Human prehistory (resource list)

Human evolution and migration to the beginning of civilization, 160 m.y.a. to 10 k.y.a. (November 2011-February 2012)

Topics of focus:
Civilzation—its appeal, opportunities, and problems
Early human art
Evolution
Human evolution from apes
Human migration out of Africa
Reasons for migration

Book/reading resources:
11,000 Years Lost (Peni R. Griffin)
Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave (Jean-Marie Chauvet)
A Day With Homo Habilis (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Erectus (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Neanderthal Man (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Sapiens (Fiorenzo Faccini)
Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science, by Kate Duke)
Evolution: The Human Story (Dr. Alice Roberts)
Evolution: The Story of Life (Douglas Palmer)
The First Dog (Jan Brett)
First Painter (Dawn Sirett and Kathryn Lasky)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Aliki)
Hominids: A Look Back at Our Ancestors (Helen Roney Sattler)
How People First Lived (William Jaspersohn)
Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution (Steve Jenkins)
Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From (Catherine Thimmesh)
Mik's Mammoth (Roy Gerrard)
One Small Blue Bead (Byrd Baylor)

Websites
Beringia land bridge graphic (PALE via Wikipedia)
The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc (Republique Francaise)
Human Evolution phylogeny (umich.edu class notes)
Human Evolution by the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program (humanorigins.si.edu)
The Journey of Mankind from Stephen Oppenheimer(bradshawfoundation.com)
Lascaux, a Visit to the Cave (Republique Francaise)

Videos online
Human Prehistory 101: Prologue (23andMe via YouTube)
Human Prehistory 101 Part 1: Out of (Eastern) Africa (23andMe via YouTube)
Human Prehistory 101 Part 2: Weathering the Storm (23andMe via YouTube)
Solutreans: The First Americans (from one of the big documentary makers, but I only found it via YouTube)

Videos (via disc or streaming)
Ape to Man (The History Channel via Netflix Streaming)
Becoming Human (Nova via Netflix streaming)
The Human Family Tree (National Geographic via Netflix streaming)
The Incredible Human Journey (Alice Roberts with BBC, on DVD)
Walking With Cavemen (BBC via Netflix streaming)

Activities/crafts
Exploring the use of prehistoric tools
Making a family tree
Making cave paintings
Mapping human migration
Making a timeline of human evolution
Reading, creating, listening, and watching

Prehistoric mammals (and birds) and the Cenozoic era (resource list)

The rise of prehistoric mammals in the Cenozoic era (November-December 2011)

Topics of focus:
Prehistoric animals
Environmental changes
Habitat changes
Extinction and evolution of mammals over time
Intro to evolution of humans

Books:
A Day With Homo Habilis (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Erectus (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Neanderthal Man (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Sapiens (Fiorenzo Faccini)
The Coming of Mammals: A New World (Melvin Berger)
Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Mega-Beasts (Robert Sabuda)
Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks (Robert Sabuda)
Extinct! Creatures of the Past (Mary Batten)
Evolution: The Story of Life (Douglas Palmer)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Aliki)
From Lava to Life (Jennifer Morgan)
Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution (Steve Jenkins)
Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From (Catherine Thimmesh)

Videos:
Becoming Human (Nova)
Walking With Cavemen (BBC)
Walking With Prehistoric Beasts (BBC)

Websites/computer resources:
La Brea Tar Pits site (Page Museum)

Other fun things:
Prehistoric Mammals coloring book (Dover)

Activity list:
Reading, reading, reading
Drawing, coloring, writing, creating
Making a new timeline—zooming in on the Cenozoic
Researching specific animals and creating them in felt
Playing with the felt timeline, of course
Making up our own prehistoric creatures

Weekly book shelf 12/2

Read as a family:

I'm sure this classic needs no description or introduction, but...a boy goes to bed awaiting Christmas morning, and awakes to the Polar Express pulling up outside his house. Once on board, he and a number of other children are whisked away to Santa's home.

This turns out to be a great companion book for BBC's Walking with Cave Men. Though it's not strictly a children's book, Calvin will pour over it for hours.

Reading to himself:

This might be a sacrilege, but I'm fond neither of this book, nor of this series. My feeling about the novel itself is just personal preference, but my issues with the Great Illustrated Classics series are more general, and twofold. First, the illustrations are a mid-century noir heavy line style of art. That's the style in every novel in this series regardless of subject matter, and it rarely fits. My second problem with the series is that the books aren't just abridged, the writing style is severely dumbed down. I gave this to Calvin to read in preparation for going to see the stage production next week, but had I planned ahead and started ealrier, I would have just read the original aloud. He enjoyed it fine, though.

Reading together:

(continued) Ester discovers an 11,000 year old artifact that becomes a porthole, sending her back to the time when that artifact, a spearhead, was used. Ultimately she learns a respect for the artifacts and history left from which we can learn about those who came before. Calvin and I are both enjoying this book.

Weekly book shelf 11/25

Reading to himself:

Beautifully illustrated and written, First Painter tells the story of a young Ice Age girl who believes herself responsible, as Dream Catcher, for bringing life saving rain to her droughted clan. This was an age, we suppose, when art was born of faith driven need, and Lasky does a wonderful job of bringing that time to life. Enjoyable for both children and adults.

Reading together:

Ester, a young girl, discovers an 11,000 year old artifact that becomes a porthole, sending her back to the time when that artifact, a spearhead, was used. During her time spend with the Ice Age clan in Texas she learns about their subsistance way of life, their ways of interacting with each other, and somehard lessons about death, all while seeking a way to get back to her normal time period. This opportunity eventually comes thanks to the spiritual elders at the large multi-clan gathering. Ultimately, Esther learns a respect for the artifacts and history left from which we can learn about those who came before. Calvin and I are both enjoying this book.

Weeky book shelf 11/19

 Reading to himself:

Fiorenzo Faccini is the author of four great non-fiction books about four early hominid species:  A Day With Homo Habilis, A Day With Homo Erectus, A Day With Neanderthal Man, A Day With Homo Sapiens. The books offer a lot of factual information about the highlighted species along with a realistic fiction story and beautiful, vivid illustrations. The books are dated, and they are a little thick as far as information goes. I have seen some parents complain about the books being too detailed or not interesting enough for young children, but I think that depends entirely on the child. Calvin loves them.

Mega Beasts is a pop-up book that belongs to the Encyclopedia Prehistorica trilogy by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. We own all three of the books because we were lucky enough to stumble upon them (in excellent shape even) at library used book sales. Sabuda's books are always beautifully made and lots of fun, and the art of these three in particular is fantastic. Great fun facts, lots of little things to try out and see. Calvin can't get enough of any of these.

Although not really a book, I thought I'd mention the Highlights magazine here because it does have a number of enjoyable stories in it, and because Calvin enjoys reading them. He does still prefer a book, but getting mail just for himself is fun, and the magazine provides a number of small challenges, like learning some words in Spanish, and some other activities as well, a favorite of which is the finding hidden pictures game. I love that he gets mail, and that this magazine is still completely without ads, which cannot be said of many kids' magazines out there anymore.

Also not a book, but Dover's History Coloring Books are a fun way to read about historical, or prehistorical, subjects. Each page exhibits a large image to color as well as a paragraph of information about the subject of the image.

This is a pretty short list this week, not because we haven't been reading, but because I'm having trouble keeping my chin above water. With so many things going on this time of year sometimes it's hard to keep track of them all. There has been plenty of Magic Tree House reading an play around here, and Calvin and Jon are still reading The Arabian Nights together every night.