Tapestry of Grace vs The Mystery of History
The main differences
Both carry a whole family through world history in four years, each child at their own level. Tapestry of Grace is a full humanities plan of history, geography, literature and writing, sold as printable manuals by level, with books chosen from booklists, and the publisher says it takes planning; one level's Year One was $60, or $249 for all four levels. The Mystery of History is one hardback reader plus a digital guide of activities for every age, $79.95 a volume, with far fewer books to gather.
| Tapestry of Grace | The Mystery of History | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | History and geography and language arts | History and geography |
| Grades | Kindergarten to 12th grade in levels: Primer (K to 1st), Lower Grammar (1st to 3rd), Upper Grammar (4th to 6th), Dialectic (7th to 9th), Rhetoric (10th to 12th) | Ages 5 and up, about kindergarten to 12th grade; Volume I reads at a 3rd to 4th grade level and Volume IV at 9th grade and up |
| Method | Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unit studies | Traditional |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Faith-based | Faith-based |
| Cost a year | $60. Year One at the Upper Grammar level (4th to 6th grade), integrated student and teacher manuals: $60. All four levels for a whole family: $249, or $749 with supplements. Living books are extra. | $79.95. Volume II hardback Student Reader with the digital Companion Guide: $79.95 on the publisher's site (retail $99.95), for the whole family for a year. |
| Placement | New visitor quiz for choosing levels and products ↗ | Scope and sequence paths by age (free download) ↗ |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A family with children of several ages who wants one shared history and literature plan built on living books and discussion, and is willing to plan each week. | A family with children of different ages who wants one world history read together in time order, with a choice of activities at each child's level. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that wants an open-and-go program, or one where all the books come in the box. | A family that wants a separate grade-level workbook for each child, or a course focused on US history. |
Tapestry of Grace
Tapestry of Grace is a four-year humanities plan that moves through world history from ancient times to the twentieth century, then can be repeated in more depth. Every child studies the same weekly topic at their own level, with history, geography, literature, writing prompts, and arts and activities, plus philosophy and government in high school. You buy digital student and teacher manuals by year and level, print them yourself, and choose living books from the booklists; the books are not included.
Does well: Every child studies the same topic each week at a different depth, so a family with a wide age range can talk about history together.
Watch for: Living books are not included; you buy or borrow them from long booklists, so the real cost depends on your library.
The Mystery of History
The Mystery of History is a four-volume world history, from ancient times to the modern era, meant to be read or heard by the whole family together. Each volume is a hardback Student Reader (84 lessons in Volume II) with a digital Companion Guide of more than 500 pages: pretests, activities for younger, middle and older students, mapping, timeline prompts, quizzes and literature lists. One volume gives 28 to 36 weeks of study; audiobooks and planning pages are sold separately.
Does well: One Student Reader serves the whole family for a year, with activities for younger, middle and older students after each lesson.
Watch for: Even Volume I reads at a 3rd to 4th grade level, so young children mostly listen and do the simpler activities.
Lists with both
- Homeschool history and geography curricula 8
- Faith-based homeschool curricula 22
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
- Homeschool curricula for high school 38
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Homeschool curricula under $100 a year 17
- Faith-based homeschool history and geography curricula 5
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared