Self-Paced History Lessons for Independent Learning
Being a busy mom of many comes with it’s own challenges, especially when you’re homeschooling. We have so many subjects and levels to cover in a typical week! Finding ways to make efficient use of our time and streamlining with good routines and curriculum choices are essential. Anytime I can combine subjects, teach to multiple ages, or incorporate good independent study resources is gold for me.
For the past several months my oldest has been asking to add ancient history studies to our curriculum. Well, we just didn’t have the time for that in our group work and I didn’t think my younger kids were ready for some of the topics. However, I had heard great things about the Veritas Press Self-Paced History lessons! The more I looked into it the more I wanted to give it a try. I knew that he would enjoy the fact that it was computer based and interactive, and we could easily work it into his loop of independent studies.
You guys. I am so glad we are using this curriculum for him this year! It’s been a complete hit for for my son AND for me!
I was provided this material in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Disclosure: *This post may include affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the disclosures and terms for more information.
Each self-paced history course features:
- 160 lessons covering 32 historical events
- Interactive teaching, games, and videos
- Engaging characters and frequent feedback
- Memorization of key facts for the time period
- Discussions of how God works throughout history
- Teaches with a chronological timeline
- Worksheets and graded tests for reinforcement
- Printables and hands-on activities
- Suggested additional readings and resources
- Delivered online over the internet
Old Testament and Ancient History Course
We are using the Old Testament and Ancient History course this year, which covers Creation to Rome. The lessons take about a half hour to complete unless we do any additional reading or activities. Each time we get to his history lesson my son is SO excited. Often he is begging to do two or three lessons at a time.
That, my friends, is a homeschool mom win. *fist bump*
The Great Sphinx and other fun characters teach and guide him through each lesson, and really keep him engaged and learning the whole time. In fact, whenever the rest of the kids hear those character voices they come crowding around to watch, too! It takes them on a fun and educational story through history with interesting scenes, costumes, and information that captures their attention.
My son especially loves the games with each lesson. They are simple but fun and really help make the lesson memorable for him. Often he’ll go back just to play the games again and again. Picture me dragging him away from his history lesson to go do his math. It’s a good problem to have.
There are some optional resources available with the course. We are using the flash cards and find them really handy for review. My kids like to read through them and study the pictures. My son is also reading the Pages of History volume 1 book which is a fun and exciting fictional history book that covers events from the first three courses. It’s a great way to have some independent reading time in his week that reinforces the lessons. The back of the flash cards indicate the page numbers for any of the optional books that cover each event, which is really helpful for me.
What I Love About the Veritas Press Self-Paced History Lessons
As much as my kids enjoy the lessons, I’m kind of loving them too. The main reason is that I can focus my attention elsewhere! Of course, I am never far when he’s going through them so I can keep up with what he’s learning and be available if he has questions, but even so, I am able to work with another child, do the dishes, or feed the baby at the same time. That’s a big plus for a busy homeschool mom!
Here are some of the other things I appreciate about the course:
- Timeline song is catchy and repeated often so he remembers it
- Veritas Press History Flashcards were a good choice to get, helping with review and to read for reinforcement
- Optional historical fiction books are a fun and exciting way to touch on the lessons again
- Kids who benefit from hands-on learning are helped by some of the additional activities offered, like the printable to build a Noah’s Ark model.
- Written from a biblical worldview starting with the Creation
- 60-Day Money Back Guarantee for any reason.
- The kids LOVE it! That really is a big deal.
All in all, Veritas Press Self-Paced History Courses are definitely worth checking out for your homeschool, especially if you’re looking for something for independent learning from a biblical worldview. I’m not a big fan of some of the bickering the characters do for the sake of humor (mostly because I’m always correcting bickering). The fact that it’s a course for just one student might be a downside for some but that’s part of the independent nature of the course, and you can always have other kids “audit” the course, going through the lessons and learning without doing the tests and quizzes or being graded. But I believe the features and benefits of the program far outweighs these issues.
>> Learn More & View Samples <<
{Giveaway!} Enter to Win a Veritas Self-Paced History Course!
Veritas Press is generously giving Proverbial Homemaker readers a chance to win a Self-Paced History Course of their choice! ($199 value.) Choose from the following:
- Old Testament and Ancient Egypt
- New Testament, Greece, and Rome
- Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation
- Explorers to 1815
- 1815 to Present
Must be 18 or older to enter. Giveaways end September 11th at 11:59PM PST. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen. Veritas Press is responsible for the fulfillment of each. Entering this giveaway subscribes you to the Proverbial Homemaker blog via email if you aren’t already a subscriber.
I think we would either go with the Middle Ages one or the Explorers to 1815 one. We are in these timeframes as we speak and are looking for something to help with this. I think my daughter would benefit from the audio/visual learning style of this curriculum. Would love to win it.
Middle Ages
I would love any of the courses!
I would love to try the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt course with my sons.
I would probably go with one of the modern ones since my older kids are studying American history. They all look great. This appeals to me because my youngest has not done as much formal learning as my older two. I think this method would appeal to him.
I think 1815+ because we haven’t done much study of that period.
I would love to use the 1815 to Present course!
Wow! I love that this is biblical based and self paced. I really need a new curriculum for next school year. I think the middle ages is where we’ll be by then. I want them all! Lol
Explorer to 1815 please. Thank you xx
I’m not sure if we’d go with Old Testament & Ancient Egypt or New Testament, Greece & Rome. We have just started Ancients this fall, but hope to cover through the fall of Rome this school year.
Our family would enjoy the 1815 to the Present Self Paced course! Wow…love the format of this curriculum. Teacher and student friendly!
Ooh would love to win the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt set.
I would probably choose explorers to 1815. This curriculum looks great!
Probably would like the Old Testament and Ancient History course. I like that the kids can do them independently!
Explorers to 1815…they are awesome. Just a little pricey for our family- but we LOVE Veritas Press!!
My kids would like the Middle Ages and Renaissance lessons.
I would like the Old and New Testament courses. My favorite part is that they’re written from a Creation-based perspective.
It’s hard to choose between New Testament, Greece and Rome and Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation as we will be studying both this year!
I would like to try anything for a 11th or 12th grader. I have never tried your curriculum before.
Explorers! Would love to win a copy of this!
Explorers to 1815
I am interested in Old Testament and Ancient Egypt course, as I am planning to teach my eldest son Old Testament this year.
Middle Ages is our chosen time period for this year!
I would choose 1815 to Present. They all sound GREAT though! My daughter is more a visual learner and tends to learn more from videos, so that is my favorite part of these courses. Thank you so much for the chance. I wouldn’t mind a refresher course myself! It’s been a while!
I didn’t realize Veritas offered this. I’ll have to check out this program. It really l00ks great
This program is very well rounded and engaging. Self-paced is the way to go with an extremely busy schedule. Thank you for the giveaway!
I think we would enjoy New Testament, Greece, and Rome!
They all look interesting. But if I had to choose just 1, I’d say the 1815 to present would be super interesting to teach.
The 1815-Present module would apply to our studies. Looks fun!
New Testament, Greece and Rome
I would go with Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation for this year.
I’m most interested in the 1815 to Present History Course. We’ve studied every other era of history, but modern history seems to be the most neglected. This looks like a very appealing way to learn for a wide variety of ages.
We’ll be doing middle ages next so that is the one we’d like. Right now we have Veritas Press cards and teacher book, but I think the audio/visual would really help my son.
Most interested in 1815-Present.
We would probably go for the Explorers to 1815. My oldest loves History and needs to go more in depth than we have been going. She has two younger siblings and this online self-paced curriculum would be a great fit for her.
Explorers to 1815 sounds like a great one
Explorers to 1815
Old Testament and Ancient Egypt
We are interested in the course 1815 to the present. I love multisensory teaching methods.
I love them all but I am most interested in New Testament, Greece and Rome
I’m most interested in the Middle Ages right now. We’re on our second 4-year cycle, and it would be nice to have a fresh way to present the information! The Middle Ages is one of our favorite eras to study and this program looks engaging.
We would most likely choose the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation History course. The features I adore most are that the course is self-paced meaning my daughter can work at her own pace, I also love the comprehensiveness of the program. I know that my daughter will appreciate the animated videos and interactive features. The music adds a special touch to the program as well. It would be a blessing to win. Thank you for sharing and for the opportunity to win! The Explorers to 1815 course looks appealing to . . . well they all do. LOL
The most appealing feature is that I don’t have to teach or constantly remind them to “do history.”
The reinforcement of learned topics through games, map skills and more is such a fun bonus for students!
Middle Ages to present history would fit our history cycle.
New Testament.
I would go with the old testament and ancient egypt. I want to start from the begining with these. We are moving this year so want to do online or comp curriculum so we can pack everything else up, so this looks perfect for us
I think the middle ages, renaissance and reformation would be a nice change to our history lessons.
Old Testament Ancient Egypt is what I would pick. I normally don’t enter giveaways when one is drawn, telling myself, “awe I’ll never win”. But this is so generous I have to give it a shot. Thank you for the review and opportunity Tauna!
I think the middle ages and reformation course looks interesting.
tough one- they are all great, but I think middle ages and reformation, as its pretty intense, and ill need a break by then, LOL
I would love 1815 to Present.
The courses look good. We would use the ancients one to start with.
I would love the Explorers pack as we are learning about that very soon.
I like them all but I would really like the explorers to 1815.
We would pick explorers to 1815
I love them all but I would first start with the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt and work my way up I love that are so infomative
Like so many, I think it would be hard to choose. Probably would go with Middle Ages
Middle ages!
Ancients would be awesome – we’re studying that period right now, but about to have a new baby and I’m truly not sure how we’re going to manage our schooling!
I’m interested in old testament
Greece and rome!
I would love to use any of the Ancient History courses, the flash cards, and the historical fiction books. I also like the independent aspect of the course for my oldest child. It would help give me more time to work with my next two kiddos. Thank you for this opportunity!
I like the 1815 to present because that’s what we are currently studying. I really liked the program with the interactive learning games in between chucks of interesting historical facts. I think my son would really like the visual aspect this history program provides!
I would love to win this. Thank you for this great giveaway. I have been getting their catalog for like forever abasing over all the great curriculum they have. I would love to get the Ancient one.
I’d like any of them, that would probably go with the 1815 to present course since that’s what we will be studying next year. I like that it is self paced and that it’s very interactive, which will be great for my audio learner.
The Middle Ages or the Explorers! This programs looks so cool! We love history…our favorite!