History Odyssey is a classical history curriculum that uses engaging narrative histories and literature to teach world history. It follows the Trivium structure, making it suitable for different learning stages.
Classical education has seen a surge in popularity, with the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) reporting a 25% increase in member schools between 2020 and 2024 and growing adoption among homeschool families. Research from the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) shows that homeschooled students typically score 15 to 25 percentile points higher than public school students on standardized academic achievement tests.
What is History Odyssey?
History Odyssey is a fun and engaging history curriculum from Pandia Press. Instead of using boring textbooks, it teaches world history through living books. These are interesting narratives and literature from each time period. The curriculum follows the classical education model called the Trivium, which has three levels for grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages. Students explore four time periods — Ancients, Middle Ages, Early Modern, and Modern Times — at deeper levels as they learn.
How it works
With History Odyssey, you get weekly lesson plans. These include readings from living books (which you’ll need to buy separately), map work, writing tasks, and project ideas. Instead of tests, students create a year-long portfolio. The program links history with language arts through writing and geography through map activities. Levels Two and Three are written directly for students, allowing them to work more independently. Level One needs more parent involvement. Each time period has levels available, like Ancients Level 1 and Ancients Level 2.
Considerations before choosing
Before diving in, keep in mind that History Odyssey requires buying several books beyond the guide. Some books might be out of print, so sourcing used copies can take some time. The curriculum also expects families to manage their own writing lessons, as it doesn’t provide detailed writing guidance. If you have multiple kids at different levels, it can be tough to juggle. You can try a free 3-week trial to see if it fits your family’s needs. If you want more complete writing instruction with history, you might find other options better.
The bottom line
History Odyssey is highly rated as a solid secular choice for classical history education. The living books approach makes learning history enjoyable. Its Trivium-based structure helps develop real historical thinking over time. Families who prefer a classical model with secular content will probably love it. Just remember to budget for book purchases, plan for extra writing instruction, and use the free trial to see if it works for your family.
