This is probably going to be the most requested review I’ve ever written. Many of you had never heard – or had heard very little – of Trail Guide to Learning before I started gushing talking about it in January (honestly, I hadn’t heard anything about it long before then), so I’ve had a lot of questions.
I’m looking forward to attempting to answer as many of them as I can in this review, which means this will easily be the longest review I’ve ever written. I hope you’ll bear with me, though, because I think it will be worth it. I’ve tried to break it down in a way that will make it easier for you to skim to find what you’re looking for or come back later to finish reading.
(Psst…there is a coupon code and a giveaway at the end, so don’t miss that, even if you have to break up your reading of the review into a couple of sessions.)
Please keep in mind that everything I’m writing is based on my impressions and observations. I invite you to visit Geography Matters’ website for more detailed information from the publisher.
The Overview
Trail Guide to Learning is a history-based, all-in-one curriculum that covers everything except math. Each level covers a range of three grade levels and can be adapted for slightly younger or older students, which works great for us since my younger two are only two years apart and I’ve always schooled them together.
So far, there are three texts – Paths of Exploration (grades 3-5), Paths of Settlement (grades 4-6) and Paths of Progress (grades 5-7) – and there are plans to continue producing books through the high school level, which makes me do the happy dance.
Trail Guide to Learning is a labor of love born of a desire to create an easy-to-use, literature based, hands-on curriculum. It is based directly on Dr. Ruth Beechick’s philosophy of education, which also meshes nicely with the Charlotte Mason style of education. Some of these principles of education include:
- Using copywork and dictation to learn writing skills and increase vocabulary
- Developing thinking skills through observation and narration
- Allowing the student to make connections naturally, rather than through contrived tasks and activities
- Developing writing and reading skills across the curriculum, rather than as separate, seemingly unrelated tasked.
Specifically, we are studying from the second installment in the series, Paths of Settlement, which will be the focus of this review.
The Set-Up
Each day is broken up into a basic rhythm that flows throughout the week, which y’all know I love. There isn’t a specific schedule, but rather a consistent pattern that flows through each day, week, and unit, which allows both the parent and the kids to have a predictable flow to the school day.
Each unit is six weeks long, with the last week being a built-in review and wrap-up week. The units are just long enough to really delve into a topic, but move on before it becomes tedious.
I really enjoyed the fact that part of the unit wrap-up is a student presentation for the family. This allows the student to process what he’s learned and cement the ideas in his mind by sharing them, in his own words, with his family.
It’s also great practice in oral presentation and organizational skills. I was really impressed with some of the things my kids thought to include in their presentations, as well as the points that meant the most to them and the amount of information that they retained.
In addition to the final week of the unit being a built-in review, day 5 of each weekly lesson is a built-in review/catch-up day, which y’all already know I love. (And, if you don’t already know, I invite you to read the post in which I sing the praises of a built-in catch-up day.)
Copywork and Dictation
Each day starts with copywork and dictation. The parent is encouraged to start her children at the level at which they can achieve success and build from there. For that reason, we’re still doing copywork.
I’ll be honest – my kids really dislike this part. This is about the only part of the day where I can count on somebody grumbling. I’m unwilling to give it up, though – and the grumbling seems to be lessening – because I am already sold on its value.
Copywork exposes kids to quality writing that contains correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and capitalization, along with writing skills which may be unfamiliar to them. For example, as long as we’ve been homeschooling and as many times as I’ve explained it – because I know I have – my kinds finally know exactly what a paragraph is because they have to copy one or two of them several times a week.
They also now know: what it means to indent and when you need to do so, that each time dialogue changes from one person to another you should start a new line of text, and what a semi-colon is and how to use one. All of those concepts have clicked during the last eight weeks or so of doing copywork four days a week. That impresses me. So, complain all you want, kids; we’re doing copywork.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, the copywork (or dictation) is a paragraph or two from one of the student readers. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s something else related to the unit, such as George Washington’s rule for conduct or portions of the Declaration of Independence.
The only thing that I don’t like about the copywork is that on days it’s from one of the readers it’s from that day’s reading. Since we do copywork first, as it’s laid out in the text, we’re always reading ahead in the kids’ books for that day.
I guess, in a way, it’s kind of cool because the kids always recognize “their” paragraph when we get to it, but I am one of those people who will cover the last page in a book with my hand so that my eyes don’t accidently stray over there and read – I am not a fan of reading ahead.
Reader
The next activity of the day using Trail Guide, and the only one we consistently do out of order (because it fits our schedule better for the kids to do it later in the afternoon), is reading. I love that Trail Guide uses real books, related to the current unit topic (a unit being a six-week section of the overall topic of study for the year), rather than a random book or a book of short, condensed stories.
To me, this makes the whole act of reading more meaningful because the kids are learning more about the current topic, making more connections, and gaining reading fluency all at the same time. Their reading is more interesting because it’s purposeful, not just for the sake of checking off a box.
There are two readers for each unit and three options for reading. The less fluent readers are to read the easier of the two options aloud and listen to a parent read the second. More fluent readers can read the easier book silently and the more challenging book aloud to a parent. Fluent readers can read both books silently. I usually have both of my kids read the easier book silently and I read the more challenging one aloud because that’s what works best for us.
To give you an idea of what the readers are like, so far we’ve enjoyed such books as: The Courage of Sarah Noble, Ambush in the Wilderness, The Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution, and Guns for General Washington.
I like that the reading assignments are very doable for the kids. They’re not so long as to be overwhelming.
The kids playing quoits.
Read-Aloud
Next up, we have the daily read-aloud, which, so far, has been a biography about someone related to the topic of study. Both of the biographies we’ve read have been from the Sower Series, so they emphasize how the subject’s Christian faith was a relevant, guiding force in their life. So far, we have enjoyed reading about both Abigail Adams (very interesting!) and George Washington.
After each read-aloud, there is either time for student narration, family discussion, or student-written questions about the reading. It’s time for another honest moment – narration is my least favorite part of the school day.
People have asked me why and I honestly have no idea. I never have liked it. However, just as with copywork, I have seen the benefits (namely, it helps the kids learn to concisely and accurately summarize what they’ve heard – a fantastic skill for learning to write well), so, I’m sorry, Mom, but we will continue doing narrations.
I really like the other two options, though. The discussion questions are a lot of fun because there really is no right or wrong answer. The questions are designed more for getting the kids thinking about and responding to what they’ve read. I can, then, add my own thoughts to help the kids see angles they may not have considered.
The student-written questions are probably my favorite. The kids get to write a few questions from the story that I’m supposed to answer. I’ve been really impressed with some of the questions they’ve come up with. Josh has really shown an impressive thought-process with some of the questions he’s written. I think this is a great way to get the kids thinking about what they’ve read in more of an out-of-the-box kind of way. They like to try to stump me.
Word Study
The Word Study section is basically spelling and vocabulary. Again, because the spelling concepts and vocabulary words come directly from what the kids are reading, these assignments become more meaningful for the kids. It’s really nice, when we’re reading, to be able to remind them of that week’s spelling lesson when they come across a word with which they may be unfamiliar.
Also, because they’re not just studying random spelling words, the concepts seem to make more sense to them. Some of the concepts they’ve covered so far this year are:
- The letter combinations that make the different long vowel sounds (a different vowel sound each week)
- Suffixes and prefixes (such as un-, and –ly)
- Number and ordinal number words
Vocabulary is the only other area that really makes the kids grumble. They don’t understand why they should have to learn to look words up in the dictionary when they could just google it. {eye rolling} Yes, they actually say that to me. Guess what? I happen to see the value in learning to use a dictionary, so we look up vocabulary words.
The kids look up the week’s vocabulary words, taken from their readers, and write the word and its definition on one side of an index card. On the other side, they draw a picture to help them remember what the words means. Drawing the picture has proven to be a great tool for helping them learn the words because they really have to understand what it means in order to draw a picture to go with it.
Geography, Science and History
I love that Trail Guide alternates science and history just like I was doing before. We do history on Mondays and Wednesdays and science on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This allows for time to delve into each subject without feeling overwhelmed or rushed in either.
Trail Guide is a history-based program, so science fits into whatever the kids are learning in history. For example, we learned about weather and rocks in the first unit because weather and the topography of the land was of great importance to the early settlers.
This unit, we’re learning about the water cycle because Munford (The Adventures of Munford) is a water molecule. They’re just simple little connections, but they make sense and help the whole unit to flow cohesively.
History is learned, primarily, thought historical fiction and biographies, which y’all know I love. The short, but relevant, lessons in the teaching text help to tie it all together. Geography is woven seamlessly into the study of history and science. From the Paths of Settlement text:
“Geography is the umbrella from which the other studies connect. Geography includes the study of place. If you learn about the places, you learn about the impact those places have on people. If you learn about people, you learn about cultures and worldview, and the impact those people have on places.”
States
Because Paths of Settlement focuses on the growth of the United States, the geography focus for this part of the series is on the states that make up the U.S. We study two states a week, by region, starting with New England.
The kids read about each state in Children’s Illustrated United States Atlas. One day they map that day’s state, including rivers, lakes, state capital, and bordering states. The next day, they make a state page that includes the state’s bird and flower, along with interesting facts about the state.
They also make state cards with serve as a great tool for review and state-related games.
Writing, Doing and Art
This is probably one of our favorite parts of Trail Guide to Learning. Y’all know I love some hands-on activities. You probably also know that I don’t like frivolous activities that don’t serve a purpose other than being able to say that you did an activity and that few curriculum choices have ever offered me enough hands-on learning.
I have found just the right balance in Trail Guide. The activities are fun, meaningful, and well-balanced. There are usually one or two relevant activities each week. So far they’ve included things like:
- Watercolor (which my kids love)
- Games that early American settlers would have enjoyed, such as quoits and hopscotch
- Candle-dipping (which we skipped due to severe lack of supplies…shhh, don’t tell the kids)
- Making tools for our weather station (barometer, weather vane, and anemometer)
- Making bean bags for hopscotch (Another one the kids loved…this one led to more sewing projects, even though we weren’t even supposed to sew the bean bags according to the directions in the text.)
Independent Reading
Finally, the kids are to include silent, independent reading as part of each day. These are to be self-selected books that the kids read for enjoyment. Parents are highly encouraged not to skip this part of the school day in order to save time.
Confession #3: I don’t skip it to save time; I just don’t enforce it. I have one child who reads for pleasure nearly every day anyway, so I don’t have it make it a point to tell her to read. I have another child whose head would probably explode if I made him spend any more time reading other than what he already spends on the reader each day. He’s finally starting to read without complaining, so I’m not going to rock the boat just yet.
Since I only have two children who are using Trail Guide, one of whom is a boy and one of whom is a girl, I’ll leave you to figure out which is which in the scenario above.
The Text/Teacher Guide
I love the text of Trail Guide to Learning. It is written to the student (I suspect that may be for moving kids toward more independent learning as they get older, since there are plans to continue the series through high school.). However, it’s filled with margin notes for the teacher.
The margin notes contain things like:
- A materials list for the upcoming week (makes planning super-easy)
- Teaching tips
- Encouragement
- Historical context notes to make application of concepts easier
- Icons indicating a corresponding lapbook activity
- Excerpts from Dr. Ruth Beechick’s writing
In addition to the teaching text, Trail Guide to Learning comes with a CD-Rom containing all the printables used in the text. (Optional student notebook pages can be ordered from Geography Matters to save on printing. These pages come 3-hole punched and ready to insert in a binder.)
If you read my Weekly Wrap-Ups, you probably already know how much I’m loving lesson planning with Trail Guide. Here’s the extent of my planning:
- Open the student resources file on the CD
- Find the correct unit and week
- Click “print week {corresponding week number}” (Alternately, I could click the button to print the entire unit, but my printer might go on strike.)
- Repeat the step above since this option doesn’t offer the choice to print multiple copies at a time
- Open the teacher resources file on the CD
- Print the appropriate week’s check list
- Make a list of any materials needed that I don’t have on hand and need to get from the store (i.e. beans for the bean bags or modeling clay for making molecule replicas)
- Hole punch the student pages and put them in the kid’s notebooks (I suggest no smaller than a 2-inch three-ring binder)
That’s it. The end. My planning is done. Love it!
The Questions
I’ve had a lot of questions about Trail Guide to Learning in the last couple of months. I’ll try to answer the ones I’ve heard most frequently. If I don’t get to yours, feel free to leave it in the comments and I’ll try to answer it…someone from Geography Matters might even stop by and help with some answers.
How long does a typical day of Trail Guide to Learning take? We usually spend 3-4 hours a day on Trail Guide stuff. That leaves us with math and Bible study to do on our own.
(Note: Trail Guide does offer a Bible study that goes with each level. We have a copy that we haven’t used yet because we enjoy what we were already doing. However, become more and more curious about it as I’ve continued to use and enjoy Trail Guide, so we’ll probably give it a try soon.)
Can older or younger students use Trail Guide? Yes, each level can be adapted down about one grade level. This can be done by having the parent read the readers aloud to younger children and reducing the writing by allowing the child to answer orally.
There are also optional lapbooking materials that are available for each text. The authors have made it simple to include the lapbooking material by placing a symbol in the margins of the teaching text indicating where there is a corresponding lapbooking project.
For older students, there is an optional middle school supplement that goes with each level of text currently available. There are also additional enrichment activities included in every lesson 5 in the text for older students or those who would like to go more in-depth.
Have you quit using Easy Grammar? How does the grammar in Trail Guide compare? If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know that we’re huge Easy Grammar fans. We’ve used it from the time my oldest was in third grade all the way through the high school level books.
My decision to put Easy Grammar aside for a time was one of the hardest decisions with using Trail Guide and the one that was met with the most resistance by the kids. However, I told them that I wanted to use Trail Guide exactly as it’s laid out, at least for a little while.
So far, I’ve really been impressed with the grammar portion of Trail Guide. A lot of it is fairly easy review for my kids because they’ve spent the last three years or so in Easy Grammar, but that’s okay. Review of the basics of grammar is not a bad thing.
My favorite part of Trail Guide’s grammar is that it encourages learning through practical application. For example, one day the kids might do some editing – finding and correcting the mistakes in sentences in their student notebooks (and using actual editing marks/symbols, which will be helpful later on) – another day they might write their own sentences with mistakes, then, rewrite them correctly.
Sometimes they’ll go on a scavenger hunt, looking through their readers for sentences using the grammar rules they’re learning/reviewing. And, of course, I’ve started holding them accountable for applying the rules they’ve learned to their own writing.
Does it feel like you’re doing history all day every day? No, it doesn’t. I even asked the kids this question, to make sure they didn’t feel that way and they don’t. Everything ties together nicely, but there is enough variety that it doesn’t feel like we’re living and breathing history.
Can I do the units individually without doing all of them? No. Because Trail Guide to Learning in an all-inclusive curriculum, it’s not like you’re doing a bunch of individual, unrelated unit studies. Each lesson builds on previously learned concepts.
I thought you didn’t like all-inclusive curriculum – that you were eclectic and liked to piece together your own curriculum. Yeah, me, too. It turns out, though, that I am liking an all-inclusive curriculum. A lot. I think it’s because Trail Guide to Learning is exactly the kind of curriculum that I would have designed myself, if I had the time, knowledge, and organizational skills. It is truly the overall best-fitting curriculum our family has found since we began homeschooling.
Is the material consumable? Do you need multiple copies for more than one child? The material isn’t consumable. With the disc, you can print the number of student pages you need for your family for any of the three grade levels covered. The only thing I needed to buy extra for Paths of Settlement was a second watercolor book because the kids paint directly into the book.
If I ever see the atlas that we use for our state study at our local used bookstore, I’ll probably pick it up because it was be very useful for each of the kids to have their own when filling out the state pages, but it’s not necessary to have two copies.
Other than that, the kids take turns with the readers and I read aloud from the biography, so it’s really not necessary to have multiple copies of the core resources.
Can the texts be used out of order? Not really. I was told by the folks at Geography Matters that with the Trail Guide to Learning texts, the grade levels do mean something. So, since we started on Paths of Settlement, we wouldn’t want to backtrack to Paths of Exploration since the concepts would most likely be review for my kids after having done the next level up.
We did miss out on a small section of history when we switched to Trail Guide, so I’m thinking seriously of reading some of the readers and biographies from Paths of Exploration to them over the summer.
The Optional Helps
You can purchase the Trail Guide texts by themselves and either purchase or borrow from the library the books needed for the year or you can enjoy the pure heaven of having everything you need except materials for the hands-on projects when you purchase the complete set, which includes all the core materials (readers, biographies, atlases, etc.).
In addition to all the stuff that comes with the Paths of Settlement (or other levels) complete set, there are other optional helps available, such as:
- The middle school supplement, using for adapting the guides for use by older students
- Lapbooks – Available in printed or CD version, these can be used to adapt for younger students or as optional activities for the target grade levels.
- Bible study – The Bible study coincides with the ideas being covered in the unit.
- Yahoo groups – There are Yahoo support groups for each current level of Trail Guide to Learning for those looking for the support and encouragement of other families using the materials.
- Assessment CD – For those who have state-required assessments or just like the reassurance of testing to gauge student retention, there is an optional assessment CD. We haven’t used this, but I did look at it. One thing that really impressed me about it was the fact that the majority of the questions weren’t asking the student to regurgitate an answer, but rather sought the student’s response to what he’d learned. There were plenty of “right or wrong” questions, but there were also a lot that asked the student to give his thoughts on what he’d learned, along with supporting reasons for his opinions, which really requires a working knowledge of what’s been learned.
- Pre-printed student pages and game cards – If you’d rather save your time and printer ink, the student notebook pages and game cards can be ordered pre-printed and ready for use.
The Giveaway and Coupon Code
Now for the part you’ve all been waiting for – the part where you can save some money and/or win something!
You can use coupon code WUSH15 to save $15 when you order the complete packages of Paths of Exploration or Paths of Settlement from the Trail Guide to Learning website. I think this may even work if you find the Geography Matters folks at a curriculum fair, but I’m not 100% sure. Yeah, in all the craziness of getting this incredibly long-winded review ready to go, I forgot to double-check that part.
So, you can ask, if you see them at a curriculum fair, but if they look at you like they have no idea what you’re talking about, don’t get mad; just look at them like you can’t believe they don’t faithfully read my blog, then, go home and order it online.
Want to win either the Paths of Exploration or the Paths of Settlements texts? Please note: this giveaway is just for either set of texts, not the complete set containing all the core materials. The folks at Geography Matters have graciously agreed to give away one copy of either the Path of Exploration or Path of Settlement teacher texts to one Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers reader.
**This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to commenter #73!**
**Comments will remain open for questions and answers about Trail Guide to Learning, but the giveaway is now concluded.**
How to enter:
- Visit the Trail Guide to Learning home page. Then, come back and leave a comment on this post telling me which level you’d most like to try and why. (Mandatory entry)
For three bonus entries (optional):
- Follow Geography Matters on Twitter.
- Sign up for the Geography Matters newsletter.
- Share about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. (If you tweet, please include @Kris_WUHSMom and @GeoMatters in your tweet to make sure we see it.)
As much as I would love to give you an entry for liking Geography Matters or Trail Guide to Learning on Facebook, Facebook’s terms of service won’t allow it. However, I know the authors and publishers would love it if you did.
Rules: Leave a comment for each entry (up to four separate entries). This giveaway is open to United States residents, ages 18 years and older only. Giveaway ends on Monday, February 27. The winner will be selected at random using Random.org.
The winner will notified via email and given 72 hours to respond. In the event that the winner cannot be contacted by email or does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will be forfeited and and alternate winner selected.
Click to read the complete rules. By entering this giveaway, you indicate that you have read and agreed to abide by these rules.
This post contains affiliate links.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
I would love the Paths of Explorations since my son is in second right now. I would love to start at the beginning and move forward each year. Thanks for the opportunity.
Great review! This curriculum looks great! I think it would be such a good fit for us. I have one who is a big reader and one who is hands on and this looks like it will work for both. I would love to win Paths to Settlement to use with them next year.
I would start out next year with Paths of Exploration and work my way through the levels.
I'm following Geography Matters on Twitter. @momteaches
I signed up for the newsletter.
This sounds like a great program…We would love it if we win….
I would love to try the Paths of Exploration! I think my kids would love it.
I subscribed to the newsletter!
I followed on Twitter!
I shared on FB!
I would love to use the Path of Settlement with my son for next year!
I just signed up for the Geography Matters Newsletter.
I just shared the review and giveaway on my facebook page.
We would like Paths of Exploration because we would start at the beginning. My youngest is in K and her older brothers enjoy 'teaching' her which is great review for them.
Paths of Exploration Sounds like a good start. I love starting at the beginning. lol My son loves history.
We currently are not doing any history other than lapbooks because I have not found something I like as well as Trail Guide to Learning, but we currently can't afford it. We are saving up for this and I look forward to being able to use Paths of Exploration with my 3rd grader one day soon! Thanks for this review!
Kris, I have been following your journey with this curriculum. I just told my husband the other day "I want to wait and see what the final results are." Well, WOW! Thank you!!! I am not a 'curriculum' type of homeschool mom but this one does seem a perfect fit for our family. I'd love to win the prize but either way I'm going to order it.
Paths of Settlement will pick up right where we will be in just a few weeks. I'm excited. Thank you again for spelling everything out for us. Blessings, Donna
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I am using POE with my two children now and we LOVE it! We loved LLATL before, and I said for several years, if only I could have something just like that for everything!
I would love to be entered in the drawing for a copy of POS! Thanks for the great blog!
I am really impressed with your review! I have looked at Trail Guide to Learning in the past but wasn't sure how I would like it since I am very eclectic also.
This review has me thinking I should look into more.
Thank you for this review! I have been looking around for an all inclusive curriculum and this one looks.exciting! I would live to do Paths of Exploration with my kiddos. I love that everything flows together well and that I don't have to spend extensive time planning! I feel like it would really make history come alive for my kids! Thanks for the opportunity to win and to purchase at a discount!
Paths of Exploration for 2 reasons….1. I would be teaching 3 kids (2 in 3rd and 1 in 5th) which is the age range of this, 2. Wanting to start at the beginning
I am an eclectically-homeschooling mom of three children near Ann Arbor, Michigan. This product looks amazing for where we are in our studies! We'd love to try the Paths of Exploration (grades 3-5). Blessings! ~Ann
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I would love this!! I have second and third grade girls!! It would be wonderful to follow this together! Paths of Exploration looks perfect for us!
I would really love to win Paths of Settlement! It's right where I am in history with my son, and it looks so well planned.
I'd most like to try the Paths of Exploration. It looks like a lot learning how to explore.
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Hi Kris! For me too, this is a curriculum I would have never considered because of the all-in-one. However, your review has made me think twice! It looks fantastic! I would probably start with the Paths to Settlement but would also want to begin with a overview of the the people and places that we would miss from not doing Explorations. Thank you for the review and the chance to win!
Oh I also signed up for GM newsletter!
I posted to twitter about the review and giveaway:
https://twitter.com/#!/Gavinmama/status/172708137332252672
I would really like the paths of exploration curriculum set as this fits the ages of my oldest. This is a really great review, thank you! We have used sonlight and love it but now I'm considering switching!
I still have no idea what our homeschool year is going to look like next year. Or specifically, who all I'll be teaching, so that makes planning for next year a little difficult. But I've been following your use of this curriculum, and I'm very interested. So by all means, please enter me! I'd want to do the Paths to Progress, as it would come most closely to continuing from the timeframe we're currently studying.
I'm now following them on twitter! (And facebook, by the way.)
And I just shared about this review/giveaway on my facebook page!
We are planning on using Paths of Settlement this coming year and are super excited about it! It is right up my sons alley!! Of course, winning it would be wonderful:)
I am already signed up for the newsletter!
I am seriously considering this curriculum for next year for my then-5th grader after reading your review! It seems like exactly what I need. I would love, love, love to win Paths to Settlement.
I love everything that Geography Matters sells! We used Paths of Exploration and loved it! The books are GREAT. We went to a meet and greet with Gail Karwoski (she wrote Surving Jamestown and Seaman) and told her about Trail Guide. She was so excited to hear about the program. It's so easy to use and takes so little time that I worried I was skipping something. Turns out is was just math
I highly recommend this program and can't say enough good things about it. My kids enjoyed it, it was less stressful to plan the week, and they created an awesome portfolio of their work to keep. If you can't afford to buy the whole set, just buy used or borrow from the library what you can and order the texts and remaining supplies from Geography Matters.
I would most like Paths of Settlement. We just finished doing Explorers this year and I was looking to head into the American Revolution for the coming year, thus Paths of Settlement would be a good fit for us.
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I tweeted about this giveaway! @StartsAtEight
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I'd love to try Paths of Progress. It looks like it's full of material I haven't yet explored with my kids and the level looks like it'd be a good fit for my kids. Great review. Thank you. Thank you also for this giveaway.
I've signed up for the Geography Matters newsletter.
Thanks.
I'd love to give this a try. I've always pieced together curricula myself but, man, am I ready for a break. You make it sound like homeschooling nirvana to me! LOL
I shared a link to this review and giveaway on fb. Thanks again.
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Hi, my name is Natalie and I am entering your giveaway. I homeschool a 6 & 7 year old, together, much in the manner of Charlotte Mason. If I won, I would choose the Paths to Settlement due to their focus on what happened after the explorers first ventured here. We use a good deal of Usborne books so this would compliment the texts we already own nicely.
Thanks and have a great day!
I would love the Paths of Exploration texts!
I would love to win Paths of Settlement since we are almost finished with Paths of Exploration! LOVE this curriculum and wish it would've been around for my older kids!!
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I shared on Facebook!
Loved the review! I'd start with Paths of Explorations and buy the middle school supplement to go with it.
I would like to try Paths of Exploration, because it would work for all my children at once which simplifies things greatly. Plus I LOVE history, and unit studies. I like that it has everything but math, because other unit studies I have tried are missing other areas like grammar or writing and I find it means we spend a lot of extra time filling in those areas.
Shared on Facebook.
This looks really interesting. I have always put together our curriculum because nothing looked like it would cover everything at an appropriate level. This looks like I could really use it. Since DS1 is only 8, I would have to say I'm most interested in Paths of Exploration
I signed up for the newsletter.
If I was to win this I would need the first step Paths of Exploration simply because it would be new to us and our first year using this publisher. Your review was divine!! kevinkaylaarrowood123 at yahoo dot com
I follow Geo Matters on twitter (thearrowoodzoo) thanks! kevinkaylaarrowood123 at yahoo dot com
Thanks so much for the time you invested into this review! I have been on the fence about Trail Guide to Learning for a while and now. After following your blog and reading this review, I am certain that Paths of Exploration would be a perfect fit for us.
I shared a tweet (https://twitter.com/#!/TheArrowoodZoo/status/172754069725782016) thanks!! kevinkaylaarrowood123 at yahoo dot com
Visited the site, I think we'd go for Paths of Exploration…..we like to do things in order like that LOL
I signed up to follow Geography Matters on Twitter, using your link
Signed up for their newsletter and confirmed it through email
Shared on Facebook…..tagged you in the comment and linked through Geography Matters wall post about your blog post
Thanks for such an in depth review…..we may try this for 2013.
I would love to win this and start at the beginning with Paths of Exploration. We haven't started a history or science curriculum yet because until now I had not found what I was looking for.
Sweet! I'd love to see how Paths of Exploration would work for my oldest.
I'd like to start with Paths of Exploration. I like to start things at the beginning!
I shared this on my facebook page! Thank you!
We are using Paths of Exploration this year in our co-op and really enjoy it. I'd love to have Paths of Settlement next year.
Our coop is using this next year. So excited. I would like Paths Of Settlement.
QUESTION::: next year I will have k, 2, 4, 6, and 8th. What, pray tell, would I do if I used said curriculum? Would I pick the middle and adjust for the littles and bigs or would I maybe buy 2 and teach 1 to the littler set of kids and one to the bigger set? Also you said that they build off of eachother so if you start in the middle with book 2 you wouldnt want to go to book one afterwards. So what would you do then if say you started in 3rd grade with the 1st book- by 5th grade you would be out of lessons that theoretically could have brought you up to 7th- am I making any sense? I originally thought they were making them like many other curriculums where there are like 4 books on a continum. so- theres my ???
Paths of Settlement- picked this one because it best picks up about where we are going to leave off for the year- but honestly with the vast grade ranges I have any one would be great =)
We are a trail guide co op next year! This would be great! Path to Settlement. Please!
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That's probably a question that can be better answered by the folks at Geography Matters, since I only know how it was worked with my youngest two who are two years apart. I'd suggest giving customer service a call at (800) 426-4650.
Another option might be to join one of the Yahoo groups (links are on the Geography Matters website) since I bet there are other families with similar age-range spreads. HTH!
AND signed up for the news letter- can you tell I REALLY WANT TO WIN???? is it wrong to bring in family members as accomplices??? lol. This curric looks sooo good and although I LOVE what I have been doing, using something collective would really be nice. Either way I think we are going in this direction but winning would sure make it easier =) Thanks for the review friend =)
I would like Paths of Exploration so we could start at the beginning. I love your review!! Thanks for the down to earth way you explained it all!
We use POE and LOVE it. I love how well you articulated your thoughts in this review. It's so cool to see how much it is loved! I would love to get the next set- POS! Goodness- I am already excited about continuing with this curriculum next year!!! ~AMY amycthphoto (at) gmail (dot) com
subbed to Geomatters newsletter! Amy amycthphoto (at) gmail (dot) com
Thanks, Kris, for such a thorough review. I have been intrigued by this curriculum since you started writing about it. I would love to start with Paths of Exploration with my son who will be in 5th grade next year. It looks like great stuff.
Hi, Kris. I subscribed to the Geography Matters newsletter.
I shared about your giveaway on my homeschool blog. Here' s a link to the post:
http://walnuthillhomeschool.blogspot.com/2012/02/trail-guide-to-learning-giveaway.html
I would love Paths of Exploration. I am looking at this curriculum for next year!
I already have Geography Matters newsletter coming to my email.
Here is my post about this giveaway.
http://ournormalchaos.blogspot.com/2012/02/trail-guide-to-learning-giveaway.html
We'd love to try the Paths of Settlement. My kids are 6th, 4th and 2nd grades (plus 2 preschoolers!), so I think that would be the best choice for us. (Plus, I've always loved learning about the Revolutionary War!)
I would love to win Paths of Exploration. I've been in love with the idea of this curriculm since you mentioned in January and I started looking into it. By the way, yours is BY FAR the best, most thorough review I've seen on this, and I have searched high and low for reviews !
I also followed on twitter!
I also signed up for the newsletter!
I loved the review. I would love to try Paths of Progress. My daughter is currently in 4th and we just started homeschooling at the end of January. We are not happy with some of the curriculum that her private school was using, but we are trying to finish the year with it. We are especially unhappy with the Social Studies. I am looking for something more engaging for 5th grade. Her school has covered the topics in Paths of Exploration and Paths of Settlement ad nauseum. I think she would really like to go on and study other topics.
I followed on Twitter
I signed up for the newsletter
I commented once already, but I think the internet ate it. I'd love to win the Paths of Exploration. I also wanted to let you know that you have the BEST review of this curriculm.
I'd love to win Paths of Exploration. That'd be perfect for my kids. This looks great!
I already get the Geomatters newsletter.
I would love to start with Paths of Exploration since it's the beginning level and follow each year with the next level.
I signed up for the Geography Matters newsletter.
I just blogged about this giveaway.
http://tasik77.livejournal.com/15637.html
Thank you for the opportunity.
Being our first year of homeschool we opted for a textbook based
curriculum and I have been reminded why we decided to homeschool in the
first place! We desperately need a new direction and literature based
curriculum has sparked my interest and excitement to switch. The Paths
of Settlement would be a perfect place to start for my 12 year old!
Thank you
Another entry for newsletter……We are very excited at the prospect of a literature based curriculum!!!! Paths of Settlement for us please!
What a great review. THis would be awesome to have.
mcconkey@cableone.net
Paths of Exploration- I keep looking at this curriculum every couple months trying to decide if I want to take the plunge. I've about decided to go for it- your review is very helpful!
Love your review! Just right. I would love to start with Paths of Settlement with my kidos.
Subscribed to the newsletter! Paths of Exploration
Shared on Facebook! Paths of Exploration
I would like the Paths of Settlement. 2 reasons….1 is for the age range it covers. I have a 4, 5 and 7th grader. Also the time period it covers.
Just shared about the giveaway on FB.
Wow, thanks for such a comprehensive review! I love the sound of this and had not heard of it before. If we wOn we would choose the Paths of Exploration texts. Thank you!
Thanks for asking this question, Myglorylife! You can drop me an email at jamie AT geomatters.com to discuss this further, but this is what I would do (if it were me). I would start with Paths of Exploration and just pick up the Middle School Supplement for that year. This way, you can simply do the lowest level (and perhaps simplify it some) for your second grader. Use the Middle School Supplement to "beef up" the program for your sixth and eigth graders. (Although your sixth grader may just be able to do the actual text at the highest level and be okay.) You would definitely want to teach all of your students the same topics/units at once and that would be how to do it. The next year, you would move everyone up to Paths of Settlement + the Middle School Supplement again. (Once again, just beef it all up and add enrichment for your oldest student.) Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions!
Loved your review. We are currently using paths of exploration and LOVE it. Really LOVE it!!! I would love to have the Paths of Settlement. This curriculum makes homeschooling so much easier. I was so happy when I came across this curriculum. My son has had trouble in the past retaining what he is supposed to be learning. Not a problem with this curriculum. He just took his Christopher Columbus unit test and aced it. That really built his confidence. Thanks for your review. I enjoyed it. Also a BIG thank you to Geography Matters for puting this curriculum together.
I would love to try Paths of Settlement. Your review is very detailed and this product looks great!
I signed up for the Newsletter. I had once followed this company early in my homeschooling days and had forgotten about it. Glad to add it back to my list.
Makes sense. What are your thoughts though when one set of kids goes through all three units and there's another set behind them? My guess would be that either older kids (say 6th on up would then work together on another unit (one u haven't yet put out) and mama would do the k-5ths. Older group could work independently or as a group? I have 10 kids. 3 are public schooled (not our choice) and the others are homeschooled plus we plan on having more. In a few years time I will have high schoolers and elementary. I wonder if maybe upper grade school or high school supplement packs would eventually be made? I like sticking with one program whenever possible. I'm just wondering how this would look past 7-8 grade
. I know once they get into high school the learning starts to become much more independent. Is ur highs hook studies going to look like that or still be one room school house style?
i'd like the paths of exploration because it covers my children's grades.
neenee838 at gmail dot com
geography matters twitterf ollower neenee_is_me
neenee838 at gmail dot com
shared on fb name jeanine feldkamp neenee838 at gmail dot com
I would love the paths of settlement text to use with my girls next year. Thanks for the chance to win it.
Oh how I'd love to win any of these!! I'd pick the the Explorers, because my children would be going into 2 and 4th grades and I try to not always work above the youngers head. Great review!!!
I really want to incorporate prayer and missionaries into our geography. Do you think it could easily be added in with this curriculum when learning about certain areas? We would start with the first volume. Thank you in advance!
I'm not sure. We haven't used the first volume. I know that the first three volumes deal with American history, so I'm not sure how many other places you'd be looking at other than the U.S. I imagine that there is discussion of England, France, Spain, and Portugal in Volume 1 since it deals with the years of exploration.
This looks like an amazing product. Would love to try! I think I'd like Paths of Exploration best since my boys are in 3rd grade.
Following on Twitter.
Signed up for their newsletter.
Blogged about the giveaway on my blog.
It sounds great but like you I'm wondering how copywork and narration would be received. We're at just the right age to start though. I love how you can teach multiple ages at the same time.
Great review. I would hope to win the Paths of Settlement text as we are currently using the Exploration curriculum and loving it!
I would love Paths to Exploration. We are in our 1st year of homeschooling and have floundered through this year with a very eclectic unit based study program. Although we have our Math program it is everything else that I am concerned with. I am amazed at the overwhelming amount of time that I spend creating unit studies which are all inclusive. I also love the idea of Paths to Exploration since it includes a bible study program and is for various levels. Our son is about to start third grade and is an accelerated reader so I have trouble finding age appropriate materials which challenge his reading skills. I think this program may just solve that problem.
We would LOVE to win Paths of Settlement. My kids love this material!
I would love to win the Paths of Exploration. I'm in my first year homeschooling, and we really enjoy unit studies and literature-based studies, but I find it takes a lot of time to plan. I'd love to try this and it sounds like it would fit our family!
I would love to use Paths of settlement with my soon to be homeschooled 4th grader! Thank you!
I'd love to win Paths of Exploration
kim(at)kimberlychance(dot)com
Thank you for this comprehensive review! I'd love to try the Paths of Settlement level.
Thank you for this comprehensive review. I'd love to try the Paths of Settlement level!
I just followed Geography Matters on Twitter.
ugh, I am in a rut, this sounds like it might just be the ticket out
I'll have a fifth grader next year, do you recommend starting with the Paths of Exploration so as to make it easier to continue in the coming years? We had been doing The Story of the World with my oldest, but I got so tired of it myself I just couldn't take another year 
thank you for the chance to win and the wonderful review!
Just found your blog via another, looking forward to following you
just signed up for the newsletter!
I would love to receive Paths of Exploration. My young-ins are the right age for this particular text. I have a dear friend who uses TGTL, and LOVES IT. She pulled her son out of school, and this is the only curriculum she has used and is so happy with it. Between her review and yours, and the fact that my 2 oldest are 16 months apart and school together, I see TGTL in our future!
following Geography Matters on twitter @cosibellaphoto
I have a dear friend who uses TGTL and LOVES IT!!! Between your review and hers, and the fact that my kiddos (16 months apart) school together, I see TGTL in our future! If I win, I would love Paths to Exploration!
Kris, What a wonderfully thorough review!
You've got me seriously considering this curriculum for my 10 year old son. I'm really wanting to stick with Five in a Row (for the most part) with my 6 and 8 year olds, and am looking for something that would be conducive to a bit more independent learning on his part. (The math program I use with him is super teacher intensive, and I need more time to work with the girls.)
What do you think…could a 10 year old do a good bit of the work in this curriculum independently?
Thanks for your help!
I would like to try Paths of Exploration because I will have a 3rd grader next year and she would love it!
I would love to try Paths of Exploration since my daughter will be in 3rd grade next year. She would love it!
I signed up for the newsletter.
I posted about the giveaway on Facebook. I'm so excited!
I would love to win Paths of Exploration!
I enthusidastically visited the Trails to Learning home page and signed up for the Geo Matters newsletter! I could not be more excited about this curriculum at this point. I downloaded the samples, spent 3 hours on the two websites and so far it looks like a winner for my family. It fits so well with what we've been doing and eliminates the cons we've had and gives us so much more. Can't wait to see it in person. I'd love to try the teacher text for Paths to Explorations. I have a 3rd and 5th grader right now and am bummed I did not find this sooner. I will purchase the second series for 4th-6th for next year but would love to win the 3rd-5th level to start now through the summer!!
Thanks, Shannon. I really enjoyed writing this review. We're loving Trail Guide. I guess the answer to your question really depends on the kid. The text is actaully written to the student, but we do most of the work together. I'm not sure if that's the control freak in me or the fact that I'm enjoying this curriculum as much as they are and enjoy leaning alongside the kids. However, there was one day in particular when I had to leave for an afternoon appointment. I left a list of things the kids needed to complete on the dry erase board and they did fine. Actually, they surpised me with how well they did.
So, all that to say, if you're on hand to supervise a bit and answer questions, he'd probably be able to work fairly indepedently on most of it. Hope that helps!
If you've never done any American history, then, yes, I would recommend starting with Paths of Exploration. If we hadn't already had a couple of rough starts with history, both of which included at least the first half of what POE covered, that's where we'd have started. I'm so sad that we missed some of that second half stuff that I'm seriously considering reading/having the kids read the books that go with the second half of POE this summer. Just keep in mind that POE is intended for grades 3-5, so, depending on your child's age, some aspects of POE may be a little light for him/her, such as grammar and spelling.
I would love Paths of Settlement. It would be the perfect fit for our studies next year! mom7_06(at)yahoo(dot) com
I am following on Twitter!
mom7_06(at)yahoo(dot)com
I think I may receive the newsletter already, but I signed-up to be sure.
mom7_06(at)yahoo(dot)com
My children are 8 (almost), 10, and 11. After visiting the site, we would probably go with Paths of Settlement. It looks like such a neat and fun way of having school! Some days we are just caught in a rut and this looks nice and organized and full of great activities! I really enjoyed this review!
I liked Trail Guide to Learning on Facebook!
I signed up for the Geography Matters Newsletter!
I shared this giveaway on facebook!
I posted about your giveaway at my blog:
http://strobelshappenings.blogspot.com/2012/02/giveaway-at-another-blog.html
I've had my eye on this for awhile. Choosing which one is the hard part! I've been at this homeschooling thing for awhile & have a wide array of ages but I'm thinking Paths of Progress looks good
Who knows I may end up with all of them!
I would love to try Paths of Progress. This is a definite contender for next years curriculum.
I would love to try Paths of Explorations with my children next year. I am actually looking for something that would work well with both of my children who will be in 1st and 2nd grade next year.
Hi Kris,
Wow! Great review! i would LOVE to win the Paths of Settlement. We are studying that time in American History, and my daughters and i cannot get enough of it!
Thank you,
Alycia A
i follow Geography Matters on Twitter @AlyAbox
i also receive the Geography Matters newsletter.
I think I would order Paths of Exploration, based on the grades of my kids next year (2, 4, 6). Fabulous review, thank you so much! I hope they are at the homeschool convention I'm going to in May so I can get my hands (and eyes) on it in person!
I'm following Trail Guide on Twitter (and liked them on facebook
).
I tweeted about the giveaway
I subscribed to the newsletter
want to say thanks for the offer and what a Great review..
I think If I want to try Paths of Explorations for a couple of Reason.. but mostly cause my DD is in Second Grade now so it would work for us.. ( i think) 
thanks for the review and giveaway, i would love to try the Paths of Exploration. I would br trying it with my 8 and 10 year old boys!
I'm following Geography Matters on twitter
i tweeted about this giveaway https://twitter.com/#!/str8der/status/174111621688471552
Paths of Exploration would be a great start for our 3rd grade year! Thank you for the opportunity!
I would love paths of exploration. I have a 2nd and 5th grader and this sounds like it would really work for us!
I signed up for the newsletter.
Just read your review and this curriculum sounds great. I'd like to start with the Paths of Progress as my children have already covered most of the history in the first two years of curriculum.
Followed Geography Matters on Twitter.
Posted about the giveaway on Facebook too.
Signed up for the newsletter.
I would like to use the Paths of Settlement because we have spent the past two years studying the topics in the Path of Exploration.
This looks really nice!
Ok I just signed up for the email
Linda
http://www.glysdi.blogspot.com
I would LOVE to have the Paths of Settlement
I follow Geo Matters on Twitter
I follow Geo Matters on FB
I already receive their newsletter
Myglorylife, somehow my comment got disconnected from your question. (I apparently am not great at this commenting system!) The answer to your question from us is #117. Hope that helps!
Kristin—absolutely! Paths of Exploration takes a cursory look at several countries during the Age of Exploration so missionaries would be a natural supplement, I think. If you have any other questions, feel free to email jamieATgeomatters.com and we'll be happy to help you!
Shannon—you definitely could work into independent work with your ten year old. But Trail Guide to Learning has a lot of parent/child teacher/student interaction built in. Part of the child's development of thinking and communication skills is interacting with the adults in their lives and learning from them. It really is an important part of the curriculum. But there is definitely plenty of work that can be done independently and the lesson planning is so little that you will probably have extra free time for what interaction is needed. If you have any other questions, feel free to email jamie AT geomatters.com with questions and we will be happy to help.
Hey Aly, we would love to see you at our convention booth and answer any questions. (At many conventions this year, Trail Guide author Debbie Strayer will be joining us as well.) You can view our convention schedule at https://www.curriculum-for-homeschool.com/Events.do
oooh! pick me!! I have been really considering this curriculum for next year!
I follow geography matters on twitter
I wanted to thank you again for such a wonderful insightful review. And I have to say once I've looked over the books it's taking all I can to not start it this year, mid year at that LOL I'm so excited to begin this fall….thank you again!!!
I am a mother of 5, soon to be 6 children, and will be beginning my fourth year homeschooling next year. I have 3 children to homeschool: a 1st grader, 4th grader and 6th grader in the next school year. I have taken a traditional approach thus far and mainly stayed with curriculum much like my own public school education. I think I am feeling brave enough to try something fresh and new next year and to break free from the rigidity that I was educated in. My question is, what do I do with my children after I have taught all three years? If I start with Paths of Exploration and adapt it to my 6th grader, and then move through the other 2 sets, there will be a hole of about two to three years to fill with some other curriculum for the younger children. My interest is piqued, but I am wondering what families are planning to do with the other years that will not be covered. Traditional curriculum has answered this question by offering leveled material for each grade. I consider this curriculum a major investment so I want it to be used well. What approach will you take with your younger child so as not to repeat the same curriculum several years in a row?
Shannon,
Geography Matters actually has plans to continue this curriculum through high school. After American history, world and ancient history will be covered at the middle school and high school levels. Right now, my plan is to continue on through high school with Trail Guide if the subsequent levels are as well done as the current ones. They'll be introducing a new level each year until all levels are available.
I have no idea if it's possible to get a response to a comment placed on a post made several months ago…but in case it is, I'd love your input! I'm new to homeschooling–will be starting in the fall–and am deciding between a classical approach to education, and the Trail Guide curriculum. I read somewhere on your blog that you consider your philosophy to be classical/Charlotte Mason/eclectic. So my question is…how do you feel Trail Guide stacks up against a classical education?
We are not strongly CM, so I may not be the best person to answer that, but Trail Guide does rely heavily on narration and learning through natural connections.
Hi Kris, I am in the process of completing Paths of Exploration with my 3rd grade son and overall I liked it but I was actually planning on looking for something else. After reading your review on the 4th grade curriculum I think I'm maybe willing to give it one more year. I just had a few questions about the 4th grade curriculum. There are a couple of things that drove me crazy with the 3rd grade – the vocabulary and the animal I.D. cards. The animal I.D. cards were part of science and they had the kids make up these I.D. cards for each animal they learned about. I feel like it wasn't focused enough and instead of learning about a few animals really well, I feel like my son learned very little about some animals. The vocabulary words were kind of scattered about and the method for learning them changed throughout the year. They were supposed to do cards and we did that the first half of the year but it became to cumbersome. Some of the units they did different things with vocabulary and I guess I'm just a bit more organized and the the vocab seemed also kind of scattered and not focused. Can you just address for me the science and vocab/language arts piece in the 4th grade curriculum? Does it seem like it is similar? Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
lois.romaine@gmail.com
The kids do have vocabulary words each week. They're supposed to look them up, write the word and definition on one side of the cards and draw a picture representing the word on the other side. They review them each week.
The only thing that sounds like the animal cards are the state pages. They learn about 2 states per week. They complete a map of the state one day and a notebooking page the next day. I don't know that my kids have really learned anything in-depth about the states, but they do review the capitals with each unit and they have remembered interesting facts about some of the states. I've been okay with the pacing of it.
Does that help any?
Yes, that does help. The cards just got overwhelming last year, stacks of notecards, but if I plan ahead I could organize it differently so notecards aren't falling and spilling all over the place. I like the learning about two states a week. Have you tried Tapestry of Grace? That is the other one I'm looking at and I'm trying to decide between the two. Just wondering if you or anyone out there has tried both and could tell me the differences. Thank you for your response!
I'm glad it helped. I haven't tried TOG. I've looked at it before, but never used it.