Learning the Timeline of European History

I am so excited to share with you our approach on learning the timeline of European history. As I mentioned earlier, my son is obsessed with world history, especially with the events in Europe and Asia (his home continent!) so while he is at it I grabbed the opportunity to discuss the great history of Europe. To achieve this, I created these beautiful timeline cards which contain bold pictures (because kids are attracted to pictures) and include a brief description of each event in history.  I thoroughly researched these and handpicked the major events that were included in the cards.  We were always reading the books of the Story of the World series, but most of the events in the cards were not included in the book.

Our timeline cards covers the 4 periods in history:  ancient times, medieval times, early modern times and modern times.

Goals

• In each period, we will identify the fundamental needs of man:  Spiritual (love, religion, culture/community) and Material (shelter, transportation, food and clothing)
• Identify the locations in the map where the events occurred
• Historical figures that played a major role in each historical period
• Be able to arrange the timeline cards
• Compare the impact of each period

European History: Ancient Times (up to 500AD)

My Ancient Time Cards starts from the event that occurred in Mycenae to the end of Byzantine Empire.  We talked about how Greece played a major role in the beginning of the European history, great conquerors like Alexander the Great, the rise and fall of Rome.  It was obvious that aside from the material things, religion played a major role in the development of the European culture.

European History: Medieval Times (500AD to 1500)

Major events include the wars in Europe after the fall of Rome, the Black Death, the crusades, the significance of the Vikings in forming what is now known as Great Britain, Constantine and Charlemagne, the separation of Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians.

European History: Early Modern Times (1500-1900)

The Early Modern Times is all about Renaissance and because of Industrial Revolution, people started to explore places.  Inventions of steam train and ships also happened in this period.  But there were also civil wars like in France and between England and Scotland.  Mavi and I identified the causes of these wars and yes it’s all because of the fundamental needs of man.

European History: Modern Times (1900 – present)

Modern Times was quite challenging because Mavi asked a lot of questions in this period.  Most especially in the events of World War I and II and the wars in the Baltic.  There are just certain things that you can’t explain to a 7 year old so I just told him stories of what I know (I have yet to purchase the Vol 4 of the Story of the World) and what I read in the web.

European History: Using the Cards

Our aim is to arrange the cards according to the time of events.  We set up a few craft strings in our shelf where we can pin the cards.  This is an amazing technique for visualizing the entire timeline of historical events!

As seen below, Mavi is reviewing his work, making sure he’s arranging the time in order.  I taught him how the BC and AD works so this is a perfect opportunity to put that knowledge into action!

He loves the cards and enjoys reading the descriptions.  I wanted the cards to be as attractive and engaging to the student so I made sure that I don’t put too much facts into the descriptions.  Because of this, I created another set of cards for the “longer” descriptions.

He was proud of his work and asked to take a photo of him with his work LOL.

So this is how I explained and presented the history of Europe to my 7 year old boy.

For the European History Learning Materials below is the list:

• Timeline of European History Cards
• Europe in a Nutshell

Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for updates!

Pin this for later!

This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Learning which is hosted by Natural Beach Living and The Natural Homeschool.

Learning about the Presidents with Montessori Activities (Free Printables) by Natural Beach Living

Montessori-Inspired History: Sense of Time {Free Printables} by The Natural Homeschool

How to Prepare Montessori 3-Part Family Cards and Family Tree Activity by Living Montessori Now

Linear Calendar for Kids by Planting Peas

Timeline of our Family -- Intro to Montessori History by The Kavanaugh Report

Montessori Calendar for Kids by Mama’s Happy Hive

How to Introduce Time to Kids by Study at Home Mama

5 Ways to Learn Asian History by Child Led Life

Learning the Timeline of European History by The Pinay Homeschooler

Our Montessori-inspired Timeline of Life by Every Star is Different

Exploring History Through the Great Lessons by Grace and Green Pastures