Smithie Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I want to start with the formation of the universe 15-20 billion years ago. That won't be too much for my 5 y.o. to grasp, right? :D Seriously though - I am planning a pretty traditional 12-year classical curriculum, I respect the heck out of the Wise/Bauer women and I plan to use SOTW and a lot of their ideas - but we are not conservative Christians, most emphatically NOT creationists, and I really want my ds to start his study of history with all the cool stuff the paleontologists have, um, dug up. Way before we ever talk about nomads and cuneiform writing, I want to talk about the universe before Earth, the formation of our planet, early life, the evolution of human beings from tree primates, etc. etc. The whole scientific secular shebang. The stuff that gave Rev. Dr. Bob Jones nightmares. :p I am thinking of doing this in the K year, as an add-on the to K12 curriculum ds will be doing through the public charter school. Does anybody have any recommendations for books/curricula/videos/activities to teach "prehistory"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 We are going through this right now! Last week we started with the big bang, 15 billion years ago or so, and this was with my 4 yo and she's been loving it! We've moved on to archaeology/paleontology/fossils. Next week we'll explore evolution and very early life. It will be a few more months (at our exploratory pace) when we even get to early humans, hominids and how homo sapiens evolved. I have a curriculum all planned out for this prehistory part, complete with picture book go-alongs, dvd/movies, activities and more. Hopefully it will help you! http://satorismiles.com/history-curriculum/lesson-one/'>http://satorismiles.com/history-curriculum/lesson-one/'>http://satorismiles.com/history-curriculum/lesson-one/'>http://satorismiles.com/history-curriculum/lesson-one/ Check out our recent blog posts as we do activities demonstrating sediment, archaeology, paleontolgy, fossils and more... http://satorismiles.com/ I've found so many great pre-history books, I do have to update my "lesson plan" and add those yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura W. Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 First Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life could make a nice spine. I have it, and yes - about half the book is about dinosaurs, but the other half does cover a lot of the topics you mentioned. It's got internet links, too. http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Dinosaurs-Prehistoric-Encyclopedias-Internet/dp/0794506968/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242000751&sr=8-1 As far as individual books, here are a few I found: Big Bang! The Tongue-tickling Tale of a Speck that Became Spectacular (I'm using this one with my 5, 7, and 8 year olds next year) http://www.amazon.com/Bang-Tongue-Tickling-Speck-Became-Spectacular/dp/1570916187/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242001298&sr=1-1 The following are some books I looked at but didn't get, mainly because we're not spending a lot of time on prehistory/origins studies next year, and no time at all on evolution. These will be on my list to consider when we do study evolution/creation another year. (We fall somewhere in among the old-earth creationists and theistic evolutionists, but all the books I've listed here are secular). Born with a Bang: The Universe tells Our Cosmic Story From Lava to Life: The Universe tells Our Earth's Story Mammals Who Morph: The Universe tells Our Evolution Story (all by Jennifer Morgan. As a Christian, I didn't care for how she has the Universe tell the story, but you may not find it a problem) Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story by Lisa Peters Hope this helps. Blessings, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 You Wouldn't Want to be a Mammoth Hunter and Jan Brett's The First Dog. Maroo of the Winter Caves. The Walking With series (walking with prehistoric beasts, walking with cave men). These are film, not books. We did this for K before moving into the ancients for 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Usborne Encyclopedia of World History is good and has internet links. Oh, and check out Charlie's Playhouse. They have a timeline I'm drooling over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Here are some things I've used: Kingfisher Book of Evolution Rand McNally Atlas of Earth through Time (an older book) Why Things Change: The Story of Evolution, Jeanne Bendick Archaeologists Dig for Clues, Duke The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells, Posner I can be an Archaeologist, Pickering Painters of the Caves, P. Lauber It’s Disgusting and We Ate It! Solheim How People First Lived, Jaspersohn Mik’s Mammoth, Gerrard One Small Bead, Baylor The First Dog, Brett Who Were the First People? Usborne Living in Prehistoric Times Usborne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy in IL Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 It isn't a curriculum, but I would love to go dig for fossils! I remember reading about fossil parks, but I don't remember where they are. I don't think any 5 year old would ever forget that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 How about Life Story by Virginia Lee Burton (the very same author who wrote The Little House and Mike Mulligan)? Has anyone used it? Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Inman Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 We built our study using the Prehistoric section of the Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History. We really liked it :) We also liked The Kids' Natural History (we made a really cool hanging timeline). I ordered a huge poster of the geological time scale to hang up during that study too. We had a lot of fun, one of the best was making trilobite masks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) My Prehistory book box includes Usborne Starting Point History, Who Were the First People? The First Dog, Jan Brett Prehistoric Art (Art in History), Hodge Art and Civilization; Prehistory, Peter Bedrick Books Wild and Wooly Mammoths, Aliki The Best Book of Early People, Kingfisher Cave People, Hayward -- an easy reader Make It Work! Stone Age people The Ice Age (New True book) Prehistoric Mammals Pop up book, Moseley and two historic fiction read alouds Maroo of the Winter Caves Boy of the Painted Cave The Usborne World History is excellent on prehistory, with a spiral timeline from formation of the Earth to present day. BTW, I saw the Walking with ... series (videos) and thought they would not be right for my first graders. Edited May 11, 2009 by Alessandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 How about Life Story by Virginia Lee Burton (the very same author who wrote The Little House and Mike Mulligan)? Has anyone used it? Mandy Have a squizz at this: http://www.charliesplayhouse.com/Bibliography.pdf Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SherryTX Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Usborne Encyclopedia of World History is good and has internet links. Oh, and check out Charlie's Playhouse. They have a timeline I'm drooling over. Yes to both! Usborne is our spine for history and is great - the links are amazing. We are going through it page by page. We supplement with various books from the libraries, and I agree the Walking With Dinosaurs series if fabulous. We watched them all on Netflix. There are other great films you can get from Netflix to supplement prehistory, as well as other time periods. I have read a bit on Charlie's Playhouse, and there is a lot of great info there. I also like to read Isaac Asimov's Chronicle of World History myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 We used The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of world history to cover all that. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 How about Life Story by Virginia Lee Burton (the very same author who wrote The Little House and Mike Mulligan)? Has anyone used it? Mandy I enjoyed it very much, but it was too dense for my K5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 We spent about 6 weeks working through prehistory before starting Ancients. We read a lot of the books already mentioned here, but mostly spent time at the closest natural history museum. This was in September and October, when museums tend to be empty since school is back in session but no one is taking field trips yet.... so we had the place to ourselves and made as many visits as we could squeeze in, then would head to the library after each visit to grab more books on whatever held their interest that day. I'm not sure what physical resources of that sort you have available to you, but it really was fun for all of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in PA Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Usborne Encyclopedia of World History is good and has internet links. Oh, and check out Charlie's Playhouse. They have a timeline I'm drooling over. :lol: My dd informed me that if we don't buy the timeline, she's going to save up her allowance and buy it herself! She really, really wants it! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 We used The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of world history to cover all that. Laura :iagree: We also have an encyclopedia about dinosaurs that the kids love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 :lol: My dd informed me that if we don't buy the timeline, she's going to save up her allowance and buy it herself! She really, really wants it! :D Lol. I'm saving up my allowance too! :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.