Pathway to Liberty { A US History Review}
I’m kind of a history nerd. I love… LOVE history. It was always my favorite subject in school, except for that one 10th grade year when my teacher almost ruined it for me with his less than enthusiastic love of the subject. But one of my history professors in college doubly made up for it with his over the top love of European aristocracy. I can still see the spit flying out of his mouth as he jumped around the room in excitement sharing about Louis XIV and the palace of Versailles.
This year we studied World history but I wasn’t thrilled with our choice of curriculum so I have been on the hunt for something that would get us all fired up about American History for next year. The U.S. History Review of Pathway to Liberty’s History Curriculum, from Pathway to Liberty Homeschool Curriculum came at just the right time.
Pathway to Liberty provides a Biblical worldview of history and was designed so that multiple levels could be used at once.
Each year of the curriculum has four levels:
- Level 1 is for K5 – 3rd grade
- Level 2 is for 4th – 6th grade
- Level 3 is for 7th – 9th grade
- Level 4 is for 10th-12th grade.
I really like how each weekly overview has the levels laid out. If you were using this with multiple students there would be no need to flip through each book to determine what work needed to be done. As a homeschool mom to multiple children at different ages, this REALLY appeals to me.
The weekly subject and principles are the same for every age level. It’s obvious that the author Jayme Maccullough was a homeschooling parent that understands how to level and scaffold learning with multiple ages.
Each week the Lesson includes:
-Scripture reference
-Lesson plans
-Word study
-Expanded Reading
In addition there are often video links included to further expand upon the study of the topic.
The curriculum is set up to be able to complete 4 lessons a week. For us this would mean that we work Tuesday- Friday because our co-op day is Monday. This wasn’t completely consistent for us, because Fridays are also our field trip/friend outing day, so 3 days a week were what we consistently got done.
What we liked:
It was simple. There are suggested reading materials to go along with the curriculum but the curriculum itself came with a student guide and 2 books to go along with the lessons. The reading was easy to follow along and words were clearly defined. The material was challenging enough for me to feel good about it being a solid high school curriculum and there was just enough work to go along with it to not be overwhelming.
I really liked the way the program is laid out. I didn’t have to do a lot of searching to find answers or to figure out what we needed to be doing that day. The lesson plans were clear and set up so that they were easy to follow. Did I mention I liked that it was simple!
I love that the whole program has a biblical worldview and it was clear that the author has a love and passion for the freedom we have in our country and the desire to maintain that through educating our youth. Unfortunately while updating this post I found out that this company is no longer in business.
As I mentioned we are actually studying World History this year, so we took a hiatus from that to do this review, but this will be the curriculum we use in the fall for our home school. I’m looking forward to reading through what other reviewers thought of the program at the different levels, so that I know what to expect when I order it for my younger students. You can also check out their thoughts below.
Angela is the Homeschool Encourager for the Overwhelmed & Under-Caffeinated and the Chaos-to-Confidence Specialist behind Schooling with Grace. With a no-fluff approach, a dash of humor, and a whole lot of heart, she helps homeschool moms cut through the chaos, ditch unrealistic expectations, and teach with confidence.