[.ca] Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last ... (ISBN 0971412952)

Next time hire a proofreader...:
This book is full of spelling errors which makes me really wonder about the authors. I mean, they're telling us what to use and what to do to educate our children and they can't spell! The projects are nothing more than busy-work and half the time, if you follow the instructions word-for-word, the project does not come out correctly. About the only good thing in the book is the narration questions and the supplemental reading, but SOTW barely scratches the surface of history and if you do all the supplemental stuff and the activities there is absolutely no way you'll get through the book in the time that you're supposed to (one school year). All in all, save your money and go to the library. Look in the reference section or ask your librarian for both fiction and non-fiction books on whatever period of history you're doing and then read, read, read. The kids learn more by reading and discussing than by trying to mummify a chicken which does nothing more than stink up the house for weeks and the chicken does not end up mummified. I will NOT be buying any further volumes in the SOTW series (either the text or the Activity Books) and I very quickly sold my copies of both.

Good ideas but they should have hired an artist:
I really liked the "Story of the World" volume and eagerly ordered this activity book to go with it. There are good activity ideas in this volume but the coloring pages and other graphics could have been drawn by a 3 year old. For the price, which is more than I would have paid if I had seen it, I expected a quality product. I guess if you are using it for an older child and don't care about the graphics it is a good resource for someone who just wants quick ideas and doesn't want to research their own. However, I don't think the original volume "Story of the World" would be that great for an older child so you end up with activities for one age group and text for another. If I wouldn't be out shipping both ways I would return this book. I highly recommend that you view it somewhere before purchasing.

Worth its weight in gold.:
The Story of the World: Activity Book One: Ancient Times is an amazing resource. Perfectly matched with The Story of the World text, it is an invaluable resource. This book should be required for every elementary school child. The book starts with a handy pronunciation guide, which is a great help with the many ancient names encountered. It ends with a huge section of student pages, which include maps of the ancient world, coloring pages (many taken from ancient art/architecture), and review cards. Found in between these 2 sections is the comprehensive teaching guide. The teaching guide has a wealth of information, for every section. The reading is cross-referenced with Usborne and Kingfisher history encyclopedias. Review questions and sample narrations are provided. Lists of optional, supplemental, age-appropriate reading materials are included, as well. In many sections, there are recipes appropriate to the geographical area and/or time period being studied. Even with all of the above, Ms. Bauer did not stop. Every chapter has a wealth of hands-on activities and projects, correlated to the subject matter. These activities are designed to be done with materials that most people already have in their homes. There are always several activies included, ranging from the simple to the complex. For example, the chapter on The Old Kingdom in Egypt includes a project to make a Lego step pyramid, and instructions on how to mummify a chicken. This is by far the most comprehensive and well-written history activity guide that I have ever used. Everything that I needed was included. After using this in kindergarten, my son has a deeper understanding of ancient history than many of the adults that I know. I used several of the projects with my teenage daughter as well, and she thoroughly enjoyed them. I would highly recommend this book for every family with children.

Well worth the money!:
This book has: (1) review questions--a great way to be sure your child understood the chapter in SOTW (2) additional book suggestions--what a wonderful way to enrich your history curriculum. Our library has most of these and they are great! (3) activities--the best part of these is that they can be as simple or complicated as you want. For example, for the 'build a pyramid' project, you could make it our of legos (simple) or out of homemade sand-covered blocks (4) coloring pages and maps--these are wonderful I can't think of a better way to enrich your study of history!

Excellent activity choices:
I am thrilled to have this activity book to supplement the Story of the World! There are many wonderful activities in it that I would never have come close to thinking of on my own! Although there are a few activities that I know I would never try, I know others that have done those same activities with their kids and loved them! There is such a variety, that each user can pick and choose the activities that best suit the individual/family. I think it was well worth the money!