Geography Through Living Stories

Every week we would read a living book that I selected for the civilization we were learning about. I gave a brief history lesson and then we took a look at our map and talked about the civilization at that time in history as well as about the modern nation that exists there today.  Then we would do our art project and at the very end the children would get a stamp on their geography passports!

I think geography is one of those subjects that you can study with intention, but that you can also work into your program without having to buy a text or workbook. Integrating several subjects this way offers your child a base of information from which they can build on.  So the next time they read about Egypt or Mesopotamia, they will remember the funny story you read or art project they did with that study and have something for which they can build additional knowledge on.

In the same way, you can have your child map where their reader take place or use an atlas to gain more information about a location’s people. We’ve been using our National Geographic Student Atlas of the World (Third Edition). You can see my full review on The Curriculum Choice. But there is a 4th edition now available, so if you’re buying new I’d recommend it as it may be more updated.

The way we study geography in our homeschool is pretty natural and often integrated with many topics of study and not just in history but in literature too!

I designed the whole Living Stories program I created to correlate with The Story of the World: Vol. 1 because that’s what Mechanical man and I have been using in our homeschool this year. This way we could also benefit from the course at home. I usually read the living books with him along with the chapter they complemented in SOTW. I did the same with the art lessons. You can learn more about how this program follows SOTW by following the Art Around the World Series!

Art Around the Ancient World- the line up:

The following lists each lesson by civilization, what each lesson’s focus will be, and the media/project tutorial.

• Prehistory– Cave Paintings– Painting the Ancient Way
• Sumerians – Ancient Writing -Cylinder Seals in Clay
• Egyptians – Egyptian Art – Text as Texture/ Egyptian Headdress
• Assyrians and Babylonians -Near East Metalworking –  Babylonian Art Lesson for Kids
• Phoenicians– Ancient Dyes– Purple Batik Cloths
• Hittites and Ancient Israel– TBA
• Ancient Africa– Akuaba Wooden Doll– African Scratch Art
• Minoan and Mycenaean-Greek Mythology Masks-MinotaurPaper Mache Masks
• Persians– Persian Carpets and Decor- Paper Weaving Project
• Ancient China- Tangrams
• Ancient Greece– Pythagorus – Tessellating Jars
• India- Spice JarLayer Art
• Rome- Mosaics

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I’ve been teaching Ancient History through art and literature in my co-op class this year. You’ll find the hands on art projects to go with these books in my Art Around the Ancient World series. I purposely wanted to stay away from historical fiction for this list; my focus has been on stories that either take place in ancient times or that are folktales or myths from an ancient civilization. They were quite challenging to find. But I’m very happy with the list that resulted!

A Living Book List for Ancient History

I wanted the children to get a feel for the culture and civilization just from these stories. I wanted books appropriate for 3rd to 5th graders that I could read in a class period (so no chapter books) and still have time for maps, timeline and the projects. I wanted the stories to have literary value- not an empty picture book but a living story! The children have been enjoying these stories quite a bit. After or during our reading, I talk about about different literary forms and genres, oral traditions, mythology and more. These books can be read aloud together as a family, between siblings, or independently.

Nomads/ Hunters and Gatherers-

This was a delightfully story that presented classic conflict, climax and a resolution story. In fact, the story presents a delightful pattern of repeated conflict. We used it in our own homeschool for a mini unit and field trip on the ice age. A fun art activity to go with it is to create your own cave and rock paintings.

The First Dog

Sumerians, Assyrians & Babylonians

This story was a wonderful choice for Mesopotamia. It was the perfect story to introduce literary themes. We spent a bit of time on this area discussing cuneiform and later on other art and artifacts from Assyria and Babylon.  We made some outstanding art projects for the cradle of civilization. For Sumeria we made cylinder seals and for Assyria and Babylon we made glue paintings to look like Ancient Near East metalworking. 

Gilgamesh the King (The Gilgamesh Trilogy)

Ancient Egypt-

For Egypt you’ll have many books to choose from. Why this book? Because I loved the nature of it. It’s simple charm was delightful and the children could easily relate to a cat who just wanted to be a cat. We discussed Ancient Egyptian art, hieroglyphs and beliefs and rituals. Art projects for Egypt to come. Saving the best for last!

Temple Cat

Ancient Israel-

Most of the children already knew their bible stories so it was a great reference for the ancient world around Israel. Already familiar with the story, it provided a context for laying out the areas and civilization around the Israelites. The book is a good retelling of this familiar story. We especially enjoyed the art work in the book and it’s design. There is also a book on Moses by the same author called The Moses Basket. We didn’t have time to read it, but it looked just as good.

The Coat of Many Colors

Ancient China-

This book is a great choice for Ancient China.  We didn’t actually read this book in our co-op but I have looked at it and if time had provided it would have been my first choice. My substitute taught a class on Tangrams for China. And if you prefer to go that route an excellent book is The Warlord’s Puzzle or if you can’t find that one, Grandfather Tang’s Story .

The Master Swordsman & the Magic Doorway: Two Legends from Ancient China

 West Africa-

West Africa was fun to cover. We talked about oral traditions of the Ancient West Africans and many other civilizations. With no ancient writing, history knows little about these people. But they have such a rich culture that is evident in their folklore and tales. Anansi the spider is just one of many tales. The children liked the personification of Anansi and his children and the book offered lots of literary components to discuss. We made Akuaba Doll Scratch Art  for our project.

Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti

Minoan & Mycenaean-

This was the Greek myth I chose for the Minoan civilization. Of course I chose it because of it taking place on Crete but it also followed nicely after our Phoenician study.  We discussed myths and legends and made Minotaur masks!

The Hero and the Minotaur

 Medes and Persians-

I’m not sure how far back this legend really goes, but since the main focus of my class is on literature, I felt it would certainly represent the culture and be a wonderful selection. I was right. My first look at this book from author Tomi dePaola did not disappoint.  I can’t wait to do the to do the weaving project I’ve planned with my class.

The Legend of the Persian Carpet

Ancient Greece-

An old favorite from homeschooling my older children. It’s important to add a bit of living math into the line up! The perfect book for a study on the golden Age of Greece.

What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras?

Mauryan Empire- Ancient India

Demi has some really wonderful books. I could have also used her book on Budda for this class. But since I plan to talk about the spice trade and for the project do a spice jar activity, I thought it would be good to also include a story from Hinduism. We will also look at artifacts from History of the World in 1,000 Objects (pgs. 98-99). Another book that I highly recommend by Demi for it’s beauty and content is Mother Teresa. 

The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna

Ancient America- Nazca

While this book doesn’t come directly from the Olmec or the Nazca, it certainly does represent the people of the Amazon. I love the art work which works well to complement the art project I have planned for a Nazca Line Art Activity.

 Jabutí the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon

Ancient Rome-

I haven’t gotten this book yet but it’s on my wish list! Isn’t the cover amazing! And the illustrations inside make a perfect compliment to my Roman Mosaic Art Lesson. It’s also a great book to show how the Ancient world changed over time with Egypt now being under foreign rule. Throughout my course I’ve been pointing the kids back and forth to the areas and people we have already learned about. A timeline is in order here and that’s next on my do list!

 Cleopatra

What living stories are the top of your book list for Ancient History?

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Teaching History with Art and Artifacts

There are so many ways to teach things. Choosing one that interests you, and especially your children, will be much more effective than any textbook or rote memorization of facts. You probably already know this but maybe aren’t sure how to design a program. Let me share with you how I teach history through art and artifacts.

1. Choose a spine.

I start with a spine book. This year we are using  Story of the World: Vol. 1 Ancient Times as our spine. And because it’s a very easy read, I also have my 6th grader read independently from a few different history books for whatever time period or civilization we are on. But the spine gives me the framework to build upon. Once you have chosen a good spine, you can get started.

2. Find a great reference book.

This is essential. I found the most perfect book for just this purpose: History of the World in 1,000 Objects.Not only does if offer amazing photographic images, but it also tells us things about them from a historical context. I had been using art books from the library but it required so much more work from me. I had to dig and dig and cross check dates from several resources for accuracy.

Not with this book, I can so easily find the snippet I need for art appreciation for each civilization. Not only that, but it references them by time period and it also offers a comprehensive timeline in the back of the book! It was just what I needed as I proceed with my program so that we can add the art and artifacts we have discussed to our timeline with confidence.

3. Add living books.

Add living books to your program next. What history you don’t cover your child can fill in with engaging historical fiction and other stories from those civilizations. Choose books that are on or below your child’s reading level for his readers. Maybe every now and then add one that’s a challenge to stretch their ability. But be sure to offer quality confidence builders often. Then select one read aloud for each civilization for you to read together. If you don’t have the time, try audio books in the car while on errands. You’ll be surprised how much your children will love them!

4. Keep a Timeline and Cover Geography.

Since you are doing mostly reading through the week, spend at least one day of instruction adding to your timeline what you have learned about and find places on the map you’ve talked about. While you’re teaching them about these ancient places you can point out what countries they are today. Isn’t that so much more comprehensive than just memorizing facts from a text? Perhaps you could use push pins on a map to mark where an artifact has been found. One fun thing I’m doing with my co-op class is stamping their “passports” for all the places we learn about.

5. Do hands on projects.

For us this year our hands on projects are art projects. As we cover each civilization, we do some fun project to remind us of what we discussed. Sometimes it’s once every two weeks or even only once per month. We just do them when it seems right and we have some time. For Babylon and Assyria, we made glue paintings to imitate some of the ornate metalworking of the period.

 Would you like to see more art projects from Around the Ancient World?

The following lists each lesson we’ve covered by civilization and what projects we have done for them so far!

• Prehistory– Cave Paintings- Painting the Ancient Way
• Sumerians – Ancient Writing -Cylinder Seals in Clay
• Egyptians – Egyptian Art and Hieroglyphs- Multi Media/ Egyptian Headdress- Coming Soon!
• Assyrians and Babylonians –Near East Metalworking –  Babylonian Art Lesson for Kids
• Phoenicians– Ancient Dyes- Purple Batik Cloths
• Ancient Africa– Akuaba Wooden Doll- Scratch Art
• Minoan and Mycenaean– Early Greek Masks-Paper Mache Masks
• Persians– Persian Carpets and Decor- Paper Weaving
• Ancient China- Tangrams- Tessellating Birds
• Mauryan Empire (Ancient India)- Rangoli Art and Spices- Spice Jars
• Greece- Etruscan Vases- TBA
• Rome- Mosaics- TBA

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