Bring Back God into Modern History With Pathway to Liberty Curriculum (curriculum review)

I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Have you given any thought to how history is taught in school nowadays? Go look through some upper elementary history textbooks and you might be VERY surprised to see how our founder's religious ideals have been trimmed to almost non-existent. In Fact that was exactly how the company, Pathway to Liberty Homeschool Curriculum, got started! In 2008, founder Jayme MacCullough was unhappy with what was available to her children, and overhauled her at home resources and plan, and a new curriculum in not only US history was born! Now there are 4 levels of Pathway to Liberty's History Curriculum to cover your child's history learning from Kindergarten through High School, and including ALL world history:

Pathway to Liberty’s Universal History

Pathway to Liberty’s The Middle Ages

Pathway to Liberty’s US History

Pathway to Liberty’s World History

Yes, FOUR books can take your child through ALL their years of history learning! Let me tell you how the books are laid out and how the program works, before I tell you about the Year 3, World History we reviewed! First, the books are split into 4 areas, that feature a NATURAL progression through our history, beginning with God's word and the forming of man. Isn't that SUCH an important place to start? The goal is to "lead students down the path of reasoning, to direct students to be engaged and think biblically".Something most modern curriculia do NOT do! Then the student learns early history, WITH applicable biblical history added in its historical place, before moving into the all important Middle Ages. We spent a great focus this year on the same area, so I'm thrilled that this curriculum does too- so much happened, that it is worth sinking your teeth into! From their your student looks at US History, before finishing with world (modern) history.

I know you're thinking HOW can 4 books cover all those years? Simple!

Each book features 26 weeks of study, for a FULL year's worth of history (and bible for Book 1), but because they each have different LEVELS, with different focuses and activities, your child will be learn different historical aspects, but at age appropriate levels. BUT because the weekly subjects and principles are the SAME, you CAN teach multiple children, at different levels, at the same time with ease, if you are homeschooling!

Look at this video for an explanation of the Levels:

For our Pathway to Liberty’s History Curriculum review, we received the Year 4, Level 3 of Pathway to Liberty’s World History Teacher's Guide, Student's Guide, and the Chain of Liberty book.

I know Miss Grace is technically on the 2nd Level this year, but her history level has been a year or two ahead. We have been discussing QUITE a bit of world history as part of her "Histories Mysteries' curriculum (which I devised for her this year, to help fill in gaps, and get her ready for a more thorough upper level World History course). What I did not realize was, that she would take quite a few rabbit trails, and come back to me with questions, and observations, ON a high school level! So I decided to tip our feet into this higher level, and see how it can compliment her History curriculum for next 2 years of Modern History and Government/Civics.

This World History course gives students a sense of more recent history, as it covers the "expansion of the United States ‘From Sea to Shining Sea’...to.. the Post-Christian West". The Goal is to get students to understand the "battle between tyranny and liberty, which is you think about it, really defines this period in our world history!

Each of the 26 weeks starts with the Weekly Overview, which gives students a brief idea of what they will be studying and why. Then they have an overview chart for the week at a glance, to also let them know the different things that will need to be completed during the week. There are 5 main 'core' books for this level, including the Bible and non-text resource books for weekly reading and testing, as well as literature. Most of the books can be purchased off the Pathway to Liberty website, but Miss Grace tends toward audio/kindle books, so we used them as much as possible. There is also a weekly scripture, with applicable principle and idea to work on for the week. High school students should be able to use the chart to check off work,as they complete it during the week- making it easy for them to track, and for parents to grade work. There is also a list of additional reading and writing that can be done. parents may want to have this as included in the course, or treat it as extra credit, or as part of the Literature and English components (for additional course credit). The Vocabulary List is also helpful to let student looks up any words they don't know BEFORE they encounter them in the readings. The additional Word Studies are also beneficial for kids as practice for ACT and SAT, to help them look past a simple definition and use the lessons for additional skills.

Each of the 26 weeks is further broken down into 4 lessons that ideally can take your student 20-60 minutes each, depending on reading speed, etc. Now we do block scheduling, so Miss Grace immediately said 2 and 2, and that was how she wanted to split them. Again, it depends on how your students schedule is. She loves that Youtube videos are also part of each weekly lesson, as we've found that video lessons really help her to retain what she has learned. Something else that really helps is having a timeline, and you can download the Chain of Liberty timeline from their website, so that your child can see visually where the current lesson is happening in relation to it. The Student text also includes chapter questions, based on the readings, to be used as quizzes and tests. The easiest thing to do, is to print out the Student Book, and let your child put it in a binder, so that they can separate each weeks lessons and additional work. This also makes it easier for you!

Because we picked this up as an additional resource, I opted to start Miss Grace on WWII, which is Lesson 8,and work through what we could. I do have to admit she's had 2 bouts of strep, and that caused us to get further behind than what I would have liked, so we didn't get as much in depth as I would have liked for her to be. For example, she did not have time to complete a research paper, but instead offered did a oral presentation to me on the cultural social effects from before and after the war, on emigrants, especially the Japanese and Germans. We had quite a few lengthy discussions, as she was completing the reading and videos, so I wasn't surprised that she picked it. Also, as she had already read The Hiding Place, I opted instead to let her read Hiroshima by John Hershey.

Also helpful to have, even for older students, is the Teacher's Guide. Like in the Student's edition, there is the Course Outline, but the Teacher's one provides a more detailed overview of each week’s study, and lets you know more of when you can get involved, say in field trips and what additional resources will be needed for reading,etc, before students need them. Hint- ebay and Amazon are great for getting them all super cheap! The Level guides are here as well, for knowing what lessons to share, so you can see what can be consolidated to core learning for all levels, and what needs to be separate.

Most importantly though (if you're not taking the class WITH your student), are the answers for the worksheets in the student book! Most of us can't remember them without help! LOL

The Chain of Liberty book is a great resource, and is central to the core of this curriculum series. It looks at the path of liberty from the beginning when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, and goes up to modern times. Not only does it look at liberty, it looks at what LIBERTY means, and how it has changed through the links of time (Creation, Dawn of Nations, Moses and the Law, Church, Reformation, First Colonies, First Constitutional Republic, Expansion and Erosion, and Restoration). Especially if you are jumping into the curriculum, mid stream, the readings from this book will help your student (and you) understand how God has always played a part in the path to liberty, and WHY our country's foundation rests on the basic principle, and more importantly, how far away we are getting from it. It's resource you can use for Civics and American Government classes as well.

All the levels are also available in print or ebook forms, based on the needs for YOUR family! PLUS, if you are active military, you can get a 20% off discount!!!

Overall, Miss Grace and I found this to be a solid modern history course, with enough visual learning to keep it stimulating and her interested. While she is more willing for oral presentations than writing papers, that is an area where you as the teacher, can decide to change. And that is the beauty of the curriculum. You can teach it straight 'from the box', as is, or you can make some adjustments, for YOUR child. Because you aren't using traditional textbooks, the 'boredom' factor is mitigated, and allows for more modern learning. As a parent and teacher, I liked how it can cross curriculum, and offer the high schooler more than just a history credit, if kept as it is (or with the additional work). If you are looking to shake up your history and bring back the truths that helped make our country great, this is the curriculum for your homeschool!

Be sure to check out the reviews of my fellow homeschoolers for the other 3 books and levels. Just click the picture below to check them out: