History is the pivot on which the whole Charlotte Mason curriculum turns, and it would take more than the 10 minutes I snuck into the end of last meeting to even begin to discuss it.   (Actually, it would be great to spend about three meetings on it!)  But I do hope that your appetites were whetted to discover more about using living books - non-fiction and especially historical fiction - to teach history to your children.

This year our family began using TruthQuest History, starting with the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks.  I have found the guides to be so well done, that I expect that we will continue with them through modern times; we're already checking the library for books on Ancient Rome that are listed in the next TruthQuest guide.

There is much to value in these guides by Michelle Miller, and I'd like to highlight some of them here:

• The introduction for Moms and Dads at the beginning of the guide is a well-written lead-in to how to use the guides, what makes them different from a typical history course, and suggestions for structuring your week.  It is highly open-ended; Michelle realizes that there are more family styles than she could describe, but she shows how much freedom there is within the framework offered by TruthQuest to follow your own structures.  In this section she also gives you permission to skip sections, choose your own books, and more.  This is a tool, and a very effective one.

• The guides are set up to proceed chronologically through history.
  

• Michelle offers a very thoughtful commentary on each section in the guide, giving background and analysis that helps the parent and student understand the significance of certain events, cultural aspects, etc.  She also helps us to see the relevance of what we're reading.
• There are loads of living book recommendations as you move through the guide: non-fiction, historical fiction, biography, autobiography, etc.  Not all are in print, but many are, and of those not in print, many can be accessed through the public library's inter-library loan system.  (And again Michelle reminds us that we don't have to read every book in each section.  One may be plenty, and sometimes even that isn't necessary if it isn't available.)
• Michelle has listed 'spine' books which, while not as vibrant as the books I mentioned above, are more than adequate to learn about those sections where the other books aren't available.  (These books are not necessary to TruthQuest, but we are finding it very handy to have one of them, as our little library is scantily stocked in some areas.)
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