This post is part of my 10 Ways to Teach Prehistoric and Ancient History series, which is part of 10 Days of Tips for Homeschoolers, hosted by Living Life and Learning.
When I started looking at world history curriculums for my own kids years ago, I was so disappointed by the options. Everything I found was either too old, too religious, too white, or too booooooring.
I didn’t want to spend our time learning history by reading boring texts. Or having to fix everything that was narrow minded about a program. Or analyzing history to the point where it’s not exciting anymore.
So, what I ended up doing was piecing together my own world history program for them. And after years of doing my own thing (which takes a lot of work) while still searching for that magic history curriculum, I gave up.
And that history program I started with my own kids has become Big Ideas through History.
My main goal with creating Big Ideas through History was to offer a history program that is affordable, thorough, secular, un-biased, and usable by every family. But making history interesting has also always been important to me.
Which is why so many of the Sections of Big Ideas through History involve hands-on activities. And building is one of the main elements of the program.
In just the first 3 Units currently available, I suggest four different building activities:
Learn about early agriculture and build a Neolithic Village in Section 5.
What types of crops did prehistoric people grow and what livestock did they domesticate? How did people live in the first world settlements?
In Section 8: Putting Up Walls, research an ancient wall and build a model.
Why was that wall built, what was its purpose? What did it mean to the ancient civilization that built it and what does it represent now?
In Unit 9: European Magaliths, create a megalith with stones or sticks.
How did people of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages build these massive stone monuments and what purpose did they serve?
And in the Unit 3 civilization, the Ancient Egyptians, learn about the burial tombs housed in the great pyramids.
Why did the Ancient Egyptians build the great pyramids for their pharaohs? What were grave goods and what things would you want to buried with?
Big Ideas through History has been a huge undertaking, and as such, it’s a work in progress.
But, that means a great deal for you!
Because, for a limited time, you can get the Complete Part 1 (Units 1-10) for the cost of the first 3 Units currently available.
The price of Part 1 will continue to go up as new Units are added, but anyone who buys the complete Part 1 now gets access to all 10 units as they are added (see the current publishing timeline).
The final price of the complete Part 1 will be $60 (a 20% savings off the individual prices) but you can get the first 3 units now, and access to units 4-10 later this year, for only $22, which is a savings of over 70% for Units 1-10.
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