What I’m totally loving is that I think I can go through this exact same curriculum again in 4-5 years and it can be completely different by choosing different books etc!
Thank you for sharing. I was looking for Geography curriculum and I am excited to try Guest Hollow for this year. I've never heard of it until I saw your review.
We have really enjoyed having 1 or 2 of their courses worked in each year. It's a refreshing change from our other more traditional textbook courses. Plus the kids seem to retain far more information (which as their teacher I love)
Guest Hollow is one of the best secrets of the homeschool community and the creators are so nice and really listen to their customers. Thanks for sharing!
I'm just so sold on GH now. I purchased American history 1 for my upcoming high schooler and I wasn't 100% sure but now I'm sitting here planning out how to use everything they have over the next 4 years 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I've been eyeing Guest Hollow's resources for years! It's great to see a review on one of them. Thank you! Would you say that this curriculum could work for younger grades as well? I've seen some of these books used for earlier grades in other curriculums.
I think it would depend on which of their curriculums you choose. They have several that specify for younger levels and a few HS ones that can be adapted for middle grades. Botany could be adapted for MS in my opinion. My son is doing the geography and cultures course. That might be a harder one since there is a lot covered regarding geopolitics, treatment of people/groups within different countries. You’d have to do a lot more previewing of the books/videos if you’re concerned about material/topics a younger student might come across.
I love all your videos! We have made some changes to how we do homeschool based your info. I was wondering if you would still recommend this curriculum now that your children have gone through it? I just recently purchased it but after looking through the videos listed in the schedule and book list, I’m now hesitant because of the volume of “heavy” material that might be too depressing for a high schooler. It seems to highlight the negative or harder to swallow cultural aspects of a number of countries. For instance, I believe Mexico has so much more to offer culturally than the Day of the Dead and Heroine farming and the same with showing Indonesians living with dead relatives for months followed by brutal animal sacrifices.
My son found the course fascinating. I would recommend having a good variety of the recommended books. He learned about various religions from The Religions Book. Hungry Planet gave a lot of insight on diets and food challenges (plus the cost of foods in other countries was really interesting). And books used weekly such as People and Places give so much more information. With a lot to choose from, you could easily omit videos or readings that you feel are too heavy for your student. I did choose to leave most of the content in as I wanted him to see both the good and the bad. We plan to use Guest Hollow’s World History for him next year
This was SO helpful. I have been trying to build EXACTLY this type of curriculum and am SO excited to see someone has already done this. I do have elementary-age kids, do you feel it's too old for them?
I would check out the courses Guest Hollow offers for elementary ages. This Geography course can be adapted for middle school but the reading materials/videos are really geared more towards the older student. Guest Hollow does have some fantastic options for younger students though, and they provide information on each course as to whether they think it can be modified for other age groups.
Not sure if you are still seeking elementary curriculum, but Moving Beyond the Page has a similar vibe and uses a variety of books and activities based around different units.
I really love your content, so thank you for all you do! I wanted to pick your brain for a moment. I work from home full-time and homeschool my 8th and 9th grader. They are pretty independent and only require my attention when they need help with something, of course. I like everything I have learned about this curriculum and feel that it’s something my boys would like, as well. Do you think this curriculum is do-able in my situation?
Absolutely. My teens both do their Guest Hollow programs on their own. Just make sure you’ve looked at the schedule for the upcoming week and noted in some way which things on it you’d like them to do. There are a lot of options, so I pare it down based on which books we have, what kind of activities they like, etc. Some will edit the word document version of the schedule to do this. Others print it out and highlight what the kids should do. I type it into their planner pages that I print off for them.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your help 🙂 I am definitely sold on Guest Hollow and can’t wait to incorporate it into our homeschool. Your videos have made quite an impact on my decision making. One more question, do you print everything with a personal printer or do you have it printed elsewhere? If it’s a personal printer, do you have any recommendations? I’m sure you may have mentioned it in a video or two, but I think I missed it. Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend!
Where did you find the best price to print the Guest Hollow Student Workbook? It's over 200-pages for the Biology, so I def. don't want to print at home. And did you print the weekly schedule book? TIA!
I bought an ecotank printer a few years ago and print everything at home. One of the best purchases I’ve made for our homeschool! The ink goes incredibly far (only needs refilled once every 9-12 months). I do printed a copy of the schedule for myself as well as the workbooks
I am very interested in their curriculum for high school, but I’d appreciate some help on assigning credits. I’ve heard people assign more than just a geography credit. What/where do you plan to give credit for on your student’s high school transcript?
We just used it for a social studies credit (I termed it as Cultural Geography on the transcript), but I have seen others also use it as a literature credit due to the number of books covered (including some amazing novels). You could easily give credit for English/Literature with this course. I would suggest adding in a grammar component and assigning some writing assignments to make it a well-rounded Literature course. In the course schedule, there are many links provided to free resources to go along with various novels that you could use as templates
I see that you have used several of their curricula. Do you use them at the same time? Like one of their histories with science and/or geography? Or would that be too much?
I have limited it to 2 at a time so we can utilize as much of the books/activities as possible without the kids feeling overwhelmed. My 10th grader is using both Whirlwind World History and Chem in the Kitchen this year. My 11th grader is doing the Gov/Econ/Finance course and Chem in the Kitchen.
I have a Cinch binder that I got off Amazon. It allows me to make my own spiral bound notebooks. I did a BTS prep video just a few weeks ago where I show how it works
If you are a parent that knows you will not do any of the activities bc I am not that parent, is it really worth it still to just get books and do the lessons/workbook? I saw this as a mom coming from Amblesideonline and now I'm more eclectic. Also, I'd have to purchase books because our library and outside libraries are no good. Also, I don't like having links to websites that I will have to organize between 3 boys. It means I have to email them to get it on their computers and I hate trying to put the link on the TV. With that being said..... would it really for someone like me? lol
The easiest way to give them the links would be simply to have the PDF version of the schedule accessible on whichever computer they’re using. All of the online textbook, RUclips, video, and websites links are live links in the PDF schedule. They just have to click on the title and it’ll take them right to it. Then you don’t have to worry about doing any organizing in advance (creating a playlist was just something that I decided to do). Even if you forgo the hands on activities such as the recipes and crafts they are still going to get a ton out of the daily reading and videos. This is also a great time of year to check out the GuestHollow Facebook page for this curriculum. As other families are wrapping up the program many of us resell the books once we’re done with them and you can usually get a great deal. In fact, I just got done selling the majority of the books that we used this year.
I would call it neutral. They do provide great guidance on the schedule letting parents know when topics are going to be discussed that you may wish to review first or skip over.
What I’m totally loving is that I think I can go through this exact same curriculum again in 4-5 years and it can be completely different by choosing different books etc!
Thank you for sharing. I was looking for Geography curriculum and I am excited to try Guest Hollow for this year. I've never heard of it until I saw your review.
We have really enjoyed having 1 or 2 of their courses worked in each year. It's a refreshing change from our other more traditional textbook courses. Plus the kids seem to retain far more information (which as their teacher I love)
Guest Hollow is one of the best secrets of the homeschool community and the creators are so nice and really listen to their customers. Thanks for sharing!
Couldn't agree more! Jen and Charles are amazing!
I'm just so sold on GH now. I purchased American history 1 for my upcoming high schooler and I wasn't 100% sure but now I'm sitting here planning out how to use everything they have over the next 4 years 🤣🤣🤣🤣
It was great getting to know ya in this collab. 🌻
Loved hearing the steps you take to make it work for your son. Especially the organizational ideas.
Thanks so much!
Loved hearing all the details of this course!
I've never heard of this! I always love learning about new options for curriculum
LUVing ALL that you've taken the time to share on all of this.. TY so much.. (=
This was so helpful! It looks so great, I am excited to check it out for us in a few years
I've been eyeing Guest Hollow's resources for years! It's great to see a review on one of them. Thank you! Would you say that this curriculum could work for younger grades as well? I've seen some of these books used for earlier grades in other curriculums.
I think it would depend on which of their curriculums you choose. They have several that specify for younger levels and a few HS ones that can be adapted for middle grades. Botany could be adapted for MS in my opinion.
My son is doing the geography and cultures course. That might be a harder one since there is a lot covered regarding geopolitics, treatment of people/groups within different countries. You’d have to do a lot more previewing of the books/videos if you’re concerned about material/topics a younger student might come across.
I love all your videos! We have made some changes to how we do homeschool based your info. I was wondering if you would still recommend this curriculum now that your children have gone through it? I just recently purchased it but after looking through the videos listed in the schedule and book list, I’m now hesitant because of the volume of “heavy” material that might be too depressing for a high schooler. It seems to highlight the negative or harder to swallow cultural aspects of a number of countries. For instance, I believe Mexico has so much more to offer culturally than the Day of the Dead and Heroine farming and the same with showing Indonesians living with dead relatives for months followed by brutal animal sacrifices.
My son found the course fascinating. I would recommend having a good variety of the recommended books. He learned about various religions from The Religions Book. Hungry Planet gave a lot of insight on diets and food challenges (plus the cost of foods in other countries was really interesting). And books used weekly such as People and Places give so much more information. With a lot to choose from, you could easily omit videos or readings that you feel are too heavy for your student. I did choose to leave most of the content in as I wanted him to see both the good and the bad. We plan to use Guest Hollow’s World History for him next year
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife Thank you for the encouraging feedback! I'll stick with it then and make some adjustments to work for my teen.
This was SO helpful. I have been trying to build EXACTLY this type of curriculum and am SO excited to see someone has already done this. I do have elementary-age kids, do you feel it's too old for them?
I would check out the courses Guest Hollow offers for elementary ages. This Geography course can be adapted for middle school but the reading materials/videos are really geared more towards the older student. Guest Hollow does have some fantastic options for younger students though, and they provide information on each course as to whether they think it can be modified for other age groups.
Not sure if you are still seeking elementary curriculum, but Moving Beyond the Page has a similar vibe and uses a variety of books and activities based around different units.
I really love your content, so thank you for all you do! I wanted to pick your brain for a moment. I work from home full-time and homeschool my 8th and 9th grader. They are pretty independent and only require my attention when they need help with something, of course. I like everything I have learned about this curriculum and feel that it’s something my boys would like, as well. Do you think this curriculum is do-able in my situation?
Absolutely. My teens both do their Guest Hollow programs on their own. Just make sure you’ve looked at the schedule for the upcoming week and noted in some way which things on it you’d like them to do. There are a lot of options, so I pare it down based on which books we have, what kind of activities they like, etc. Some will edit the word document version of the schedule to do this. Others print it out and highlight what the kids should do. I type it into their planner pages that I print off for them.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your help 🙂 I am definitely sold on Guest Hollow and can’t wait to incorporate it into our homeschool. Your videos have made quite an impact on my decision making. One more question, do you print everything with a personal printer or do you have it printed elsewhere? If it’s a personal printer, do you have any recommendations? I’m sure you may have mentioned it in a video or two, but I think I missed it. Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend!
Where did you find the best price to print the Guest Hollow Student Workbook? It's over 200-pages for the Biology, so I def. don't want to print at home. And did you print the weekly schedule book? TIA!
I bought an ecotank printer a few years ago and print everything at home. One of the best purchases I’ve made for our homeschool! The ink goes incredibly far (only needs refilled once every 9-12 months). I do printed a copy of the schedule for myself as well as the workbooks
I am in Turkey and the website doesn’t work here.
I am very interested in their curriculum for high school, but I’d appreciate some help on assigning credits. I’ve heard people assign more than just a geography credit. What/where do you plan to give credit for on your student’s high school transcript?
We just used it for a social studies credit (I termed it as Cultural Geography on the transcript), but I have seen others also use it as a literature credit due to the number of books covered (including some amazing novels). You could easily give credit for English/Literature with this course. I would suggest adding in a grammar component and assigning some writing assignments to make it a well-rounded Literature course. In the course schedule, there are many links provided to free resources to go along with various novels that you could use as templates
I see that you have used several of their curricula. Do you use them at the same time? Like one of their histories with science and/or geography? Or would that be too much?
I have limited it to 2 at a time so we can utilize as much of the books/activities as possible without the kids feeling overwhelmed. My 10th grader is using both Whirlwind World History and Chem in the Kitchen this year. My 11th grader is doing the Gov/Econ/Finance course and Chem in the Kitchen.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife thanks!
What curriculum did you use for US History
My oldest did BJU for US history last year but we plan to use Guest Hollow when my son gets to US History in another year
How did you bind your books?
I have a Cinch binder that I got off Amazon. It allows me to make my own spiral bound notebooks. I did a BTS prep video just a few weeks ago where I show how it works
What was the name/link of the games you were taking about?
Seterra games- free online map quizzes. www.seterra.com
What machine do you use to bind your resources?
I have a Cinch that I purchased off Amazon. Worth the initial investment since I use it all the time in our homeschool now
If you are a parent that knows you will not do any of the activities bc I am not that parent, is it really worth it still to just get books and do the lessons/workbook? I saw this as a mom coming from Amblesideonline and now I'm more eclectic. Also, I'd have to purchase books because our library and outside libraries are no good. Also, I don't like having links to websites that I will have to organize between 3 boys. It means I have to email them to get it on their computers and I hate trying to put the link on the TV. With that being said..... would it really for someone like me? lol
The easiest way to give them the links would be simply to have the PDF version of the schedule accessible on whichever computer they’re using. All of the online textbook, RUclips, video, and websites links are live links in the PDF schedule. They just have to click on the title and it’ll take them right to it. Then you don’t have to worry about doing any organizing in advance (creating a playlist was just something that I decided to do). Even if you forgo the hands on activities such as the recipes and crafts they are still going to get a ton out of the daily reading and videos. This is also a great time of year to check out the GuestHollow Facebook page for this curriculum. As other families are wrapping up the program many of us resell the books once we’re done with them and you can usually get a great deal. In fact, I just got done selling the majority of the books that we used this year.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife Thats helpful, thank you!
Is it secular?
I would call it neutral. They do provide great guidance on the schedule letting parents know when topics are going to be discussed that you may wish to review first or skip over.