When you teach history, you necessarily teach values. Homeschoolers have the freedom to convey their values largely through the history materials they choose to teach from. The Inventor is a tribute to man's productive ingenuity. The book is an attractive overview of man, the creative hero, with lots of colorful hand-drawn illustrations, and it brings each invention into perspective so that children can easily recognize the significance of ideas and their consequences. We used a variety of sources, with Journey Into Civilization and Living History series among the best, but we didn't stop there.
Historical fiction is excellent for helping children empathize with the period being studied.
We often read aloud so that we can discuss the broader context of the story. Although, we do get a good feel for how one historical period leads into the next, a general idea of what life was like, and an appreciation of what life can be and ought to be like today. Since we've used attractive, readable history books, our daughters go back and look through them again and again in their spare time, something I daresay would never happen with a dry textbook. As our girls become more mature, independent learners, they will revisit the more significant time periods, as well as the history of significant non-European civilizations, and study in greater detail. All rights reserved.