Notgrass History

Notgrass?

What is that? I homeschooled my girls for 18 years; I don’t remember hearing about this wonderful curriculum until I was through homeschooling and working at CHSRC.

The first time I was asked about Notgrass I wondered…What does it mean? Not green? Not vegetarian? Not what?

Turns out, Notgrass History has been around since 1999 and its name has nothing to do with pastures or livestock. This wonderful curriculum was created by fellow homeschool parents Ray and Charlene Notgrass.

Aiming to learn more about Notgrass History, I interviewed my friend Dennisse Moreno. The Moreno family has two boys; one in 5th grade and one in 7th grade. This year they are using America the Beautiful (5th-8th grade curriculum.)

America the Beautiful covers from the year 1000 to the present. It includes a two part textbook, We the People primary source text, answer key and literature guide, timeline, and maps. All of the books pair up nicely with each lesson. For example, in the We the People primary source text, the kids can read the wealth of letters, founding documents, speeches, songs, poems, stories, memoirs, and articles that are referenced in the lessons. Your family will have these original documents at your fingertips. Notgrass History has Dennisse and her husband excited to learn about history themselves!

The Morenos love that their children can work independently. The boys are excited to study Native American history this year! Dennisse proudly mentioned that the curriculum doesn’t water down difficult events but teaches them at age appropriate levels. “It is a perfect balance of information.” Dennisse LOVES that Notgrass History does not include long word banks and large amounts of useless information that made curriculum, they had previously used, feel overwhelming and unfriendly. Notgrass History is very adaptable, “you can make it your own, it isn’t fussy,” she tells me.

Notgrass History curriculum fits in the rigorous schedule of the Moreno family as it is well organized and easy to follow. She tells me the subjects are covered well; the font is a nice size with a lot of beautiful photography in each page. I agree, these are gorgeous books!

This family purchased the optional Lesson Review and Student Workbooks. They also LOVE the family activities which are included in each unit. It makes learning more fun by including the whole family...even Dad!

Notgrass History incorporates Bible lessons in each unit. Dennisse feels it is very well balanced: “It ties it in, it makes sense. It puts God at the center.”

One might think that looking at maps can be boring...but NOT, with Notgrass History! Dennisse was getting goose bumps, and giving them to me, as she excitedly shared that she feels her boys are learning naturally, not forced. For example, the kids are mesmerized learning where and how people groups lived, the animals they had, the terrain, the type of food, etc. “It ties the history together, making it really alive!”

Notgrass History is a great value because not only does it include lessons on History and the Bible, you also receive a list of carefully chosen literature to go along with these lessons. Though not required, they add greatly to the student's understanding and enjoyment of learning about America. This curriculum allows the Moreno family the flexibility to pick and choose when to incorporate the extra subjects. Of course, this also means that a high school student can earn THREE high school credits by using this ONE curriculum.

CHSRC eagerly became a distributor of Notgrass History in 2017. Since then it has been a wonderful addition to the large selection of new homeschooling curriculum we offer. If you are interested in Notgrass History, please come visit us and see first-hand how interesting and beautiful this curriculum is!

Thank you Dennisse for sharing about your experience with Notgrass!