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Alison
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| Posted: Jan 17 2007 at 6:44pm | IP Logged
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I am trying to decide /formulate reasons why I have my children study "the ancients". OK I can see a purpose in studying Ancient Israel; out of it came our own faith etc but maybe that's more of a Bible study perspective,studying the OT and so on.But Ancient Egypt,well I found reading Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Payne interesting but my children did not. Going to the museum they have always been frightened of the mummies, egyptian art etc when they were under 10.Then Ancient Greece: I have some who devour myths and legends and others who you'd think I was asking them to swallow the yuckiest medicine around and both sides balk at narrating anything for our century books.And then what about all those wars and battles, do they need to know it. Ancient Rome? My thoughts having used Famous Men series with the older ones is it is not necessary! I hope this doesn't sound too heretical. My children all love history from vikings/early middle ages on.With the older ones our 18 months study on this last topic was in part responsible for us coming into the church !! But I'm just confused as to why I'm wanting them all to look at Ancient civilizations.Hoping someone can help!
blessings
Alison
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 7:55am | IP Logged
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One of the main reasons to study Rome (well, two) are that the Catholic Church basically picked up guardianship of western civilization where the Roman Empire left off. The Church went from being an underground movement to a legitimate, state-sponsored religion courtesy of the Roman Empire, and when the Germanic tribes began to invade Rome, only the Church was left to pick up the pieces, keep order and preserve the cultural heritage. The Church by this time was using ancient Roman temples as structural backbones for church buildings.
The other reason to study ancient history is that you really can't understand later western history without it. Greek democracy, Roman republicanism, art, poetry, roads, plumbing, exploration (and, sadly, wars) all began here. It's my opinion that it's much more difficult to understand the later western cultures without the ancient foundations. Even the name of the U. S. Senate comes straight from Rome.
I don't know how old your children are, from your post. Certainly there's a reason to avoid the violent aspects of mythology, Roman culture, etc. with younger children (see Elizabeth's thread on mythology). That's Too Much Information for many younger kids. My son (now 14) literally gagged when he saw mummies at museums...my daughter (9) is fascinated by them...each child is different, in other words. Now, though, my son is totally fascinated by all history studies. I think it's important that you follow your instincts and not study parts of history right now that will bother your younger children; there's time to catch up on that later.
I don't, personally, think that young children need to know tons of dates and battle names, but they will need to know some of that information when they are older.
I hope this helps a bit. Don't forget, too, that it's also possible to learn about history through art study, living books, etc. Perhaps that would be a gentler way to approach the topics your family finds bothersome.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Natalia
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 9:45am | IP Logged
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I think it is important to know about ancient history because it is part of who we are as humans. One civilization builds on another. Humans influence each other.
I don't know how old are you children. Do you think they would be interested in something less complex,more like a survey of history? I know that when my kids were young we use the Usborne book of World History. There is just enough information to get a sense of history. Then you could expand on the topics that seem to grab their attention.
Also, last year somebody (Kim?) posted a link to this siteStudent's Friend. It offers an outline of world history from Prehistory to the present. You could read it the brief passages to your kids of things that they are not interested about and then expand on the things they are.
Just some ideas,
Natalia
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lamamaloca
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
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In my opinion, and please consider that my children are four and under  , I don't see why there would be a need to study any particular period of history in elementary school. In my experience, I have retained very, very little of what was covered in my elementary and middle school "content" classes, like science and social studies/history. I would assume that a homeschool student would retain somewhat more, especially if they were middle school age and were given time to fully process the information, but they would still not retain as much as they would if they covered the same material in highschool.
By high school, I can see why it would be important to have a good familiarity with ancient history. Not only is it important for understanding other history, but it is frequently alluded to in good literature.
Becky
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stacykay
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 9:06pm | IP Logged
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We have used a 4-year cycle, of sorts, for the study of history. Year 1 is all the ancients, year 2 is vikings/middle ages, including the beginnings of western exploration, year 3 is US colonial times through Civil War, and then year 4 covers US westward expansion to present.
In the younger years, there are wonderful "living" books, whether picture books or chapter books, that the boys have all enjoyed. Some are even age-appropriate for a 4 or 5 yo. The boys color pictures of the events and do narrations, at this point. All go into a notebook. Check your local library for books. At ours, we can do a search at home, typing in say, Ancient Greece, and I can even narrow the search to Youth collection. I was pleasantly surprised how many picture books are available for the younger set! It is a money saver, too!
When we get to the second cycle of 4 years, and read other books, the boys really do remember some of what was covered in their early years, and this can build on it. Rather than getting it once in high school (like the public schools around us do,) it comes around every few years. The boys have found that a base helps, when coming back to a time period. They are already a little familiar with it, and we can continue to fill in different aspects of history, that a younger possibly shouldn't be exposed to, at a later age.
We use Jeff Cavin's Great Adventure Bible Study, starting it when we begin our Ancients in the middle school years. As others have mentioned, ancient history is foundational in our study of the Church.
I hope this helps a bit!
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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Theresa
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| Posted: Jan 22 2007 at 9:57pm | IP Logged
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Stacy, are you using My Father's World? I am using the Creation to Greeks program this year and I am loving it!
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Theresa
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marihalojen
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| Posted: Jan 23 2007 at 8:24am | IP Logged
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Can you separate the Bible from the Ancients? My Dd and I are enjoying our Ancient Studies so much this year because we are focusing on coorelating the the two.
How can you study Moses without Ancient Egypt? So much more meaning was given to the plagues when we understood the symbolism behind them. They weren't just icky random plagues but very specific acts against Egyptian gods and goddesses. For instance, look at the plague of Frogs - The fertility goddess Isis is depicted as a Frog in Ancient Egypt, bringing good fortune and new life, this second plague can be looked at as an attack and triumph over the very popular goddess Isis. An easy one for me to remember is the Plague of Darkness - Amon-Re, the sun god, was the most powerful and favored god of Egypt, he was considered the father of the pharaoh and even he was defeated by the God of the Hebrews.
How can you seperate Jesus from Ancient Rome? Who was Herod? Ceasar? Why did Joseph and Mary have to travel to Bethlehem? What did they travel on (not the donkey, I mean the famous Roman road systems - or would that be considered a donkey trail rather than a rabbit trail? map it! draw a cross section! make it from clay and stone! study gears and hodometers! study our USA Interstate system!  )
Alison, I've not read The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, but if it is dry, read Mara, Daughter of the Nile instead. I couldn't put that book down, very gripping - Ancient Egyptian spies! Or try the Egyptian Cinderella for a picture book.
I really don't see how one can study modern history and not study ancient history, from the purpose of our Interstate Roads to our government system itself I see a deep connection.
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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stacykay
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| Posted: Jan 23 2007 at 11:00am | IP Logged
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Theresa in MN wrote:
| Stacy, are you using My Father's World? I am using the Creation to Greeks program this year and I am loving it! |
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I do have this! But have not gone through it myself, yet, to do with the boys. I usually do a study myself, like the Jeff Cavins (which I actually did with a group I started at our church,) then see how it would fit which age of boy (or look for ways to make it "age-appropriate.")
Theresa, I am glad to hear how much you are enjoying it! Makes me anxious to get started! 
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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Alison
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 7:49pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for sharing all the great ideas. As you've probably gathered I tend to think out loud/ bounce ideas before I've anything definate formulated!!( hmm: note to self: remember you also learn/use this method when dc come to you with things not thought through!!)
Anyway last night a friend came round to borrow some of my resources for Ancient History and in the process of sharing them with her, remembering what I had, I got enthused again!!Now I'm waiting to get my "unstead" books back and plan a unit for the youngest two!
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Karen E.
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| Posted: Jan 25 2007 at 6:53am | IP Logged
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Hi, Alison,
I'm glad you received so many good answers to your question. It sounds as if *your* enthusiasm was key here, and that's so often the case for me, too!
I agree with others that knowing ancient history is a necessary building block, and also agree that there are many, individualized ways to go about it.
I also had a child who was horrified by mummies, so when we did a unit on Ancient Egypt, we paperclipped together the few pages in a book (that she otherwise found fascinating) that dealt with mummies. That way, she didn't worry about accidentally flipping to a page that would scare her, but she could still enjoy the rest of the book.
It sounds as if your creative juices are flowing! Enjoy creating your own "real learning" way of following the ancients!
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God bless,
Karen E.
mom to three on earth, and several souls in God's care
Visit my blog, with its shockingly clever title, "Karen Edmisten."
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Ancient History why to do it
