I have always been interested in the Classical method of homeschooling. Within this method, a rigorous schedule of history classes are promoted. One company that I have come to know as a leader in history products, including very thorough supplements to Classical Education courses, is Knowledge Quest.
I’ve seen Knowledge Quest mentioned over and over again in the homeschool world, and it really is obvious why. They offer tons of products that teach or supplement teaching of history and are huge on timelines and maps.
For someone like myself that doesn’t personally love history (Please ignore the fact that I have a minor in it!), it is important to have great resources to use to make sure that my children receive proper and adequate instruction in this subject area. TimeMaps is a product that helps fills this need and could easily ignite a love of history in the students (and parents) using it.
When checking the program out, we used the European Exploration Unit and my kids were excited to see exactly how Europeans “moved” and explored. The maps were sequential and slowly showed lands as they were discovered. They liked the tidbits of information within the program, including the types of ships and information on countries, and the questions for further study that were included. We made a webquest out of our time using TimeMaps to further explore the ideas and information presented.
This program would be terrific for students using any history curriculum teaching the timeframes available as units with TimeMaps. It would be very easy within the program to choose a specific set of dates to explore and learn about. Alternatively, you could use it as a standalone main resource by using the questions in the program as well as the teacher’s guide. With some web research and a library trip, history could be made very real and exciting! I highly recommend it to at least supplement an existing history program, especially if you are doing Classical Education. In the case of Classical education, it’s an even better value because it can be used every time the student works through the history cycle and can be adapted to go more in depth each year. It could also be used with multiple age levels using as much or as little extra information provided as your student requires.
This software is a useful tool for history instruction. Units can be purchased separately for $9.95 each or as an entire collection for just $44.95. Units include Ancient China, Rise of Rome, Fall of Rome, Rise of Islam, The Black Death, European Exploration, and Atlantic Slave Trade. When purchased, you receive a product download for Windows or Mac (or can receive a CD-Rom for $5 extra). Within this download is the actual map program itself, which includes maps and tidbits of information and quizzes, as well as a Teacher’s Notes with tons of activity and lesson ideas for use with the TimeMaps Unit, including student maps to label and color and timeline pages. This product is suitable for all ages, K-12.
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Grace says
Cool!