand on the amazing content and chronology in Mystery of History with some additional reading and projects!
Our schedule is our own, so I do not focus on finishing a book a year. Instead, I focus on a love and knowledge of all of world history. So that might mean we do three lessons per week, or one lesson for two weeks. It will depend on the lesson, and how much expansion we add.
I have two children remaining at home now, and they are 12 and 15. We do all of these lessons and activities as a family.
This post is updated regularly (as of July 2023) as we complete our lessons. I will pin it to the top of my blog for easy access, and at the end of each quarter, I’ll provide a handy PDF for printing.
Visit my lesson plans post here.
