Classical History (Veritas Press Review)

For years, Veritas Press has been known in the homeschool community for their classical Christian education approach. The company grew out of their founder’s own pursuit of an educational model which would weave together what is contained in history books with the Bible. Veritas Press History and Bible Flashcards were the first product produced with the goal of helping children learn history in a timeline fashion. Since those early days, Veritas Press has grown to provide complete learning options from kindergarten through high school.

Veritas Press has entered the world of online learning with self-paced and live online courses. For this review, the Crew is focusing on the some of the self-paced courses now offered: Veritas Press Self-Paced Omnibus I and Veritas Press Self-Paced History. Both are online options with Omnibus I being geared for grades 7 (or age 12) and up and the History made for students in grades 2 through 6.

Omnibus is a Latin term meaning “all encompassing.” Omnibus I combines the disciplines of history, theology and literature with it all being taught through a biblical, Christian worldview. The course is taught by Bruce Etter and a variety of experts on the subject area being presented. The student works through the course at their own pace as the video lessons lead them through the study with an emphasis on ideas rather than information. Beyond presentations by the experts, there are activities woven into the program which help to bring the ideas to life. What they are learning is assessed through online quizzes with the program keeping track of their scores.

The online course includes the Omnibus 1 textbook in pdf format with each lesson provided as needed. Additional resources (literature selections) are required for completion of the course.

For the older elementary into middle school years, Vertias Press now offers self-paced history courses. Each of the self-paced history courses has 160 class periods covering 32 important historical events. The classes offer interactive teaching which includes clever games, engaging video footage, and even a talking historic character so that your child will be motivated and engaged throughout the entire year. Memorization of important events and people is part of the course expectation and the method used to lay a foundation for a more in-depth study in later years. The course has optional reading selections suggested, but not needed to complete the class.

The courses available include:

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: New Testament, Greece and Rome

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Explorers to 1815

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: 1815 to Present