Traditional homeschool history and geography curricula, compared

What this list holds

Traditional programs look much like school courses: a lesson, practice in a workbook or on screen, review and tests. Most textbook and online programs that name no particular method fall here.

History curricula for homeschool are often built on read-alouds and books rather than one textbook, and many go through history in order over four or more years, starting again at a deeper level.

This list holds programs sold for history and geography on their own. Full curricula that teach it along with every other subject are on homeschool all-in-one curricula.

At a glance

• 3 of the 4 show a price on the publisher's site. For one child and one year of the main package they run from $79.95 to $350.
• How the child works: 3 books and workbooks, 1 video lessons.
• 2 of the 4 have a placement test or level guide on the publisher's site, linked on each card.
• Grades: all reach pre-K or kindergarten, all reach the elementary grades, all reach middle school and 2 reach high school.

Each program in a line

• BrainPOP Homeschool: A family that wants short, lively videos to introduce or review topics alongside its main books, for several children at once.
• Evan-Moor: A family that wants short, low-cost daily review on paper to add to another program.
• The Good and the Beautiful: A family that wants low-cost, open-and-go printed lessons and likes teaching science and history to several children at once.
• The Mystery of History: 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.

Before you buy

Look at how much of each day is worksheets or screen work, and whether the teacher's guide is scripted. Traditional programs are easy to record for a portfolio because the work is all written down.

Check which books you have to buy or borrow beyond the guide, and how the program fits more than one child at once. Map and timeline work is common, and some programs fold geography and literature into history.

Most publishers post samples and a placement test; each card links the placement test where the publisher has one.

Related lists

• Traditional homeschool curricula 44
• Secular traditional homeschool curricula 23
• Traditional homeschool language arts programs 14
• Traditional homeschool math curricula 14
• Homeschool history and geography curricula 11
• Faith-based traditional homeschool curricula 10
• Homeschool history and geography curricula for middle school 10
• Traditional homeschool all-in-one curricula 10
• Traditional homeschool science curricula 10
• Print homeschool history and geography curricula 9
• Homeschool history and geography curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 8
• Traditional homeschool reading and phonics programs 7
• Every program, with a filter for any combination

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.

No affiliate links, no sponsored places, no ranking. Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money.