Best Homeschool History and Geography Curriculum Picks
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Searching for the best homeschool history or geography curriculum for your family? Whether you want a literature-based approach, a unit study, a chronological timeline, or a world cultures focus, this guide covers the top options — plus tips to help you decide what will work best for your homeschool style.
If you feel overwhelmed by curriculum choices, you’re not alone! (Check out my book The Quick Guide to Choosing a Homeschool Curriculum to help simplify the process.)
Related:
Choosing a History Curriculum: Where to Start?
There are many ways to approach teaching history:
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Chronological (start at ancient and move to modern)
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Thematic (topics like war, innovation, biographies)
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Geographical (by region or country)
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Literature-Based (reading great living books)
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Unit Studies (integrating history with science, art, and writing)
Think about what fits your family’s learning style before picking a program!
Also, check out my podcast, Called to Homeschool.
Best Homeschool History Curriculum Picks
The Good and the Beautiful History
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Christian-based, family-style curriculum for grades 1–12
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Chronological overview with character lessons
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Easy open-and-go lesson plans + games
Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer
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4-volume series from ancient to modern times
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Popular secular option with activity books available
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Great for elementary and middle school ages
The Well-Educated Heart
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Literature-based learning with monthly topic rotations
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Focuses on heart-warming stories from history
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Reprints rare and vintage living books
Beautiful Feet Books
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Literature-rich history programs across all grade levels
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Includes teacher guides, timelines, and reading schedules
The Mystery of History
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Christian worldview
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Chronological, global scope
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Hands-on activities and quizzes included
Notgrass History
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Middle and high school curriculum with full credit options
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Includes textbooks, primary source readings, and projects
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American and World History options
Trail Guide to Learning by Geography Matters
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Integrated history, science, and literature
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Follows famous explorers and pioneers
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Excellent for grades 3–7
- See my review of this curriculum.
Diana Waring’s History Revealed
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Christian-based, hands-on history for grades 5–12
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Includes music, architecture, literature, and geography
TruthQuest History
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Literature-based history guide with commentary
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Christian worldview
Heritage History
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Digital libraries of living books organized by historical period
Draw and Write Through History
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Combines art and writing with history
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Step-by-step drawing lessons themed around time periods
Crash Course History (YouTube Series)
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Fun, fast-paced history overviews with animations
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Great supplement for older kids
Sonlight Curriculum
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Full packages combining history, geography, and literature
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Heavy literature-based focus
History Scribe
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Combines copywork, drawing, and creative writing
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Printable workbooks for all eras
Heart of Dakota
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Christ-centered homeschool curriculum integrating history, Bible, and literature
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Pre-K through high school levels
Ambleside Online
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Free Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum
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Rich living book selections organized by year and subject
Tapestry of Grace
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Classical Christian approach covering history, literature, government, and Bible
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Designed for family learning, K–12
Horrible Histories (Books and Shows)
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Humorous but educational look at history’s weird side
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Fun for reluctant readers and visual learners
- See My Review.
All American History Jr.
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Hands-on American history program for elementary grades
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Includes notebooking, timelines, and activities
The Tuttle Twins History Series
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Engaging American history books for kids ages 6–13
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Focuses on liberty, economics, and government from a kid-friendly perspective
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Excellent supplement for civics, critical thinking, and free-market principles
Best Homeschool Geography Curriculum Picks
Seterra Geography Website
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Free online map quizzes and geography games
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Great for drill and memorization
WonderMaps by Bright Ideas Press
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Customizable printable maps for any time period
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Pairs perfectly with Mystery of History
Mapping the World With Art
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Combines history, cartography, and art
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Learn to draw historical and modern maps
North Star Geography
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Comprehensive Christian geography course for middle and high school
Around the World in 180 Days (Apologia)
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Covers world cultures, history, and geography
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All ages, multi-subject integration
Geography Through Art
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Geography + art projects + cultural exploration
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Excellent for visual and creative learners
Knowledge Quest Resources
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Wide variety of map resources and historical atlases
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A Child’s Geography series for younger grades
- See My Review
Galloping the Globe and Cantering the Country
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Fun geography unit studies for K–4
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Includes hands-on activities, puzzles, and maps
Top Secret Adventures by Highlights
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Monthly mail subscription with mystery adventures around the world
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Great for geography and logic skills!
Expedition Earth Curriculum
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Affordable, hands-on geography curriculum for elementary kids
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Covers countries and cultures around the world
A Child’s Geography (Knowledge Quest)
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Faith-based narrative geography series
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Focuses on world cultures, landforms, and Biblical connections
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Designed for grades 1–6 but easily adaptable
Check out my US geography printables! I am working through all of the states this year.
A Child’s Geography for grades 1-6 is produced by Knowledge Quest has three volumes teaching about the earth it’s cultures from a Christian perspective. We have gotten part-way through the first and are really enjoying the lessons! See My Review.
Educational Benefits of Teaching History and Geography
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Builds global awareness and cultural appreciation
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Develops critical thinking and connections across subjects
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Teaches time management, research, and organization skills
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Inspires a lifelong love of reading and learning
There’s no one-size-fits-all curriculum — but hopefully this guide helps you find the perfect history and geography program for your homeschool!
Whether you love storytelling, project-based learning, or classic textbooks, there’s an option here that will spark curiosity, creativity, and a love for the past and the world around us.
Which curriculum are you leaning toward? Let’s chat in the comments!
This is awesome to have a list all in one place! Love it. I would love an overview of English/L.A. resources…
These posts of yours are fabulous, Karyn!! Thank you for including my link as well! 🙂
Cari, I did do one for Langage Arts here: https://www.teachbesideme.com/2013/04/homeschool-moms-share-favorite-language.html 🙂
I have used several of these and am so excited you included them! I was just in the process of figuring out geography for my 6th grader, so perfect timing!
Awesoe post.Thanks so much for sharing these great curr companies!
Ilve been HSing for ( yikes!)…well this will be my 9th year! But I am always searching for “better” “different” etc….
I pinned this and will refer back to it.
Saw your post share in the Kids Blog Share FB page.
Thanks and God bless
Is it a bad sign that I have use about half of these??? haha Keep in mind, I have been schooling for 15 years. This is a great list…repining for future reference!
Wow! What a wonderful and comprehensive list! I am always looking at curriculum and trying to decide what to use. I love history and always want to make it come alive and be a good experience for my kids.
Great list. We love Knowledge Quest and used it last year. I have Confessions of a Homeschooler items and have considered using her history/geography. Am very interested in Around the World in 180 days. Still hoping to fit that in sometime. Thanks for compiling this great list.
Great list. I have to add BJU Heritage Studies to the list. We’ve used it for 4 years now and love it.
Thanks for putting together this great list of favorites (and for including a couple of mine!) – I’ll be sharing this post in a couple places.
As an FYI for others reading – in the link to my Homeschool Coffee Break post listed with Notgrass, that same entry gives more info about Around the World in 180 Days and Geography Through Art, which are also favorites of ours. 😎
Now that is an awesome list. Loved it. :o)
Great list! You might want to include Seterra Online: http://online.seterra.net/en/. It is a collection of map quiz games that can be used both on Mac / PC and iPads.
So glad to see Story of The World on your list! My favorite curriculum in ANY subject so far. We are studying Ancient Egypt right now, and getting ready to mummify a chicken!
Barefoot Books’ World Atlas is really cool for Geography for primary grades. Vibrant illustrations and “lift the flap” features. Check it out!
How did the A Beka curriculum not make the list? Each grade level has it’s own title, but they start with “My America, My World”, and includes ancient world history, and Ametican History. Fabulous history and geography. Much better than I was taught.
Thank you so much for linking to me in this post. Such a great roundup of ideas.
Did not see any women in history or history of cowboys and cowgirls. Or history of the Northwest in USA or Mexican history and Canadian history. These are good history boys and girls should know also.
Will be looking to see what books you use for these types of history.
What a huge list of curriculum reviews! It was good to see that one of the resources features art and history. We’ve created a set of activities and resources for connecting geography to sound and music in case you or your readers are interested in some ways of linking music to studying geography. We linked to your list of resources as well!
I wish you could organize these. I’m not interested in Christian history so it would be nice to them categorized so I can skip that category.
The crash history series on youtube IS free, meaning there is no charge for it. However it is leftist or politically correct history. It deliberately omits details in historty to hide what happened and why.
Thank you so much for the lists. I really appreciate knowing which ones are secular as we like to teach the religious portion separately because we include all religions in our teachings. How they are so similar and how they vary. To us this is so important as our world shrinks and it’s the key to better understanding of one another. We came across a nice DVD at the local library which tied Geography, History, Cultures and Religions. It was great for our children to see other children of the world explain their customs and beliefs in a sweet and peaceful way.
Take a look at Let’s Go Geography! It’s a hands-on geography curriculum that includes video, crafts, coloring, etc. Lots of fun things to do as you look at countries around the world!
What grades have you used the good and the beautiful history curriculum with? I am doing that for the first year this year, and while I love the curriculum, I hate the high school assignments. (I am teaching 5th & 10th, and I am modifying most assignments for units 1, 2, & 4.)
I’m curious to know if any one else has high school experience with this curriculum?
Hi Beth,
I was thinking about using the Good and the Beautiful for high school history this year. Would you please tell me what you hate about the assignments?
Thank you,
Michelle