Jump to content

Menu

Looking for suggestion on learning ancient civilizations


Recommended Posts

My DD is 8 and I am thinking of learning ancient civilization with her for the next few monthes.

 

The problem is I do not know where to start. I ordered a few DK books on civilization from library. But to me, history should be learned with geography, videos, and hands on projects.

 

I remember when DD was young, we learned early explorers using a sticker book, maps and a more detailed book for myself. I introduced each explorer by telling a story, pointing out on the map, and DD played with the sticker book after. It was a wonderful activity that lasted almost a month.

 

Is there a way to make the learning acient civilization really attractive for 8yrs old?

Edited by Honeybunch
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the WTM boards! :)

 

Sounds like you are looking for: Story of the World vol. 1 plus the matching Activity Guide, and then add in a few videos and sticker books or fun items from Rainbow Resource. :)

 

videos

- David Macauley videos:

,

- Schlessinger Media: Ancient Civilizations for Children video series

 

hands-on activities

- Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors (Broida)

- Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Greece and Rome (Carlson)

- Ancient Greece! 40 Hands-On Activities (Hart)

- Ancient Rome!  (Hart)

 

sticker books

- Sticker History: Ancient Eyptians; Ancient Greeks; Ancient Romans

- Usborne Sticker Book: Ancient Egypt; Ancient GreeceAncient Rome

- DK Ultimate Sticker Book: Ancient Rome

 

Ancient Civilizations Wall Maps

 

 

Also, I'd look in your library for the tons of great books on the ancients for kids of that age -- myths, non-fiction, historical fiction, stepped reader books... And there are quite a few history-based "living book" based homeschool programs that have great booklists. A few ideas to start you off:

 

- Gilgamesh the King (Zeman)

- Archeologists Dig for Clues (Duke)

- Mummies Made in Egypt (Avi)

- Temple Cat (Clements)

- Tut's Mummy Lost and Found (Donnelly)

- Pepi and the Secret Names (Paton)

- Cleoopatra (Stanley)

- Aesop for Children (Winter)

- The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Lasky)

- Trojan Horse (Little)

- Fun With Roman Numerals (Adler)

- Romulus and Remus (Rockwell)

- Pompeii: Lost and Found (Osborne)

- One Grain of Rice (Demi)

- The Great Wall of China (Fisher)

Edited by Lori D.
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In regards to Ancient Egypt, we have a hieroglyphics activity book & a maze book (Dover). "Girls Who Rocked the World' audio CD has an interesting bio of Cleopatra. You can also buy papyrus parchment or even attempt to make some paper. Safari Toob has ancient Egypt-themed figurines. Plus there are inexpensive ($10-12) excavation kits of pharoahs' tombs. CubicFun has an a 3-D puzzle of Egypt relics (Sphinx, etc.). Can you make a field trip to a local museum with an Egyptian exhibit? Used in tandem with decent books & videos, these things can help round out a unit on ancient Egypt.

Edited by Earthmerlin
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the WTM boards! :)

 

Sounds like you are looking for: Story of the World vol. 1 plus the matching Activity Guide, and then add in a few videos and sticker books or fun items from Rainbow Resource. :)

 

videos

- David Macauley videos: Pyramid, Roman City

- Schlessinger Media: Ancient Civilizations for Children video series

 

hands-on activities

- Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors (Broida)

- Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Greece and Rome (Carlson)

- Ancient Greece! 40 Hands-On Activities (Hart)

- Ancient Rome! (Hart)

 

sticker books

- Sticker History: Ancient Eyptians; Ancient Greeks; Ancient Romans

- Usborne Sticker Book: Ancient Egypt; Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome

- DK Ultimate Sticker Book: Ancient Rome

 

Ancient Civilizations Wall Maps

 

 

Also, I'd look in your library for the tons of great books on the ancients for kids of that age -- myths, non-fiction, historical fiction, stepped reader books... And there are quite a few history-based "living book" based homeschool programs that have great booklists. A few ideas to start you off:

 

- Gilgamesh the King (Zeman)

- Archeologists Dig for Clues (Duke)

- Mummies Made in Egypt (Avi)

- Temple Cat (Clements)

- Tut's Mummy Lost and Found (Donnelly)

- Pepi and the Secret Names (Paton)

- Cleoopatra (Stanley)

- Aesop for Children (Winter)

- The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Lasky)

- Trojan Horse (Little)

- Fun With Roman Numerals (Adler)

- Romulus and Remus (Rockwell)

- Pompeii: Lost and Found (Osborne)

- One Grain of Rice (Demi)

- The Great Wall of China (Fisher)

I like your books on ancient Rome! I will need to bookmark them for when we study it. What about Shakespeare's Julius Caesar? I'm always looking to add in classic lit when possible.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the detailed list!

 

I did the sticker book activities when my DD was 4-5, and she loved it. I will try it again to see if she is still interested. and we also made a mummy using play dough and paper tissue, which is a ton's of fun. I will try out the books you recommend, thanks!

 

We always, or try to learn different subjects together, for example, history, geography, science and art all mixed together. Is there anyone have experience on this, not limited to acient civilization?

 

Another question is I encourage DD to learn on her own, same for me. Is there a good resource for self learning with minimal teaching? I am looking into Teded right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the detailed list!

 

I did the sticker book activities when my DD was 4-5, and she loved it. I will try it again to see if she is still interested. and we also made a mummy using play dough and paper tissue, which is a ton's of fun. I will try out the books you recommend, thanks!

 

We always, or try to learn different subjects together, for example, history, geography, science and art all mixed together. Is there anyone have experience on this, not limited to acient civilization?

 

Another question is I encourage DD to learn on her own, same for me. Is there a good resource for self learning with minimal teaching? I am looking into Teded right now.

 

We do this.  I have two of the Artistic Pursuits K-3 guides, and learning about art through the ages is part of their plan.  We pair those with SOTW and add in a story of science/inventions.  We add in math where applicable, too, by learning about different ways to count (I have an ebook we've been going through that is the story of numbers) and covering basic concepts that were being developed at the time, like geometry. 

The activity guides for SOTW are invaluable.  I'm not going to lie.  The geography portion is in there, as well as art/craft projects, games, and various other actvities.  But I would not encourage an 8yo to learn on her own as the bulk of a study.  We have a book basket, and I strew ideas around the house, but my 7yo needs and should have a human component to his study to bounce ideas off of and discuss concepts.  He should have someone there to guide.

 

I would encourage, on your part, to read the Well Trained Mind along with a few other philosophy based books to see what resonates with you, and then look for long term users of that method for support.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We always, or try to learn different subjects together, for example, history, geography, science and art all mixed together. Is there anyone have experience on this, not limited to acient civilization?

 

 

Combining all subjects around a common theme is a unit study. Konos is the oldest and perhaps the best-known unit study company, with unit studies around a variety of topics, but you can always do an online search for your topic of interest with the words "______ unit study" -- and fill in the blank with what topic you are interested in. (Examples: "birds unit study", "ballet unit study").

 

Another question is I encourage DD to learn on her own, same for me. Is there a good resource for self learning with minimal teaching? I am looking into Teded right now.

 

That sounds a bit like child-directed or child-led homschooling, or possibly the unschooling philosophy of self-education. You might look into some websites or resources on those topics for more support of ideas and materials.

 

Probably more formal/structured than what you are looking for, but there are computer-based homeschooling programs that are designed to be largely done solo by the student. (Switched On Schoolhouse, for example) Some even have self-grading options. Another option is to use an online course provider (Time 4 Learning, for example).

 

You may also have more success by posting individual threads about the topic of special interest. For example, awhile back, someone on these boards had a student who was interested in materials for learning about Equine Science (horse science), and received a lot of responses with ideas for resources specifically on that topic.

 

Since I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, below are just a few random links to get you started. BEST of luck to you and DD in your self-education journeys! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Ideas for self-study for students:

BrainPOP -- educational videos for a monthly fee

Ducksters -- online short encyclopedia-like articles; free

"10 Best Educational Websites for Kids" -- list from Parenting magazine online

"20 Best Free Educational Websites for Kids" -- list from The Spruce website

DIY website

Code Academy

"Terrific Websites for Science" -- list from Common Sense website

Khan Academy

 

A few ideas for adults:

Teaching Company Great Courses -- lecture series on audio or video, often available at libraries

free Coursera

free college courses through Open Source providers

various free and for-a-few streaming classes and podcasts on all kinds of topics -- do internet searches on your topic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you, lori and HomeAgain!

 

One more question for the activity book for the SOTW: does it mostly contain questions and a coloring paper for each chapter? If that is the case, it is not what I am looking for. The other hand on books might be better.

 

No.  It's set up in two halves:

 

Teacher side: sample questions and narration for each section, mapwork, projects (for example, this week we did Ch. 6, The Rise Of Islam.  Projects listed include an edible oasis, making a pilgrimage, creating a tile, and a 3D 'Five Pillars Of Islam"), and additional non-fiction suggestions to supplement, along with literature suggestions.

 

Student side: maps, any activity sheets listed in the projects like games, coloring pages, and review cards. 

 

The student side is consumable, the teacher side is not.  I end up buying the pdf of the student pages to make printing easy but my large activity book is a well worn resource here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like your books on ancient Rome! I will need to bookmark them for when we study it. What about Shakespeare's Julius Caesar? I'm always looking to add in classic lit when possible.

 

Mr. Donn's website has lots of History links and ideas. Here's the page to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar for Kids.

 

A few other possibilities:

Tales from Shakespeare (Williams) -- comic strip style retellings of 8 plays, including Julius Caesar

How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare (Ludwig) -- general resource

Shakespeare Graphics: Julius Caesar (Garcia) -- Kindle; graphic novel -- NO personal experience

 

 

I find a lot of great books by looking at chronological History homeschool curriculum provider book lists, so living-book based companies such as:

 

Pandia Press: History Odyssey

Tapestry of Grace

Veritas Press

Biblioplan

Sonlight

 

If I am remembering correctly, I believe you prefer secular materials? While most of these companies are Christian, they all use many secular books, and you can browse for titles that also are at your library this way. :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...