TAN Books to Release History Series Told Through the Faithful Prism of the Church

Last summer, TAN Books launched their newest division, TAN Homeschool. To christen the new division, they released their groundbreaking Bible history series titled, The Story of the Bible. This summer, they follow that up with their world history series, The Story of Civilization: Volume I – From the Dawn of History to the Conversion of Constantine. Finally, a fun and engaging world history curriculum told through the faithful prism of the Catholic Church!

Like The Story of the Bible, this new series uses the “schoolhouse model,” so that kids of all ages (K-8^th Grade) can engage with the content. How old the child is determines which products he or she uses.

The Text Book serves as the nucleus of the series, and it is written so that older students (5^th -8^th Grade) can read on their own. The Text is written in a fast-paced, narrative format, using the medium of a story to teach students about ancient civilizations. Within each chapter, children will encounter short stories that place them directly in the shoes of historical figures, both famous and ordinary, as they live through legendary battles and invasions, philosophical debates, the construction of architectural wonders, the discovery of new inventions and sciences, and the exploration of the world. To enhance the Text, there are over 75 illustrations and maps.

The younger children can engage with the Text by having their parents read it aloud, or by listening to the Audio Dramatization, which is an exact reading of the text, but enhanced by voice acting, music, and sound effects.  Even the older kids can enjoy the Dramatization, especially ones who are not avid readers, or who have a reading disability.

After engaging with the Text in these various ways, all ages of students can watch the streaming Video Lecture Series, where author Phillip Campbell walks the children through each chapter, reviewing the content and deepening their understanding.  Fun quiz and trivia games conclude each of the 35 videos, so that kids can test their knowledge.

After watching the videos, older students (5^th -8^th grade) can turn to the Test Book to check their comprehension, while the younger students (K- 4^th grade) can do the Activity Book with their parents. The Teacher’s Manual is paired with the Activity Book and acts as a companion for parents making their way through all the activities, which include oral exercises, arts and crafts, mazes, puzzles, word searches, recipes, science experiments, and more.

Last, there is the Timeline Map, a 36 x 18 inch poster that depicts the chronology of the Ancient World. With over 75 events and people displayed,  and 40 illustrations, this supplemental piece will help students keep all they read in the text book straight. Just like the videos, there is a quiz and trivia component, with fun questions on the back to test their knowledge. Any parent who gets the complete set will get the Timeline Map for free!

The Story of Civilization will be a welcomed sight to parents who often have to muddle through outdated, cumbersome, and archaic history texts with their young children, or explain away the problems of texts that take liberties with history and paint the Church in a negative light. With the schoolhouse model, an entire family of many children can all sit down and be doing the exact same thing, with the older kids even helping teach the younger kids. This is a series truly made for the Catholic homeschooling family.

To learn more and read, watch, and listen to samples, please visit TAN Books.

About the author: Phillip Campbell holds a BA in European history from Ave Maria University and a license in secondary education from Madonna University. He teaches middle school history and Sacred Scripture for the St. Augustine Homeschool Enrichment Program as well as high school history for Homeschool Connections. Mr. Campbell is the editor of The Complete Works of St. Cyprian of Carthage (Arx Publishing) and has self-published several books through his website, Cruachan Hill Press. His writings have also appeared in such publications as the St. Austin Review and The Distributist Review.

Mr. Campbell served as the mayor of his hometown of Howell, Michigan, from 2011 to 2015 (the youngest to ever hold the office). Mr. Campbell and his wife reside in southeast Michigan, where they homeschool their five children. He is a regular speaker at homeschool conferences around the United States.