Exploring America Curriculum Package(2019 Ed)

So far we have really enjoyed these texts

This is such a GREAT History curriculum! It is well organized, and is full of information that I did not even remember from school. My kids are both enjoying it, even the not-so-fond-of-history child, lol.
We are currently using American History, and will be finishing up High School with Notgrass!

Thanks Notgrass!

This is our second year of High School using a Notgrass product for history, bible, and literature combined. My kids have enjoyed their literature selections, the freedom to choose from different projects each week, and do well with the consistent structure of the text. I appreciate their consistent inclusion of a Biblical worldview, encouragement in their faith, inclusion of original documents, and the ease of teaching these subjects with this curriculum.

First of all, about me: I am a type A (type double-A, actually) over achiever, classical educator. I have four children, all of whom are good students, but only two of whom are naturally "over-achievers." Now, my assessment of the curriculum--Excellent for all the following reasons (not in any particular order): 1. Extremely user friendly for BOTH parent and student (especially for the non-type A, non-overachieving student, but very good student all the same). 2. Excellent in both breadth and depth of information coverage. 3. Very reasonable time commitment for the student involved in many outside activities, while still getting a wonderfully rich education. 4. Wonderful variety (literature selections, primary source documents, optional projects offered, writing assignments offered). 5. Total biblically based worldview, for real--not just for marketing. 5. Boldly honest about our history, presenting our "heroes" as the men that they were, not placing our hope in men or our history, not putting the USA at the center of God's story--BUT definitely revealing God's providence throughout our history and pointing to Christ as the center of God's story and the true source of all hope.

We were using another living curriculum for 4 years (it was the last of the set) and loved it. So we were concerned it wouldn't compare but we are very pleased with our choice.

Notgrass is a great comprehensive History/Bible/Literature curriculum We used this last year and my 8th grade daughter loved how the curriculum gave her the big picture through first hand excerpts and the reading assignments that coincide She also came away with a much deeper Christian World view The Notgrass Company is great to work with and very responsive to their customer's needs and it is a blessing to know that they are a homeschool family themselves And you cannot beat the price for what is essentially 3 subjects in one! I highly recommend this product

This is an excellent curriculum! I only used the Bible and History portions of Exploring America for my freshman year of high school This course consists of two student books a parent/teacher guide and an anthology of documents from American history (described in greater detail later on) with an optional Quiz and Exam Book available for purchase The 150 lessons are divided into 30 units Within each unit are 5 lessons that contain the history readings assignments for Bible American Literature and selected readings from American Voices which is an anthology of letters speeches poems short stories and memoirs from a vast plethora of sources At the beginning of every unit there is a brief description of what events were occurring in the time period being studied It also includes a list of the books used during the unit a Bible verse to be memorized by the end of the unit a list of writing assignments to choose from (to be completed by the end of the unit unless otherwise specified) and a short author biography/brief introduction if one of the 13 literature selections is being studied Each lesson consists of (typically) 3-4 pages of highly readable text (reminiscent of the tone in The Story of the World) At the end of every lesson there are assignments for Bible (usually a study question but occasionally a paragraph or short essay to be written on a specific topic) English assignments and additional assignments for History (consisting typically of readings from American Voices) The only exception is the fifth lesson of each unit which is a Bible Study It usually explores a controversial issue in American Christianity and is not restricted by the time period currently being studied For example if your student was in book 2 on unit 17 - "The Business of America": The beginning of this unit requires the student to memorize 1 Peter 2:21; lists In His Steps American Voices and the Bible as the additional books used in the unit; lists four writing assignments from which to pick; and includes a brief introduction to In His Steps which is one of the 13 pieces of literature studied After reading "The Growth of Big Business" (L #81) the student will begin reading In His Steps read Leviticus 19:9-37 begin memorizing 1 Peter 2:21 and answer the review questions for the corresponding lesson in the optional Quiz and Exam Book "The Rise of Organized Labor" (L #82); "New South New West" (L #83); "Life in the City" (L #84); and "Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel" (L #85 - Bible Study) all follow a similar format The literature used in Exploring America includes the following titles: The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (David Crockett) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Frederick Douglass) Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe) Company Aytch (Sam Watkins) Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) Humorous Stories and Sketches (Mark Twain) Up From Slavery (Booker T Washington) In His Steps (Charles Sheldon) Mama's Bank Account (Kathryn Forbes) Christy (Catherine Marshall) To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) and The Giver (Lois Lowry)Even though I did not use the American literature portion of Exploring America I read many of the books independently Though there are questions for each selection of literature in the Quiz and Exam book I appreciate the minimal amount of literary analysis; it evaluates your understanding of the book yet leaves you to enjoy it without worrying about finding a theme within every book and writing a 3 page essay on itAll in all I believe this is a strong program and even if only one portion of the curriculum is utilized it is still solid I recommend this to anyone looking for a less dry approach to American history