FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT DOES ST. IRENE PRESS PUBLISH?

St. Irene Press has released three study guide/workbooks. In 2019, A Workbook and Study Guide to A Child's History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer was released. In late 2022, A Workbook and Study Guide to A Story of the Greeks was released. In the summer of 2024, St. Irene Press released a Morning Time curriculum for Orthodox Christians. These are for sale on Etsy. For now, most of the FAQs below are for the workbook to A Child's History of the World. There is a separate area on the website dedicates to the Orthodox Christian Morning Time curriculum.

CAN'T I JUST READ THE BOOK ALOUD? WHY SHOULD I PURCHASE THE WORKBOOK?

It is true that some people can get a lot out of A Child's History of the World without a workbook. Learning challenges aside, writing down key words and facts can help a child retain information better as well as focus the learning session on key facts. Some families do not want to do oral narration for all subjects, some children are early readers and want to work independently, and sometimes mothers have work-from-home jobs or multiple children learning different things at the same time. There are so many reasons why having a workbook is helpful!

HOW DID YOU USE THIS BOOK?

I used this book with a very hyperactive boy who had hyperlexia, and needed high amounts of information input. When the school year started, I would try to read the chapter with my son out loud and do each question with him, even writing down the answers for him in the "Writing With Ease" style, but sometimes he would do much of it by himself. By the middle of the year, he was mostly writing the answers with his own hand.

WHAT IS THE COST IF PURCHASING FOR A CO-OP OR CLASSROOM?

If you are purchasing for a co-op or classroom, you can purchase the curriculum directly from me at a reduced price. In fact, really anyone can email me directly to purchase the curriculum at a reduced price of $15.00, because sites like Lulu.com take a fee. The transaction will occur directly through PayPal. If you have a PayPal linked bank account, this transaction should be free. If you are purchasing the curriculum for 10 or more students, the cost is $10 per student.

CAN THE A CHILD'S HISTORY OF THE WORLD WORKBOOK SERVE AS A COMPLETE CURRICULUM?

Yes, it can! I know there are a lot of fancy curriculums out there that provide book lists and craft ideas, but those are usually pricey and unnecessary. I know I have purchased "book list" curriculum only to find that I have wasted my money and am perfectly content with whatever books I find at my local library. (Yes, there are some exceptions of unique books, but for the most part). We especially love the "You Wouldn't Want to Be" series at our house. So, I think, the best thing to do is to check out books every two to four weeks at the library covering the topics you want to explore more! And really, who has time for a history craft every week?! (If you do, that's great!) If not, when you get to a chapter that sounds like it would work for a craft and you have the time, there are many ideas online. This way, you aren't paying for things that you won't do or might make you feel overwhelmed with many other things to do as a parent.

WHAT VERSION OF A CHILD'S HISTORY OF THE WORLD DID YOU USE WHEN MAKING THIS WORKBOOK?

The edition that I used has a 1997 Copyright, and is the 1994 revision by Calvert Education Services, though I can't imagine it would be too difficult to use another version. There may be a few questions you need to skip if you use another version. (If you find a question that needs to be skipped using another version, please let me know!)

I AM PROTESTANT, ROMAN CATHOLIC, OR ANOTHER FAITH, WILL I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THIS CURRICULUM?

Yes, you should feel very comfortable. If you are comfortable using Hillyer's book, then you should be comfortable with the workbook. There are Bible references on some of the worksheets that I felt were relevant to certain historical happenings. Orthodox Christianity, in particular, was not a big focus of Hillyer's book and so it is not a big focus of the workbook. I may release some curriculum related to Orthodox Christianity someday and it will be very clear in the title and description.

Chapter 89 is the only chapter that contains significant information related to Orthodox Christianity because, due to the difficulty of getting accurate information related to early 1900s Russia in his day, Hillyer had some incorrect information on Tsar Nicholas. To supplement this chapter, I provide some links to and quotes from additional information sources. The tone of the information is "supplemental historical information" and I do not think even this will make most people uncomfortable. There are also a few other notes correcting some of Hillyer's information since he seemed to not know the Orthodox Christian Church existed, which was common in the United States at Hillyer's time. (For example, somewhere he states that all Christians were under the Roman pope, which is not true).

Also, if you are already interested in Hillyer's book, you probably know that many people skip the first few chapters on how the world was started because it does not line up with the Biblical account of creation. (The workbook does not include worksheets on these chapters since we skipped them.)

THIS IS CALLED ST. IRENE PRESS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

St. Irene Chrysovalantou is an saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. I am a traditional Orthodox Christian. Many endeavors of Orthodox Christians are dedicated to or named after Saints.