Core G

Witness the rise and fall of ancient empires

• Discover how people lived around the world from Creation through the Reformation.
• Meet Augustus Caesar, samurai warriors, Incan emperors, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther and more!
• Bring the ancient world to life with vivid biographies, historical fiction and award-winning literature.
• Let your Instructor's Guide show you the way.

Helping young minds grow and make connections

I love watching children grow. What fun to see their delight in learning something new ... to be amazed at their increasing capacity to offer input and consider abstract ideas ... to smile, surprised, at their intriguing observations. I love watching them make connections in their learning.

Core G is all about fostering students' ability to think critically and make connections. I created it to help students see the connected flow of human history, from creation through the 1600s.

This Core is best for 12- and 13-year-olds and advanced 11-year-olds.

Gain a valuable framework for world history

Do you find ancient history dull? One Sonlight mom wrote "I could not have thought of anything more dry and boring than studying the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Those were topics to hurry past in order to get to the good stuff."

But history is the story of real people, real families, real adventures, real triumphs and defeats, and real cultures. There's no reason that should be boring!

I read hundreds of books and chose the best, most gripping ones for this Core. These stories bring long-ago times to life. They provide examples and perspective for us as we experience history being created today. This kind of study is--or certainly can be--very practical. Give your children a big-picture understanding of the world that any well-educated person in today's global society ought to have.

Find answers to real-life questions such as: How did ancient Egypt, Israel and Assyria interact? Where did the Greeks come from? Why did Greek civilization give way to the Romans? Why did the Roman Empire fall? How did Asian culture develop during that same time? How did Western history progress during the so-called Dark Ages? How did those centuries give rise to the Renaissance, and how did the Renaissance, in turn, pave the way for the Protestant Reformation?

The Sonlight mom who thought ancient history was boring certainly enjoyed these questions. Halfway through Cores B and G with her daughters, she had fallen in love with the great stories and wrote, "Sonlight, you did the impossible. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I'm starting to enjoy ancient history." May you enjoy it as well!

The core of Core G

Just as history itself is interconnected, we've created a cohesive, interconnected curriculum for you. Your History, Read-Alouds and Readers all play off each other and deepen your learning experience in Core G.

I've carefully interwoven works by three authors to serve as the backbone of your history studies. Though Susan Wise Bauer starts off a little slow in the first volume of her Story of the World series, she soon finds her stride. I love the winsome narrative approach, and I have no doubt these delightful books will help you and your students love history, too.

I couple the first half of the Story of the World series with the gorgeous Usborne Encyclopedia of World History. It's loaded with pictures, diagrams and snippets of information that add dimension to your reading.

Finally, I match up Bauer's books and the Usborne book with Genevieve Foster's delightful Augustus Caesar's World and The World of Columbus and Sons. (When I read my first Foster book as a teenager, I knew it was the most interesting history I'd ever read!)

Foster moves chronologically and tells the stories of famous people around the world who lived at the same time. Discover how the lives of Herod, Augustus Ceasar and Cleopatra intersected. Gain insights as you meet people who lived in Peru, Japan, Germany, China, Gaul and India at that same time.

I wove all these books together in Core G so you gain fresh insights and perspectives from each as you move chronologically through world history. Your Readers and Read-Alouds move chronologically with you and add even more life to your studies!

Goals for Core G

When your children grow up, will they need to know lists of memorized facts ... or will they need to consider new information, connect it to what they already know and then take the good and toss the bad?

Core G and its companion, Core H, help students develop those critical thinking skills.

They help students understand the world today by seeing how we got to where we are. They help them understand their own and other's cultures by seeing the connections between civilizations around the world and throughout time.

When students really understand how Egyptians viewed their "gods"; when they see how weak, wicked and fickle the Greek "gods" were, they'll appreciate all the more the awesome power and goodness of the true God we worship.

You receive:

Instructor's Guide

Study Core G with confidence: your Instructor's Guide (IG) has all the necessary prep work done for you. It turns great books and fascinating history into a cohesive curriculum. It tells you what to read and do each day, gives you extra notes to help you talk about any difficult subjects, suggests discussion questions to spur great conversations with your kids and helps you get the most from your books and timeline. Request the first three weeks of this guide for free.

History & Geography

Besides the primary texts I mentioned above, your History program also includes timeline figures that pull all your learning together and visually shows the progression of history. I've also included a brief but epic history of God's Kingdom and the Church. Watch God's stunning care for his people as He grows the Church from a small band of rag-tag followers to a huge family of believers spread throughout the globe!

Bible

Bible Unlike earlier Cores, the full Bible program (including reading, memorization and extra resources) is included in this Core. Core G gives your students a guided tour of the entire Bible. The fascinating International Children's Bible Field Guide surveys the Bible and includes maps, archeological information and extensive study notes.

Core G Bible readings come from the Gospel of Luke, the book of Acts, Paul's letters to the Galatians, and the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Jonah. You'll also memorize key Scripture each week.

Read-Alouds

Treasure your last years of Read-Alouds! Starting in Core 100, I don't assign books for mom to read out loud (but you can certainly keep up the tradition if you want). Build memories and help keep lines of communication open with your children as you read books that will inspire you to discuss some deep issues of life. Among other things, you will:

• Live the excitement, adventure and intrigue of the Trojan war.
• Feel the Roman Empire's wrath as it destroys Jerusalem during a Jewish revolt in 70 AD.
• Follow an orphaned boy in Shakespeare's day whose angry master commands him to steal Hamlet. Will he obey?
• Discover why The Westing Game won the Newbery medal when no other mystery has proved worthy of that honor. (It's also my daughter Jonelle's favorite book ever!)

Readers

I have too many favorites here to name. When I first finished The Great and Terrible Quest, I closed the back cover, opened the front and read it all again! From adventures in the Middle Ages to Martin Luther's compelling biography, to the life of a Samurai in 16th century Japan, these books enrich your children's studies and encourage them to keep on learning.

Ready to learn

Please, relax and enjoy this special year of great books, discoveries and moments with your children. And get ready to learn a fair amount yourself!