Customer Reviews

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 1: Ancient Times CDs

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First thing my 7 and 8 year olds did this morning was put on this CD which they started listening to yesterday. They have been listening to it for about 2 hours today, and show no indication of ever turning it off.

Reading through the reviews, I realize there are some people that will not want to buy this CD.

1) If you are a fundamentalist Christian who believes that only what is in the Bible should be taught as history, this is not for you.

2) If you are a fundamentalist secularist who believes anything in the Bible, or from Buddhism, Hinduism, or other religions should be omitted from history, this is not for you.

3) If you are looking for a college textbook, this is not for you.

If, on the other hand, you are looking to introduce your younger children to the story of the world, complete with legends and religious beliefs, starting with the nomads of ancient time, HERE IT IS!! It is engaging for children, it is chronological, it brings up great discussion questions, and it gives children a historical outline so when they grow older they will have a historical perspective as they learn more about various cultures. It is quality education that children love- at least mine do.

I have used this program twice:
First, very loosely with my daughter in a self directed way. She loved it, but I only had her go 1/2 way through. She was able to do many of the projects herself and retained A LOT.
Secondly, I have taught this with a co-op group. As a teacher there were several things I discovered:
1. The use small area maps not in conjunction with a world map leaves the students unable to fathom spacail relationship and relativity. It would be great to have a world map on the corner of each page. I used Hold That Thought maps to provide this connection.
2. The craft section was easy to follow. There were so many to choose from it was easy to find elaborate or simple ones. When teaching at home, you can do more than one with exercises spread out for great retention. Although we did a chapter a week in co-op with one craft, the kids retained huge amounts.
3. It would be best to build a time line as you go so as to be able to lay out the figures in such a way to see how they overlap. I often wondered about the order in which she wrote. I do not have the NEW revised version and this may be remedied. Still a visual timeline would probably fix this.
4. The kids are on the edge of their seat! They really look forward to hearing the next part.
5. It is important to stress the differece between myths and historical figures. When quizzing kids with such things as "Is this story real?" there were mixed answers. I often had to clarify. Something to be sure to have a game plan for ahead of time.
5. As a teacher this was expensive. The copyright does not give you a blackline master to use. Confusing and even expensive for parents with more than one child? I have to buy the activity sheets for every kid? AND there is no price break at 10? I can purchase a copyright for a year but still have to pay for printing?
6. The book makes it EASY to teach. The prep is little. Maybe a movie or library pictoral books to drive it home. I always felt prepared at a mometns notice to teach.
7. How about pronunciation? There could be some phonetics in parentheses to help those of us who don't speak ancient dialects of all kinds! I guess that's how they get you on the audios.

I would like to state that this is an elementary program. Getting hung up on in depth historical facts at an early age is folly. Kids glaze over and do not retain. Therefore THIS program really works. Its enough of the intersting stuff to get them to delve deeper. As a homeschool teacher that is what I am hoping for! That THEY will take ownership of it and press on into who they are with their research.

If you really just want biblical history do Greenleaf Press' or Mystery of History. You will get more Bible than anything. I enjoyed the oppertunity to expose my kids to world faiths while discussing ours. It really caused my kids to know and research why and what we believe!!!

If you want a springboard with no head ache and projects that don't require 50 pounds of plaster of paris and chicken wire, this is your answer!

This book is by far the best read aloud history book I've come across. It takes you on a journey from Ancient Mesopotamia, through Egyptian dynasties,mighty Assyria and Babylonia, to the rise of the Greek culture and ends up with the glory of Ancient Rome. It even includes the history of civilizations such as Africa and Asia. Best of all, it is written in simple language with lots of ancient fairy tales and fictional accounts of what life might be like for a 6 - 8 year old child from that period.

My son's favorite part of the school day is when we curl up on our sofa and read Volume 2 of The History of the World. When we were still on Volume 1, he would beg me not to stop reading. Another thing I really like about this book is the fact that you can read a chapter, go to the library and explore more in depth on that time period. I have always thought history should be taught as a STORY, not mere facts and dates, and this book does just that. You can even read this book to your kids as a bedtime story, one chapter a night!If you decide to get the activity book(which you should if you are a home schooler)then you will have all the questions to ask your child after reading, maps to color, and suggested activities to reinforce the reading material. My only complaint is that the coloring pages (simple black line drawing for the kids to color) are not as high quality as they should be. My son didn't care for them at all and I didn't blame him. The illustrations in the reading book weren't that great either.

There is no theorizing about what came before humans and it is religously neutral, but still delves into the religous practices of ancient man with a matter of fact attitude;no judging or scoffing - just the facts. This was really important to me, since I have strong Christian beliefs but want my kids to be aware of other religions and their importnace to our history.

If you have kids who think history is a bore, or even if they already love history, this is a book I highly recommend.

I was unsure at first how I would like the audiobooks since the cornerstone of our education at home is reading aloud. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how entranced my oldest child, the fidgety one, became as she listened. I didn't even ask her to listen, she joined me in the kitchen as I was reviewing the audiobooks, and this speaks mountains about the product.

The audio CDs are individually stored in plastic slide-in sleeves, which are packed in a durable plastic binder-type case. The discs are well-labeled with the chapter number and title. The track listing on the CDs don't match with the chapter numbers, which can be confusing; for example, chapter 1 is covered on tracks 4, 5 and 6 of disc 1. The insert, however, has a complete listing of the chapters and track numbers to facilitate programming.

The insert also contains two indexes which are extrememly helpful. The first lists the exact location you can find the chapters about individuals (example: the lesson on Alexander the Great is on CD 4, tracks 8-10.) The second index is a quick reference of stories (example: the story of Romulus and Remus is found on CD 4, track 14.)

The audiobooks feature an engaging and energizing musical score as a break between chapters. Listening to the narrator is like having a professional storyteller in your home. The narrator speaks with a natural, even tone.

The audiobook version of SOTW is pleasant enough for daily use and is interesting enough not to drive you crazy on a long drive.

We are a homeschool family. My kids love to listen to these CD's and request them at bedtime, and while driving in the car. I find it's a good way to review what we've already read in the book (of the same name and author). My son, particularly, retains this information better, than when I read it aloud to him.

The CD's are wonderful!! We use them to accompany our book and listen to them while driving around. The kids (7 & 5) enjoy listening to them (as well as the parents) and it really helps them to remember....even act them out. What I like most is that there is enough history lesson to peak their interest in an area that we can delve into deeper on our own. Otherwise, we enjoy the story and move on. We use these along with the Activity Book and have really had a fun time with history!!

My children couldn't wait for the car to start, and the Story of the World to come on. For my older son, it reminded him of history that he had learned in school. For my younger son, it has developed a sense of curiosity and interest in history. I just ordered "part 2" to be enjoyed during a long car trip this summer. We all appreciated the way that each continent was represented at the same period of time.

I like the reader for these stories. She could put a little more genuine emotion into it, though. She speaks with emotion, but it is the same cadence and emotion for each story, mostly. Using the audio makes it easier for us to get our homeschool history lessons in when we need to be away from home, or with kids who are reluctant to listen to Mom read aloud.
The intro and "outro" music is a little loud and annoying, however. Not having heard the Jim Weiss versions, I wonder if they ever changed that? At any rate, I often find myself trying to catch it before the intro to the next chapter and turning it down or off, to save my ears.

Still a good and useful product which I would recommend.

We have this series on CD now and the whole family enjoys listening to it on a car journey. It is a good run through history, with things even the adults did not know before.