Would You Like A Bit Of Fun With Your Learning?

Despite being MIA for a few months we are still here and still plugging away. Once again the weather is turning cold and I am grateful for my cozy chair in our "library." The perfect spot when the trees are bare.

Recently I decided that we have been very neglectful in using time lines to organize all the events we learn in history. Then I discovered the game "Perspective: The Time Line Game". The game was created by a family to supplement the history education their kids were receiving in school and to help bring all those different pieces into perspective. The game consists of the board, 200 event cards, and a die. The board is divided into 4 time periods that roughly correspond to the 4 time periods used in classical education models. The cards are color coded to match the time periods. On one side of a card is an even with brief description, on the reverse is the date. The goal of the game is to get the sequence of historical events correct as you play all your cards. Players may challenge each other or the board if they feel a card was placed incorrectly. It must be noted that the event cards are divided into two sets, easier and harder if you will.

On the up side we had a great time playing this game, the kids enjoyed themselves as much as the adults. They were challenged to put events from multiple fields and multiple areas of the world into one sequence. The game has much leeway for creating your own rules as needed. For example at the end should a player be penalized for having an out of sequence card if no one challenged him?

The downside is that the game is produced by a home business. I think this has led to my one criticism. The cards are produced on paper that would wear out quickly with much play. If your family enjoys the game you may wish to dash out and have your cards laminated. You may also wish to make some cards of your own if there are events you have studied that are not represented. It should also be noted that there are cards that follow an evolutionary history of the world ie Big Bang, Dinosaurs, Neanderthal Man. Or on the other side, Moses, Jesus and other biblical figures are represented historically. The game would in no way be damaged if these cards were to be removed from play. Due to the reduction in number of cards you may wish to add cards of your own but even that may not be necessary.

While we purchase our copy through Rainbow Resource you can purchase direct as well. They will even send a free copy to your "favorite classroom teacher".