Disclaimer~ I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I never took an economics course in high school or college, so I never had a firm grasp on the subjects. I knew I wanted my kids to have a much better understanding than I did. I was thrilled when we were chosen to be part of the review crew for the Economics Online Course Bundle from Boundary Stone.

Boundary Stone is a company whose goal is to teach life principles through history. They provide resources for high schools, colleges, homeschoolers, and anyone else with a quest to learn about our government and the importance of economics. They offer courses in economics, government, and history.

The Economics course bundle includes:

Basic Economics 4th Edition Textbook

Student Access to Online Course

Student Access to Online Budget Mini-course

*Two other resources are required: The Law of Frederic Bastiat and Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Maybury

Access to the online portions is for 12 months. This access is for only one student. If multiple students would need access, a second account would need to be purchased.

The Basic Economics course will cover the basic principles of economics. It will cover different types of politico-economic systems that have existed in the past and exist today. The course strives to provide students with the knowledge on how to apply economic principles to their daily life. The authors offer students an economic and historical view to get these principles across. This course is a thinking course and is heavy in history. This is not a water-downed economics course.

So, What is the Economics Online Course Bundle?

The Economics Online Course is completely self-paced. It is a complete curriculum that students can work though on their own. The course is designed to take students through the textbook in a semester. I did read that they recommend the student taking the American Government course first. It will help with understanding certain information provided in this course. Students will work through daily online lessons. The lessons will include YouTube videos to teach important points, readings from the textbooks, study guide assignments included with the textbook, online review lessons, chapter quizzes completed online, and 4 online tests. The course does include a teacher's manual with print versions of the quizzes and tests, and an answer key.

The Basic Economics course in broken up into four units. Each unit is broken up into multiple modules. The modules are then broken up into various lessons.

What Did We Think of the Economics Online Course Bundle?

First off, it is a lot of information. When we first logged in, it can seem a little confusing. There are a multiple tabs and the layout seemed a little crowded. You definitely have to allow time for getting use to the set-up. Once you figure everything out, you are good to go. Boundary Stone has everything planned out for you. All the readings, assignments, and activities are scheduled out for you. This is a HUGE time saver for us busy moms!

The textbook was a durable, hardback. It contains a thorough table of contents. At the back of the book, students will find a glossary of terms and an index for quick lookups. The books pages are sturdy, glossy, and black and white. There is no color in the book. It is a little drab and boring to the eye. The book contains over 400 pages of plain old text.

When Michael first opened the textbook, he immediately stated that this was going to be a boring book to read. I think he felt the constant black and white type was a little daunting. Therese, who is an avid reader, was not overly concerned with all the text.

I would have to agree with Michael. It reminded me of those boring, college textbooks that would make me fall asleep when I was reading them. The textbook has no colored pictures or graphs. Honestly, I only found 3 black and white graphs while flipping through the book. I think some color and few more graphs would be helpful, especially to a more visual learner.

Both kids liked the gray highlight boxes of important notes. The chapters also had the vocabulary noted on the side along with their definitions. This is extremely helpful.

So, the textbook was not a hit, but the actual online lessons were. The video lessons were engaging and provided students with fantastic explanations on the topic. The study guide was extremely thorough and offered students will some amazing discussion questions for follow-up.

This would be a great course for high schoolers. The American Government course and the Economics course would make for a fantastic year of learning.

Learn more about Boundary Stone

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Learn more about the Economics Online Course Bundle

Click the link below