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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 07 2011 at 4:55pm | IP Logged
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Now that we are in a new home, I am thinking of putting up a wall timeline. I don't have a dedicated school room, but I'm thinking of putting maps and timelines in our first level hallway.
I'm trying to think this through to do both the maps and timeline in a way that will comply with our sense of aesthetic. Neither my husband nor I would handle a "junky" visual clutter well.
I'm painting the hallway a warm sort of khaki color, and I'm planning to get this map and the coordinating US Map and have my husband mount it on homasote for pinning and framed in black.
I'd like my timeline to coordinate, and my plan right now is to take black masking tape to make the lines and use my label maker or print onto mailing labels the numbers and such.
I'm looking at Hold That Thought for timeline figures. Its a good bit cheaper than History Through the Ages (which is so highly recommended), and I'm thinking that if it has fewer figures, that would be fine for Early Elementary. I don't really expect our timeline to have a whole lot on it right now.
I like the framed and photo-cornered look for mounting to the wall. I don't think it would be my choice for a Book of Centuries (which I'm mentally gearing up for waiting until third grade and having it be more "theirs" so that they can draw and include what they would like), but I think I'd like a more unified appearance for public.
Other thoughts I had were
- creating a pretty template in publisher so I could plunk in images from A)History Through the Ages (more $$$) or from image searches (more time--would I do it consistently?)
- Finding some sort of option for a template where the boys could draw their own contribution but the template would keep everything the same size and offer an aesthetic backdrop (much in the way that framing children's art uniformly gives it a calming aesthetic unlike stcking it on the fridge with a magnet, kwim?
Regarding the last idea, I'm worried that index card size would be pretty limiting for a 5 and 7 year old--they draw pretty big things.
As I said, I'm really thinking of the wall timeline separately from a Book of Centuries. I'd like the BoC to be my child's work, but maybe I should anticipate his not always wanting to use it that way and bite the bullet for the History Through the Ages images so we can use them later for the BoC?
I looked at Emmanuel Books images, but I think I'd like the freedom of files rather than pre-printed images.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: June 08 2011 at 9:35am | IP Logged
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Love this thread! I've been thinking through the same things--I would really like to start a wall timeline in the next couple years, but I need to think through an aesthetic plan for it first because I'm not a fan of visual clutter (even if we did have a dedicated homeschool room). I really like your second bulleted option (some kind of frame/template as an organizing principle)--that's what I'm leaning toward.
And like you, I'm planning on delaying a Book of Centuries until each child is old enough to work on his own, whereas the wall timeline I'm seeing as a family effort. I haven't decided about the History Through the Ages images (like you said, they're pricey), although I do anticipate their being used for a long time by a number of children, which does help with the cost. That said, I'd rather see the children's own artwork in their Books of Centuries, so if we're only going to use the images for the wall timeline, I'll probably do something different.
Anyway, lots of scattered thoughts simply saying that I'm on the fence like you are and am interested in reading others' responses. 
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 08 2011 at 9:35am | IP Logged
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I've been thinking about your question, Lindsay. Here is what I've come up with....
:: I would only want to make one investment purchase for timeline figures for the life of history-in-our-home-education.
:: I don't think that means you HAVE TO purchase the timeline figures from Homeschool in the Woods (HitW) right now.
:: I really like the look of the timeline figures from Hold That Thought, and don't think you should discount them entirely just because they have fewer figures overall. We don't use timeline figures for everything, however, I do like the variety we have to choose from and that was a factor in our decision to use the figures from HitW.
***********************************************
More....
I suppose I would probably do one of two things....
I'd consider very carefully which timeline figure templates I preferred most for the-long-haul (Homeschool In The Woods :: OR :: Hold That Thought), and I'd purchase that set now as an investment. It's done. No more purchasing. Printing, finding, coloring, dealing with timeline figures will be consistent over the years and so will the overall look that your family sees - whether in public or in a BOC eventually.
IF I CAN'T DECIDE, OR IF I CAN DECIDE, BUT I'M NOT ABLE TO PURCHASE THE SET I HAVE DISCERNED FITS OUR FAMILY BEST AT THIS TIME....
I'd work on a simple bordered template (FREE) I could print and use for the wall timeline and that provides the uniformity you're looking for and then images can come from a variety of sources - free clip art, Dover clip art (they make a fantastic selection of historical topics...but again...another purchase, but you might already have some so I'm mentioning.), illustrations from the kids, old books you cut up, etc.
My goal would be to NOT spend family money on something that would only be used for a few years when I know I'd most likely prefer a different set in a couple of years anyway. If I had the $$ resources, I'd rather just purchase the set I know we'll get the most use out of. If I don't have the resources right now, I'd rather be patient, put it in the budget, and work with free/creative options.
IF....you prefer something with a bit of a frame or border to place on your wall timeline, you'll want to consider something besides (or in addition to...like the template you were talking about making) the HOMESCHOOL IN THE WOODS figures because they are unbordered. (I am pretty sure you know this already, but just in case... And I thought it would be good to mention in case others don't know that.) Perhaps that helps make the decision for you? With the aesthetic you're describing (which I love, btw), I do think it would look more polished/pleasing with a photo border, or some kind of simple border around the image for display.
Lindsay wrote:
| Regarding the last idea, I'm worried that index card size would be pretty limiting for a 5 and 7 year old--they draw pretty big things. |
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This is true, BUT....you will have a finite amount of wall space and truthfully, anything bigger than an index card would become cluttered quickly once the boys start adding images. The way I've worked around this is to encourage my kids to draw one item that is symbolic of an overall....so a burning bush for Moses, a rainbow for Noah, Old Betsy for Davy Crockett, etc. This keeps the child focused on an image that is able to be drawn in a smallish setting rather than thinking of trying to draw Noah and his entire family and the ark in the background and 2 of several kinds of beasts, and, and, and. Hope that makes sense.
Just my 2 cents.
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SaraP
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| Posted: June 11 2011 at 9:34pm | IP Logged
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My now 8 and 9 year olds have been doing half index card timeline pictures for a couple of years and it doesn't seem to limit them. They do draw differently than when they have a big sheet of paper - like Jen suggested they naturally do the timeline drawings more symbolically.
I've also never found it necessary to purchase pictures for our timelines as I can usually find and print what I need in just a minute or two on Wikipedia and I like using period portraits and depictions whenever possible (like this mosaic of Justinian I which we added this week). For your timeline I would mount all of the pictures - kid drawn and purchased/printed - on matte black cardstock.
I love the idea of having the timeline in a hallway because I have found that the biggest problem is positioning it high enough that the toddler members of the family can't pull pieces off while still keeping it low enough to be eye level for the bigger kids. In a hallway (without furniture) this would be less of a problem.
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SaraP
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| Posted: June 13 2011 at 7:16am | IP Logged
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Or you could mount the pictures on cardstock which matches the color on your map of the country/region where the event took place or the person lived. This worked really well for us for the ancient world - people events from Ancient Greece were mounted on pink because Greece is pink on our world map, Roman people/events were purple and so on.
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 13 2011 at 8:17am | IP Logged
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I thought the BOC was recommended in 4th grade?
We don't have a lot of wall space here. Too many windows. I do have a hall that could do a wrap around approach, which would be fun, but it has a lot of break-ups. But I've been toying with the same idea.
I enjoyed seeing Melissa Wiley's old timeline. It is a bit casual, and I'm wondering what kind of paper to use that is a bit sturdier.
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: June 13 2011 at 10:40am | IP Logged
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SaraP wrote:
| For your timeline I would mount all of the pictures - kid drawn and purchased/printed - on matte black cardstock. |
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I really like this idea as a method of consistent framing for the images.
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Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: July 14 2011 at 9:37am | IP Logged
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Another idea for those who don't have wall space is to use presentation books. We've used 14 x 17 in. presentation books for similar projects. Dick Blick has several versions available. Itoya is the brand we used but there's a cheaper, comparable alternative offered on clearance on their website right now: http://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-presentation-book/
They also carry refillable presentation books or smaller ones by Itoya with up to 90 pages. We have found it most economical to simply purchase the 24 page version and use several as we go along. The spines of the Itoya brand have a sleeve pocket along the entire edge, making it possible to place titles of your books along the edge for easy reference. ETA (I just ordered 4 of the Blick version on clearance ~ it's really an outstanding price ~ it looks like the spine may have the same clear pocket as the Itoya for inserting titles or other information along the edge.)
We're considering doing this project for the upcoming year, http://ourcatholichistory.com/ I foresee breaking Church history into several time frames, then creating presentation books for each of those periods! EPIC already breaks Church history into 12 color-coded periods and offers a basic timeline ~ I think we may use their timeline as a foundation, then use presentation books to expand as we take rabbit trails along the way.
ETA www.cbd.com offers EPIC (which is a throughly Catholic program) at $60 less for the video set and $6.00 less on the study set. It's worthwhile to watch the video clips on the EPIC website...dh and I found that the author and presentor includes finer details we had never read in rather extensive family study of Church history. ETA The introductory video for EPIC incorporates images from "2000 Years of Christianity" (illustrated by Gloria Thomas with text by Warren Carroll ~ published by New Hope Publications around the time of the millenium) They published a larger softcover book with fold-out images of Gloria Thomas' paintings, as well as a smaller, booklet form. The paintings were available for parish exhibits at one time. The images and text from the booklet would be wonderful incorporated into a timeline of Church history!
The black matte of presentation books really make images stand out nicely. Metallic pens (especially silver or gold) are nice for adding handwritten text. We've used a combination of printed text on computer or parchment paper, along with images from various sources that we printed up.
You could easily display a presentation book on a tabletop or floor easel, or use a deeper shelf affixed to a wall to display open presentation book(s). Our favorite way to use them is to simply lay them out on the floor and enjoy the giant project books we've enjoyed putting together!
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: July 14 2011 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
I thought the BOC was recommended in 4th grade?
We don't have a lot of wall space here. Too many windows. I do have a hall that could do a wrap around approach, which would be fun, but it has a lot of break-ups. But I've been toying with the same idea.
I enjoyed seeing Melissa Wiley's old timeline. It is a bit casual, and I'm wondering what kind of paper to use that is a bit sturdier. |
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Sorry I was unclear. I'm thinking ahead. I know I'd like to try to start a timeline this year, and I'm trying to anticipate what we'll do for a boc in a couple of years if that influences what kind of figures I would purchase now.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 30 2011 at 2:41pm | IP Logged
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I'm bumping this back up.
I understand, Lindsay! Perhaps it looks messy, but there are so many images available online, that I was just going to print out what I need when I get there. It might look uneven and even messy, but I'm not sure I like having a timeline look storebought but homemade.
I really want a wall timeline, but I'm not worried about the figures, but more of a durable roll of paper or something and how to break it down in a consistent pattern (i.e., how wide to made each century, etc.)
I was thinking of a heavy-duty roll of paper, like this one, but it's 3 feet tall, so not sure if that will work.
Has anyone done this? Share your experience?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 30 2011 at 2:52pm | IP Logged
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For figures, instead of the pricey Homeschool in the Woods ones, you might check out the historical and saint paper dolls at PaperDali. I haven't used them yet, but when I stumbled on the site, I immediately thought, "Hey! Timeline people!"
Sally
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Claire F
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| Posted: Jan 11 2012 at 12:08am | IP Logged
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I'm bumping this back up because I'm looking at starting a wall timeline.
Lindsay - did you start a wall timeline? What did you decide to use and how does it look?
I have a nice long wall that could work, but I would have to put it up so high - I'm afraid I'd wind up not using it, or it wouldn't be visible enough to be worth doing. It would literally have to be just below the ceiling and going over the doorframes. I'm not sure if that would wind up being useful or not. But I don't have any other wall space.
Does anyone have a wall timeline that is up high?
Any other thoughts or great finds to use on a wall timeline?
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 11 2012 at 6:30am | IP Logged
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Oh dear  is this thread so old?
Well, yes, and no.
I bought a roll of half inch black masking tape and ran it around the upper perimeter of my hallway. I measured and found a scale to make it fit where the breaks in changing walls and so forth fit with significant historical periods and where the modern era was on the longest stretch of wall without doors. I put this in temporarily with post-it notes.
And I bought a pretty, inexpensive set of Martha Stewart stencils and some taupey-grey craft paint and stenciled all the 3s in ancient history.
And that is it so far.
BUT it does look nice!!! Well, minus the post it notes. 
And I bought a ream of navy card stock to mount any pictures to for a consistent, neat look. I think I can get away with a variety of styles for the pictures if I mount them all the same way.
When I am finished, which it HAS been on my mind as I revamp our plans, I will share!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Claire F
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| Posted: Jan 11 2012 at 4:40pm | IP Logged
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That does sound nice!
I don't think I'm going to do anything permanent to the wall. I love the idea of stenciling, but we may move in the next several years and I'd like to be able to take it with us (or at least not have to paint over it). :)
The card stock idea is great. I'm thinking instead of buying timeline figures, I might just get some cardstock to mount pictures and give it a go that way. So even though the pictures may turn out rather eclectic, it could still have a cohesive appearance.
Great ideas!
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Claire
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Claire F
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| Posted: Jan 11 2012 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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I also wanted to share this link to directions for creating a wall timeline. This has some helpful tips, in case anyone is interested.
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Claire
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amy soper
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| Posted: Jan 12 2012 at 6:34am | IP Logged
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Love these ideas!
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Married to a wonderful hubby of 23 years. Mother to ds 20, dd 18, dd7 and dd 6/10...yes we know, big space ;)
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ekbell
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| Posted: Jan 12 2012 at 1:06pm | IP Logged
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For a timeline near the ceiling, I'd consider having broad strips of color for each time period and bold symbols rather then detailed pictures for events and people.
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Unintrusive Wall Timeline
