From Mesopotamia to Ancient Greece | Planning our History Cycle

I am in planning mode.

I woke early and took a few peaceful hours to get my head around what learning about Ancient Greece entails. I don't remember much about it from my own education so it was actually pretty exciting diving in and getting an understanding of how all the random bits of information I have collected in my mind over the years wraps around a timeline of events.

I used a book called Ancient Greece - Voyages Through Time by Peter Ackroyd  as my information-spine. Can I mention how helpful this book was? Brilliant.

I took more than 5 pages of notes. I definitely absorb what I'm reading best if I can make notes as I go.  It makes a real difference to me but is a pretty time-consuming way to do things.

My plan starts with this book Gilgamesh: The Hero. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature.

I have  been sourcing a lot of stories and myths. Both on kindle for iPad and in book form.

So, I imagine many hours snuggled up on the couch, keeping warm and reading together. But, we'll also be starting to work through The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads The Way by Joy Hakim, with accompanying Teacher's Manual and Student Quest Guides.

I think that we'll be with the Ancient Greeks for some time. Lol. There's so many concepts to visit!

And finally, I'm attaching a bunch of links I want to look at here for my own benefit. Perhaps they might be handy for you too :)

Timeline 
Montessori 3-part cards 
This Philosophers Overlook from Eclectic Living
Theoi Greek Mythology
Ancient Mesopotamia for Kids
Mesopotamia from The British Museum
Ancient Greek activities including Greek Alphabet
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. On my wishlist.
Greek code breaking activity
A Waldorf approach to Ancient Greece
The Montessori Great Lessons
The Story of the World
Wall map
Living Books and Crafts to Teach Ancient History - Squidoo
Sumerian Children's Songs
Cuneiform
An Ancient Mesopotamia Lapbook
Costumes
Greek Classics For Children - squidoo
Ancient Greece reading list
Minoan and Mycenaean Comparison and Contrast
Famous Men of Greece - The Baldwin Project
A Story Of The Golden Age of Greek Heroes by James Baldwin
Tales of the Greeks: The Children's Plutarch - The Baldwin Project
Ancient Greece squidoo with videos
Ancient Greece Odyssey: The Citadel of Mycenae
Ancient Civilisations Lesson Ideas - squidoo

Btw, last term we spent a long time working through The Big Picture Book. It covers 4 billion years of evolution... in 48 pages! We did a drawing and copywork for each page. For a reasonably little book it ended up being a rather big project to undertake but one I can recommend in advance of starting to study early man and ancient history.

Have you studied the Ancient Civilizations? I'd love to hear about your highlights, your favourite activities, books and resources if you would like to share :)