We are big fans of the Sonlight curricula. Last year, Kelly studied their US History. Of course, the literature books were fabulous as usual, but we struggled mightily with their choice of Joy Hakim’s A History of the USA. Sonlight acknowledges weakness in the Hakim books, but we felt those weaknesses are understated both in terms of the depth of coverage and the political correctness of the books. Kelly studied for the US History I CLEP test at the same time she studied the Sonlight curricula. We bought her the REA study book, History of the USA I, for the test. Even though the CLEP study book was not designed to be a history course, it provided a much more thorough coverage with somewhat less bias in the coverage of the material. Kelly is using the REA book, History of the USA II, to get ready for the next test.
Now, it is time to think about a US History curriculum for Christian. We know we do not want to use the Joy Hakim series, but we do not think the CLEP preparation books are adequate either. I am thinking about combining A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the War on Terror by Larry Schweikart and Michael Patrick Allen as a read aloud for the whole family, John J. Newman’s United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination as a study text, and the Sonlight books from Core 100 as accompanying literature. I think that will give Christian (and the rest of us) a good overview of US History as well as prepare him to take the two CLEP tests. Of course Christian will also use the REA books for specific test preparation.
UPDATE: Found a VERY cool computer here.
