Classical history books for kiddos? any ideas?
Angela
Hi, thisi s my first post i belive to this group, usually i read the
posts n lurk...lol i am a quite type of person....
my question is what are some good read aloud *interesting* history
books for kids? We have bought and tried to read The story of the world
by Susan Bauer, but sad to say- my kids hate it. What else is there
that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
old doesnt find boring?
Any ideas are welcome!
Thanks so much to everyone,
Angela
posts n lurk...lol i am a quite type of person....
my question is what are some good read aloud *interesting* history
books for kids? We have bought and tried to read The story of the world
by Susan Bauer, but sad to say- my kids hate it. What else is there
that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
old doesnt find boring?
Any ideas are welcome!
Thanks so much to everyone,
Angela
Pamela Sorooshian
The Horrible History books are great.
But - they don't HAVE to learn history, right? I mean, they're little
and they'll learn a lot of history, eventually, by following whatever
personal interests they end up pursuing. You don't need to make sure
they learn history now.
-pam
But - they don't HAVE to learn history, right? I mean, they're little
and they'll learn a lot of history, eventually, by following whatever
personal interests they end up pursuing. You don't need to make sure
they learn history now.
-pam
On Jan 16, 2007, at 10:29 AM, Angela wrote:
> Hi, thisi s my first post i belive to this group, usually i read the
> posts n lurk...lol i am a quite type of person....
> my question is what are some good read aloud *interesting* history
> books for kids? We have bought and tried to read The story of the
> world
> by Susan Bauer, but sad to say- my kids hate it. What else is there
> that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
> 9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
> old doesnt find boring?
> Any ideas are welcome!
> Thanks so much to everyone,
> Angela
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Gold Standard
>>but sad to say- my kids hate it. What else is thereDo they want to read/listen to history books?
>>that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
>>9 yr olds attention?<<
Jacki
Robyn L Coburn
I love the Horrible Histories animated tv series (Animania HD channel). Jayn
likes them somewhat but not to quite match my enjoyment, while waiting for
one of her favorites (Flatmania or Mr. Bean) to come on following. (There is
always some gross minor character...er...well to put it bluntly, farting, in
the background
Robyn L. Coburn
<<< The Horrible History books are great.>>>>
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likes them somewhat but not to quite match my enjoyment, while waiting for
one of her favorites (Flatmania or Mr. Bean) to come on following. (There is
always some gross minor character...er...well to put it bluntly, farting, in
the background
Robyn L. Coburn
<<< The Horrible History books are great.>>>>
--
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.13/632 - Release Date: 1/16/2007
4:36 PM
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elizabeth mccarthy
I'm also a lurker, here. My daughter's 5, and so I'm
mostly just soaking up information, squirreling it
away for when I might need it as she gets older.
When we were researching educational philosophies and
considering whether to put her in preschool a couple
years ago, I especially loved the storytelling
approach that's found in the Waldorf schools -- where
the teacher (or, in this case, the parent) learns the
material, and then teaches through telling the stories
from memory, rather than out of a book. It keeps the
information vibrant, and allows the adult to tailor
the angle of each telling to that particular group of
kids. There are so many things I want Sarah to be
exposed to -- not necessarily to Learn the way she
would in school, but just to know that they're out
there if she wants to look more closely, to give her a
really wide, broad, *rich* base from which to start
her own explorations -- but there are so few resources
that address a broad topic in a way I like or that's
age appropriate. Both in history and in science,
especially, I find that most books that try to cover a
broad amount of information give either so much detail
that it's overwhelming or gloss over so much that it's
painfully simplified. So I read up on the topic
myself (using high school or college textbooks,
wikipedia, various library sources -- local librarians
have been great at pointing me at simple but thorough
and accurate books for background research), think
about how to turn it into a good story for her, and
the next time we're doing storytelling, I'll pull it
out. If she's particularly interested in parts of it
and asks questions, either I look that up in more
detail for another time, or I track down good books on
that detailed aspect (I find it easier to find a
couple great storybooks on specific Native American
Creation stories than to find one great book on
comparitive religion for kids, for example). And if
it doesn't interest her, maybe I'll tell the story
again a few months later to see if things have changed
or maybe I'll drop it entirely -- either way, though,
I've broadened my own knowledge base. :)
Obviously working with one younger child is very
different from working with multiple older kids, but
maybe a similar approach would help you. We love
reading aloud or telling stories at night, it's such a
great part of the rhythm of our days -- I'd imagine
it's got to be hard to find books to read aloud that
would keep kids of different ages and temperaments
engaged. Best of luck finding what you're looking
for!
-- Elizabeth
__________________________________________________
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mostly just soaking up information, squirreling it
away for when I might need it as she gets older.
When we were researching educational philosophies and
considering whether to put her in preschool a couple
years ago, I especially loved the storytelling
approach that's found in the Waldorf schools -- where
the teacher (or, in this case, the parent) learns the
material, and then teaches through telling the stories
from memory, rather than out of a book. It keeps the
information vibrant, and allows the adult to tailor
the angle of each telling to that particular group of
kids. There are so many things I want Sarah to be
exposed to -- not necessarily to Learn the way she
would in school, but just to know that they're out
there if she wants to look more closely, to give her a
really wide, broad, *rich* base from which to start
her own explorations -- but there are so few resources
that address a broad topic in a way I like or that's
age appropriate. Both in history and in science,
especially, I find that most books that try to cover a
broad amount of information give either so much detail
that it's overwhelming or gloss over so much that it's
painfully simplified. So I read up on the topic
myself (using high school or college textbooks,
wikipedia, various library sources -- local librarians
have been great at pointing me at simple but thorough
and accurate books for background research), think
about how to turn it into a good story for her, and
the next time we're doing storytelling, I'll pull it
out. If she's particularly interested in parts of it
and asks questions, either I look that up in more
detail for another time, or I track down good books on
that detailed aspect (I find it easier to find a
couple great storybooks on specific Native American
Creation stories than to find one great book on
comparitive religion for kids, for example). And if
it doesn't interest her, maybe I'll tell the story
again a few months later to see if things have changed
or maybe I'll drop it entirely -- either way, though,
I've broadened my own knowledge base. :)
Obviously working with one younger child is very
different from working with multiple older kids, but
maybe a similar approach would help you. We love
reading aloud or telling stories at night, it's such a
great part of the rhythm of our days -- I'd imagine
it's got to be hard to find books to read aloud that
would keep kids of different ages and temperaments
engaged. Best of luck finding what you're looking
for!
-- Elizabeth
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Sandra Dodd
Movies.
Why books?
Or novels that happen to be set in historical periods.
What I think's wonderful for history, though is the fancy photo books, practically museums, Eyewitness to History and Dorling Kindersley books.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Why books?
Or novels that happen to be set in historical periods.
What I think's wonderful for history, though is the fancy photo books, practically museums, Eyewitness to History and Dorling Kindersley books.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Schuyler
In the line of Mr. Bean (well, Rowan Atkinson is in both, and I think
Richard Curtis directed both) is Black Adder. Fantastic history viewed
through a sardonic eye. And, if we come across something else, like the
workhouse down the road, I can place it in time in the context of Black
Adder for Simon and Linnaea.
Television and movies are a brilliant way to explore history. One of the
books that I like looking through as a history book is David's dad's
Pictoral Book of Knowledge set. My brother picked up a set of the Book of
Knowledge at rural auctions in Western Nebraska and those are fun to look
through in comparison as well, both as they are different in time and as
David's dads are the UK series with Enid Blyton as an editor, there is a
different slant on the Empire on which the sun never set. It demonstrates
how human understanding of history and science and math and biology and
Empire all change with time and perspective.
Schuyler
www.waynforth.blogspot.com
Richard Curtis directed both) is Black Adder. Fantastic history viewed
through a sardonic eye. And, if we come across something else, like the
workhouse down the road, I can place it in time in the context of Black
Adder for Simon and Linnaea.
Television and movies are a brilliant way to explore history. One of the
books that I like looking through as a history book is David's dad's
Pictoral Book of Knowledge set. My brother picked up a set of the Book of
Knowledge at rural auctions in Western Nebraska and those are fun to look
through in comparison as well, both as they are different in time and as
David's dads are the UK series with Enid Blyton as an editor, there is a
different slant on the Empire on which the sun never set. It demonstrates
how human understanding of history and science and math and biology and
Empire all change with time and perspective.
Schuyler
www.waynforth.blogspot.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robyn L Coburn " <dezigna@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 8:28 PM
Subject: RE: [AlwaysLearning] Classical history books for kiddos? any ideas?
>I love the Horrible Histories animated tv series (Animania HD channel).
>Jayn
> likes them somewhat but not to quite match my enjoyment, while waiting for
> one of her favorites (Flatmania or Mr. Bean) to come on following. (There
> is
> always some gross minor character...er...well to put it bluntly, farting,
> in
> the background
>
> Robyn L. Coburn
>
> <<< The Horrible History books are great.>>>>
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.13/632 - Release Date: 1/16/2007
> 4:36 PM
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
Sandra Dodd
I love Black Adder, but it's too wordy and referential for 9 year olds, I think. It's blah blah blah (though a highly amusing blah blah blah) and not much action that isn't scatological or involving sex or red hot pokers.
Richard Curtis wrote Black Adder, I'm pretty sure. For anyone who hasn't seen those, you should, but skip the first season until and unless you really like the others. It's not nearly the best. British "seasons" of TV are way shorter than U.S. seasons.
Schuyler <s.waynforth@...> wrote: In the line of Mr. Bean (well, Rowan Atkinson is in both, and I think
Richard Curtis directed both) is Black Adder.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Richard Curtis wrote Black Adder, I'm pretty sure. For anyone who hasn't seen those, you should, but skip the first season until and unless you really like the others. It's not nearly the best. British "seasons" of TV are way shorter than U.S. seasons.
Schuyler <s.waynforth@...> wrote: In the line of Mr. Bean (well, Rowan Atkinson is in both, and I think
Richard Curtis directed both) is Black Adder.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
I love Black Adder, but it's too wordy and referential for 9 year olds, I think. It's blah blah blah (though a highly amusing blah blah blah) and not much action that isn't scatological or involving sex or red hot pokers.
Richard Curtis wrote Black Adder, I'm pretty sure. For anyone who hasn't seen those, you should, but skip the first season until and unless you really like the others. It's not nearly the best. British "seasons" of TV are way shorter than U.S. seasons.
Schuyler <s.waynforth@...> wrote: In the line of Mr. Bean (well, Rowan Atkinson is in both, and I think
Richard Curtis directed both) is Black Adder.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Richard Curtis wrote Black Adder, I'm pretty sure. For anyone who hasn't seen those, you should, but skip the first season until and unless you really like the others. It's not nearly the best. British "seasons" of TV are way shorter than U.S. seasons.
Schuyler <s.waynforth@...> wrote: In the line of Mr. Bean (well, Rowan Atkinson is in both, and I think
Richard Curtis directed both) is Black Adder.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
--- In [email protected], elizabeth mccarthy
<bluebansidhe@...> wrote:
kids are interested in exploring *already*. Now and then I think
about "exposing" one of them to something, but I've learned to catch
myself at that point and examine *why* I'm so invested in whatever-
it-is.
Maybe its something I want to get involved in myself and just need
to admit that and not try to foist it off on the kids
as "education" - that came up today, actually. I was looking though
some books and came across a description of how engines worked and
thought "Oh, I should show this to the kids, its a Valuble
Resource". A little warning light flashed in my mind. The kids were
happily engaged in other persuits, neither one of them is really
interested in engines right now, and if they were they would both be
happier taking one apart than reading about it. Hmmmm - I sat down
and read the book and felt better.
Another of my not-so-great reasons for wanting to "present"
something to my kids is one of those bad old tapes saying "this is
Important Information that Everone Needs". I'm pretty good at
spotting those - they mostly sound like my dad ;) Here's one from
just the other day: the Backyardigans were singing a song around the
word "eureka" and Ray wanted to know what it meant. So I told him. I
think I even mentioned it was Greek. I thought about telling the
story of ol'what's his name in the bathtub - I could even hear my
dad telling the story. But Mo wanted to sing the song and Ray was
busy on the computer. Neither of them was looking for more
information.
you looking at these books with your dd or on your own and deciding
*for* her? I've looked at adult anatomy books and websites with my
5yr old - recently we've been looking at adult chemistry and
biochemistry sites. She just adores drawings of molecules of all
kinds. One day we spent the morning doing an image search
of "proteins" and had a blast. Some of the information was waaaaaay
over my head, let alone a 5yr old's, but she was fascinated.
That sort of learning can come directly from normal daily activity.
Mo wants to know what everything is made of right now: cats, organs,
muscles, cells, proteins.... That was a natural progression of
interest for her. My part wasn't so much that of "storyteller"
as "librarian" - I helped her find out where to look for what she
wanted to learn.
---Meredith (Mo 5, Ray 13)
<bluebansidhe@...> wrote:
>>There are so many things I want Sarah to beI find that this kind of thinking gets in the way of seeing what my
> exposed to -- not necessarily to Learn the way she
> would in school, but just to know that they're out
> there if she wants to look more closely, to give her a
> really wide, broad, *rich* base from which to start
> her own explorations
kids are interested in exploring *already*. Now and then I think
about "exposing" one of them to something, but I've learned to catch
myself at that point and examine *why* I'm so invested in whatever-
it-is.
Maybe its something I want to get involved in myself and just need
to admit that and not try to foist it off on the kids
as "education" - that came up today, actually. I was looking though
some books and came across a description of how engines worked and
thought "Oh, I should show this to the kids, its a Valuble
Resource". A little warning light flashed in my mind. The kids were
happily engaged in other persuits, neither one of them is really
interested in engines right now, and if they were they would both be
happier taking one apart than reading about it. Hmmmm - I sat down
and read the book and felt better.
Another of my not-so-great reasons for wanting to "present"
something to my kids is one of those bad old tapes saying "this is
Important Information that Everone Needs". I'm pretty good at
spotting those - they mostly sound like my dad ;) Here's one from
just the other day: the Backyardigans were singing a song around the
word "eureka" and Ray wanted to know what it meant. So I told him. I
think I even mentioned it was Greek. I thought about telling the
story of ol'what's his name in the bathtub - I could even hear my
dad telling the story. But Mo wanted to sing the song and Ray was
busy on the computer. Neither of them was looking for more
information.
> but there are so few resourcesWho decides the information is overwhelming or oversimplified? Are
> that address a broad topic in a way I like or that's
> age appropriate. Both in history and in science,
> especially, I find that most books that try to cover a
> broad amount of information give either so much detail
> that it's overwhelming or gloss over so much that it's
> painfully simplified.
you looking at these books with your dd or on your own and deciding
*for* her? I've looked at adult anatomy books and websites with my
5yr old - recently we've been looking at adult chemistry and
biochemistry sites. She just adores drawings of molecules of all
kinds. One day we spent the morning doing an image search
of "proteins" and had a blast. Some of the information was waaaaaay
over my head, let alone a 5yr old's, but she was fascinated.
That sort of learning can come directly from normal daily activity.
Mo wants to know what everything is made of right now: cats, organs,
muscles, cells, proteins.... That was a natural progression of
interest for her. My part wasn't so much that of "storyteller"
as "librarian" - I helped her find out where to look for what she
wanted to learn.
---Meredith (Mo 5, Ray 13)
Sandra Dodd
-=-What else is there
that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
old doesnt find boring?-=-
What about American Girls books?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
old doesnt find boring?-=-
What about American Girls books?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robin Bentley
-=-What else is there
that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
old doesnt find boring?-=-
What about American Girls books?
When my dd was 9 (and younger), she really liked them. The American Girl
"History Mysteries" and the "Royal Diaries" appealed to her, too. Before we
moved to WA, we enjoyed many of the "Dear Canada" series books, and I
understand the "Dear America" books are similar.
We really liked reading D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (not history
exactly, but certainly "classical" <g>). Easy to read aloud and understand,
but not dumbed down. Some cool pen & ink illustrations, too.
Robin B.
that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled
9 yr olds attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yr
old doesnt find boring?-=-
What about American Girls books?
When my dd was 9 (and younger), she really liked them. The American Girl
"History Mysteries" and the "Royal Diaries" appealed to her, too. Before we
moved to WA, we enjoyed many of the "Dear Canada" series books, and I
understand the "Dear America" books are similar.
We really liked reading D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (not history
exactly, but certainly "classical" <g>). Easy to read aloud and understand,
but not dumbed down. Some cool pen & ink illustrations, too.
Robin B.
sgaissert_hsn
-- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
What about American Girls books?
I strongly recommend the American Girls historical collection of
books. I started reading them to our daughter when she was five or
six, she continued on with them, and for years her historical
reference points were, "Felicity's time" (Colonial) or "Molly's time"
(WWII). Those books gave her so much!
Susan G.
What about American Girls books?
I strongly recommend the American Girls historical collection of
books. I started reading them to our daughter when she was five or
six, she continued on with them, and for years her historical
reference points were, "Felicity's time" (Colonial) or "Molly's time"
(WWII). Those books gave her so much!
Susan G.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Angela
They do depending on what it is. it goes in spurts, like anything else
does, but when the spurt hits i want to be ready:-D
Angela
does, but when the spurt hits i want to be ready:-D
Angela
Archambeau Suzanne
>What else is there that brings history to life, is fun to read and holds an energy filled 9 yr ODs attention? Something my 5 yr old can understand and my 13 yrold doesn't find boring?<
Hi...Have you tried the "Magic Tree House" book series by Mary Pope Osborne?....We just started to read them to my DD (who's just turned 5) around Christmas and we're already on book #20...My 8 yr old niece turned us onto them now my DD can't get enough of them...The two main characters, Jake and Annie (kids themselves) get to travel through time and around the world with the help of a magic tree house, books and a magical librarian by the name of Morgan le Fay...and they aren't bogged down with just facts, so then we look up more about what we have read about on the computer...even my husband looks forward to the next book and each book is only about 10 chapters so we can finish one in a couple of nights...I hope this helps.
www.randomhouse.com/magictreehouse
SUZANNE
Emily's MOM
"It is the wise mother that gives roots and wings." - Chinese Proverb
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