Today, I share with you guys one of my personal favorite tools for homeschooling: The Mystery of History audiobooks (and why we just LOVE them!!)
Audiobooks for Homeschooling
I often share about books and curriculum that have been helpful as I homeschool my two boys. But today, I wanna talk about the wonderful world of audiobooks.
In our family, we have found that audiobooks are great for:
- Family road trips
- Long car rides in between extra curricular classes
- As an alternative to background music when kids are working on crafts or other physical tasks
The Mystery of History Audiobooks
A friend of mine, who is also a homeschooling mom, shared about The Mystery of History audiobooks when my eldest was only 5. He was hooked the first moment he heard me play it in the car and has been hooked eversince! He is now 8 and he still regularly requests for them during car rides!
What is Mystery of History?
Mystery of History is a world history curriculum written from a Biblical worldview. There are 4 volumes covering Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Modern history. These are available in both book and audio format.
Wait: Books or Audiobooks?
So you might be wondering: why focus on the audiobooks for this post? Why not the books?
I actually have a pretty straightforward answer to that: In our homeschool, we use a different history curriculum as a spine, so I don’t really have a personal experience using the Mystery of History books, for now. But we use the Mystery of History audiobooks as a supplement and so, that is what we are familiar with (and love!)
If you are planning on using the Mystery of History books as your history spine, I would personally recommend getting the actual book and using the audiobooks as a supplement. It is different being able to see the words physically and it will be easier to go back and review the details when needed, as compared to just having the audiobooks.
What’s So Special About It?
Ok, after all that, I’m sure you’re very curious! 😉 Here are the reasons why I absolutely love these audiobooks:
1. The topics covered are well-chosen
I love that the people, events and places have been carefully picked and well researched. It doesn’t focus only on Western history or on Biblical history but covers a wide range of stories.
I also love that there are even biographies of great artists and musicians. It’s perfect for our artist and composer studies where I let my kids listen to the biography of said artist or composer, as we work on a craft or painting! Two birds with one stone!
2. Great for young ears
The stories are presented in such a way that even younger students will be able to easily understand and I love that each story has been carefully considered (and worded!) with young kids in mind.
As mentioned, my son really took to Volumes 1 and 2 at age 7 and he has been listening to selected stories from Volumes 3-4 at age 8. However, please note this: According to the author, The Mystery of History Volumes 1 and 2 were created for 4-6th grade level and Volumes 3-4 are for 8th-10th grade level.
My recommendation for content considerations: Try listening to it first yourself, to better decide if it is suitable for your children with their particular sensitivities and at their particular ages.
3. The narrator’s voice is so calm: Or as my kids say: “very relaxing!”
We are particular about a narrator’s voice and tone because my husband gets distracted easily when he’s driving. 😀 If an audiobook gets too “stressful” he’ll ask us to turn it off. But we all love Linda’s narrations, so this always ends up being our easy go-to pick during car rides!
4. Having a Biblical overview of these historical events gives us a unique perspective
The world history spine we use doesn’t offer a Biblical worldview, so whenever we listen to Mystery of History, it’s always nice that we get a Christian’s point of view. It’s a great conversation starter with the kids as well as we talk about the implications of certain events and ideas that have shaped history.
5. I learn a lot myself!
Actually, we don’t just listen to it in the car or whenever I’m with the kids: I also listen to it whenever I’m working on my own tasks. 😉 I’ve always loved history and these audiobooks are a really fun way to also continue my own education! It’s really true what they say that as homeschool teachers, we are co-learners with our students.
How to Get Them
The audiobooks can be purchased and are easily downloadable at their official website: Mystery of History.
It has been one of my best homeschool-related investments and I’m happy to be able to share it with you all here on my blog. If you decide to get the audiobooks, do let me know what you think! I hope they will be a great fit for your family, just as they have been with ours!
—
- For more curriculum reviews, click this link: Curriculum Reviews
- For more recommendations, visit my Amazon Storefront.
—