Christian Home School Hub

FREE EXCERPT FROM HONOUR OF KINGS' ANCIENT AND AMERICAN HISTORY BOOK 1:

Olmec Civilization c. 1600 BC to c. 1000 BC

Another civilization appeared in southern Mexico around the same time as the Maya. This civilization is known as the Olmec and they settled on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (in the current states of Veracruz and Tabasco) directly north of where the Maya lived. No one knows what the Olmec called themselves. The name Olmec comes the Aztec language and means "rubber people." They were given this name due to their mastery of the use of rubber.

The first real evidence that we have for the early stages of the Olmec culture comes from a bog called El Manatí in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The Olmecs used this site from approximately 1600 B.C. until 1200 B.C. Archaeologists have discovered some interesting objects in this bog including wooden sculptures, ceremonial weapons, rubber balls, and babies' bones. No one knows how the babies died, but each set of bones has its own wooden sculpture. The wooden sculptures are busts (the torso, shoulders, and head of a human figure). Most of the the wooden busts were wrapped before being buried. Each one had an individual facial expression and each one was buried with different objects.

Also found in the bog were rubber balls buried together with axes, pottery, knives, beads, and more. These objects were carefully placed in specific patterns and not just thrown in a pile. The rubber balls were formed by taking natural rubber and changing its chemical makeup in a process called vulcanization. This process causes the rubber to be less sticky and hold its shape. The discovery of these rubber balls caused archaeologists to consider the Olmec as possible creators of the Mesoamerican ballgame. This ballgame was very popular among later cultures in that region. No one knows the exact rules, but the general idea seemed to be keeping a rubber ball in play by hitting it against a high wall with one's hip. This game was, of course, played for fun sometimes. However, given the elaborate ballcourts that were built, it is highly likely that the game had some ceremonial function as well.

A solid rubber ball used or similar to those used in the Mesoamerican ballgame, from Kaminaljuyu, 300 BC to 250 AD.With a manopla, or handstone, used to strike the ball, also from Kaminaljuyu, 900 BC to 250 AD.The ball is 3 inches (almost 8 cm) in diameter, a size that suggests it was used to play a hand ball. A mitten-shaped space has been carved out for the player's hand. The handstone was probably strapped in place. The far side of the stone is worn nearly smooth where it struck the ball, putting spin on it. Traces of rubber still adhere to the surface.
Photo by Madman2001
 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT DRAGON BONES ARE? If not, read this free excerpt below from Honour of Kings' Ancient and American History Book 1.

Ox scapula with a divination inscription from the Shang Dynasty, dating to the reign of King Wu Ding. Unearthed at Anyang, Henan Province. Held at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Photo by BabelStone 2011

The discovery of physical proof of the Shang dynasty happened because of an illness. Just before 1900, the director of the Imperial College in China (Wang Yirong) was sick with malaria. His doctor told him to take Long gu (Dragon Bones) as medicine. (Dragon bones are fossilized animal bones that are ground into a powder. They have high amounts of calcium, potassium, and sodium.)

Director Wang noticed that some of the bones at the pharmacy were carved with inscriptions. He believed that they might be early Chinese texts. He sent his assistant to find out where the bones came from and eventually, it was determined that the origin was a little village named Xiaotun. This site is now called Yinxu and it is located on the west side of Anyang city, China. Yinxu is located just north of the Yellow River and is believed to have been the last capital of the Shang dynasty of China.

In 1917, Wang Guowei was able to decipher the portion of some writing on the bones that contained the Shang kings. This allowed him to construct a genealogy which was very similar to list found in the history of China written by the Grand Historian Sima Qian. This caused archaeologists to become even more interested in these bones.

Historians soon called these bones "oracle bones" because they contained information about the Shang dynasty of China. The oracle bones were formed when a king or his magicians would use a hot poker to produce cracks in a turtle shell or cattle shoulder bone while they asked a question which they wanted answered. They would look at the cracks to see if they had gotten a favorable or unfavorable answer to the question. The engravers would then carve the question, the answer, and sometimes even the result into the bone or shell. From these oracle bones, archaeologists have learned that the Shang dynasty had a well-developed and organized written language.

Marco Polo Unit Study

Owls Animal Study

Spain Country Study

As Christian parents, I believe that we would (or at least should) all say that we want to teach our children the truth. We would all also probably say that it is very important to us. This is an admirable and correct goal!

The question that this raises is "What is the truth?" and perhaps another related one "Where do we find the truth?" As believers, the answer should be fairly easy. God's WORD is true and we find truth in its pages. We do not shy away from teaching our children about God, Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Daniel, Jesus, or Paul. Again, this is a correct action on our parts. We want our children to believe in God and his Word so we teach our children about it.

In fact, many of us have chosen to homeschool our children for that very reason. We do not want our children to grow up in a system that teaches there is no God. We sacrifice time and money in order to make sure our children our brought up by God's principles. We do not want unbelievers teaching them. Again, a correct action on the part of parents.

Why then do so many Christian parents choose to teach their children using secular materials? Below are some of the reasons I've heard that people give for using secular material. Perhaps you've heard them, too.

#1) There really isn't a Christian way to approach to X subject.

#2) I want my child to learn directly from the world what the world believes and teaches so they can be prepared for it.

#3) In order to get into college, my child will have to have used the same kinds of books public schoolers use.

#4) The books I'm using don't have a specific philosophy. They're neutral.

What if we were to switch the topic at hand and discuss the food we give our children to nourish their bodies? We know that what we eat determines the health of our physical bodies. Surely all parents want their children to be healthy and at least try to make sure their children eat food that will be good for them. Can you imagine a parent saying the following about feeding their child?

#1) There really isn't a healthy way to eat X food.

#2) I want others who eat unhealthily themselves and feed unheathy food to others to feed my children so my children will know what is not healthy to eat.

#3) In order to succeed in life, my child will have to have eaten the same kinds of foods as everyone else.

#4) The foods I'm feeding my children are neutral. They're not healthy, but they're not unhealthy either.

These statements should seem ludicrous to us. At least, I hope they are ludicrous to you. They are to me. I also firmly believe that feeding our children's minds is even more important than feeding their bodies. The things that we expose our children to have a profound impact on the way they think and their beliefs about the world.

So, I cannot understand why Christian parents would knowingly choose to allow their child to be educated using material written by people who have the same philosophy as the system they have pulled their children out of. In doing so, they are just as surely allowing unbelievers to shape the minds of their children as if they had sent them to the actual school in the first place.

To be clear, I am NOT saying that parents should never teach their children what the world thinks or believes. I am saying that they should not use a curriculum that promotes that false belief as being true. Instead, parents should look for material that supports the belief in God and his truth.

The first generation of homeschoolers (and Christian schools) set their face to know the LORD and to teach their children according to God's Word. They quickly discovered a lack of Godly material with which to educate their children and set out to write some. They refused to support the world's system by continuing to purchase their materials. They refused to allow ANY of that mindset to have even the slightest chance of infecting their children's minds. I fear that the next generation of homeschoolers is not so radical in their approach and has accepted the idea that sometimes a secular approach is okay and even desirable.

Let's examine those statements about Christian curriculum again and this time give an answer to each one.

#1) There really isn't a Christian way to approach to X subject.

If God created the ENTIRE world, then there must be a Christian way to approach every subject because HE CREATED IT ALL.

#2) I want my child to learn directly from the world what the world believes and teaches so they can be prepared for it.

God says in John 8:31 and 32 that knowing the truth sets us free. We do not learn the truth by studying lies. Instead, we should learn to know the truth so well that we can easily spot lies when they come.

³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

And in I Peter 3:15 that we are to sanctify God in our hearts in order to be ready to give an answer.

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

#3) In order to get into college, my child will have to have used the same kinds of books public schoolers use.

I Corinthians 3:18 - 20 says:

18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

²⁰ And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

#4) The books I'm using don't have a specific philosophy. They're neutral.

All books have a philosophy. They contain and spread the philosophy of the author. Sometimes the philosophy is a bit more hidden, but it is still there, nonetheless.

Matthew 12:30 makes it clear that if you are not for God, you are against him.

 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

If you're still reading at this point, you are either really upset with me or you really agree with me. There is no middle ground, I know. Please know that I write this journal entry out of care and concern for the future generation of Christian families. If you're upset with me, that's okay. You do not have to answer to me. What you do or don't do is between you and God. If you really agree with me, I'd love to hear from you. Sometimes, I feel a little bit like Elijah in I Kings 19. ("the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left;")

I am a homeschool mother of three adult children whom I homeschooled for a total of 18 years from K to 12. I have been a believer of Jesus as my LORD and Savior since age 9 and I take his Word very seriously and literally. I do not like to see the lies of Satan creep into our families and churches. It destroys our very foundations. I believe in a literal, six day Creation and that if the Bible says something, it's true - no matter what the world says to the contrary. For this reason, I am especially passionate about the study of history. After all, it is supposed to be "His - story." World history that teaches evolution, simply skips over the accounts found in the Bible, or present myths as truths does not teach "His - story." Instead, it teaches MAN'S story.

Please consider very carefully the choices you make in choosing educational materials for your children. Just because everyone else is using something, does NOT mean that it is God-honouring or glorifying. And THAT should be our goal at all times - TO HONOUR AND GLORIFY GOD.

Everyone knows that there are CREATION MYTHS and FLOOD MYTHS, but did you also know there are TOWER OF BABEL MYTHS? We are excited to see God's "fingerprints" all over world history! Aren't you?

Check out this excerpt from Honour of Kings - Homeschool Curriculum & More's Ancient and American History Book 1 (http://honourofkings.com/?page_id=23):

Sumer: In a Sumerian myth called Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, a man named Enmerkar built a very large tower to worship a false god. (The Sumerians called this type of tower a ziggurat. Zigurrats were Sumerian temples.) Enmerkar was building this ziggurat in Eridu and wanted Aratta, who apparently was a king in another land, to provide materials for its construction. Sometime during its construction, Enmerkar asked the god Enki to let the people speak in one language again so that they could all talk to Enlil in one language.

Central American Cultures: A myth from Mexico says that a giant named Xelhua was one of seven giants rescued from a great flood. After the flood, Xelhua built the Great Pyramid of Cholula to reach and attack heaven. The gods destroyed the pyramid with fire and also made the builders speak different languages so they could not understand each other. (Note: This account was told by a 100 year old priest at Cholula to a Dominican friar named Diego Duran who lived from 1537 - 1588 AD shortly after the conquest of Mexico by Spain.)

Another native tribe in Mexico called the Toltecs believed that men multiplied after a great flood. They soon built a tall "zacuali" (tower) in case another flood happened. However, something happened that caused their languages to be changed and each group moved to a different part of the earth. (Note: Recorded by the native historian Don Ferdinand d'Alva Ixtilxochitl who lived from c. 1565 - 1648 AD.)

The Tohono O'odham Indians who lived in the southern part of Arizona and northern part of Mexico taught that Montezuma escaped a large flood. After this flood, he became wicked and tried to build a house which could reach heaven. However, the Great Spirit destroyed it with lightning.

Africa: When David Livingstone met with some Africans who lived near Lake Ngami in 1849, he learned they had a story similar to the tower of Babel. However, in this story, the builders' heads got "cracked" when the building platforms fell.

The Lozi tribe in Africa had a myth which told the story of wicked men who built a tower of masts to get to the Creator-God Nyambe, who had fled to Heaven on a spider-web. However, the men died when the masts collapsed.

The Ashanti tribe who also lived in Africa had a similar story, except for the fact that in their story the tower was built of "porridge pestles" instead of masts. (A pestle is a heavy object shaped like a small baseball bat which is used to crush a substance to a powder.)

The Kongo people of Africa told a story about men who stacked poles or trees to reach the moon. These men failed in their attempt.

The Karen people of Burma have traditions of the story of creation, the flood, the tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. In their tower of Babel story, they say that their ancestors came to their current location after leaving a great pagoda (temple) in a different land. The languages were confused and so they separated themselves from the other tribes in the area.

South Pacific and India: In the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific, one of the local tribes has a story about the languages of men being confused after they tried (and failed) to build houses which reached heaven. The Tharu tribe of Nepal near northern India has a similar story which was recorded in a census taken in Bengal in 1872 AD.

Sumerian ziggurat:

Looking for an elementary history curriculum?  We offer ebooks (reviewed below) as well as printed versions of the text: http://honourofkings.com/?page_id=23

Check out what Homeschool Circus has to say about Honour of Kings' Ancient and American History Book 1:

Honour of Kings - Ancient & American History I

Need an Early World & American History ebook curriculum that's non-consumable, chronological, well laid out, easy to use, and reasonably priced for your 1st through 6th graders written with a biblical worldview?  Then check out Honour of Kings!

Covering Ancient History 3932 BC to 1000 BC, Volume 1 begins with Creation and concludes with the Judges of Israel all within 35 chapters.  The American History portion, which covers 1500 to 1776, is presently a very well laid out, extremely detailed, written timeline that can easily be supplemented with books from the library.

See more INCLUDING PHOTOS here: http://www.upatdawnreadytowork.com/2013/01/honour-of-kings-ancient-american.html

Help your child learn the truth about historical events from Creation to 1,000 B.C.


                                       Looking for a history curriculum that meets all your needs?

                                                                                             If so, check out the features of Honour of Kings History!

- Multi-level for grades 1 to 6.

- Non-consumable.

- Chronological timeline.

- Biblical worldview.

- Integrates both Bible and world history.

- American History.

- Hands-on learning activities.

- Encourages understanding of overall historical timeline.

- Covers the history of all continents.

- Contains photos, illustrations, and maps

- Distinguishes myths from historical facts


Too often history textbooks rely on secular time lines to present historical events. This textbook is different. Based on the premise that God created the world approximately 6,000 years ago, this text takes key events from both the Bible and world history and places them into a single timeline. Great care is taken to separate fact from myth so that students can clearly understand how history unfolded during the world's first 3,000 years. After completing the ancient history section, students will embark on a journey through American history beginning with Native Americans in the 1500s and ending with the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Parents will appreciate the ability to teach both world history and American history using just one non-consumable textbook for multiple grade levels. Easy, affordable activities are included for each world history chapter. American history is studied via a timeline and using resources from your local library.

www.honourofkings.com

CAN YOU NAME ALL OF THE CRADLES OF CIVILIZATION? CAN YOUR CHILDREN NAME THEM? DOES YOUR FAMILY KNOW HOW THEY FIT IN WITH BIBLE HISTORY?

When the term "cradle of civilization" is used, one often thinks of Mesopotamia. But, did you know that there is more than one "cradle of civilization" and that they all developed roughly around the same time? Mesopotamia is slightly older than the rest of them, but not by much.

The cradles of civilization are:
Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers)
Egypt (Nile River)
China (Yellow River)
India (Indus River)
South America (Peruvian coastal valleys)
Europe (Minoans & other cultures east and west of the Rhine River)

Not surprisingly, all of these cultures have creation and flood stories and many of them also have "tower of Babel" stories.

Those that believe in the Bible know that at the Tower of Babel, God scattered the people and gave them new languages. And thus, different civilizations around the world sprang up at the same time.

More information about these events can be found in our textbook Honour of Kings Ancient and American History 1.
http://honourofkings.com/?page_id=23

Honour of Kings - Homeschool Curriculum & More's Ancient and American History 1 has been reviewed by Heidi Strawser of Homeschool Mosaics!

(P.S. If you haven't yet "liked" Homeschool Mosaics' Facebook page, we highly recommend it as a great source of encouragement for homeschooling families!)

**********************************************************************

Here is just some of what she had to say: http://homeschoolmosaics.com/honor-of-kings/

What do I like about it?

I’m going to share the features of this curriculum, and my thoughts on each:

Multi-level for grades 1 to 6

This is a very important component for me because I’m a busy homeschool mom and I love when a curriculum works for more than just one child.  While this series is geared for students in grades 1-6, I also think it would be appropriate to use with older kids as well with a bit of adjustment and add-ons (such as extra research and writing assignments).

Non-consumable

Currently, Honor of Kings is available in .pdf format only.  While it can be printed, as desired, it is just as simple to sit down at the computer and read through each assignment together as family.  Each lesson ends with several comprehension questions which can be discussed verbally or answered on paper, depending upon age(s) of child(ren).  Following the questions is a list of appropriate activities.  These things are all completed “outside the text” – there are no fill-in-the-blanks, etc.  So, these books can be used over and over again.

Chronological timeline

This book is written in chronological order, starting with creation and moving forward through other Biblical and world events, tying them all in together.  I love that!

Biblical worldview

I very much appreciate the Biblical worldview approach to teaching history.  Our world is constantly trying to change history to suit its needs; but, let’s face it – history is God’s story and it cannot be changed.

Integrates both Bible and world history

When I was in school I loved history; but it wasn’t until we became a homeschool family and started studying history chronologically that I realized how events in the Bible tied in with events of the world.  I’m glad to have resources like this available to teach my children.

American History

The second section of the text deals with American history.  I’ve never seen a history curriculum that includes both world/ancient and American history in the same text.  I like this approach because it allows you to study (and get credit for) both subjects in one school year; while keeping your kids well-informed and motivated to learn different things. Scheduling is very versatile.  Here are a few suggestions:

#1 – Teach section one over two quarters, followed by section two over two quarters.
#2 – Teach section two over two quarters, followed by section one over two quarters.
#3 – Teach one chapter of section one, followed by one chapter of section two and so on for 35 weeks.

Hands-on learning activities

I love these activities and the variety of them!  They include things like using artistic abilities to draw things, researching family history, doing craft projects, reading books or websites for further research, and questions pertaining to other areas of education (such as grammar/language arts). The activities are all fun and interesting and it’s really hard to narrow your choice(s) down to just one or two.

Covers the history of all continents

There’s a little bit of everything in this curriculum!

A few more of my favorite features . . .

Some things not listed on the back of the book or the website, but that I feel warrant a bit of bragging are:

Pictures

Each chapter/lesson contains SEVERAL accompanying pictures.  These pictures are almost all full-color images, so they are interesting to look at.  Also included are things like graphs, charts, and maps that tie in with the subject of the lesson.

Myths

Several of the chapters contain popular myths (marked with a big red “x”).  A myth is a popular legend or story that has been passed down through the generations and may sound true, but has no historical evidence to prove that it actually happened.  I really enjoy the addition of these myths in the text because, so many times, we hear these things and just believe that they are fact because they’ve been ingrained in our minds.

********************************************************************************
 

This text can be purchased here: 
http://honourofkings.com/?page_id=44