Product Description
Study history, geography, and Bible together as a family!
This year of lesson plans features the accounts of Joshua to Malachi, including a study of Ancient Greece and its interactions with Persia—especially her kings who are mentioned in the Old Testament: Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes, Cyrus—along with Italy, Sicily, Macedonia, Syria, Judea and Jerusalem, Babylon, Libya, and Egypt. Geography centers around the Middle East, where so much of the Old Testament took place. Older students add more history and geography books, plus a timeless study of Proverbs.
The Charlotte Mason-style lesson plans
- Make the ancient world come alive through living books and Bible readings.
- Help your students listen attentively and recall what was read by narrating.
- Let you teach the whole family together by sharing some books as family read-alouds, then challenging older students with additional reading and writing assignments from other books on the same topic.
- Help all your students, grades 1–12, see how Bible events fit into history.
- Connect geography to the people who lived there—both past and present.
- Keep things simple by providing helpful reminders of upcoming resources, teaching tips, and Book of Centuries entries.
Book List
Resources needed for these lessons
Book List for History, Geography, Bible
Read the books listed under Family to all the students together. Add the grade-level books as individual reads for any children you have in those grades. For example, if you have students in grades 2 and 5, you will want to get the books under Family, Grades 1–3, and Grades 4–6.
Family
- Bible
- The Story of the Greeks by H. A. Guerber, edited by Christine Miller, Fourth edition (Nothing New Press; The Nothing New Press edition contains revised and expanded material used in the lesson plans which is not included in other editions.)
- The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of Ancient Greece portfolio
- Then and Now Bible Maps from Rose Publishing
- Visits to the Middle East notebook (one for each student)
- Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel (used with Visits to the Middle East)
- Material World by Peter Menzel (used with Visits to the Middle East)
plus . . .
Grades 1–3
- Our Little Athenian Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles
- Our Little Spartan Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles
Grades 4–6
- Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
- Herodotus and the Road to History by Jeanne Bendick
- Our Little Athenian Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles
- Our Little Spartan Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles
Grades 7–9
- Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff
- Book of Centuries (one for each student)
- Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
- The Parthenon by Elizabeth Mann
- The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff
- Wisdom for Life: A Proverbs Bible Study by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
- A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the Great by Alfred Church
Grades 10–12
- Book of Centuries (one for each student)
- Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
- The Odyssey by Homer
- Plutarch’s Greek Lives, biography of Alexander by Plutarch
- The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato
- A Victor of Salamis by William Stearns Davis
- Wisdom for Life: A Proverbs Bible Study by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
Optional
- The Big Picture Bible Time Line by Carol Eide (grades 1–6)
- The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos (grades 1–3)
- The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey by Demi (grades 1–3, used with Visits to the Middle East)
- The Pearl Diver by Julia Johnson (grades 1–3, used with Visits to the Middle East)
- Saluki: Hound of the Bedouin by Julia Johnson (grades 1–3, used with Visits to the Middle East)
- Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford (grades 1–3, used with Visits to the Middle East)
- Waiting for the Owl’s Call by Gloria Whelan (grades 1–3, used with Visits to the Middle East)
Where to Find the Books
Simply Charlotte Mason
- Book of Centuries (one for each student in grades 7–12; download a free basic one or purchase an expanded edition)
- Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student in grades 7–12)
- Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel (Family)
- Material World by Peter Menzel (Family)
- The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of Ancient Greece portfolio (Family)
- Visits to the Middle East notebook (one for each student in the Family)
- Wisdom for Life: A Proverbs Bible Study by Sonya Shafer (one for each student in grades 7–12)
Public Domain
(You should be able to download these books as electronic files or read them online for free. The links will take you to a public domain source.)
- The Odyssey by Homer (grades 10–12)
- Our Little Athenian Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles (grades 1–6)
- Our Little Spartan Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles (grades 1–6)
- Plutarch’s Lives, biography of Alexander by Plutarch (grades 10–12)
- The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato (grades 10–12)
- A Victor of Salamis by William Stearns Davis (grades 10–12)
- A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the Great by Alfred Church (grades 7–9)
Your Local Library
(These are the titles that a library is most likely to have. The links will take you to the CM Bookfinder, where you can find out if a library near you has a copy. If your library does not have access to a book listed here, add it to your Book Store list.)
- Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick (grades 4–6)
- Herodotus and the Road to History by Jeanne Bendick (grades 4–6)
- The Parthenon by Elizabeth Mann (grades 7–9)
Your Favorite Book Store
(The links will take you to Amazon.com or other book sources.)
- The Big Picture Bible Time Line by Carol Eide (optional for grades 1–6)
- Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff (grades 7–9)
- The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos (optional for grades 1–3)
- The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey by Demi (optional for grades 1–3)
- The Pearl Diver by Julia Johnson (optional for grades 1–3)
- Saluki: Hound of the Bedouin by Julia Johnson (optional for grades 1–3)
- Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford (optional for grades 1–3)
- The Story of the Greeks by H. A. Guerber, edited by Christine Miller (Nothing New Press edition; for Family)
- Then and Now Bible Maps from Rose Publishing (Family)
- Waiting for the Owl’s Call by Gloria Whelan (optional for grades 1–3)
- The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff (grades 7–9)
High School Credit
For the completion of grades 7–9 or 10–12 assignments in this Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece study, we suggest that students should be awarded 1⁄2 credit for History/Geography and 1⁄2 credit for Bible.
Sample Schedule
The lesson plans in Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece are very doable. Your weekly schedule would look something like this, with older students also spending time on additional assignments:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bible (20–30 min.) | Bible (20–30 min.) Geography (10–15 min.) | Bible (20–30 min.) | History (20–30 min.) | History (20–30 min.) |
Our History, Geography, and Bible Series
With our six-book series, you will cover the entire Bible, learn history from ancient to modern, and study all the main regions of the world!
| Genesis—Deuteronomy & Ancient EgyptCreation—332 B.C. | Joshua—Malachi & Ancient Greece1856 B.C.—146 B.C. | Matthew—Acts & Ancient Rome753 B.C.—A.D. 476 |
| Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation & Epistles394—1550 | Early Modern & Epistles1550—1850 | Modern Times & Epistles, Revelation1850—2012 |
Keep It Simple
Combine these History Studies with our Individual Studies and family-combined Enrichment Studies for a complete Charlotte Mason curriculum plan!
Inga Johnson –
I recently purchased this, although I am still working through how best to use it with our family I really appreciate having it all here for me.
Michelle G. –
One more question on this – do you give corresponding page numbers for the Vos bible?
Thanks!
Sonya Shafer –
Most of the lessons give only the Scripture references. On the couple of lessons that I recommend using the Vos Story Bible as an alternate, I give the suggested page numbers.
Friederike –
My children are 6 and 8 years old. Would it better to mostly read the Vos bible to them,alternate or read mostly there real bible? Thanks Friederike
Sonya Shafer –
Hi, Friederike. I like to recommend reading directly from the Bible as much as possible.
Dawn –
I was looking at the books to order and I was wondering if I order the e-books can I print them off of my computer.
Jordan Smith –
You most certainly can!
Alaina –
I’d like to know if it matters what bible version we use. Our family reads the King James version, and i couldn’t find what you created this for. Thanks.
Jordan Smith –
You can use whichever Bible version you prefer. KJV is fine.
Leslie Woodford –
I have two children: an 8yo and a 5yo. I know that this course is intended for 6 and above, but since the 5yo doesn’t have another assignment to work on during our family study time, he sits in on our lessons. I love the way that this course is laid out. The daily instructions are clear and concise and easy to follow. I love that each day lists the needed materials for the day, and also gives instructions for ordering materials for upcoming lessons in a good timeframe to get them. I like the oral narration. We are slowly learning how to do this well. This course stretches us. I tried reading the King James version … it was too hard for the both children, so we’ve switched to the Good News Bible for Children. It works (except for the sex scenes when the KJV more enigmatically says “he knew her” and I’ve read those sections from the KJV). Two chapters a day is sometimes a stretch for us. The Story of the Greeks is both interesting and challenging. Some of the vivid stories stick with us, but some days, even I have a hard time remembering what we read. Two chapters is stretch. All of the independent grade level books have been enjoyable: We like Our Little Spartan/Athenian Cousin of Long Ago, and the Jeanne Bendick books. All in all, although I like this course, it is a stretch for an 8 yo. It would work better if we had a couple of older children to help interpret and help with the oral narration. It has been nice on days when dad or the grandparents sit in. They help with interesting comments and questions about the text. Even though it has been hard, I feel like both of my boys have a solid grasp on the basic story OT that we’ve covered so far–Joshua, Judges, and the Kings Saul, David and Solomon. This is the first of this series that we are using.
suzanne –
This is our second series we have used, completing the one on Ancient Egypt last year. I love this history curriculum. We have done story of the world (all four volumes), and building a history curriculum around classical conversations (all three cycles), but this series has been my favorite so far. I cannot say enough about how beneficial it is to read the Bible along with corresponding history. It makes the Bible come alive even more when you have a greater knowledge of what was occurring in the culture. I love that the series does not proceed at such a dizzying pace that you don’t have time to let anything sink in, and that they have made it so easy to teach multiple levels. I would highly recommend this product.
Shelby –
My children really enjoyed this history study (no surprise there, we’ve loved all the Simply Charlotte Mason history series!), as did I. I love how it is so masterfully and easily laid out for me every day. Even the things that my kids did not love (not every Visit to the Middle East was their favorite;) ), they admit they “learned tons”. The kids think it was “cool that we read from the actual Bible and saw where Israel’s history matched up with things going on in Ancient Greece.” The additional books were enjoyed as well and added to their studies in a neat way.