A Visual American History Timeline of Books....

It's finally here and I'm super excited to share today's post!!  For the last couple of years, we've been using A Visual American History Timeline of Books.   Recently, I teamed up with the author, veteran homeschooling mom Bonnie Anderson, to bring them to you!

I met Bonnie a few years back at a homeschool conference and I totally fell in love with her used book collection.  She's been instrumental in my love of living books and inspirational in the vision of our personal home library.  We've traveled to her home, three hours away, on several occasions to view her personal library and purchase books as we built our collection.  Here's her story....

During the years I was home schooling my sons, I began collecting history books. I have a personal passion for American history, having traveled with my family throughout the United States where we visited many historical sights. I enjoy collecting used and out of print books and learning about history from them. So instead of a textbook approach, we began loving to read history from “living books”. Thus our library began.

It is set up in chronological order – with biographies, famous events, historical fiction, and non-fiction books all together in the time they happened. Our library teaches us when events and people lived. It is a timeline of books and when questioned about an event or person, we can see it on the shelf and recall where it belongs in history.

Seeing this chronological arrangement of books, the idea of a visual timeline took shape. I have always believed in the importance of the timeline to retain historical information as it relates to special events and people. I know a visual picture has been easiest for me to remember. Thus I came up with a new approach to a historical timeline by choosing pictures of favorite books and placing them in chronological order.  My desire in creating this timeline was to excite both old and young in the beginning study of American history.

Included in this timeline are biographies, historical fiction, and historical non-fiction books. I have chosen a variety of old and new books that can be obtained in local libraries, inter-library loans, and from new and used book dealers. Some of these older books are now available in new reprinted versions. Many of the books show God's intervention in history.  You could even add your own favorites to make the timeline a family treasure.

Bonnie's Timeline of Books has definitely excited our household in the study of American History!!

There are two editions of A Visual American History Timeline of Books.  The Primary Level can be used with elementary age children.  Each century is defined by a different color horizontal bar in the middle of each page.   

Blue – 1600’s

Red – 1700’s

Green – 1800’s

Yellow – 1900’s

The Intermediate Level is an extension of the Primary Level and was intended for middle and high school age students.  Again, each century is defined by a different color horizontal bar in the middle of each page.   

Black - Overview/Early Explorers

Blue – 1600’s

Red – 1700’s

Green – 1800’s

Yellow – 1900’s

Each 17-page timeline is printed on heavy card stock and can be hung chronologically on a wall or hole-punched and placed in a ring binder, which is the way we keep ours. A bibliography has also been included, sorted alphabetically by page for your convenience in finding the books.  This is a great book sale shopping list!  

We've read many of the books on each timeline and own copies in our personal homeschool library.  They are wonderful!  RileyAnn has the timelines memorized! Some of the books used are listed in the TruthQuest History guides, some of them are used in curricula like Sonlight and Beautiful Feet, others are just wonderful living books that have been long since forgotten.   

Below is a sample of the first page of each timeline:

A Visual American History Timeline of Books is an excellent supplement to your current history program, your living book library, or as a stand alone history spine.  Best of all, each timeline is only $30.00 plus $6.99 shipping and handling!! Where else can you get 400 years worth of American History for that price!  Buy yours here, now...  

Level

Primary Intermediate

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.

Our Book of Centuries...with FREE Templates...

After reading The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater, I was inspired to keep a Book of Centuries (BOC).  I did some research online and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I decided to create my own based upon images in the Appendix of Bestvater's book. 

According to Bestvater, the original BOC began as a museum notebook, which was essentially for drawing artifacts found in the British Museum.  Here is Charlotte's reference to this...

I have already instanced a child's visit to the Parthenon Room and her eager identification of what she saw with what she had read, and that will serve to indicate the sort of key to ancient history afforded by this valuable book.  Miss G. M. Bernau has added to the value of these studies by producing a 'Book of Centuries' in which children draw such illustrations as they come across of objects of domestic use, or art, etc., connected with the century they are reading about.  This slight study of the British Museum we find very valuable; whether the children have or have not the opportunity of visiting the Museum itself, they have the hope of doing so, and, besides, their minds are awakened to the treasures of local museums.  Charlotte Mason, Vol. 6, A Philosophy of Education, pg 175-176

Bestvater further alleges that in 1915, the BOC became part of the PNEU program.  The following are notes I made while reading The Living Page...

Each two page spread represents a century.  It consists of a lined and a blank page.  The last ten pages are kept for small drawings of maps and descriptions of history of the child's choice.  The BOC was chronological in nature.  Pictures were rarely glued in - acknowledged as the careful observation and consideration required in drawing - also, inserting pictures made the book too 'bulky'.  The lined pages opposing the drawing pages had twenty columns comprising of 100 years.  Entries were always done in ink.  On the blank page, children were encouraged to conduct a personal study of one particular thing or artifact and sketch it in the same place on each page of their notebook throughout the centuries.  Drawing the same thing, as it would be encountered in each century.  The BOC wasn't started until Form II when the child's handwriting and drawing skills were perfected.  Students were encouraged to continue the BOC throughout their life. 

Based on these notes, I created a couple of templates.  The first is a single line page, which was probably more in line with the original BOC.   The student would write a century heading at the top.  Then they would enter up to five events per line, of their choosing, each line representing five years.  I have also included a cover with this template. 

Book of Centuries 1 - Single Line

The second template gives a better idea of what each timeline page would look like throughout completion.  Again, the student would write the century heading at the top, but the five columns and five year increments are already provided.  Please note, there is a page with ascending and a page with descending yearly increments.  This represents time in BC and AD.  

Book of Centuries 2 - Spaced Line

Whichever template you choose,  I recommend printing it single sided on heavier paper, possibly cardstock.  When assembled, this will provide the student with a lined and a blank page for drawing.

One other note of interest from The Living Page is that the PNEU schools actually had BOC teas and BOC evenings where children displayed their BOC along with handicrafts and nature notebooks for friends and family to see.  The BOC was a very special book, which provided a record of the child's interest in history as well as recorded knowledge.