A Thorough History Education That Won’t Bleed Your Children of Their Patriotic Spirit

As a history buff and homeschool mom, I’m often asked for history education recommendations that aren’t anti‑American or anti‑Western. There are plenty of engaging, age‑appropriate history texts and curricula for elementary students—resources that won’t indoctrinate your child against their own nation—such as Tuttle Twins, Story of the World, and The Good and the Beautiful. But many parents struggle to find solid options for their high school–aged homeschoolers. This post is for them.

A strong history education starts with high‑quality history texts. The key to giving your teen a thorough understanding of history is choosing the right book. Then, turn that text into a full course by adding family discussions, projects, and writing activities. To make their learning truly meaningful, choose to learn alongside your kids—read or listen to the same books, or read them together. Talk about what you’re learning during breakfast, while cooking dinner, or even while running errands. Encourage your teen to pick historical events, people, or stories that interest them most, and build projects and writing assignments around those choices. Go beyond reports and essays—try slide presentations, creative writing, or hands‑on history projects with visual elements. Inspire your student’s creativity by helping them explore engaging, personal ways to learn.

So what are the texts and resources do I recommend?

World History:

My favorite texts for high-school world history are: Susan Wise Bowers college level world history texts — a three volume book series.

The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade

The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople

For US history:

My favorite and most reliable history texts that won’t bleed your child of their love of country, and still give you thorough US history is “A Patriots History of the United States.” This author also has published a “Patriot History Reader,” which is a great way to expand the course.

A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to America's Age of Entitlement, Revised Edition

The Patriot's History Reader: Essential Documents for Every American

The authors of the patriot history book do have a curriculum support website.

If you have a student who loves history, you can continue a thorough history education with the book “A Patriot’s History of the Modern World.” This comes in two volumes.

A Patriot's History® of the Modern World, Vol. I: From America’s Exceptional Ascent to the Atomic Bomb: 1898-1945

Patriot's History® of the Modern World, Vol. II: From the Cold War to the Age of Entitlement, 1945-2012

If you’re looking for something that’s more audiovisual, I highly recommend Peterson Academy courses, there are a ton of history courses in the online course catalog. You have to look at them as micro units and group them together to create semester credit courses. There are the lectures, a quiz for every lecture, and the final exam. Each course has a list of suggested reading from awesome book selections. I added to all of that writing assignments.

Peterson Academy has fantastic courses in many subject areas for a yearly subscription fee that is worth the quality.