I LOVED this review and comparison! I have never seen any Masterbook textbooks so this was a great help. I used Abeka and Bob Jones with my own children, and I thought that Abeka made it sound like every American leader was a devout Christian whereas Bob Jones seemed more balanced. I'm now homeschooling my little grandchildren and I love your simplified approach. That's how I am doing it. I LOVED this Masterbooks selection.
I really appreciate the worksheet pdf document. This is what I was looking for and the best of all, free!!. Also, remembering you in prayers these days.
I am also torn on this. On one hand, I absolutely love the way Angela O'Dell writes to the student. We previously used her series The World's Story from MasterBooks and we loved the textbook, the worksheets not so much. They were open ended, hard to grade because "answers may vary" was the answer to most questions, which meant I needed to read the textbook too in order to grade the worksheet. On the other hand, going from start to finish, or early American settlements to modern history in just one year seems a bit rushed. Like maybe things will be glossed over, covering a wide span of time, but nothing deeply. Honestly, that might be best for the grade it's intended for. I think I may have just talked myself into using Abeka, lol.
I haven't used Abeka, but we really do love America's Story. You could theoretically use both. We don't really do the worksheets with America's story, but we do add read aloud and other fun things. I recently posted a video about it on my channel. Ultimately though, it really comes down to your goals and what your kids would like best.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler aww. Thank you!! 😊 Have you decided on which history you want to use for the year, or is the jury still out? Sometimes it’s so hard to pick!
@@thepracticalhomeschooler yeah when we did Abeka we ended up skipping things but then they wouldn’t know other things later on to do certain other things. I didn’t see this as much in the younger grades though. I’ve used Abeka off and on for k-6th grade with 3 kids and master books a bit in there. Both curriculums have pros and cons. I do love the way master books curriculum is written and how the people who write it homeschooled their own children. Angela ODell is a super sweet former homeschool mom who loves Jesus. I’ve heard some complain that abeka white washes history, but I honestly never saw issues to speak of.
@@ChristinaBiasca I really love Abeka fir grades K-3 and I’m sure the older grades have some great subjects too. But it can get a little dry (from what I remember) in the older grades and lots of just rote memorization. However this Abeka history seems pretty engaging. I like that master books seems more like a story!
I am torn between these two and Notgrass when the time comes. We are going into first grade and have already chosen for this year but I like to look ahead to get ideas. Thank you for this helpful video! I might choose Masterbooks to do a more detailed look of time periods while using Abeka to focus on historical figures and focus on verbal narration rather than writing, short YT videos, and leave it open for rabbit-trails. They both seem so good for what they offer. I don’t think you can go wrong with choosing either one.
We did half of MB America’s Story as a read aloud. We enjoyed it but weren’t thrilled with the workbook pages for my children’s writing and reading ability. We switched to NG Our Star Spangled Story and completed half of it. We loved the bonus literature. The textbook was okay and we stopped the workbook and weekly activities after a few weeks. I liked both courses well enough that I don’t want to sell them in case we decide to finish one or both in the future. For now we have switched to Story of the World and AmblesideOnline so that my older but still nonreaders can listen independently and then narrate to me.
Hi, I just saw that you replied. I ended up choosing Masterbooks The Story of Me paired with Beautiful Blackfeet’s Around the World in Picture Books Pt. 1 (for more world literature) and Mystery of History audio book (for Bible/world history correlation). They are all very short in duration for lesson times and I thought they paired nicely with one another to kind of mimic a spiral approach to different country’s cultures while introducing different facts about the same countries. I decided to save Notgrass history for next year and Abeka is still an option for the future.
Yes, I was considering notgrass too! Those were my top 3 but then I narrowed it down to these 2. Have you seen that you can download 3 full weeks of notgrass for free?
This is a few months old, but Abeka is great, but overkill sometimes on the history and science test, quizzes and work required. I feel like Masterbooks is made for homeschoolers and its way more doable for homeschoolers.
If you haven't noticed... I just found you 😅 Sorry for all of the comments. We are doing America's Story 1 this year as well! I have really enjoyed it. I can tell my 3rd grader is definitely retaining more. I'm really taking the approach of: my first grader catches what he can, and we'll probably repeat it again in a few years". I have decided to slow it down and make it last possibly 2 years. We did a little from Notgrass 50 States curriculum last year, and my kids really enjoyed that. However the homeschool mom is me was like, "we need to do more, they need a real history curriculum", so we have left that sitting on the shelf. I have decided, after Christmas, we will drag out the Americas Story 1, add in the worksheets, and also add back in the Notgrass States. It will take as long as it takes to get through it all. That may be 2 years! I ultimately want my kids to enjoy it and not feel so rushed and crammed. I am also excited about the free printanles you linked! They go perfect with this curriculum!
Nice flip through! I have used both of these. I liked them both. I think choosing will depend on your style of teaching and how you plan to use them. At the time of using MB, my kids were 8, 7, 4, 2. We used only a handful of pages from the Teacher Guide. I read the chapter one day a week and checked out books from thw library and Google searched lapbooking/notebook pages for each chapter. The kids worked on them as I read aloud. We only completed AS1. The next year we finished Abeka's book you showed. It is a much more traditional approach. We used the lesson plans and all accompanying books. It was A LOT! I think my kids enjoyed a literature approach better. I did enjoy the spiraling geography review. 😃 I def think either book is great! If I could go back, I would use just the text from Abeka and maybe map skills book. Add in books, videos (we did some) and focus on slowing down (not everyday) and hands-on activities. 😃 New sub here!
Thanks for the thorough feedback! ❤️ I agree with you about keeping it pretty simple and not needing to do EVERY component for either curriculum, but choosing what works best for you family’s needs.
Abeka to me offers more age appropriate activities, colorful pictures, kid friendly and more flexibility with what you do for each lesson. I think it would be a wonderful spine and seems super solid. My vote goes to Abeka :)
Here I am commenting 3 years later because I am a new homeschool mom to a kindergardner and have entered into the world of choosing curriculums lol. So what did you choose for your first graders at the time and how did it go? I ordered k5 social studies abeka workbook but then purchased masterbooks my story k 😅 so I am genuinely curious 😊
I chose the Master books. I chose my curriculum early (when I had extra money) and now I wish I would've waited because I've seen so much about Abeka, that I want to try it. Not just for history, but for other subjects too! So maybe next year, I will try Abeka.
Thanks for the flip throughs! I’m trying to decide between these 2 for next year. My issue with Abeka is knowing what pages from the Map Skills book go with what lesson. Any tips on figuring that out? I didn’t have the lesson plan book for 2nd grade history and it was kinda confusing trying to figure it out.
We tried notgrass last year and it was not for us. I've been torn between abeka and beautiful feet. The price point has me leaning toward abeka. I've also thought about just simply adding in a lot more history, historical fiction and biographies through read alouds. Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated!
Hey Devin! I have a video on how we did Abeka as our core and just added in picture books! If you’re leaving that route, I would definitely check that one out. For beautiful feet books, I totally am with you on the price! I got mine second hand from Facebook (also eBay is a good option). You can get the curriculum used for a fraction of the price new. We’ve enjoyed both Abeka and beautiful feet! Abeka is gonna give early American through modern history. Beautiful feet only does early American in elementary and then the other elementary are around the world with picture books. So I think it comes down to how much and what area of history you want to cover.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler Thank you love your videos. You have given me so much confidence with mixing curriculum up and then I don't have to do everything in the book says
They are Christian curriculums that hold a young earth theory. However there are many Christians who use both of these curriculums who hold an old earth theory and just omit or redefine that part of the book.
It can be difficult to find a Christian curriculum (especially Science) that doesnt teach from a young Earth Perspective. To each their own in that regard though😀 not disparaging anyone's beleifs. I would just love to have a bit more curriculum choices in that area. I have found a History and a Science but it is not the norm. It is hard to find that perfect fit so modifying things a bit works well. Or we will just discuss the different takes on it.
@@DK-tq3fy I believe the good and the beautiful history and science teach general creation but do not explicitly hold a young or old earth theory. They leave it up to the parent.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler Yes! I use them both. I like that they leave that part up to the parent. Just looking for a Science for when my oldest gets in a higher grade. I recently looked into The Rainbow Science. Kids can to begin in grades 7, 8th or 9th depending on when you think they are ready. It can count as H.S. credit ask well. They teach evolution as a theory (so kids know what it is) but not what they believe to be truth. Looked interesting and very advanced with all the experiments. I think they also have a Chemistry that comes after the 2 year Rainbow with a Biology and Physics in the works. But no release date yet.
America's Story looks so dense in its content. I can't imagine my 8-year-old sitting through me reading all that.
I LOVED this review and comparison! I have never seen any Masterbook textbooks so this was a great help. I used Abeka and Bob Jones with my own children, and I thought that Abeka made it sound like every American leader was a devout Christian whereas Bob Jones seemed more balanced. I'm now homeschooling my little grandchildren and I love your simplified approach. That's how I am doing it. I LOVED this Masterbooks selection.
I really appreciate the worksheet pdf document. This is what I was looking for and the best of all, free!!. Also, remembering you in prayers these days.
I am also torn on this. On one hand, I absolutely love the way Angela O'Dell writes to the student. We previously used her series The World's Story from MasterBooks and we loved the textbook, the worksheets not so much. They were open ended, hard to grade because "answers may vary" was the answer to most questions, which meant I needed to read the textbook too in order to grade the worksheet. On the other hand, going from start to finish, or early American settlements to modern history in just one year seems a bit rushed. Like maybe things will be glossed over, covering a wide span of time, but nothing deeply. Honestly, that might be best for the grade it's intended for.
I think I may have just talked myself into using Abeka, lol.
Haha sometimes you just have to say something out loud (or type it out) to come to your conclusion lol
I haven't used Abeka, but we really do love America's Story. You could theoretically use both. We don't really do the worksheets with America's story, but we do add read aloud and other fun things. I recently posted a video about it on my channel. Ultimately though, it really comes down to your goals and what your kids would like best.
I’ll check out your video!
Ahh you changed your name! I’ve seen a lot of your videos before I even started UA-cam 😊 you do a great job lady!
@@thepracticalhomeschooler aww. Thank you!! 😊 Have you decided on which history you want to use for the year, or is the jury still out? Sometimes it’s so hard to pick!
@@TicketToLearning I’m like 99% sure I’m gonna go with masterbooks. Tough decision, but it’s something different than what we’ve done in the past.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler ❤️ I hope it works really well for your family!
They both look like solid choices! Thanks for the look inside
Hard to choose!
@@thepracticalhomeschooler yeah when we did Abeka we ended up skipping things but then they wouldn’t know other things later on to do certain other things. I didn’t see this as much in the younger grades though. I’ve used Abeka off and on for k-6th grade with 3 kids and master books a bit in there. Both curriculums have pros and cons. I do love the way master books curriculum is written and how the people who write it homeschooled their own children. Angela ODell is a super sweet former homeschool mom who loves Jesus.
I’ve heard some complain that abeka white washes history, but I honestly never saw issues to speak of.
@@ChristinaBiasca I really love Abeka fir grades K-3 and I’m sure the older grades have some great subjects too. But it can get a little dry (from what I remember) in the older grades and lots of just rote memorization. However this Abeka history seems pretty engaging. I like that master books seems more like a story!
I am torn between these two and Notgrass when the time comes. We are going into first grade and have already chosen for this year but I like to look ahead to get ideas. Thank you for this helpful video! I might choose Masterbooks to do a more detailed look of time periods while using Abeka to focus on historical figures and focus on verbal narration rather than writing, short YT videos, and leave it open for rabbit-trails. They both seem so good for what they offer. I don’t think you can go wrong with choosing either one.
Yes notgrass was a close 3rd for me! What did you choose for this year?
We did half of MB America’s Story as a read aloud. We enjoyed it but weren’t thrilled with the workbook pages for my children’s writing and reading ability. We switched to NG Our Star Spangled Story and completed half of it. We loved the bonus literature. The textbook was okay and we stopped the workbook and weekly activities after a few weeks. I liked both courses well enough that I don’t want to sell them in case we decide to finish one or both in the future. For now we have switched to Story of the World and AmblesideOnline so that my older but still nonreaders can listen independently and then narrate to me.
Hi, I just saw that you replied. I ended up choosing Masterbooks The Story of Me paired with Beautiful Blackfeet’s Around the World in Picture Books Pt. 1 (for more world literature) and Mystery of History audio book (for Bible/world history correlation). They are all very short in duration for lesson times and I thought they paired nicely with one another to kind of mimic a spiral approach to different country’s cultures while introducing different facts about the same countries. I decided to save Notgrass history for next year and Abeka is still an option for the future.
Personally I prefer the Abeka. I'm personally torn between Abeka and Notgrass for history.
Yes, I was considering notgrass too! Those were my top 3 but then I narrowed it down to these 2. Have you seen that you can download 3 full weeks of notgrass for free?
This is a few months old, but Abeka is great, but overkill sometimes on the history and science test, quizzes and work required. I feel like Masterbooks is made for homeschoolers and its way more doable for homeschoolers.
Yes we definitely wouldn’t do all the tests and quizzes for history! It’s too much!
If you haven't noticed... I just found you 😅 Sorry for all of the comments. We are doing America's Story 1 this year as well! I have really enjoyed it. I can tell my 3rd grader is definitely retaining more. I'm really taking the approach of: my first grader catches what he can, and we'll probably repeat it again in a few years". I have decided to slow it down and make it last possibly 2 years. We did a little from Notgrass 50 States curriculum last year, and my kids really enjoyed that. However the homeschool mom is me was like, "we need to do more, they need a real history curriculum", so we have left that sitting on the shelf. I have decided, after Christmas, we will drag out the Americas Story 1, add in the worksheets, and also add back in the Notgrass States. It will take as long as it takes to get through it all. That may be 2 years! I ultimately want my kids to enjoy it and not feel so rushed and crammed. I am also excited about the free printanles you linked! They go perfect with this curriculum!
☺️☺️☺️
Nice flip through! I have used both of these. I liked them both. I think choosing will depend on your style of teaching and how you plan to use them.
At the time of using MB, my kids were 8, 7, 4, 2. We used only a handful of pages from the Teacher Guide. I read the chapter one day a week and checked out books from thw library and Google searched lapbooking/notebook pages for each chapter. The kids worked on them as I read aloud. We only completed AS1.
The next year we finished Abeka's book you showed. It is a much more traditional approach. We used the lesson plans and all accompanying books. It was A LOT!
I think my kids enjoyed a literature approach better.
I did enjoy the spiraling geography review. 😃
I def think either book is great! If I could go back, I would use just the text from Abeka and maybe map skills book. Add in books, videos (we did some) and focus on slowing down (not everyday) and hands-on activities. 😃
New sub here!
Thanks for the thorough feedback! ❤️ I agree with you about keeping it pretty simple and not needing to do EVERY component for either curriculum, but choosing what works best for you family’s needs.
Do you buy the teacher guides for Abeka? If so when and what subjects would be good to get them?
This was very helpful. Thank you!
I’m glad you found it helpful!
Abeka to me offers more age appropriate activities, colorful pictures, kid friendly and more flexibility with what you do for each lesson. I think it would be a wonderful spine and seems super solid. My vote goes to Abeka :)
Abeka does have a great elementary program all around! We’ve loved everything we’ve done from Abeka so far!
Here I am commenting 3 years later because I am a new homeschool mom to a kindergardner and have entered into the world of choosing curriculums lol. So what did you choose for your first graders at the time and how did it go? I ordered k5 social studies abeka workbook but then purchased masterbooks my story k 😅 so I am genuinely curious 😊
I chose the Master books. I chose my curriculum early (when I had extra money) and now I wish I would've waited because I've seen so much about Abeka, that I want to try it. Not just for history, but for other subjects too! So maybe next year, I will try Abeka.
We love Abeka for a lot of their subjects! But I think the masterbooks one will be great too! 😉
I really like Abeka arithmetic worktexts for the lower grades, in case that helps!
Thanks for the flip throughs! I’m trying to decide between these 2 for next year. My issue with Abeka is knowing what pages from the Map Skills book go with what lesson. Any tips on figuring that out? I didn’t have the lesson plan book for 2nd grade history and it was kinda confusing trying to figure it out.
We didn’t end up choosing Abeka 3rd grade so I can’t really offer any tips or advice…sorry 😕
Which did you choose?!
I think right now I’m leaning towards masterbooks (without the teacher/activity guide).
We tried notgrass last year and it was not for us. I've been torn between abeka and beautiful feet. The price point has me leaning toward abeka. I've also thought about just simply adding in a lot more history, historical fiction and biographies through read alouds. Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated!
Hey Devin! I have a video on how we did Abeka as our core and just added in picture books! If you’re leaving that route, I would definitely check that one out.
For beautiful feet books, I totally am with you on the price! I got mine second hand from Facebook (also eBay is a good option). You can get the curriculum used for a fraction of the price new. We’ve enjoyed both Abeka and beautiful feet!
Abeka is gonna give early American through modern history. Beautiful feet only does early American in elementary and then the other elementary are around the world with picture books. So I think it comes down to how much and what area of history you want to cover.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler thanks for the feedback. I will definitely check that out!!
In Abeka's books for the comprehension checks are you supposed to write in the book or are they supposed to write it on paper?
Either way is fine. We never wrote in the books because I wanted to resell them
@@thepracticalhomeschooler Thank you love your videos. You have given me so much confidence with mixing curriculum up and then I don't have to do everything in the book says
@@rachelkoch9560 that’s so awesome! ☺️😊
Does it come with tests or quizzes??
Sorry, I mean the master books!
I explained it all in the video ☺️
Does is actually say that God created the universe, earth, animals and Adam and Eve 4000 B.C.? I'm stunned.
They are Christian curriculums that hold a young earth theory. However there are many Christians who use both of these curriculums who hold an old earth theory and just omit or redefine that part of the book.
It can be difficult to find a Christian curriculum (especially Science) that doesnt teach from a young Earth Perspective. To each their own in that regard though😀 not disparaging anyone's beleifs. I would just love to have a bit more curriculum choices in that area. I have found a History and a Science but it is not the norm. It is hard to find that perfect fit so modifying things a bit works well. Or we will just discuss the different takes on it.
@@DK-tq3fy I believe the good and the beautiful history and science teach general creation but do not explicitly hold a young or old earth theory. They leave it up to the parent.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler Yes! I use them both. I like that they leave that part up to the parent. Just looking for a Science for when my oldest gets in a higher grade. I recently looked into The Rainbow Science. Kids can to begin in grades 7, 8th or 9th depending on when you think they are ready. It can count as H.S. credit ask well. They teach evolution as a theory (so kids know what it is) but not what they believe to be truth. Looked interesting and very advanced with all the experiments. I think they also have a Chemistry that comes after the 2 year Rainbow with a Biology and Physics in the works. But no release date yet.
I’m glad you found something that works for you right now and are finding some options for the future! Always an adventure to find the right fit! 😊