Reviewing History with the Timeline Collection from Home School in the Woods {A Homeschool Review Crew Review}

Last year we had the opportunity to use two of the timelines from Home School in the Woods. These were wonderful resources which helped us to review specific cultures we had learned about with our core curriculum. This year we were again given the opportunity to review a product from Home School in the Woods. This time around I was thrilled to be able to choose their Timeline Collection: A Collection of Historical Timeline Figures.

This is an amazing set of images representing people and events from the beginning of creation through modern times. I received an email with a link to the website which is where I was able to download the two zip files. After I downloaded them to our computer I admit I did need my husband to help me extract the files. Computers are definitely not "my thing" and I usually need his help for such things. There is a link to instructions on how to extract zip files, but I can't wrap my head around it. However, now that the files are extracted, I have no problems accessing them to use them.

We received the family license, meaning I can only use these with my children or a small co-op class of 12 or less children, using at most 50 timeline figures. However, they do offer both Teacher and School licenses as well. In all there are over 1,260 black and white timeline figures. These figures are available in two different sizes. There are bigger figures to be used on a wall timeline, and smaller figures to be used in a notebook timeline. This is the size I used. I wish I had wall space enough to use the bigger figures and have a timeline we can view in our room, but we make do with our smaller timelines which can be put away and brought out as needed. 

The first digital CD contains several files. 

There is a "Helps" section where you will find several specific files. There are images showing examples of using the timeline figures. a helps/copyright /usage page which opens in Google Chrome, a lapbook page which also opens in Google Chrome, and a page of timeline helps, which again open in Google Chrome. I found the helps page extremely um, helpful, for lack of a better work. It is full of ideas and tips for using the timeline figures and creating different kinds of timelines.

The next section is the "Indexes" section which contains the different time period figures, plus the bonus figures, as Chrome HTML Documents. Double clicking on a file will open it online. 

Clicking on the green button next to "Names & Dates" section will bring up a list of all the images in chronological order, along with the page number where each figure can be found.

The screenshot above shows all of the figures available in the Creation to Christ file. If you are looking for a specific figure, you can look through the list, then go back to the previous page to click on the correct page in either wall-sized or notebook-sized images, either with or without the text. 

There are five different sections of files, listed alphabetically:

• America's History (Explorers to 21st Century AD)
• Bonus Figures
• Creation to Christ (Beginning to 1st Century AD)
• Napoleon to Now (1750 AD to Modern Day)
• Resurrection to Revolution (0-1799 AD)

The next section on the first digital CD contains the PDF files. Again there are the five different sections; however, these open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. After clicking on the time period you want to use, you then choose notebook or wall size, and then click with or without text to pull up list of pages. 

Double clicking on the page brings the page up in Adobe Acrobat Reader. 

Each page contains a number of figures. Here's a look at one page both with and without the text.

The second digital CD also contains several files. 

First you will find the "Figures," again with or without text. This file includes every single figure as an individual GIF image. Here is a look at a very small section of the images available in GIF format:

Next you will find the same "Helps" files as on the first digital CD:

• images
• Helps/Copyright/Usage
• Lapbook Page
• Timeline Helps

And there are 33 "Indexes.". These also open up in Google Chrome. You could look up figures on an alphabetical or chronological list of every single figure available, or narrow it down into such time periods as the American Revolution, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Civil War, or Early Church, or look through the different people files, such as Authors, Composers, Explorers, Presidents, or Prophets. For example, if you click on "Ancient Rome" it will open the index in Google Chrome:

You can then click the buttons to find the image with or without text:

I'm absolutely amazed at the organization of these files and the many different ways a person can access these images to have them work for them. 

I decided to use the images found on the first digital CD. I wanted to be able to use these figures to help us review what we have learned this year in our core curriculum. We have been looking at the time from Ancient Rome through the Reformation this year. In order to find images for Ancient Rome, I had to access the Creation to Christ file. Using the PDF files it did take a bit of random clicking on each page to find the one I needed to start with. I wanted to start around the founding of Rome. I found the page that had the image for the story of Romulus and Remus:

I then realized that the pages I would need to use would also contain images for people and events from different parts of the world during the same time period. I decided I was going to use these images in two ways. First, I made memory matching cards. I started by printing out both the pages with text and without text for events spanning several hundred years (from about 800 BC to 200 BC). 

I then cut the images out and put them onto 2x3 cards I made from plain white card stock. I divided the cards into four different piles: Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Bible, and Rest of the World. We began with the Ancient Rome pile, reviewing information we had learned at the beginning of the year, and learning new information.

We started with a small amount and then added more.

Once a match was found, we had to read the information on the card and try to memorize the name, date, and at least one important nugget of information.

Once we had spent some time playing the game, I took the extra pages of no-text images and got them ready for building our review timeline.  I loved the suggestion in the helps section of making a notebook timeline where each page was hole punched to go into the notebook and could then be removed and set side by side. This is different from the accordion-fold timelines we have made in the past.

I set the cardstock horizontally, and drew a line down the middle of each, marking it in the middle so I could add the year.

Then we reviewed just the Ancient Rome cards to start. I organized them chronologically. Then I read the information on a card, found the image on the extra page I'd printed out, cut it out and found the correct placement on the timeline. The children then glued them on.

All of the Ancient Rome figures were placed above the line. Then, the next time we worked on the timeline, we placed the Ancient Greece figures below the line.

We then played the memory matching game with both the Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece cards, though I limited the years so the children wouldn't be overwhelmed.

I left the timeline on the table so we could see what other events or which other people were important during the time of the image on the matching cards.

We then added a second page for each year. I figured this was a great way to see what events were taking place in different parts of the world, and how it fit in with biblical history. So, the top of the second page contains Bible figures and the bottom will contain what I am calling figures from the "rest of the world." As we get further along in time, we'll have to add different categories. But for now we are working our way up to the time of Christ and the early church in our review.

I plan to store the timeline in its own binder and the cards will be in separate plastic zippy bags. That way we can play the memory match game using specific time periods I want to review.

I am absolutely LOVING these timeline figures. Amy Pak, the owner of Home School in the Woods, has done a wonderful job researching the information to put on these cards. Not only  have we been able to review information we have learned these past two years (seeing as we learned about Ancient Greece last school year), but we are learning information about people and events we didn't cover in our core curriculum. I absolutely LOVE being able to see how biblical events fit in with the rest of history. 

A lot of time and energy has been put into these timeline figures. I was amazed to learn that Amy had drawn the figures herself! And then to add on the time to get these all organized, and to offer them as GIF images as well as PDF files plus being able to access them online. It just blows my mind. The quality is amazing, the information is informative, and the images are very well done. I have to say, Ms. Pak is quite the artist. 

The Timeline Collection would be a huge asset to any homeschool. It doesn't matter what time period you are learning about, you will find images to help you teach your children, whether you are using them to make a timeline, or a lapbook, coloring pages, or just playing games for review, there are so many ways to utilize this resource. I highly recommend it. 

If you would like some more information about teaching with timelines, may I suggest you check out Amy's Blog post titled, Teaching with Timelines.

I also invite you to check out my reviews of the À La Carte products we used last year. Back in March of 2018 we reviewed Ancient Egypt with the Ancient Egypt Timeline and file folder game Tomb Dash! Then last summer we reviewed Ancient Greece with the Ancient Greece Timeline.

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Don't forget to click on the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about the different products they reviewed. In addition to the Timeline Collection: A Collection of Historical Timeline Figures that we reviewed, you will also find reviews for seven different Time Travelers U.S. History Studies and five different Project Passport World History Studies.