Has anyone used Truthquest as a stand alone history/bible program?
I am looking to break away from the boxed curriculum, and I am interested in hearing more about Truthquest. I have been told it is ‘just a booklist’, but while reading their website, it seems like it has the potential to be so much more…
I am looking at the Creation/Acient Truthquest starting for my daughter in 4th grade, if that makes a difference.
I would love to hear about your experiences with Truthquest!
OH, it IS so much more than ‘just a booklist’. Read some of the samples and see what you think. I used it years ago when it was little more than a booklist but now Michelle has put so much thought and prayer into it and the discussion topics are amazing! 4th grade is a perfect place to begin as you can get through the whole series that way. I am using the Middle Ages this coming year> Also A Journey Through Learning has created some very cool lapbooks and notebook pages to go along with the guides. I can’t wait to start!
I agree with Heidi! We are just getting ready to do AHYS 1, and I can already tell you, it is much, MUCH more than a booklist! I am switching from Sonlight. I considered using SCM or BF, but I would have had to do a lot of adding and/or tweaking. I WILL admit that figuring out exactly how I want to make TQ work for our family has been a challenge, but every time I start to look longingly at another boxed curriculum, I come back to all of the reasons I decided to switch to TQ, and I haven’t even started yet! I really think that once we get a year of it under our belts, it will be much easier to get things arranged for the next year. Here are some of the things I already love:
1. Suggested readings for parents. Seriously, after my public school lack of education, I NEED me some TRUE history!
2. Book suggestions include suggested ages, which makes it easy for me to decide what we will use as read-alouds and what I will pick up for my children to use for readers.
3. The commentary. If I had decided to go with another curriculum, I would still have used TQ for the commentary.
The biggest con I have noticed so far: The guides REALLY need indexes in the back that list where which page/topic each book is listed under. Some books are used multiple times, and those could even just be labeled “multiple”. For someone like me, who did not get a quality history education, this has presented a challenge. I know a lot of moms look for the topic in the Table of Contents and then go to that section to find a particular book, but even that is difficult when you don’t know the order events took place in. This has already been discussed on the TQ yahoo groups, and it would not be an easy undertaking, but it would GREATLY increase ease of use. It is the one thing that has made me want to give up and do something different at times.
That said, I am very excited about using TQ next year! Definitely not just a booklist! 🙂
Yes, the commentary, that’s what amazed me. I love SCM guides but my dd is older and we both needed some guidance on the deeper truths behind history. TQ does this for me. Granted the guides could use some indexing but I think Michelle really wants us to use what we have and not feel the need to go book hunting. I like that, especially since I have too many books on the shelf already! The commentary is it!
I can’t sing TruthQuest’s praise loud enough! This has been our first year using it and we will begin AHYS 2 in the fall. I have definitely found my history curriculum for life. I agree with the other posters that the commentary is a gem in itself much less the booklists! We have paired it with the AJTL Binder Builder but it is definitely not needed. We use solely TQ for history but not for Bible. However, her Beginnings guide is similar to SCM’s Genesis through Deuteronomy in that it is mainly Bible. Hope that helps. We LOVE TruthQuest!!!
“Granted the guides could use some indexing but I think Michelle really wants us to use what we have and not feel the need to go book hunting.”
I completely understand that we are not supposed to feel the need to go hunting for every book, but even when trying to place the books we already have, an index would be helpful…for me, anyway! I just wanted to bring up that point, as I do wish I would have known this was missing from the guides when I had purchased them.
Thank you all very much! I definately think using JUST Truthquest is something my husband and I will have to consider. I have read just about every thing on their website I could, and I am very interested! The binder builders, notebooking pages, and timeline packages look fun as well!
I have heard of many using TQ WITH other programs, but it seems TQ can be beautiful and plenty all on it’s own!
The year we used TQ Greece and Rome with my 7th and 9th graders was the best year of history we have ever had. And they didn’t even have all the extra activities available then. We just read and discussed the material. Then they wrote summaries.
I think TQ can definitely be used as a stand alone curriculum. My only problem was trying to narrow all the wonderful book choices! It would take a hundred years to read them all and they all sound so good:) I appreciate using SCM’s booklist as a guide to what we can reasonable accomplish in one year (plus we add a few of the TQ ‘don’t miss’ choices and movie selections). Best wishes as you decide! Gina
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