Update On Using Notgrass History

Last school year (2016-2017), we used NOTGRASS HISTORY:  UNCLE SAM & YOU for our History/Civics/Government curriculum. JJ was in 8th grade, and EL followed along with us for her final year of school as well. (It is geared towards middle school students, grades 5-8). We all enjoyed the curriculum. It is easy to use, and covers many different areas of interest. Each chapter covered 4 days worth of topic. Then, on the 5th day of the week, there is an optional lesson on a holiday of your choice (included at the back of the textbook), along with a recommended family activity.

On a typical day, I would read the day's text out loud to both of the kids, so we were all learning together at the same time. Then, at the end of each chapter, there were suggestions for activities to do such as Bible study questions, additional reading from The Citizen's Handbook, vocabulary and writing assignments, and a page or two in the corresponding workbooks.

The workbooks are optional, but we found them to be helpful for reviewing the material. There are two workbooks to use or choose from. The Lesson Review is for those who just want to answer review questions (written or oral), and The Student Workbook is for those who prefer fill in the blank types of activities, crossword puzzles, and drawing assignments. We used a little of both, but mostly used the Student Workbook.
 

A Literature Package is also available, and it includes 8 books that correspond with the time period/topic being studied. We did not read ALL of the books, but chose a few that best suited our needs and interests. I read these aloud also, and our favorites were "Basher Five-Two" and "Lost On A Mountain in Maine."

What is nice about this curriculum is that you can order just what you need/want, or order the entire curriculum package. If you use the entire package and included activities, you will be covering the subjects of Bible, Civics, Vocabulary, Creative Writing, and Literature. You can also buy most of the books used if you find someone who is selling them, and then re-sell them yourself, making it a more economical choice.

We are not continuing with Notgrass this school year (2017-2018), but not because we didn't like it. We have decided to go in a different direction for now, covering IL History and US Geography (We will begin our school year on August 21st!) However, when the time comes for us to jump into World History or US History at the High School level, I will definitely be looking into Notgrass again.

Thumbs up for Notgrass!