The Pilgrim Story

The Pilgrim Story is an online course from Dayspring Christian Academy (a school in PA) for students in Grades 3-6.  It is a self-guided, interactive power-point style history course. The Pilgrim Story is taught using the Principle Approach which holds a providential view of history. Students learn about Christian character, Christian liberty and other biblical principles such as self government, hard work and perseverance.

The Pilgrim Story is divided into an Introduction, 5 Units and a Virtual Field Trip to Plymouth, MA.  Each of the 5 units are broken down into lessons designed to take 30-45 minutes to complete.  There are 17 lessons in all.  Students create a notebook (using a 3 ring binder) from downloadable pdfs that include note sheets,, quotes, maps, activities and more.

Course Objectives

Lessons include:

• King Henry
• The Geneva Bible
• Life in Scrooby
• Liberty of Conscience
• Leaving England
• The Second Escape Attempt
• Leiden
• Preparing to Go
• Leaving Leiden
• Conditions on the Mayflower
• Building Christian Character
• The Mayflower Compact
• Exploration
• The First Winter
• Spring, 1621
• The Wampanoag People
• The Rest of the Story

Each lesson has fill-in-the-blank note sheets. When a pencil is shown on the
screen, students are to complete the note sheet with the underlined information.

You can jump to any part of a lesson and access the pdf files using tabs at the bottom of the screen.
This picture shows the resources tab opened with the documents to be printed for this particular lesson.

At the end of each lesson, there are 2 options for tests.  One is an interactive test that students complete online and receive a score at the end.  Students have the option to repeat the tests if you wish.  The second option is an essay test.  You can download essay questions if you choose that option. Interactive test scores are available in your account. (The most recent result will show.)

Here is a video intro to the course:

My daughter, Emma (9) has been doing this course.  I set up her notebook on the first week we started.  I print out the lessons one week at a time.  The pdf's all need to be downloaded individually and it is time consuming. I would like it better if all of the pdf's were one document, or at least one document per unit or even one per lesson.

Emma seems to really like this course and actually loves taking the tests.  She likes to take them multiple times to improve her score.  I like this because I know she is really learning the material with this constant review.  

a sample of the notebook pages

I am not a huge fan of the power point style of lesson and wish there was more video, but I love the idea of building notebooks and the material is excellent.  I also really like that Emma can work independently and once the pages are printed I really don't have to do anything.

Depending on your students and how much time you want to invest in the course you could complete it in just 5 weeks (perfect to start now and finish before Thanksgiving) or you could stretch it out over a longer period of time.  Emma takes 1-2 days to complete a lesson.  Some lessons are longer than others.

There are activities that include mapping, recipes, building a model pilgrim house, building a model wetu, drawing and optional writing activities.  Most of the "fun" ones are in the last 2 units which we are just starting. 

A mapping project

Emma with her Mayflower and map

At the end of the course, you are taken on a virtual field trip of Plymouth, MA.  You are shown various landmarks around Plymouth as well as the Mayflower II and Plimoth Plantation.  I was a bit disappointed with the amount of coverage from The Plantation which, in my opinion, really is the highlight of visiting Plymouth. However, students will get a very complete tour of monuments and places of interest in Plymouth.

We were able to visit Plymouth this weekend.  The Pilgrim Story was a great introduction to the Pilgrims (we've completed 3 of the 5 units).  I do recommend it and think it would be valuable even for those older than the recommended ages. (I don't think it would hold the attention of younger children.) However, the price is more than what I'd be willing to pay even if more than one of my children were participating. It is just more money than I would spend on a short course for an elementary student.

The view was spectacular

Jenna and Connor with the wetu

paddling the canoe

If you can't take your child to Plymouth, this might be the next best thing.  If you can take them, this will be a wonderful course to use before or after your trip.

Purchase a 6 month subscription to The Pilgrim Story for $99.00. Once purchased, you will receive access to the course within 48 hours.  You will then have access for 6 months from the date of registration.

Visit Dayspring Christian Academy

See what others are saying about The Pilgrim Story on 

The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

disclaimer: I received a 6 month subscription to The Pilgrim Story  in exchange for an honest review

Truth Quest History

Ever since I first heard about Truth Quest History I wanted to give it a try. I was so excited when I received this to review as a part of the TOS crew.

TruthQuest History is a deep and rich literature-based history study…but with a difference. You will not learn the story of mankind; you will learn the lovestory of mankind. You will not focus on the rise and fall of human civilizations; you will focus on the arrow-straight line of God's unchanging existence, power, love, truth, and plan for civilization. You will not simply 'meet the culture' or 'get the facts;' you will probe the truths of history so deeply that your students will be equipped to change their world!

-from the website 

TruthQuest History is unlike most history curriculum.  It is written from an unashamed Christian viewpoint; the perspective that history is first about what God does and says, and secondly about what people believe and do in response.  Throughout the guide, commentaries are given as an introduction to each topic and thoroughly discuss the consequences of mankind's Big 2 Beliefs which are 1)Who is God? and 2) Who, then, is mankind?

For a book lover like me, TruthQuest History is a dream come true.  You will find extensive book lists for every topic you can imagine in chronological order.  We reviewed the Age of Revolution I: America/Europe 1600-1800.

In addition to the commentaries and book lists you will find ThinkWrite exercises (13 in this guide) to help students internalize and express the history lessons they are learning through literature.

One thing I really appreciate about TruthQuest History is you do not have to buy a certain set of books.  You can use what is listed or what you can find.  Read more here:

It is not intended that you purchase, find, or even read all the books cited in this guide! You can see how impossible that would be! TruthQuest History is completely different from curricula which depend on certain books, so users must think differently about it! Here, the goal is not to guide you through books, but through history...using books...whichever books are readily available! That’s why so many are listed here–to give you the utmost opportunity to harness your public or church librarywithout missing a gem!
When you (wisely!) decide to homeschool using real books, no matter what curriculum guide you choose, you’re only able to use what’s available. Therefore, this large booklist is not a burden, it’s a benefit! It vastly increases the chances of finding the best available books on every topic!

                                                                       -quote from TruthQuest history

So the layout of TruthQuest is that you first read a commentary by the author, followed by a list of reading from the "spines" of the curriculum, then there is an extensive list of books to choose from.  I did not have any trouble finding books in our library system.  Almost everything I searched for was available through our fabulous state ILL program.  Each book also lists a grade level (love that!). The Think/Write sections are placed throughout the guide.  Click here for a sample from Age of Revolution I and here to see the Table of Contents.

While I love TruthQuest for the book list, I am not at a point in my homeschool where I want a curriculum that isn't really laid out for me day to day.  There have been times when this would have been perfect for us and I suppose with a large family we could all study the same topic using this.

We ended up using this to study state history because we are studying ancient history this year but we're still required to study state history and we happen to live in one of the original 13 colonies so there was plenty to choose from in that section.  I am very impressed with the books that we found and even learned about a place in my state that I'd never heard of even though I've lived here for 44 years (all my life).

We reveiwed the pdf version of Age of Revolution I.  I would recommend spending the few extra dollars to order a book version. This guide is 378 pages long which is just too overwhelming as a pdf in my experience.  Also, the page numbers of the pdf do not match the pages in the book.  For instance, Maryland history is listed on page 64 in the Table of Contents but you will actually find it on page 81 of the pdf.  The Table of Contents is not linked though there are bookmarks that will get you where you want to go if you are using this on a computer.  I did load this on my Kindle (just a regular Kindle) and on my iPod touch but pdfs really aren't great on either of those anyway.  I read the commentaries to my kids on my Kindle but the font was very small and as I said pdf's just aren't that great on the regular Kindle.  I also used my laptop for reading and that was better but reading from the computer is not my favorite thing either.  I think I would have liked this a lot better if I had a hard copy.

You can see samples of each of the eleven guides, read How to Choose, read about long range planning using TruthQuest or listen to audio presentations.

Click to enlarge

Guides include:

Level 1 for Grades 1-5
American History for Young Students  I
American History for Young Students II
American History for Young Students III

Level  2 for Grades 5-12
Beginnings
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Middle Ages
Renaissance/Reformation/Exploration
Age of Revolution I
Age of Revolution II
Age of Revolution III

You can see more detailed information about these here.

So as you can tell, I have mixed feelings about this curriculum.  Though it could be used a complete curriculum if this is your style, I prefer it as a rich resource for finding historical literature.  I do have to say that I enjoyed the perspective of the commentaries and view my state history a bit differently now than I did before.

You can purchase TruthQuest History guides for $24.95-$34.95 or ($19.95-29.95 for a pdf version) (Prices vary according to the guide you choose).  Visit the website to see other companion products available for purchase including A Journey Through Learning binder builders, notebooking pages and a map/timeline/report package.

See what others are saying about TruthQuest History on the TOS crew blog.

disclaimer: I received a free pdf version of Truth Quest Age of Revolution I in exchange for an honest review.