 Thanks to a gentle nudge from a dear reader, TimeFrame is finally ready. This is a tool we used and loved when my boys were in high school. I used it too, just because it was fun, then used it more diligently when I was studying for CLEP exams while finishing my degree. It was a huge help to be able to see a century at a glance, and remember who did what when, based on a quick glance at the colored lifelines.
TimeFrame focuses on people. Its unique system of colored lifelines lets you can see at a glance which famous people lived at the same time, and think about whether or how they may have influenced one another.
Do you suppose William Shakespeare read about Galileo’s discoveries in his morning newspaper? Did Moses know that a massive monument called Stonehenge was under construction in far-away Britain? It’s these connections that make history exciting and memorable, and the timeline provides a simple means of capturing and seeing it all.
TimeFrame is not a "done-for-you" timeline. Instead, it's designed to be your personal record of what and whom you've studied. For example, if you're studying a period of history, record the lifelines of all the people who interest you. For me, it would be mostly literary figures, artists, inventors, amazing women, and a few of my ancestors. For many boys, it's more likely to be warriors, explorers, and kings.
I believe that active learning is memorable; passive learning is forgettable. When students pause for a moment to record a lifeline, including a person's name, year of birth and death, and a fact or quote about them, they're very likely to remember the person. If they simply look at a timeline that someone else has created, there's no investment of mental energy, no engagment of motor skills in the act of recording, and limited likelihood that they'll retain anything.
Where do you find people and events to include? You'll find them throughout whatever you're reading or studying. If you're following a curriculum such as Sonlight, Susan Wise Bauer's histories, Veritas Press, Tapestry of Grace, Classical Conversations, or any other, you'll find many people worthy of inclusion.
You can include favorite artists and authors, people who inspire you in some way, and any of your most interesting ancestors. There are suggestions in the text for other sources of people to include, but many students can create a full and fascinating timeline from the curriculum they are already using.
I'll write more later about how to use it, but for now, here are a few quick points to consider: 
- Easy to use, no cutting and pasting
- Quick! Less than a minute to record a lifeline
- Active learning increases retention
- Century-at-a-glance reveals trends and patterns
- Visual record helps you study for exams
- Great for college, too
- Complete how-to instructions included
- Use the included color coding or choose your own
- Spiral bound so that it lays flat
- Opaque 70# paper helps keep lines and text from showing through*
If you'd like to see a slightly larger sample of a one-century, two-page spread, just click below. Shrinking it to fit on one page makes it hard to read, but at least it will give you an idea of how it works.
This is a boy-created sample (not as neat as I would have liked), so it's probably closer to reality than my neat and tidy one!
See a sample century (PDF)
*If you purchase the e-book, be sure to print it on paper that's a bit heavier than average. It helps to avoid show-through and makes the timeline more durable.
I want one timeline book:
$24 each
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I have lots of kids (or I want one for myself, too), and I want to save on more than one copy.
$20 each for more than one
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Dear busy moms: