Originally Posted by kimck
mamaandmore - have you used story of the world before, or is this your first time using it? I was thinking of ordering this and the activity book and using at a base for history for a while.

We've been using it about 6 months, since we started homeschooling. I really like the activity book that goes with it, especially since DS6 is still kind of young he enjoys the arts & crafts activities. It's especially nice when I can involve my 2 younger kids, too. I also like that it begins with ancient history, since besides studying Egypt it's hard to find resources for younger kids. I don't know how it would do with older kids, I can easily see the story format becoming a bit juvenile.

I really only have 2 complaints about it-
1. It has a bit of a religious overtone to some of the chapters. That's easy enough to avoid though by just skipping those sections (I think 3 chapters in all).

2. Some of the history facts seem to be a bit shaky with little acknowledgment of the disagreement between experts. We've discovered in reading other sources that some of the stuff isn't nearly as black and white as presented. I just use it as an opportunity to discuss with DS the importance of referencing a variety of sources so that you can be aware of the inherent bias in any single source. I can totally see where it's hard within the context of what the author is trying to accomplish (a story-based time line for all of ancient history), it would be difficult to include other view points. Still, a little blurb to parents might be nice.