History in the Making

I have chosen to teach history from the beginning. So, this year we are study ancient world history side by side with our reading through the Bible. It has been astounding. I have found my own understanding of Biblical events clear up as I see through history the rise and fall of various empires in history, and how it all correlates with which countries were invading, and taking over Israel. One of my goals is to teach my children how to have a Biblical world view. This is where it all begins- God's dealing with mankind through the ages.

As our "spine" for history, I read out loud from a history book written just for kids. We always bring home mountains of library books for more detailed exploring. We have a fabulous huge atlas (from Papap's house!) that we use to study maps, and we do use some on-line resources sometimes, too. As much as we can, we try to read literature from the period of history that we are studying. we are just now getting into early Greek history, so we will read a few of the classic Greek myths.

We are attempting to make a history notebook just like our science notebook- with narration of what we have read, and a collection of maps, etc. as we study. This is a great way to reinforce what we have learned, and can be "reviewed" easily at any time.

Another of my history goals is to teach the history of our American holidays as they come about through out the year. I want my students to know why we acknowledge "Memorial Day" , and the history of the missionary "St. Patrick". I have been collecting bits and pieces of this info for a while- but still have a long way to go.

One thing I am excited about is starting a "Book of Time". We just acquired one, and I am anxious to begin using it. This is much like a time-line in a notebook (from 5000BC to present) that we will write in what happens on what date, as we study it. We will add to it through the years, and it will be a great visual to compare what happened when in history.