Mom’s Book of Centuries Record of Work

One of Charlotte Mason’s principles is the Book of Centuries.  She encourages each child to add important information to their Book of Centuries (BoC) as they learn.

This year I decided to start my own Book of Centuries and as I noted in important dates and details as we learnt, I thought, “This will make an excellent record of work!”

What should go into a Book of Centuries?

• Names and birth/ death dates of famous and important people
• Explorations, discoveries, inventions, technology advancements
• Wars, conflicts and political events
• Religious and philosophical changes
• Art and music eras, as well as famous artists’ masterpieces
  

  We paste our famous artists at their date of death. Paste specific masterpieces or inventions on their dates. Simple keywords to summarize.

As we cover a theme or topic, an era or event, learn about a famous artist or musical composer, we spend a few minutes and jot it into our Book of Centuries.  Sometimes this activity is a great introduction and provides a neat “bird’s-eye view” of the era we are going to study.  Other times, it provides a good conclusion/ review of our study.

Book of Centuries templates include:

• Double-page layout with 5 horizontal rows  ~
  • Wars, Conflicts & Politics
  • Notable men & women
  • Discoveries, Inventions & Technology
  • Religion & Philosophy
  • Art & Music
  • each page has light vertical lines for the years
• Eras – broken into 8 sections ~
  • Flood to 3000BC (Grey)
  • Ancient Civilizations 3000BC to 500BC (Green)
  • Classical World 500BC to 500AD (Turquoise)
  • Middle Ages 500AD to 1450AD  (Purple)
  • Renaissance & Reformation 1450AD to 1610AD (Orange)
  • Exploration & Colonization 1610AD to 1750AD  (Blue)
  • Industrial Revolution 1750AD to 1914AD  (Red)
  • The World Today 1900AD to 2050AD  (Grey)
• Eras are broken into 100-years, 50-years, 20-years and 10-year pages ~
  • Creation until 3000 BC only one two-page spread is
    needed.
  • From 3000BC to AD 1500 allow 100 years per two-page spread.
  • From AD 1500 to AD 1800 allows a fifty-year span per two-page spread.
  • From AD 1800 to AD 1900 allow a twenty-year span per two-page spread.
  • From AD 1900 to the present allow a ten-year span per two-page spread
    (If you don’t do this, you will have large empty sections during the early
    years, while the later years will be crammed with too many entries.)
    

    Paste in detailed notes or extra timeline events

How I made my Book of Centuries:

• Print all the pages on normal print paper. (You could print it on cardstock, and print back-to-back.)
• Punch the correct side of the pages,  The pages face each other, all the even pages on the right side, all the odd pages on the left side.
• File the pages and glue the backs of the pages to each other.
• Index the centuries with stickers or tabs.
• Number the years across the top line under the headings. (Some pages are divided into 10 years per column, the modern years have 2 years per column.)

Here are some links and free BOC downloads:

• Practical Pages’ latest free download ~Book of Centuries by Nadene  Updated to include a 2-page spread for 2020 – 2029! (Please be patient, this is a large download – 142 pages)
• I added thumbnail prints of famous artists and masterpieces to my BoC from my Art Era Timeline.
• Make your own Book of Centuries using Simply Charlotte Mason.com free download
• How to use your Book of Centuries on Simply Charlotte Mason.com
• Practical Pages’ History Timeline – Our Wall Chart at the end of the Year
• Practical Pages’ Frugal Timeline Book – a simple and cheap Book of Centuries made using an exercise book.
• Heart of the Matter.com How to Make a Timeline Easily with excellent details and instructions.
• Microsoft Office has a teacher’s template and excellent screen clips to Creating a Timeline in Microsoft
• Donna Young.org has fabulous free Timeline Instructions and Timeline Forms
• Higher Up and Further In writes How and When to Begin a Book of Centuries

l smile as I browse through my Book of Centuries and I fondly remember our homeschool journey over the past year.  I could also use different coloured pens for each child’s studies or different curricula that I may use over the years … we’ll see.  Go on moms, make your own BoC!

Blessings,