MOH = The Mystery of History ~ Crazy JC Girl

In middle school, I’ve been using The Mystery of History series by Linda Lacour Hobar for my study of World History. It’s awesome!

I prefer this series since I read the history all on my own now, and it’s like Ms. Hobar is talking to me. I love this lady, and can’t wait to meet her someday! I like the MOH series because Ms. Hobar puts the difficult stuff into simple, understandable language and frequently jokes. I really enjoy her writing style.

You’ll want to get the latest edition of the books, since they changed the format. The 3-ring-punched older edition had the lessons followed by questions and activities for each week, sorted by age. Somewhere along the way, we received a hard-back colorized book containing the lessons (the part that you read) with all of the other resources now available online. Here is what is printed in the front of my book, along with codes to get into the site:

“The reproducible resources of the Companion Guide, written also by Linda Hobar, contain familiar and popular components of The Mystery of History series: pretests; hands-on activities and research projects for younger, middle, and older students; memory card ideas; bi-weekly quizzes and exercises; timeline helps; maps; supplemental book lists; and more.”

I love the new format. It’s easier for me just to turn to the next lesson by using a bookmark. Plus the book is smaller than the old, gigantic binder. Easier for car trips too. My mom downloads & prints any extra work or assignments she may want me to do like mapwork, Q&As, or projects. I don’t take the tests since my mom verbally quizzes me.

This series is broken into 4 different time frames. Most families do 1 book each year, creating a 4-year cycle of history. I understand that some older high school kids can actually do several books in a year. This is a Christian based, young-earth series.

We really have enjoyed using these books. We did not use these during her elementary years. Needing to change things up since we get bored easily, Crazy JC Girl started using MOH in 6th grade. That first year we were able to really focus on studying the Old Testament. It’s amazing how much we both learned by putting the OT alongside historical events – it really is eye-opening.

Since MOH2 was only 28 weeks in length, Crazy JC Girl went ahead and started MOH3 (the first 8 chapters) in 7th grade to finish out the year. In fact, in her 8th grade year, we have decided to finish both MOH3 & MOH4 by eliminating a few days/topics (that I know we have covered heavily in her elementary years…such as Jamestown, Pocahontas, etc) & by adding a 4th day of history for the majority of the weeks. Also, I no longer assign mapwork every week like we did back in MOH1 & MOH2. Now, Mapwork is only assigned when I think it clarifies war tactics or political motives.

For future reference, we’re starting several MOH lists with any corresponding field trips, book reviews, & ideas. Hopefully, we’ll update these lists throughout the future. Although you can use these books with any age level, I’d probably recommend these for upper elementary (4th & 5th) & middle school grades (6th-8th) as the target audience. I hope this helps you with your planning.

MOH1 List = The Mystery of History – Volume I: Creation to the Resurrection (4004 B.C. – 33 A.D.)

MOH2 List = The Mystery of History – Volume II: The Early Church and the Middle Ages (c. 29 A.D. – 1456)

MOH3 List = The Mystery of History – Volume III: Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations (1455-1707)

MOH4 List = The Mystery of History – Volume IV: Wars of Independence to Modern Times (1708 – now)