Shortly after I began homeschooling the three youngest of our nine children, I drew a single line on a poster board. Beginning in 4000BC with Adam and Eve, I divided the line into thousand year segments. My chart had dates of some key events and people, including the life of Jesus Christ, written in the appropriate places.

An arrow after the year 2000 indicated the years that went into the 7th millenium. I explained that we didn't know for certain when Christ will come again, but I showed our nine year old daughter where the year of HER birth appeared on the time line.

Melanie suddenly exclaimed, "We are getting really close to the end!" "Yes we are," I agreed. "That's one of the reasons we have family prayer and study the scriptures and try to do what is right. So we will be ready for the things that will be happening in the future."

Then Melanie made a statement that I shall never forget. "I know we already prayed and studied our scriptures today, but I think we should do it again!" My daughter had just come to understand history's "big picture" and how she fit into it in a brand new way! There is no doubt about it: time lines CAN be very effective in teaching history. Soon, I began making a more detailed timeline with simple illustrations for our family.

But choosing the events, creating the figures and doing the research for each one became a very time consuming project. What if every mom that wanted a time line for her children were spending as much time as I was? Wow! Think of the hours it was taking. And these are moms that are already doing way more than most mothers. What if they could get affordable timeline figures, complete with summaries, to assist them in teaching their children? Then they could spend their valuable time in more productive activities!

So....combining my education (a degree in child development and early childhood education ) with my life-long interest in art and history and my love of teaching children, I began creating the first history packet by Time Lines Etc. I drew 36 Old Testament figures, wrote historical information, added a sheet of dates, a History in Action summary, ideas for assembling a time line and for games and learning activities. Moms loved it and kept asking when the next packets would be available. Now we have packets that cover events from ancient times to the present as well as the Old and New Testaments.

Caution: Remember you can't always judge a book by its cover. Time Line products do not have a slick, commercial look, but one mom advised me not to change the covers. She reassured me, "Home schoolers are much more interested in content and quality. They are looking for value and want materials material with substance. These packets are the best resource for history that I have found!" Others have expressed appreciation for the personal, "homespun" look of the colorful illustrations.

Discover how Time Lines Etc. can save you time and enhance your homeschool curriculum. For complete descriptions and specific contents, click on the products link.

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