Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am actually very disappointed with this curriculum. Other than being a waste of money (I purchased the textbook, plus 2 of the activity books/teacher's guide), it just isn't really teaching much. Another review stated it's missing too much and didn't say what. Others wanted to know. I'll try to help you out a bit. It would be hard to detail out what is missing from the curriculum, because it's practically everything. I've read every lesson out loud with my kids. One is in 4th grade, the other is in 9th. It actually works SEMI well for the 9th grader, because the plan was always to have her get online and do TONS of other research and just use the "text" as a guide as to what she should be researching. If my 4th grader was capable of doing that alone, I guess this "curriculum" would be okay. But he's nine. Today we read Chapter 10, "Young George Washington and the Horrible War". Hint, it's about the French and Indian war. So...what was missing? How about a lesson on George Washington and the French and Indian War? Seriously. You get a tiny bit about George being honest and surveying land. A bit about the French and British not getting along over land disputes, and then over 1/2 the lesson is on a poem written waaay later that is bound to go over the head of the average 4th grader. And FYI, you just read the lesson. Yep. If you just read the past few sentences I wrote, then you know as much as my kids were just taught. So, that second part, the poem, was about the Acadians - who apparently became the Cajuns. No, the author doesn't actually TELL you this, but considering the 2 pages are all about the CAJUNS out of nowhere, you kind of put it together? I'd also like to note that more than 1/2 this entire chapter was about the Acadians/Cajuns...and NOT actually in a way that relates to the chapter title itself. Another example? The previous chapter was about William Wilberforce. The intro of the chapter, in the "Ready to Explore" section says, "Who wrote the hymn, "Amazing Grace" and what did he have to do with William Wilberforce"? Great question! Also, one that I ENTIRELY forgot about because it's not anywhere in the chapter (this happens frequently). However, in the "outro", if you will, it give you "Thoughts to Remember", and THIS is where the author decides to tell you that Wilberforce and Newton were "fast friends". Then it tells you it would be fascinating to research that on your own. Huh? What? That's a perfect example of why this is a terrible text for any homeschooling parent. If you want a book with chapter titles that have virtually nothing to do with the chapter, a lesson of non-facts, "Ready to Explore" sections you WON'T actually be exploring, "Thoughts to Remember" that you frequently can't remember since they were never taught, and questions (in the activity pages) that you'll have to do a TON of extra research to answer them because no way can your kid know the answers since they were never taught...then by all means, buy the book. But, if having your kid have to choose WHICH of the 13 colonies they'd prefer to live in and why, when maybe 2 of the colonies were discussed, is NOT your thing, I suggest a different curriculum. I've spent so much money on disappointing school stuff this year I think I'm going to do easy peasy home school for history. Trust me when I say that your child will learn more. ETA; I also forgot to mention that the activity pages have many errors, such as wrong letters in crossword puzzles (a "V" instead of a "U" - made it very hard for my kids), as well as one our our manuals (recall I bought 2 - so both kids had activity sheets) has the "E" and "W" switched on every single map exercise. It's just little things like that. They add up.