Questions Related to our Themed Programs

Journeys of Imagination – Early Beginners
Wonderful books for cuddling. Can be read by almost any age child. Wonderful gift books, too. Includes comprehension questions and special “imagination” questions.

I’m Ready to Learn – Early Beginners
Readiness activities to prepare early learners for a more formal school setting. Lots of active learning — alphabet and reading readiness skills, counting and early mathematics, art and creative opportunities.

Hideaways in History – K to 1st Grade
A one-year world history program. Children create hideaways for creative play and pretend opportunities. Active learning and additional workbooks complete this program.

Animals and Their Worlds – K to Early Elementary
Focus for younger set is on alphabetical skills and fine motor development. Activities are straightforward crafts or alphabetical fun & reinforcement. Focus for older is on learning behaviors & animal kingdoms. Activities encourage creating animal habitats and experiencing ecosystems.

Children Around the World – Early Elementary to Later Elementary
Younger children will focus more on the straightforward cultural experiences, while older students will get involved in projects that meet the needs of others around the world. Many family projects are included as part of Cultural Gatherings each week.

American Story 1 – Early Elementary
Activities involve quite a few paper crafts, and other more active experiences are available as well. This program extends well to a variety of ages.

American Story 2 – Elementary
This program has slightly more difficult activities and themes than American 1, and thus is more difficult to translate to young learners. Some of the activities are a little more abstract, less concrete than American 1. We recommend that student start this when they are entering second grade or older.

Adventures in the Sea and Sky – Middlers
Many paper crafts and other learning opportunities make this a great program for students 4th-7th grade. There are many crafts and projects to choose from, so this program can be tailored to an individual’s needs or interests quite easily, even when you are schooling several students.

American Crossing – Middlers
Many paper crafts and other learning opportunities make this a great program for students 4th-7th grade. There are many crafts and projects to choose from, so this program can be tailored to an individual’s needs or interests quite easily, even when you are schooling several students.

American Culture – Middlers
A variety of highly interactive learning opportunities will get your student hooked on the second half of American history. Opportunities include crafts, projects, research, web features, “try-it-for-yourself” fun and much more. A good variety from which to choose and tailor this program for your students.

Quest for the Ancient World 4/8 – Middlers
Students focus on activities in six major civilizations: Early man, Egypt, Israel, Mesopotamia/Babylonia/Assyria, Greece, Rome. Good cohesion between subjects and concrete activities allow for easier inclusion of 2nd and 3rd graders, if necessary. A focus on adventure allows students to drop into historical settings.

Quest for the Ancient World Sr. High – Senior High
Abstract activities relate well to the age group, but make it difficult to include younger students outside target age range. A focus on archaeological finds and skills provides a high-interest approach for older students.

Quest for the Middle Ages 4/8 – Middlers
Students learn about the more difficult major movements of this time period, rather than civilization focus: Roman domination, barbarian influence, the feudal system, rise of the nation, trade at sea, advances in technology, Renaissance & Reformation. These more abstract themes and the variety of nations/cultures discussed make inclusion of younger students more difficult than Ancients.

Quest for the Middle Ages Sr. High – Senior High
Same movements covered as in 4/8, but with a greater focus on their abstract effect on people and cultural development Focus on specific skill sets developed in art, architecture and technology. Abstract activities relate well to the age group, but make it difficult to include younger students outside the target age range.

Quest for the Royals and Revolution Jr/Sr – Jr/Senior High
Similar to Middle Ages Sr High. Major cultural movements will be studied that challenge the thinking of these older students and introduce belief systems that influenced the modern world.

The “Perfect” WinterPromise Sequence
We have included here what we call the “perfect” WinterPromise sequence, although for homeschool families, there’s usually no such thing. For one thing, most homeschool families have several students, and thus choosing an order for the programs they complete is linked closely to their mix of students. This “mix” of grades and abilities rarely results in the “perfect” anything, but for families wishing to know what an ideal sequence would look like, here it is!

This sequence is the “Customary Theme Order,” the one most parents prefer, as students can complete most of our
programs during their school years with this order. We’ve included suggestions below the list on how to create a
sequence for your family!

Customary Theme Order
This is our most popular theme “order.”

Journeys of Imagination with I’m Ready to Learn
Hideaways in History
Animal Worlds
American Story 1
American Story 2
Children Around the World
Adventures in the Sea and Sky
American Crossing
American Culture
Unreleased Future Program TBA
Quest for the Ancient World Sr High
Quest for the Middle Ages Sr High
Quest for Royals and Revolution
Quest for Modern Times (Future Release)

(If you’d rather repeat history in cycles, hit the “back” button, and click on “Can I Repeat History Themes in a Four-Year Cycle” for some great information. )

Creating a Sequence for Your Family

In deciding upon a sequence for your family, it is best to start with a program that is in-between your students’ ages and plan to adjust the program as needed for their ages. The programs are designed to be flexible in their appeal to different ages, and they can be made easier for younger students by not completing as many of the assignments or moving at a slower pace, perhaps even making the program last two years instead of one. On the other hand, the programs can be made more difficult by upping the level of performance on the assignments, adding extra reading, or requiring more of the assignments to be completed.

It is, generally, easier to add more to a program than to try to make a program easier — so if you are torn between two options, it may be better to go with the easier of the two choices. In other words, if you have a Pre-K 4-year old, a Kindergarten student, and a third grader, the best choice would probably be to go with Hideaways in History, and plan to make up your own reading list for your third grader with his language arts. You can always add more difficult assignments by taking the ideas in your guidebook and requiring more.

If you have a truly wide range of ages, you may need to purchase two separate basic programs. Here’s some tips to get you started thinking. American Story 1/2, American Crossing/Culture, and Royals & Revolution/Modern Times all take place during the same time period. Hideaways in History is a one-year history study as is Adventures in the Sea and Sky, and, Sea and Sky offers both a younger and older learner’s guide for more options.

You can get a lot of help an insight on what programs work for the ages of your family with our featured resource, “Which Program is Right for Us?” To reach this resource, click on the button by the same name on our home page. There’s a lot of information that will help you create a sequence that is “just right”!

What if I Want to Repeat
through Cycles of World History?
Many homeschoolers love the idea that they can cycle through history a few times during their student’s school years. For most, this translates as completing a four-year cycle three times.

We here at WP have “tweaked” this idea a little bit. Why? Well, first of all, while repeating through history three times may sound great the first time, we have found that it can feel a little predictable and repetitive by the time you reach the middle of the second rotation. Plus, your student is often introduced to the same material, just in greater quantities and difficulty. It also seems to dampen some of the joy of discovery in learning.

So, WP “tweaked” this idea a little to include the best of the idea (learning through repetition), but instead offered
repetition that looked at history from different vantage points. Like looking through a stained glass window, each “pane” (program) adds a different, and often unexpected, dimension to the material encountered. Some of our programs are a year of history at a glance, while others offer extended views. Take a look . . .

“World History in a Year” Programs
Hideaways in History looks at world history from a basic “get-acquainted” perspective, stopping in at various time periods to get a feel for the most important people, places and events in history. It’s a birds-eye view.

Children Around the World looks at the history of each of thirty countries, allowing students to see again and again the common human cycle of agricultural societies, development of cities and trade, medieval culture, revolutionary uprisings, and the transition to a modern state. While each student will not put it into these terms, this cycle becomes apparent, and lays a groundwork for understanding all of world history.

Adventures in the Sea and Sky looks at world history through the filter of transportation by sea and air. Key turning points in history have been determined by this topic, and civilizations have arisen and fallen based upon transportation’s use and development.

There will be one more future release of a “world history in a year” program for junior high students.

“World History by Period” Programs
We have several programs that take an up-close look at periods of history. Two of them, Ancient World and Middle Ages have several programs that take an up-close look at periods of history. Two of them, Ancient World and Middle Ages, are multi-level so they can be repeated twice or used with multiple ages. Here’s an overview.

American Story 1 focuses on the “story” of America from her birth to the troubles preceding the Civil War.
American Story 2 continues the story from the Civil War to modern times, from cowboys to computers.
Quest for the Ancient World goes to ancient places, discovering the cultures that still affect us today.
Quest for the Middle Ages takes the student through medieval times, the Renaissance and Reformation.
Quest for Royals & Revolution starts with the Age of Exploration and continues through the 1800’s.
Quest for Modern Times (a future release) will focus on the 1850’s to present events.
American Crossing again visits American history for older students, this time with a focus on geography and
government. American Crossing goes up to 1850.
American Culture completes the American Crossing for older students, with a special emphasis on the cultural
movements that have influenced modern America.

These “history by period” programs mean that a student can complete Quest for the Ancient World and Quest for the Middle Ages for Middlers (middle-grade version of each), then do two years of American history for the last two cycles. The student can then cycle through another four-year cycle, working through the Quest for the Ancient World and Quest for the Middle Ages Sr High (high school version of each), and then complete the cycle with Quest for Royals and Revolution and Quest for Modern Times.

Take a look below at the emphasis of each year of WinterPromise.

Repetitive History Cycle Order
For families desiring to prioritize a repetition of history cycles. We’ve delineated the historical period and emphasis to make the cycle clear.

PROGRAM HISTORICAL PERIOD EMPHASIS
Journeys of Imagination & I’m Ready to Learn — —
Hideaways in History One-Year World History People & Places
Animal Worlds — —
Children Around the World One-Year World History Country by Country
Adventures in the Sea and Sky One-Year World History Through Transportation
Quest for the Ancient World for Middlers Period 1 – World Beginnings to Rome Adventure Quest
Quest for the Middle Ages for Middlers Period 2 – Middle Ages to Renaissance Plunder Quest
American Story 1 or American Crossing Period 3 – Age of Exploration to 1850 American Achievement
American Story 2 or American Culture Period 4 – 1850 to Today American Culture
Unreleased Future Program TBA One-Year World History (Unreleased) —
Quest for the Ancient World Sr High Period 1 – World Beginnings to Rome Archaeology Quest
Quest for the Middle Ages Sr High Period 2 – Middle Ages to Renaissance Treasure Quest
Quest for Royals and Revolution Period 3 – Age of Exploration to 1850 Dominion Quest
Quest for Modern Times (Future Release) Period 4 – 1850 to Today Innovation Quest

Most themes include all the humanities subjects, such as history, culture, geography, social science, art, and religion. Bible studies are part of all themed programs. Students do learn a little about religions other than Christianity as part of their studies, as well, and discover a little about other philosophies and world views. Music is included in some themes more than others. To complete most themes, you’ll need to add language arts, mathematics, and science, as well as any electives appropriate to a student in high school and above.

Some of our programs cover topics that can be counted for credit as electives. An example would be our Quest for the Ancient World for Senior High, which includes a significant archaeological study. Depending on how much of the study a student completes, a parent can assign 1/4, 1/2, or 1 full credit on the student’s transcript. Other programs include other subjects like art or music that can be assigned similarly. These are credited classes you can get right at WP. However, most parents choose to add the study of a language and/or a musical instrument to a high school student’s schedule. WinterPromise does not offer these electives or other types of electives other than Advanced Chess for high school students. There are very reputable homeschool companies that specialize in bringing these type of specialized subjects to homeschool families.

Each of our language arts programs features schedules for all of the themed programs that are appropriate to the language arts level. That means that LA 3, for instance, has readers scheduled that coordinate with Early American, Later American (for use with American Story 1 or 2, or All-American 1 or 2), Animal Worlds, Children Around the World, and Adventure in the Sea and Sky. Each language arts program also features creative writing or creative expression assignments that coordinate with themed programs. It gives each theme a strong cross-curricular link to the coordinating language arts program.

We love to offer our package prices to our parents to help them purchase a great program with a great discount. We do, however, have to sell all the items in the package in order to honor the discount. Usually the discount outweighs the value of the resources you might already have. If not, you can choose items individually to build your program.