Timelines.  Okay, I'm a firm believer in timelines--if nothing else, for the homeschooling parents.  Timelines can give us the big picture; once we've got that, then we're much more able to convey it to our children.  But I do believe that children themselves greatly benefit from timelines, charts, and maps placed in strategic locations throughout the home.  I can still easily see in my mind's eye the shape of the Ponderosa and its location on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe--the result of going to visit the Ponderosa when I was 14, buying a map, and putting it on the family room wall.  A picture is worth a thousand words is a maxim that often rings true and all the more so if the picture is looked at day after day.  So that's why we have timelines in our home.

But I can hear you protest, "They don't match the decor!"  "We don't have wall space!"  Yes, I know how you feel.  We've had/have maps and timelines up since ... well, since we first started homeschooling.  No, they don't match the decor.  Some folks might even think they look tacky.  And yes, we do get some comments when we have people over for dinner, etc.  But the home is where we learn, and learning is just easier with our tools in a handy location.  And I figure that we won't be homeschooling forever; it's just a season in our lives.  While I like the timelines out where I can have easy access to them, I have had a timeline up in my son's room in the past.  So if you just can't stand to put a timeline up in your dining room, one of your kids' rooms or the hallway might be just as good!  And once you see these timelines and how nice looking they are, you might not have so many qualms about having them up in your living room or dining room.

I've just recently gotten two timelines from Parthenon Graphics.  I really like them.  I don't want to gush, but these timelines are like nothing I've seen before for homeschoolers.  They're neat, tidy, and hold a lot of information in a very organized and visually appealing manner  They arrived all rolled up in a little cylindrical mailing carton.  The one I've looked at the most is the timeline of the British Monarchy.  It's hanging on the wall in our dining room.  And it's not huge; it's 44" long by about 9" tall.  Can you picture that?  Not very big at all ... well, not big compared to a 13-foot timeline which can be difficult to place.  I had no trouble finding room for this timeline.

This British Monarchy timeline is very extensive.  It's divided into two parts lengthwise.  The top part has notations of world events and the lower section has all the monarchs listed, along with a picture of just about every monarch since Alfred the Great, and the length of their reign is also marked.  The timeline starts right around the time of the Fall of Rome--A.D. 400s and ends with HRH Queen Elizabeth II.  I love having the drawings/photos of the monarchs.  I tell my kids (when we read about a monarch in a book we're reading together) to run in and see what he/she looked like.  It's rather a handy item.

One neat thing is to just sit there reading it while we eat our meals.  I hear comments like, "Lady Jane Grey only reigned for 9 days.  Why?" or "Is Winston Churchill still alive?" or "That's not a very good picture of Edward II."  It's definitely been a conversation starter.

But back to my description of the timeline.  So we've got the top part telling world events and the lower section containing the monarchs themselves.  Then, there is a small section between the two sections telling what the name of the monarchy is, e.g., Plantagenets (Henry II, Richard the Lion-Hearted), Tudors (Henry VIII, Elizabeth I), Lancasters, Stuarts, Hanoverians (George III), and the Windsors (Elizabeth II).  The timeline is divided by 5 year increments with each hundred years being marked in larger numbers.  And the Encyclopedia Britannica was used as the reference.

The other timeline that we got is the timeline of The U.S. Presidents.  This one has a few miscellaneous flags on one end and a list of the presidents, their lifespan, their term, and their vice president on the other.  The center section is the largest, and it is the actual timeline.  It starts with the year 1730 and contains three sections--US events, US periods, and the presidents (their term and their political party).  My only disappointment with this one is that there are no pictures of the presidents; I don't think it would be easy to fit them on the timeline, though.  But if you'd like pictures, you could find some of your own to place below or above the timeline.  (see below for a couple of ideas)  This timeline is great for the study of US History.  Whenever you're reading about an event, you could have one of your students go to the timeline and figure out who was President at the time or vice versa--if you know the President, then you could look up an event on the timeline that occurred during his term.  Note:  the author has informed me that it's due to U.S. copyright restrictions that there are no pictures on the U.S. Presidents timeline; he had wanted some on the timeline, too!

You can purchase these timelines with or without the lamination.  I definitely suggest that you buy the laminated versions of every map you choose.  I got one without lamination so that I could compare the difference.  Since the paper that these timelines is printed on is rather thin, the lamination is a necessity, in my opinion.  The one that didn't have the lamination, I tried to cover with clear contact paper.  I had a very hard time, and it ended up with quite a number of little folds--not a pretty sight (and I've been covering items with contact paper for 10 years--I'm not a novice).  So the laminated versions of timelines cost a little more, but I think they're worth it especially since a laminated timeline will last longer.

As far as problems with the timelines, well, the print is a little small.  But if it weren't small, then everything wouldn't fit on the timeline.  So one has to be somewhat close to read the timeline.  For instance, we can read it across the table, but we can't read it from across the room.  Another thing, the timelines are printed on perforated paper that has at one time been folded.  Once the timeline is laminated, you can't really tell, but the unlaminated one still looks like it's been folded.  The printing appears to have been done on a fancy color printer.  But they're way beyond "homemade looking," so don't worry about that--like I said, they look really nice.  Beyond that, I don't really have any other warnings that you might want to know about before purchasing a few of these timelines.

Parthenon Graphics have produced a quality product--granted I only have two of them, but I imagine that the other timelines maintain the same standards of excellence.  A lot of time and effort has gone into putting them together and laying them out.  There's a wealth of information on each timeline.  They're colorful, pleasing to the eye, and very educational.  They can really help your students to visualize whatever historical period they're studying.  I personally can't imagine homeschooling without timelines.

One thing we do with the timelines, that you might want to consider.  We stop in at thrift stores and look for old history textbooks.  We use these textbooks to add extra pictures to the top and bottom of timelines.  True, the book gets all cut up, but we probably weren't going to use the textbook anyway.  And for a little money, we've just gotten a whole lot of clipart!  Another way to find extra pictures for your timeline is to use Altavista search and search for images.  Then just print them out and cut them up.  And you can use that putty that doesn't leave marks.  This would be an easy way to find pictures of the presidents.  I think that this is a fun way to personalize timelines and adapt them to fit our curriculum.

Here's the link to Parthenon Graphics.  They carry a number of timelines (Ancient Egypt, Roman Empire, Old Testament, Classical Music, US History, and custom timeline blanks for making your I timelines) and are adding more often.  You can even vote on which timeline you'd like to see developed next! 
 
 

Here's a couple of books that we've found useful when working with timelines.  The books below are actually the same size (except for thickness); sorry about the misleading graphics.  Timetables is very much more detailed than World History Dates and is an excellent reference book.  World History Dates has lots of colorful pictures which makes it much more interesting for students in the middle grades and those more visually oriented. Hardcover    Softcover