A Variety of History Timelines....

I LOVE timelines and always start the year with the best of intentions.  Unfortunately, timelines are one of those things that usually falls by the wayside when we get busy.  However, I do think there is some importance in keeping a timeline if at all possible, particularly for younger students.  I think when we read about people, places, and events in history, they become compartmentalized.  I mean they all seem like separate things.  But when putting these people, places, and events on a timeline, you begin to visualize and understand how it really all fits together.  I feel like these connections have made history so much more fascinating.

Monday, I showed you my latest timeline creation, the Book of Centuries.  In this post, I intend to show you a variety of timelines and how we've used them in our homeschool in the past.

I first started with a Sonlight Book of Time back when RileyAnn was beginning her elementary education.

I like this book because it's neat and easy to store.  There seems to be ample space on each page for the timeline figures.  The Book of Time starts at 5000 BC and allows for 100 year increments on each page, eventually switching to 50 years, then 25 years, and ending in 2020 with 10 years on each page. One thing I didn't like about the Book of Time was trying to remember to cut and paste the time line figures.  If it's not done on a regular basis, the figures add up!

In 3rd grade, I used the Time Traveler CD-Roms to create a timeline for Ruben.

These accordion style timelines fold nicely into a 3-ring binder.  Most of the pages had ample room for timeline figures.  However, it can be cost prohibitive to print the pages and figures when you figure the cost of ink and cardstock.  Again, if you don't keep up with it on a regular basis, the timeline figures mount.   

We have also used notebooking in and of itself as a sort of timeline.  Last year, I streamlined the notebooking to composition books rather than 3-ring binders, which became thick and unruly by the end of the year.  
 

Each child completes copywork, written narrations, draws maps and a variety of illustrations in their notebook throughout our history study, which is chronological.  This serves as a diary of the time period studied.  You will find a variety of posts with samples of the kids notebook pages here.

A timeline that I love, but have no idea how to display or store is Adam's Chart of History.

This gorgeous timeline created by Sebastion Adams, following James Ussher's book, The Annals of the World, starts with creation and ends with late the 19th century.  It is published by Master Books with no evolutionary content.  Adam's timeline is eye candy!  However, it's size makes it impossible to enjoy.  There are 21 panels folded accordion style, which when opened up, span 25 feet.  Each panel measures 13 x 28 inches.  I don't know about you, but I don't have a continuous wall that's 25 feet long to hang a timeline chart...although, it's beautiful enough to pose as artwork.

I have one last awesome timeline resource that I can't wait to tell you about very soon!  As a teaser, I will tell you now, it can either go on the wall or in a binder and it has helped my kids learn history chronologically :) 

Do you keep timelines in your homeschool?  If so, I'd love to hear about them.  Feel free to comment below.

Recently, Lisa at Olive Plants Around My Table shared keeping "Century Charts", which is a timeline method I had not heard of.