Sometimes the Grass Is Greener

The same year in which I discovered Ambleside Online during an internet search for "study nature,"  I also began to admire Truthquest History from afar.  It was only my second year formally educating my daughter and I did not feel up to the imposing challenge which I thought those many-paged guides promised.

But I bought one, just one.  And I dreamed and maybe drooled slightly over the bevy of good books and goodly and godly connections contained within it.  It really emphasized God's bigger picture in HIStory and that was all rather new to me, growing up outside of Christ and with my nose stuck inside a public textbook.  I mean, I liked history in seventh grade, when I had an enthusiastic and very funny teacher who spent more time telling a story of the events he wanted us to remember coupled with some rather fabulous miniseries and videos.  I remember some stuff still: like that Bringham Young was a Mormon who settled in the west.  I remember it because my teacher emphasized that the polygamous pioneer wanted y'all to "BRING-EM-YOUNG!"  

And a few other things like that, but that's about all.  History thereafter was just no fun.

Over the handful of years since our embarkation with the ship named Ambleside, I've taken issue with some aspects of their history selections.  One issue I have with AO is chronology.  Studying Marco Polo in Year-3 just makes zero sense to me, since he properly belongs to the time period of Year-2.  I take the same issue with The Little Duke.

Another issue with AO I own is redundancy and not a perfect "lining up" of history chronology.  My kids groan when they discover they wasted precious time reading about an event for the second time in another book; they also moan when they realize that one book has ended a story they've only just begun in another.  Bah!  You don't have to tell me twice about spoilers!  

Well, I guess you do, since it's taken me four years and the THIRD child to implement Truth-quest to the hilt.  I thought I'd take it for a full tour for one year and retreat! retreat! retreat to AO, if necessary.

It's chronological.  It's jam-packed with long lists of great books to which I can add or substitute as I desire, now that I'm an ol' pro at this home educating business.  

Totally kidding.

Back to Truth-quest: I think it's fantastic!  I've added maps and little else, as it provides even our literature selections, which means less work for me other than plotting a schedule as I'm used to doing.  But I wondered what my kids were thinking and one day I got a peek into the crevices of my son's mind: we were watching a movie about one British war or another.  He yelled, "Lobster-backs!!" when the soldiers appeared onscreen.  I asked, hoping and somewhat assuming the AO spine was doing her job, "Where did you read that, in This Country of Ours?"  "No, in the last book you gave me for Truth-quest free reading."  

And then he proceeded to tell me the entire story---with brilliant gusto and sans groans and moans!

So I've jumped ship....sort of...but I'm a pretty good swimmer and the quest is good.  It's not without challenges, but I'll write more about that soon...

So, have you ever been afraid to try something new in your home school?