The Story of the World: Activity Book 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Third Edition

The teaching guide has a wealth of information, for every section. The reading is cross-referenced with Usborne and Kingfisher history encyclopedias. Review questions and sample narrations are provided. Lists of optional, supplemental, age-appropriate reading materials are included, as well. In many sections, there are recipes appropriate to the geographical area and/or time period being studied.

Even with all of the above, Ms. Bauer did not stop. Every chapter has a wealth of hands-on activities and projects, correlated to the subject matter. These activities are designed to be done with materials that most people already have in their homes. There are always several activies included, ranging from the simple to the complex. For example, the chapter on The Old Kingdom in Egypt includes a project to make a Lego step pyramid, and instructions on how to mummify a chicken.

This is by far the most comprehensive and well-written history activity guide that I have ever used. Everything that I needed was included. After using this in kindergarten, my son has a deeper understanding of ancient history than many of the adults that I know. I used several of the projects with my teenage daughter as well, and she thoroughly enjoyed them. I would highly recommend this book for every family with children.


book not meant for religious only   February 28, 2005
 122 out of 146 found this review helpful

I can't believe the reviews that assume this book was written only for fundamentalist Christians and review it as such. That's so narrow-minded. One reviewer even seems to think that all homeschoolers are fundamentalist Christians! I assure you this is not the case.

I am a secular homeschooler, and I know and know of many, many others. I am culturally Jewish, but I am not religious. We are reading this book and expanding on it together with some other homeschoolers, some secular, some religious, but clearly not extreme in the way some of the reviewers below are. I like that the series is written in a very readable novel format and that the series presents a continuous view of history. I don't know of other history books for children that do this in such a nice way. My children look forward to my reading to them. In fact, they are always asking for more. I do have a few issues with the perspective of the books -- there are actually some points that seem too religious to me. I would not, however, expect any history book to reflect my perspective perfectly. I am able to explain my different views to my children and supplement them with other literature.

If you are looking for a history book from a biblical perspective, there are plenty out there. Please don't come here, to a secular bookstore, and lower the ratings for a book that was not intended to meet only your needs.


Great Resource for Grammar Stage History!   July 31, 2003
 69 out of 75 found this review helpful

This activity guide has many resources which make it a worthwhile purchase. The book lists for each chapter of Story of the World made it easy for me to go online with my library and reserve books ahead of time which would enrich our lessons. The blackline maps for each chapter helped my kids to identify the geographical regions where the historical events took place. The guide includes numerous suggestions for hands-on projects that help to bring history alive for young children. If one project didn't appeal to me or fit with my schedule, another one would. My 5 year old and 7 year old boys enjoyed making a model of the Nile River and flooding its banks, causing the grass seed we planted to sprout: a fun simulation of the real yearly event. The Roman aqueduct model we made recently was a hit! I appreciated not having to come up with project ideas on my own. My boys began to come up with some project ideas of their own after doing several of the guide projects.

The guide offers a coloring page for each chapter, some of which we used. Others we skipped because my kids preferred to draw their own pictures. Some I skipped, because as a Christian, I didn't particularly want to dwell on depictions of other gods. Some of the coloring pages were well-drawn; others seemed amateurish. I did like having the option of a coloring page.

This activity guide greatly ehanced our enjoyment of the book The Story of the World and our study of the ancients this past year. I highly recommend it!


Dumbed - Down and Misleading Marketing   October 2, 2005
 56 out of 91 found this review helpful

I could not agree more with the reviewer who stated that this activity book is dumbed down to little more than a coloring book. While the accompanying text is generally engaging and valuable, the activity book has been very disappointing from two aspects:

First, it is primarily a series of coloring pages. The maps are slightly useful, but their "mapwork" typically involves something like taking a yellow crayon to follow the already dotted line. The questions are useful only if the parent is not reading along with the child to guide them in comprehension of the material.

More insidiously, the textbook treads dangerously close to being a humanistic primer in "The Kid's Guide to Choosing A Religion." There may indeed be a market for that. Additionally, it is clear that homeschoolers are not limited to fundamentalist Christians. However, this book is heavily marketed through fundamentalist Christian catalog sources and, to me, that is misleading marketing. The reviewer who requested Christians stay away from commenting about books marketed on this secular website is ill-informed about the marketing thrust of this book and publisher.

It is unfortunate that this author has chosen to emphasize political correctness, which is most actively done in the first volume of the Story of the World series. It seems inconsistent with traditional classical approaches to introduce the more philisophical thought processes in the early elementary grades. I am NOT a parent who believes that children should not be exposed to other cultures or religions. On the contrary, as a Christian parent, I think it is critical for our children of appropriate age level to understand the basic tenets of other religions, their often frightening origins, and how they are contrasted by the Biblical worldview.

Buy what you choose to buy. No one is trying to assert that all curriculum is Christian based. Christians should, however, be aware that this volume treats the introduction of our Lord Jesus Christ in the same way that it introduces Confuscius, Buddha, and other Greek gods. It does not even attempt to begin the "Story of the World" with ANY explanation of its origin, let alone giving even the option of understanding Creation. The story begins with nomadic tribes. It proceeds through an awkward attempt at melding Abraham, the Story of Gilgamesh, Greek Gods,and Confucius. Rather than an exhaustive and encompassing world approach to covering history, it has an overemphasis on the religious entities of those cultures and blurs the lines between fact and fiction.

My experience with this series has unexpectedly caused a hesistation on my part to purchase ANY material from this author.


Thank you, fundamentalists   November 12, 2004
 52 out of 104 found this review helpful

I've been considering buying these books for my homeschooling son as what I'd seen and heard from other homeschoolers (including devout Christians) was encouraging. But nothing encouraged me like hearing dissatisfaction from fundamentalist Christians. Whether they're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Wiccan, fundamentalists are great guides to the opposite. If they like it, avoid it. If they hate it, it probably has value.