That's right, I said Knowledge Quest so this review is going to be good. I don't think there is a homeschooler out there that hasn't heard of this company and their fabulous map and timeline products. They're beautiful, accurate, and affordable.
And guess what? They have something new out these days. Something that we go to try out. Something that is going to be useful to our studies for the next ten + years.
So what is this new wonder from Knowledge Quest? TimeMaps. Maps that Move Through Time!
About Time Maps
Maps that Move Through Time?? What on earth??
The goal of TimeMaps is to communicate history in a truly engaging way. To do this, we use a combination of timelines, historical maps and encyclopedic entries merged together to deliver authoritative content that can be digested in an enjoyably way. TimeMaps are computer software files that use Flash - a free program from Adobe. Maps are shown in chronological order at the click of a button and progress at your timing, showing how civilizations, countries and continents have changed over time. Quizzes and encyclopedic entries are included and can be turned on and off at your discretion. TimeMaps are a work in progress with many Ancient and Medieval civilizations having reached completion with more historical topics on the way.We've broken the TimeMaps into individual units with coordination Teach Notes for the optimal teaching experience. This way, you can affordably purchase JUST the maps that you are going to use this year. However, we have also grouped them together into a Collection so that you can get them all at once at a tremendous cost savings.
Currently available: Ancient China, The Rise of Rome, The Fall of Rome, The Rise of Islam, The Black Death, European Exploration, and The Atlantic Slave Trade.
I know right? Simply fabulous!
Our Experience
Our experience with TimeMaps was exactly the same as every other experience we've had with Knowledge Quest products... Totally awesome! This company is always giving us their best. The program does everything it claims and the teachers notes are wonderful!
The maps themselves are totally interactive. Each set is in chronological order and you as you flip through the maps you can see how the civilizations changed throughout the years. Clicking on the icons on the individual maps will give your students additional information about what was going on during that time period. There are also encyclopedic entries and quizzes that can be turned on and off.
The notes for each set of maps include activity suggestions, commentary on each map, printable timeline pages, and printable teacher and student maps.
There are activity suggestions that are more of an overview and others that go more in depth. There is something for everyone. The activities are designed to, "develop a students' knowledge and understanding of history, but also to develop their critical thinking skills as young historians."
Mackenzie really enjoys this maps. She would just sit and flip through the maps reading all the facts. Many were great for jogging her memory about things she already knew and others provided new information. She enjoyed the activities and thought they added a fun twist to just filling out a map.
There is so much information in this program that you could use it again and again over the years and learn something new every time. I'm very excited to use this program with our Sonlight studies because it is going to gel perfectly. I'm already scouring the teacher notes to pull activities that will go along with our studies. I'm so excited!!
If you haven't tried any Knowledge Quest products before... What are you waiting for?
F.Y.I.
Website: http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/TimeMaps.html
Age Range: any
Cost: $9.95/set or $44.95 for the bundle
System Requirements: Works with Mac and Windows platforms
Thanks for this review! I must be the one homeschooler who didn't know about Knowledge Quest- 'til now ;P I'm off to check out their Time Maps program- spunds wonderful!!!
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