Week 1-The Beginning of Recorded History
Creation by Cynthia Rylant
Who Eats What by Patricia Lauber
Week 2-Ancient Holidays, Mesopotamia, Animal Classification
Celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Deborah Heiligman
Let’s Classify Animals by Kelli Hicks
Week 3-Family Rules and Rhythms, Pyramids, Mammals
On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Cathy Goldberg Fishman
National Geographic Readers: Pyramids (Level 1) by Laura Marsh
Week 4-Harvest Festival, First Farmers, World Geography
On Sukkot and Simchat Torah by Cathy Goldberg Fishman
Week 5-Ancient Egypt, Hemispheres,
Archeologists Dig For Clues by Kate Duke
Week 6-Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs, Pyramids, Foods
Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki
Week 7-Ancient Egypt,The Exodus, Hieroglyphs
The Longest Night by Laurel Snyder and Catia Chien
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Week 8-Ancient Egypt, Human Anatomy, Medicine
Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
Week 9-Famous People of Ancient Greece, Heart Health
My Body by Patty Carratello
If You Were Me and Lived in Ancient Greece by Carole P. Norman
Week 10-Greek Alphabet, Math and Science in Ancient Greece
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
Week 11 Olympic Games, Greek Wars
Alexander the Great by Demi
Week 12-The Odyssey, Marathon, Greek Feast
The Iliad and the Odyssey by Marcia Williams
Week 13-Art and Architecture in Ancient Rome
City by David Macaulay
Week 14-Roman Life and Art
City by David Macaulay
Week 15-Christmas/Nativity
The Friendly Beasts by Tomie de Paola
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
The Christmas Story by Jane Werner Watson
Room For A Little One by Martin Waddell
Week 16-World Geography, Countries and Cultures, Transportation
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen
Week 17-Early Saints and Missionaries, Weather
National Geographic Readers:Weather by Kristin Baird Rattini
Week 18-Augustine of Hippo, Creed, Birds
Augustine by Simonetta Carr
Week 19-Saint Patrick, Early Missionaries and Monks
Saint Patrick by Tomie de Paola
Week 20- Saint Francis, Birds, Flowers
Brother Francis of Assisi by Tomie de Paola
Week 21- Korea, Seeds, Asia Timeline
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
Week 22-Japan, China, Geology
A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston
Hi Koo!: A Year of Seasons by Jon J. Muth
Mao and Me by Chen Jiang Hong
Week 23-Africa, Periodic Table
One Hen by Katie Smith Milway
The Periodic Table by Sean Callery and Miranda Smith
Week 24- North Africa, The Periodic Table
Deep In The Sahara by Kelly Cunnane
The Periodic Table by Sean Callery and Miranda Smith
Week 25-Latin America, Rainforests, Spanish Language
The Rainforest Grew All Around by Susan K. Mitchell
Week 26-Latin America, The Andes, Insects
Up and Down The Andes by Laurie Krebs
Week 27-India, Insects
Finders Keepers by Robert Arnett
Week 28-India, Snakes
Rikki Tikki Tavi by Jerry Pinkney and Rudyard Kipling
Amazing Snakes by Sarah L. Thomson
Week 29-Passover, Ponds
The Longest Night by Laurel Snyder
The Story of Passover by David Adler
Week 30-India, Country Report, Nests
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston
A few notes about the book list
You will need the read aloud selections, but many are available at the library.
For the remainder of the books, you could find them at the library, on YouTube, or substitute for a title with a similar theme. I feel it is worth owning many of them, but I also understand that we are all working on a different budget, and I tried to keep the book list as simple as possible.
A study of ancient history will naturally contain some graphic material and nudity. I did my best to choose books that minimized the intensity of this and kept a lighter spin on ancient history, but please glance through the books for yourself before handing them to your children.
Ancient history studies also cover a wide variety of religious perspectives. While I am an Apostle's Creed confessing, non-denominational believer, I feel that studying the beliefs of other people of the book, such as Jews and Catholics can enhance our own understanding of God. I hope that both Jewish and Catholic families can feel at home with this curriculum. In fact, several weeks of the curriculum focus on Jewish feast days. The Jewish culture has outlasted most other cultures that shaped the ancient world, and learning from them can help us shape our families to be influential in our own era.
With that being said, there are many other religions represented in a study of ancient history. A few of the weekly picture books will represent these other religious viewpoints, so that whatever your perspective is, you can learn to understand the people who inhabit our world.
"Seek first to understand before you seek to be understood."
-Stephen Covey
I hope that however you believe, your family can sense the love in these pages, and can create beautiful connection with your family as you learn about the ancient world and other cultures together.
