When I came to the booth for Trail Guide I was immediately intrigued. Their stuff looks great! But was the inside as good as the outside? I started with their book selection. Our homeschool centers around reading great books. A poor choice of books was a deal breaker. Immediately I was blown away! I already loved several of their books and the books I was not familiar with were books I would like to read. The books looked like ones that would spike the interest of both my boys and my girls. (That was also something I was looking for so that I could re-use the curriculum in the future.) As I began to go through the curriculum to see how user friendly it was I was astonished!
Everything made perfect sense to me. It was laid out day by day with almost everything I needed for that day, in the same place. We decided to take the plunge and bought the set. We choose their set called "Paths of Exploration." And honestly the price was quite reasonable.
Thankfully I was not disappointed. True to first impressions, this curriculum is wonderful.
We used it for two of our children that year. Brady was in 5th grade and Mary Taylor in 7th (we used the middle school supplement for her). But it is very appropriate for 4th grade as well. If you use this curriculum for a middle schooler you may need to bump it up a notch or two in order to add to their learning experience. My suggestion would be to use it for elementary grades.
The curriculum includes the Handbook of Nature Study, North American Wildlife Guide and the 1911 Boy Scout Handbook as a references books. These books are used well and they will be useful books to have in the future as well. These are not the only books but I could go on and on about how well I liked all the books. With very few exceptions I will keep these for years.
The CD ROM is also great. The worksheets worked well for us. There are a lot of sheets to print out, but we liked them and they were easy to use. It is also nice to know that when I reuse this curriculum in the future, with the other children, I will already have everything I need. We will not have to try to find the right workbook to go with our edition.
All of the curriculum is divided into parts that help you know what to do with your younger, middle and older students. It includes 3 levels of learning in each lesson and they help you identify which level would be best for your student. Included in the curriculum are copy work/dictation, readers, read-aloud, discussion, word study, science, geography, and writing. It all comes from a history perspective so that is included throughout the entire curriculum. Art, speaking, and enrichment lessons are included, but not daily. We all enjoyed the art and drawing as well as the enrichment ideas that included cooking from different cultures. There are some fun learning games too.
Our children came away from this curriculum having learned a great deal about those who went before us to blaze a path for our country. Columbus, Jamestown, and the Pilgrims are covered in the first half. Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Trails West are the topics for the second half. As a teacher, I learned as much as they did!
This curriculum is literature-based curriculum that takes all the guesswork out of preparation. It is heavy on history and provides a great base in history for children. As well as all of those aspects, it also is an easy curriculum to use for multiple elementary school grades at once.
Blessing on you as you choose your curriculum. May God light a path before you to show you just the right ones for your family and for your needs. Enjoy what you do. You are a shining light and a trailblazer for your family! You are making a difference!
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