Seven Wonders Unit

We recently finished our history book (Story of the World: Ancients by Susan Wise Bauer) and I didn't want to begin the Middle Ages book until our next year "officially" begins next month. I found a neat book at the library about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and we decided to do a unit reviewing the Wonders we learned about throughout the past year (and learning about the 2 or 3 Wonders we missed.)

First, El made a layered foldable (directions here) with 8 tabs. Each day, we would read one chapter in the book Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Lynn Curlee. Then he would draw a picture of the "Wonder" (often an interpretation since we don't know how the actual ancient monument would have looked.) Underneath that, he would write a little about it. He chose to write the height and estimated date next to his drawing. Finally, he would go over to our timeline and add the dates of the monument's completion and its final demise (if the dates were listed.)

Drawing the Colossus of Rhodes

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

El's (almost complete!) 7 Wonders foldable

My favorite drawing, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia

After this was all done, we would hit Google and YouTube up for extra ancient fun. We especially liked the videos on The Museum of UnNatural Mystery's YouTube page, but there are many, many others to choose from.


El had a lot of fun working on this unit!

History of Civilization Timeline

I have been wanting to make a timeline for the past few months. We have been using one I made at the beginning of the year but it is really small and to scale, which means it has virtually NO space for the modern era. I knew I needed to make a not-to-scale timeline, despite the fact that not-to-scale timelines make me want to bang my head against a wall. A few days ago, inspired by the ideas on this site, I set out to make my own timeline.

First of all, I wanted a top-bound spiral notebook with nice drawing paper and a plastic spiral binding (the metal doesn't seem to survive daily use and ends up tearing up my bookcase or injuring a fidgety-fingered child.) I couldn't find what I was looking for for under $11, so I purchased a cheap $2 tape-bound drawing book at Staples, ripped the tape off, and had them put a spiral binding on the top for $3.99.

I took the book home and drew a line down the middle of each page. Then I marked off years. The earliest pages show 500 year periods and are marked with 100 year blocks, while later pages show one decade marked off in 1-year blocks.

I color coded each section corresponding to the history periods we will study in our 4 year history cycle. (Em helped label the years.)

I then used scrap paper and to decorate the cover on the front and the inside so that the cover would be sturdier. I created a title for the book.

El thought we needed a table of contents, so I made one...



Also, I glued our old timeline to the back of the book so that we could continue to reference a properly scaled timeline. (On the opposite page is an envelope for any loose or unglued pieces.)



I'm pretty excited about our new timeline. It should last us though at least one 4-year history cycle and we will be able to add artists, musicians, scientists, and literature along with traditional historical events. The kids were excited to start in on it-- by adding their birthdays, of course. ;)

Total cost, with tax: $6.47
Total time to complete, with children: A few hours, but totally worth it.