We began America the Beautiful from Notgrass history this school year. I can safely say that Notgrass changed the way we do homeschool History.
Since we began homeschooling in 2009 my girls always worked on school together. They studied the same time periods in History, and the same subjects in Science. It worked. And then… a catalog came in the mail. It was from Notgrass History. I don’t even know how they received our address but it changed the way we do History.
And I’m glad!
My daughter looked over that catalog with a smile on her face. She became excited about History in a way I hadn’t seen her before. Even though it was unlike anything we had used before I knew we had to give it a shot.
We began America the Beautiful from Notgrass this school year. I can safely say that Notgrass changed the way we do History.
Together? Or Apart?
The age range for Notgrass History is 4th-12th. My middle is in 4th grade this year, and we opted to NOT put her with my oldest for History. This isn’t because she wouldn’t have like it, she would have. But, it is because the girls NEEDED to separate this year. They wanted to study different things and it has worked out well.
Notgrass History changed the way we do history because I don’t have to put the girls together. Next year the oldest will move on to Uncle Sam, and my middle will use America the Beautiful. Notgrass is set up in a way that they can be studying different things and it literally takes me zero extra time to teach them. The programs we used before were not that flexible.
If the time comes and they want to study together again, Notgrass History makes it super simple to teach more than one age range at a time. They offer workbooks for younger and older children. The textbooks can be read independently or aloud. The family projects are created with the whole family in mind. Notgrass History gives families the option to put their children together, or apart. This has changed the way we do history.
Projects are COMPLETED!
My girls love projects, they really do. But, realistically, as a work at home, homeschool mom, I rarely had the time to do a lot of projects with the kids. This year, that has been different thanks to Notgrass History. We are in our third month of school and she has completed four of the six projects she has come to thus far. The other two she opted out of by her own choice.
The family projects in Notgrass American History are just that, projects we can all do together. We have enjoyed eating Navajo bread and honey. The kids played marbles just like the kids in colonial days (they all ended up making marbles to go along with this project!). My oldest LOVED the Pocahontas museum and we even made a fun video that I was able to show Charlene Notgrass herself at the 2:1 Conference.
The Best of Textbook and Literature
For me, the thing that I love most about Notgrass middle school history curriculum is that when it comes to textbooks vs. literature it truly is the best of both worlds. I have always been a fan of literature based history, yet I love the ease of textbooks. Notgrass History gives me both in a package together that my kids actually like! I don’t have to choose one or the other and that has changed the way we do History. The Notgrass literature selections are fantastic by the way!
Independent and Loving It
One of the reasons my oldest was so set on separating from her sister for History was she longed for more independence in her school work. Notgrass has given her this independence. She is able to take her textbook and other history resources and work on her own at her own pace. As she eases into middle and high school I truly believe Notgrass America the Beautiful will help her become a more independent learner, teach her good time management skills, and excellent study habits.
Pick and Choose What You Want to Use
With some of the programs we have used in the past, I have felt like picking and choosing left us missing out on things. This is not the case with Notgrass History. Notgrass can be a complete program if you want it to be. It offers literature choices, a workbook, tests, writing assignments, vocabulary terms and scripture. Do we use all of these? No! Could we? of course! Are we missing out because we don’t? I don’t think so. Because of this Notgrass has changed the way we do history. I can choose what parts of the optional assignments at the end of each chapter we want to use. I don’t feel like we are missing out on core parts of the program, and I can use the program as we I see fit for each child’s needs and learning styles.
Notgrass History has been a huge blessing to our homeschool. I look forward to many more years using Notgrass, and am so glad that it changed the way we teach history!
Do you use Notgrass? Share your experience below!
Related posts:
- Notgrass FAQ
- Our Favorite Projects from Notgrass America the Beautiful
- Field Trip Guide for Notgrass History
I have been teaching at home for many years. This year I am using America the Beautiful from Notgrass with my two youngest and we are all really enjoying it. I like that there is no prep work. The boys like that it is interesting and especially enjoy the mapwork. And I am finding that it is giving me much to think about that I had not really considered before. After all you are never too old to learn.
Great review~
Thank you for sharing your review, Misty. So glad to hear about the positive impact for your family!
You are very welcome! Thanks for being a part of such an amazing company 🙂
I’ve been eyeing the Notgrass catalog for some of the same reasons. We have always done history together but it’s time for a few of my older kids to work more independently. Their civics course, “Uncle Sam and You” looks really good! Thank you for sharing your experience with it.
You will love it! Seriously! I just want to say that I did NOT get paid in anyway for writing this post. They gave me the curriculum to try out in hopes I would share a good experience, but I was under NO obligation to even write a post at all. We just TRULY fell in love with the curriculum. Feel free to shoot me an email or FB message if you have any specific questions.