Which Style History Timeline do You Like Best

[AK_Homesteaders]

We're using Truth Quest American History (living books throughout the year) and are planning to make a history timeline, but I'm not sure which kind would be best for my boys (early elementary). I would love to hear how some of you have done this. We don't have near enough space on any wall in our cabin for that style. I could make a little room on one wall in the living room maybe 36", but that about it (our cabin is quite small). I was thinking of either making a Book of Centuries (BOC), and/or making a fan-fold timeline with card stock or something a little heavier.

 

I love the idea of a BOC, but for little ones I'm not sure they would "get the picture" well enough by having it in pages. I wonder if having a more hands-on visual such as a fan-fold timeline that they pull out might be better for them (but maybe not???). On the Fan-Fold, I was thinking that maybe we could sort of break it up into manageable sections ---- Maybe one section for Explorers, then one for the Colonial period, etc. But we'd probably make it so that each section could be placed in a large binder to keep everything together. I was thinking that the binder could also hold any notebooking pages, lapbooks or other projects.

 

Suggestions please. :bigear:

 

Thank you! :)

[PenKase]

I'm gathering my resources to begin STOW with my both my dd. I was searching the web for samples of timelines when I came across this idea for a Sentence Strip Timeline. I knew I wasn't going to tape anything to my wall and since we live in a smallish house with lots of windows, I knew from the get go that option was out anyway. I just about screamed out loud at how fabulous and simple the sentence strip idea was! I knew I didn't want a BOC because when I tried with dd10 (9 at the time), this format & style was lost on her. With the sentence strips, they'll be able to see (and therefore better understand, I hope) the linear progression of time. I just so happened to have a package of these plain white sentence strips on hand that I got from Lakeshore and assembled a few of them right away, accordion style to try it out. It looks fabulous and took no time at all! I used the back side of the strips which already have a line going across the top. Instant timeline and pretty cheap!!! I'm planning to have separate timelines for each time period, 4 in total, to try and keep the bulk down.

 

HTH

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you. That's basically what I was talking about with the "fan-fold" thing, only I was thinking of doing it with 8 1/2" x 11" card stock like this quote here from the link you gave above:

KPzz in Nebraska does something similar with cardstock. She says, "I tape together pieces of card stock with clear packing tape on the back. The timeline stretches out across the floor whenever we want the "Big Picture," but it also page-turns like a book most of the time. And best of all, it folds up and sits on the shelf just like any other 8.5 x 11-inch book.

 

Any other suggestions?

:lurk5:

[Stellalarella]

thanksk! I needed this idea, too.

[AK_Homesteaders]

:lurk5: Any other ideas? What have you done for timelines with the younger ones? :bigear:

[Guest MidsummerNight]

We use add-a-century timeline. We plan on keeping it for years. Love it!

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you. That looks nice. I'm already planning to use Homeschool In The Woods for the timeline figures (so much easier than searching online and downloading them). Just trying to figure out how to put it together. It looks like the fan-fold timeline that can be spread out works pretty well for many people.

[Hannah]

We have a wall timeline.

 

I've given up on trying to upload a picture, but there's an old one in the file section of this yahoo group. You'll also find templates and pictures for a timeline at this link.

 

Just wanted to add that a wall timeline doesn't have to take up a huge amount of space. You can do it in a thin strip from floor to the ceiling too. One of our friends has theirs in their bathroom (makes for interesting reading!) and the other has one on her daughter's built in closet doors.

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you very much! I just joined and will spend some time there later today. Looks good!

[MerryAtHope]

If you want some guidance on how much space to use, there are some good ideas in this article by Knowledge Quest. I'm still debating what to use myself, but have thought about the fan-fold type too!

 

Merry :-)

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you! That site has lots of very helpful articles. While browsing the Knowledge Quest site, I noticed that their timeline figures looks like the ones from Homeschool In The Woods. Then I read on the KQ site that they are. That was interesting. Those really are wonderful timeline figures.

[MamaT]

We use a wall poster for our current history studies:

 

http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=181

 

Each child also has a binder for their own personal timeline that will incorporate all four years of the history rotation. I used these instructions to make my own:

 

http://donnayoung.org/history/timeline-cw.htm

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you. Those look good. I'd forgotten about the donnayoung site. Always good info there.:001_smile:

[Tam101]

Ooooo....I like the Donna Young one! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

We did a wall timeline this year and too be honest, we had a hard time keeping up with it. It had to go in a separate room from where we school and just wasn't convenient. Although it turned out beautifully my son now wants to redo it in a book like the Donna Young sample. He loves books and wants to be able to sit down with it, add to it and continue on with history. Our current timeline would have to come down when we start middle ages.

 

I think we are going to use the review cards in the back of AG for our "new" timeline! I want to go to the store and buy a sketch book!! *nerd*

[EppieJ]

Brimwood Press has a timeline scroll that I always thought was pretty cool, although I've never prioritized getting it (pretty penny!) http://www.brimwoodpress.com/scrolltime.html Here's the link if you wanna take a look.

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you for that link. That looks like a fun idea! It is kind of expensive, though. BUT . . . . . It might be fun to make one ourselves. Maybe I'll try it just for the small time in history we're studying now. We're doing Truth Quest American History for Young Students 1, so it's from Exploration to 1800. We have a roll of butcher paper that is wide, so I could cut it to length and fold it in half so it would be double thickness (stronger). We could peel some sticks and sort of whittle them be fairly uniform. I'm not sure how we would attach the paper to the sticks, but we'd figure out something. Probably just tape it. I was thinking it would be a pain to keep it stored so it doesn't get torn up. But, I could sew up a quick pouch from scrap fabric. Hmmmm. That would be fun for my boys and give it sort of an "authentic" feel. Still might not store so well, but we might just try it out and see how we like it.

 

Thanks for that idea!