’m pretty sure my oldest son was born as a history professor. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but he did develop a very early fascination with it.

Growing up in public school, I did not share his passion. To me, history was the least interesting subject with classes usually consisting of reading the textbook and answering the questions at the end of the chapter. One teacher in high school insisted we write out each question on our paper then answer in complete sentences. I always had the feeling that it was to simply keep us busy!

But homeschooling opened up a whole new world (quite literally) to me and my children! What made the difference? For us it was reading historical fiction and engaging non-fiction, doing crafts, cooking recipes, making projects, and so much more.

I’m not a big fan of textbooks, at least not the kind I grew up with. Written by committees, they often lack cohesiveness and are… well, using the word of my teenage self: boring. They tried to cover so much information that the story of history was lost in the process. It was like reading a list of people and events and dates.

And with textbooks in each class, learning became disjointed. It was hard to make connections about how everything fit together.

I think my experience is what drew me to unit studies when we started to homeschool. I loved that learning was connected. Reading a historical novel while studying the time period it was set in, looking up the places mentioned on a map, writing about the topic, listening to music from that era—it all brought it together and simplified teaching for me as well.

But I will admit: not all textbooks are created equal! And using one doesn’t have to look like what I grew up with. Textbooks give you and your students an overview that provides a framework for deeper study. They give you open-and-go convenience that is helpful to a busy homeschooling mom. And some can even be interesting! 😯

You can with Notgrass History. They do textbooks better, incorporating them with the richness of unit-study-style learning so your family can experience history!

Written by Charlene Notgrass and her daughters Bethany Poore and Mary Evelyn McCurdy, Our Star-Spangled Story truly does read more like a story than a textbook. The authors, like my son, are passionate about HIStory. I write “history” that way because ultimately, history is God’s story and that is abundantly clear in this curriculum. It’s one of the things I love about it.

The way faith and a Christian worldview are weaved into the text help students make a connection between how God is working through people and events in the world around them, and ultimately, in their lives as well. As the authors point out: we are all a part of history!

Our Star-Spangled Story curriculum is so much more than the textbook:

• Our Star-Spangled Story Part 1 and Part 2. In the textbooks, you’ll find suggestions for understanding and expanding what you’ve learned. You can choose from several lesson activities that incorporate the use of other resources provided,
• Star-Spangled Rhythms and Rhymes.
• A Star-Spangled Timeline
• My Star-Spangled Workbook
• Our Star-Spangled Answer Key and Literature Guide