If you are looking for history told in story form for your kids you want to check out The Story of the World Audio CDs.
The Story of the World Audio CDs allow you to listen to the content of the texts on the road or wherever a CD player is available. The chapters come alive as they are read by Jim Weiss, a professional storyteller. Tracks run from three to five minutes each, making it easy to track your progress or find a specific section.
I’ve told you before how much I love the Story of the World history curriculum – the reading texts and the activity books. I’ve recently had the pleasure of adding the audio CDs to my Volume 4 set, and now I love Story of the World even more!
With a toddler in our household, read-aloud time has become a little harder to come by. We used to sit together and read from this book or that for what seemed like hours a day and soaked up every minute it. Once my little guy entered the scene (and especially now that he’s bigger), we don’t have the luxury of hour upon hour of reading aloud. And this coming from a family that thrives on having two or three (or more) good books going at once!
How the Audio CD’s have helped Me:
With The Story of the World audio CDs, at least part of my problem has been solved!
- The kids can listen to the reading lesson without my direct involvement.
- They can re”read” stories they’ve particularly enjoyed without my direct involvement.
- They can even sit and listen to several stories at a time without my direct involvement!
And believe it or not, they really enjoy listening more than once. Maybe it’s because of Jim Weiss, the brilliant narrator of this series – as well as many, many others. Or maybe it’s because the stories are very intriguing. Either way, it doesn’t matter to me because every time they hear a story, history is being embedded in their minds. And afterward, we can go ahead with the lessons from the Activity Guide if we choose.
What’s inside The Story of the World Audio CD’s?
We’ve already been through volumes 1-3 from Story of the World, but I’m considering purchasing the audio CD’s for those volumes just to have on hand for casual listening and review. They are a tad pricey, but there are several CD’s in each package.
- For the entire set there are 42 hours of narration on 36 CDs.
- In the volume 4 set, there are 11 CD’s with 12 hours of listening. They come packaged in a box small enough to easily fit on a shelf.
- There’s also a disc guide that tells you exactly which chapters/stories you’ll find on each CD and the length of time for each story.
The Story of the World Vol. 1: Ancient Times: covers the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the first Olympics (back before they added Ping-Pong), the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and much more.
The Story of the World Vol. 2: The Middle Ages: here you’ll meet Vikings, prophets, outlaws, Samurai, reformers, and explorers, in this thrilling story of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. (Note to parents of boys: Did we mention there are Vikings? And a poem version of Beowulf where a dude pops a monster’s arm off in rhyming couplets?)
The Story of the World Vol. 3: Early Modern Times: in this volume you might not think that the invention of interchangeable parts would be exciting, but somehow Susan Wise Bauer makes it so. Also the American Revolution, the Pilgrims, the settling of Australia, and why the emperor of China burned so many books.
The Story of the World Vol. 4: The Modern Age: starts with a palace made out of glass and a revolution started by beef grease, and gets wilder from there. Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, the suffragettes, Indira Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela are just a few of the characters you’ll meet as the story of the world is brought up to the dawn of the 21st century.
And in case you’re wondering, I’ve enjoyed listening to the CD’s as much as my children. I’ve always said that Story of the World has given me the understanding of world history that I was never taught in high school or college. The CD’s allow me the opportunity to sit back and enjoy learning right alongside my children!
WHERE TO PURCHASE SOTW MATERIALS
WANT MORE? CHECK OUT ALL THE STORY OF THE WORLD REVIEWS HERE AT THE CURRICULUM CHOICE
-Originally published November 2009, Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3. You can find Cindy blogging at Our Journey Westward.
The biggest reason Cindy chose to homeschool was because she loves experiencing life with her children and watching them grow inside and out. She's sure that’s why the Charlotte Mason method first caught her attention. It allows her to be creative in scheduling, rigorous in learning, yet opens the door for plenty of close-knit time, opportunities for her children to explore their interests and offers enough free time for them to be children. She implements many of Charlotte Mason's methods with an eclectic twist of things that work for her family! At Cindy's website, Our Journey Westward, you will find a blog packed with fun learning ideas and a shop full of creative curriculum, including the NaturExplorers studies.
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