Veritas Press Self-Paced History 1815 to Present a Schoolhouse Crew Review

Did you ever find history boring when you were in school? I did. Like agonizingly slow and it wasn’t until I was grown and graduated from college that I discovered how fascinating history really is. I’ve attempted to get this point across to my sweet daughter and with Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present by Veritas Press Online course my job is done for me.

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present  is a self paced online history course for ages 7 (or 2nd grade) up to 6th grade and is kind of pricey at $199.00 for 12 months of access. My daughter is age 9 and this program fits her perfectly.

The Self Paced History program works in conjunction with Explorers to 1815 Flash Cards. These are not included with the program but necessary. They cost $19.95
There are also optional literature lists. Level 1 or 2 depending upon the age or grade level of your child. We did not use this.

I only used the program with one child (cause that’s all I have) but if you want to use it with more than one child and have it record the separate grades you will need to buy a subscription for each child. That can add up. There is a discount for siblings so that is good to know.

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present is completely done on computer (love that). It works on both Macintosh and Windows and just in case you’re wondering if your pc is up to date enough there is a an online test to check your computer compatibility. I don’t know if you can use it on tablets and such. We didn’t try it that way but I think one would want the larger screen for all the great visuals.

We have been using the Veritas Press self paced history along with our regular history program. And as much as I love my boxed curriculum something about the Veritas Press delivery is getting those history details across (snap fingers here). We tend to have a little problem with history and remembering dates and such but with the songs, drills, games, skits, and cards the Sweet Peanut is remembering much more and tying it all together..

A little about the Veritas Press delivery of history…

When you start Veritas Press there is an introductory video to watch to let you know what is going to happen. It makes you promise (mom) not to help your child on quizzes and such. This was good for me to hear because I have a tendency to be in the background going, “Oh I think you’re supposed to do this and that.” You know the type. So I had to back off.

I really let the Sweet Peanut have at it with this program but of course I had to watch a little bit so I could give a review based on what I saw and her progress.

We have two characters in our Vertias Press history 1815 to present. Marcus and Eva. They’re real live people with funny personalities and they get dropped (literally) into all sorts of locations. They start off the show by explaining what part of history we are in, the main characters, things that are taking place and basically describing what will be discussed in more detail as we move through the lesson.

Each lesson is a series of interactive slides. An average of 20. There are games, puzzles, songs, videos and more. Kind of hard to explain all the different ways they have of delivering the information but it is fun and engaging. You can pause and go back while you are in a lesson but once you finish a lesson you can’t go back and redo it. Our first lesson we wanted to do this because at first we did not have the cards but were so excited to delve into the program we went ahead and began. As a result Peanut missed many of the problems on her first quiz. These were details like dates and things and this did bum her out. So heed my warning and wait! for the cards.

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present works chronologically starting with The Monroe Doctrine and ending with Modern America. There are 160 lessons covering 32 topics.

There is a Parent Dashboard where you can see how your children are doing, what lessons have been complete, their current grade, and even print a report card.

• We started off learning about the Monroe Doctrine from President James Monroe. What his thoughts were concerning our country  and what was happening in Europe at that time. There was a bit of globe study and we learned about hemispheres (review from science).
• Next we moved into the Erie Canal and how it’s creating helped to move goods quicker and easier.
• Then Andrew Jackson and the Jacksonian Democracy. President Andrew Jackson was a man of the people.
• We’re in Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin now. This unit also deals with slavery which has become a topic of many discussion in our home. My daughter is deeply troubled about this topic (as she should be) and many thoughtful discussions are happening.

 

Let me just say I really, I mean really, really like the  Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present.  And so does my daughter. We are learning AND retaining this history information. My daughter is a very visual learner and  this excellent program is helping her learn her country’s history. Some homeschool programs and products I say I like but “really, really like?” I really, really like Veritas Press.

Would I buy it? Yeah! Actually I’m trying to figure out how to budget it into our already pretty high homschool budget. As much as my daughter likes history it’s been kind of hard for her to retain names and dates. The same thing happened to me in school. History wasn’t presented in an engaging way and I was bored with what later became my major in college. Delivery is key and this program delivers.

Only two things I think would improve this program

1) The price is kind of steep.  I can’t really say that the price is not justified (because we use a DVD homeschool program and once they took us behind the scenes we understood what all they go through to put on such a great production) but still $199 is a lot to

2) I do wish you could back up and review the lessons. Especially if you (your child) didn’t do so well on the quiz. We didn’t have the cards at first so my daughter missed a few on her first quiz which set her grade back a bit. A chance for makeup would be nice.

But don’t take my word for it. There is a two week trial you can sign up for and test things out for yourself. And also click the green button down below to read more homeschool reviews of Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present. I think you’ll see that many homeschool families felt like we did. This program is a winner.

 

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