We have kept a timeline for a number of years and I have mentioned them in various planning or end of year reviews but thought it was time to do a full post on it. It is super simple so it feels silly to do this, however I know when I couldn’t wrap my head around how something worked I loved when others would show what they did. So know – if you’re reading this because you can’t quite wrap your mind around a timeline, at some point it will be so simple you’ll feel silly sharing about it!
I am going to share a video of these two books, but for those who prefer to read I will share everything here, too.
Years ago a friend gave us their partially used Sonlight Timeline books. They’ve since updated the cover, but it is available on the Sonlight website for purchase. I don’t quite remember when we were given them, but I think around 2014/2015 time frame. Back then I just had my boys add something to their book as we remembered to. There were very few entries being done.
I bought myself the xxl hardcover grid moleskine, which they don’t seem to sell anymore but I would prefer this dotted one you can click to see if I were to start over anyway!
The past two years we have set Fridays aside for things like updating our timeline books, and I have asked them each to do three entries on Friday from their readings. It is not perfectly done, but it is getting done! If we skip a week I do not make it up the following week. They only ever do three entries (unless they really want to add something.) On occasion they sit down to add something and don’t have any one new to add, so they skip that week for that reason. Typically if we skip a week it’s just because we forgot.
When we do this on Fridays we all sit around the table together. The boys with their sonlight timeline books and I with my moleskine one. We chat a little about who we are adding and why (super informally, it’s not an agenda driven thing, just a “hey, this is interesting to me…” type of thing). We then google to make sure we have the dates all right. I almost always draw the person or event, the boys don’t really, they just write. Then we are done!
I thought for sure they would want their books updated to something nicer as they got older, but they are both pretty attached to their books! I have put the offer out to them that I am happy to buy them a nicer book, but neither of them want that. They are entering years 7 and 8 this fall (2020) so perhaps when they start high school I will change – or have them start a book of centuries (which we have never done! Which reminds me … I am thinking of writing a post on all the CM things we haven’t done – or haven’t done well. I don’t want it to make people lower their own standards or their own striving for excellence. But I am wondering if perhaps it would encourage folks to know we are definitely not doing all the things, while at the same time intentionally doing our best.)
Anyways, I hope this glimpse inside our timeline books gives you an idea of how simple and enjoyable it can be! Here are a few pictures of the inside of my oldests timeline book and my own “homemade” timeline book. You can see a bit more of each in the video.
Haley Fink
Hey! I’m new to CM and am starting AO with my almost 6 year old, he will obviously be in Y1. Im wanting to have a timeline or book of centuries going for myself as you have and im wondering this..the way you have yours laid out isn’t it more like a book of centuries or no because of the way the years are spaced? Can you speak to that a bit? I’m trying to decide what format I want to do for myself. As or right now my son has a very condensed timeline hung on the wall. But I am thinking I want to switch him to something that we will be able to build upon and not throw out ya know?
Jessica
I can’t authoritatively speak to it, I do what works for me and makes sense for my brain 🙂 A friend of mine does his in a google doc!
Laurie Bestvater has written a book called The Living Page – it might be able to break down things a bit more formally for you.