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.
- Subjects
- History and geography
- Grades
- 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 source ↗
- Method
- Traditional source ↗
- Format
- Books and workbooks source ↗
- Faith label
- Faith-based
- Cost a year
- $79.95 a year. 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. Read on October 29, 2026; prices change. source ↗
- Placement
- Scope and sequence paths by age (free download) ↗
What it does well
- One Student Reader serves the whole family for a year, with activities for younger, middle and older students after each lesson.
- The digital Companion Guide comes with the book and holds pretests, quizzes, mapping, timeline work and reading lists.
- Each volume stands alone and fills 28 to 36 weeks, so you can start with the time period you want.
- The reading level rises from about 3rd grade in Volume I to 9th grade and up in Volume IV, so children can grow with the series.
Watch for
- Even Volume I reads at a 3rd to 4th grade level, so young children mostly listen and do the simpler activities.
- The Companion Guide is a long PDF, so printing the pages you need is up to you.
- Audiobooks, planning pages, timeline figures and atlases are separate purchases.
- You pick activities from long lists each week, so the parent does some planning.
It fits
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 a separate grade-level workbook for each child, or a course focused on US history.
Visit The Mystery of History ↗
Compare The Mystery of History
- The Mystery of History vs The Story of the World side by side
- The Mystery of History vs Tapestry of Grace side by side
Other programs for the same subject and grades:
- Beautiful Feet Books Kindergarten to 12th grade, in grade spans such as K to 3rd, 4th to 6th and 5th to 8th
- The Good and the Beautiful Preschool to 12th grade; high school has language arts and biology only
- Khan Academy Kindergarten to 12th grade, plus early college courses
- Tapestry of Grace 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)
- Notgrass History 1st to 12th grade: elementary courses for 1st to 4th, middle school for 5th to 8th, high school for 9th to 12th
- History Quest 1st to 6th grade; United States is for 3rd to 6th, and the Modern History Bridge book reaches 7th grade
- The Story of the World About 1st to 8th grade: Volume 1 is mainly for 1st to 4th grade and Volume 4 for 4th to 8th
Lists it is on
- Homeschool history and geography curricula 8
- Faith-based homeschool curricula 22
- Traditional homeschool curricula 24
- 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
- Faith-based traditional homeschool curricula 9
- Faith-based homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 19
- Faith-based homeschool curricula for high school 21
What we read, and 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.
The publisher’s pages we read on October 29, 2026:
- themysteryofhistory.com/
- themysteryofhistory.com/how-to-use-the-mystery-of-history/
- themysteryofhistory.com/product-category/curriculum/medieval-history/
- themysteryofhistory.com/product/volume-2-student-reader-and-companion-guide/
- themysteryofhistory.com/faq/
Something wrong or out of date? Publishers and parents can send a correction and we will fix it. Publishers can send corrections, never money. All programs compared · Find your homeschool style