The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earlie...
What terrible secret was buried in Shi Huangdi's tomb? Did nomads like lizard stew? What happened to Anansi the Spider in the Village of the Planta...
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reviews
Nov 19, 2011
Skedatt
rated it: 
This is hands down my favorite approach for teaching history to my 6 and 4 yr olds. They ask, Can you read more? I didn't get that response for the other history curricula that I have tried.
It is told in chronological order (not by region) so that makes it easy to work on our timeline.
She has an easy to read aloud conversational tone. The questions that she asks are logical for the age group it is geared for and my kids answer without hesitation.
I l More...
It is told in chronological order (not by region) so that makes it easy to work on our timeline.
She has an easy to read aloud conversational tone. The questions that she asks are logical for the age group it is geared for and my kids answer without hesitation.
I l More...
Jun 08, 2010
Corinne
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The full title of this book is The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child Volume 1: Ancient Times, From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor.
Wow.
This book was a companion text for the study of ancient history that I did with my 7 year old home-schooled son this year. We began, as did our first civilizations, along the Tigris and Euphrates River, explored ancient Egypt and China, traveled to Babylon and India, fought with the ancient Greeks and More...
Mar 12, 2009
LeeAnn
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This book gives a chronological overview of ancient history. It is graded for grades 3-5, I think, although it can be adapted successfully for a little older of a student. The history is simplistic which drove me a little nuts, but it is probably about enough for the ages she geared the book for. I added material/information as I deemed appropriate.
The activity guide that goes with this book is tops for the activities and supplemental literature suggestions. If you had to go with More...
The activity guide that goes with this book is tops for the activities and supplemental literature suggestions. If you had to go with More...
Nov 09, 2010
Marianne
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We intended to use this as our history curriculum for first grade. My son, who loves to listen to stories, couldn't stand to stop at the end of each chapter to do the 'work.' He just wanted to listen to the book straight through! Then listen again, and again, and again. In the past year and a half we have had this audio series we have probably been through the whole thing 6-7 times. Plus, we purchased the rest of Susan Wise Bauer's history curriculum (The Story of the World volumes 2-4) in
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Jun 30, 2010
Jason
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I've been reading "The Story of the World" to my 6-year-old for the past several weeks. While the book is comprehensive in its' overall time line, we've been picking and choosing stories based on what interests us on a given day. Last night we chose three stories summarizing the life and exploits of Alexander the Great. Last week we read about the adventures of Odysseus. Before that, it was the Remus and Romulus myth surrounding the beginnings of Rome. And don't forget the appropriatel
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Sep 01, 2009
Erin
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I worked through this book with my oldest child when I was homeschooling her in Kindergarten, but intend on reading it again with my younger two. Although, this is geared towards first graders it's wonderfully written for children. Without any "dumbing down" and I just love the way that History is explained from beginning to end. It works really well with the Charlotte Mason approach to using time-lines for teaching. By teaching children History in order they are able to create a p
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May 13, 2009
Amanda
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This is the most fabulous history curriculum that I have ever used. The activity book makes this learning experience exponentially better. I have used this book and the activity book for my own home schooled children (they love it!) as well as a small group of home schooled kids who meet together once a week. The kids enjoy learning and they remember so many details. I would have loved to learn about history this way when I was a child. Thank you Susan Bauer! I am looking forward to volume 2 nex
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Dec 09, 2008
Kursten
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This is a wonderful way to learn history and I enjoyed it as much as my children. Learning through stories instead of textbooks is the only way to learn history. There is a teachers activity book that goes along with the storybook with more ideas than you could possibly ever really use. Lots of fun hands-on activities and great book ideas to go along with the time period. We use this series with our homeschool co-op group and do the hands-on activities as a group. However, the storybook is
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Sep 01, 2009
Esther
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We homelearn with the children and have read this book together more than once over the years. It starts with the first nomads & farmers in the fertile crescent, and ends with the fall of Rome. It includes origins & stories of Christianity, Bhuddism & Confucius, along with myths & legends from Greece, Persia, Rome, Africa, South America, India, China and more. The chapters are interesting and not too long. It is the best historical curriculum that we have found to date, and my children request i
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Jan 02, 2012
Teri
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Great way to present history to children--from a world history standpoint, starting at the very beginning. I would READ this book one section at a time to your child--NOT listen to the whole thing on audio CD. I would DEFINITELY purchase the activity book that accompanies the volume--it adds a plethora of activities and supplementary reading. Best history program I've found. Add some corresponding YouTube videos and some National Geographic articles and you have a first rate fairly comprehen
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Oct 25, 2010
Shimmywith4
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This History Curriculum reads like a story book and includes stories that were told in ancient times and places. Makes learning History fun for the kids and mom. You could totally read this alone and actually enjoy reading some facts. (If using as an actual curriculum, an Activity Workbook and Tests Book are available as well and make teaching History as easy as story time and printing a coloring page. My kids personally loved the idea of mummifying our own chicken. "King Cluck" whe
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Apr 27, 2010
LeeAnn
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This activity guide goes with the textbook that accompanies it. It is tops for the activities and supplemental literature suggestions. The textbook is a valuable accompaniment for this activity guide because it is difficult to find literature for many of the ancient civilizations, let alone for children!
If your children enjoy hands-on activities, this guide is a must! It is designed as a year-long curriculum although it took us longer because we inserted some other works into th More...
If your children enjoy hands-on activities, this guide is a must! It is designed as a year-long curriculum although it took us longer because we inserted some other works into th More...
Apr 30, 2010
Ebookwormy
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The genius of this work is the children's perspective. Many stories could be told to illustrate life in ancient times, but Bauer focus' on stories about children, animals and adventure! History is explained and enjoyed from an early age. This is an excellent program and we are looking forward to continuing - the parents are learning right along with the kids (some of it is refreshment for us, and some seems new). While we are going for exposure at this level, and I'm sure it has not all been abs
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Jan 19, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
We used this for our history curriculum for our first year of homeschool. I cannot say enough good things about this. History has become our favorite subject. My son read it again on his own. Susan Wise Bauer wrote it in a story form that keeps the young readers attention and pulls them back into ancient times. My son was so excited to move on to volume 2 that over the first week of the summer he devoured it as well. I recommend this series to everyone, not just home schoolers.
Aug 16, 2009
Laura
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Excellently written history book for children. Sometimes we find it's hard to put it down b/c we are enjoying it so much. We read a chapter or two every night and supplement the reading with either classics from that time period or classics that focus on that time period (per "The Well-Trained Mind"'s curriculum). Following this schedule, all four books should be an excellent history of civilization course for children.
Jun 17, 2009
LeAnn
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For families of younger children (ages 4 to 10) who are studying history, The Story of the World series for Susan Wise Bauer is an excellent choice. In Volume 1, Ms. Wise Bauer covers the beginning of ancient civilizations from the first nomads through the great civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and ancient Rome. As the title makes clear, history is told as a single, coherent story that interweaves major events, people, and places fairly seamlessly (although digressions into a
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Jul 07, 2011
Jody
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Throughout my school days I never took a great interest in History. I had a hard time remembering when things took place and how it all fit together in the history of the world.
The story the world is an excellent book that studies history chronilogically. This has opened a whole new world to me and I can finally understand how it relates to other parts of the world during that time period. This book also includes Biblical history with world history and has helped my understandin More...
The story the world is an excellent book that studies history chronilogically. This has opened a whole new world to me and I can finally understand how it relates to other parts of the world during that time period. This book also includes Biblical history with world history and has helped my understandin More...
Sep 01, 2009
Justina
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We are using this to teach history this year and I am loving it. I must say that history is my favorite subject. I also love the activity book that goes along with it. We love the ideas that it gives for activities. We just finished making a replica of the Nile River and flooded it into the farmland so that we can watch grass grow. The kids are so excited!
Feb 18, 2011
Ruth
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I just love Susan Wise Bauer. She takes something like ancient history, which can with all honesty be extremely tedious in parts, and turns it into an engaging story that children will happily sit still to listen to. She is so great at taking small facts that will appeal to children and highlighting them as you read through the story (a horse as a Roman consul?? A six year old Roman emperor? Oh no, here come the barbarians!). The book reads like an adventure story, which it is, really. Susan is
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Jun 25, 2011
Jim
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Its a history book for children. The narrator has a terrible voice. It still gets three stars because I learned a few things about Egypt and Rome that I didn't know. I plan to listen to the rest of the series in the hope that I'll pick up a few more tidbits that I might not find elsewhere.
Apr 04, 2010
Ubalstecha
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Listened to the audio book version of the story. It was a good survey of ancient times for younger children. Not only is this good for the homeschooling set, but it would also be a good purchase for the classroom teacher who is looking for something for centres or a balanced curriculum unit.
Dec 29, 2010
Lauren
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This is one of the best books for teaching students about ancient history. It is engaging and told like a story. I also like that it goes in chronological order so students get the sense that history takes place all at once around the world, not isolated in different places.
Oct 01, 2010
RobesonBoys
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World history told to children. My kids never wanted me to stop reading this and always asked for another chapter. Caution: They endeavored to build The Great Wall of China in the backyard after reading this book :) A great way to introduce nonfiction as a genre.
Dec 15, 2010
I've read more than 200 pages and I loved this book. It's just so simply told, the writing, the stories. Susan Wise Bauer is a great narrator! However, I know I'm not going to finish this anytime soon, so it's in my to-read list for the time being. :)
Oct 12, 2011
Abigail
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My Mom did not have "The Story of the World" books when I was in school. However I read all four of them a few years ago and still really enjoyed them. I will definitely be using these books when I am homeschooling my own children someday.
Oct 09, 2011
Tiffany Alaine
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This series seemed rather un-credible, VERY simple, and FULL of simplified versions of random mythology and fairy tales. It's not really a history book in my opinion, it's a story book. Not a great educational resource.
Feb 10, 2010
Andrea
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Though this short history of the world was designed for younger children, it acts as a good introduction to the ancient world. It is simply a starting point for much deeper approach to history later on.
Oct 23, 2009
Julie
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This is our History curriculum book for homeschool this year. We're loving it. We have the workbook/activity book that goes along with it and the kids are eating it up!
Apr 07, 2011
Karen
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I read this book outloud to my sons. It was an easy read of history, presenting facts along with traditional stories to make it an interesting read for elementary kids.
Aug 19, 2011
Roseanne
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I used this book as a textbook when I was homeschooling one of my children. It is easy to use and includes information that helps history come alive.
