Eccentric Eclectic Woman: Figures In Motion Famous Figures of Ancient Times Review

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying Famous Figures of Ancient Times from Figures In Motion for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Figures In Motion was created by Cathy Diez-Luckie an award-winning illustrator and homeschooler. One Thanksgiving she came up with the idea of making articulated puppets for her children of Pilgrims. Her children loved them so much she decided to make more historical figures and the company was born. Now Figures In Motion has 8 books dedicated to movable paper figures throughout history, including a book on dinosaurs! They also have 6 different coloring eBooks as well.

The Figures In Motion paper puppets for kids consumable books make up different time periods. They have Famous Figures of Ancient Times, Famous Figures of Medieval Times, Famous Figures of the Middle Ages & Renaissance, Famous Figures of the Early Modern Era, Famous Figures of the American Revolution, Famous Figures of the Civil War, Footsteps in Faith Queen Esther, and Dinosaurs on the Move. Each book is softcover with perforated pages to tear out for easy access to each paper doll. The pages are made of card stock material. In the front of the books are short descriptions of each historical figure. Then it has a reading list for each paper puppet to further learning. Each historical figure has a full color version and a black and white lined version to color. The costume illustrations are historically accurate. On the back of each paper puppet's articulated pieces are how they are put together with the help of a letter key. After they are cut out, these pieces are hole punched with a ⅛" hole punch where indicated and put together with mini brads so that they are moveable at the joints. You may purchase the hole punch and brads separately at most craft stores (Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.) or on the Figures In Motion website. They allow moms to copy the line art pages to use with more than one child in your family. They do not allow them being shared at coops, or between other families or school settings. They have licenses for coops, church groups, and classrooms.

Figures In Motion Famous Figures of Ancient Times

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

We received the Famous Figures of Ancient Times physical book from Figures In Motion. Figures In Motion was very generous as they also gave us a hole punch and brads in the correct size for the review. This particular book had 21 historical men and women (19 men and 2 women). Figures include Jesus, Moses, David, Julius Cesar, Alexander the Great, Aristotle, and more! We will be studying more on each figure as we read about them with our ancient history lessons at home. The included book list will be a great teaching resource so that we can further our learning. We love learning about history especially if it is hands-on. These books make history incredibly interactive.

Zari assembling Leizu.

Zari looked through the Famous Figures of Ancient Times book to pick out a figure to articulate. She was very surprised to find there were only two women in the book. She picked Leizu, a Chinese empress, to learn about, cut out, and put together. We read the blurb about Leizu first. Then, Zari chose the full color version of her because she wasn't in a coloring mood. We pulled the page out with the perforated edge and she cut out all the pieces. Besides letters to match up we noticed that the back of each piece had either back or front on them so you could place them in the correct position on the articulated doll. I showed Zari how to line up the hole punch correctly and punch out the holes where the dots where located on the doll. She placed each body part on the doll correctly and lined up the holes to place the tiny brads. After she was finished putting the doll together she danced her around the table saying, "Oh no! A cocoon dropped into my tea!".

Zari holding the articulated movable paper doll, Leizu.

We highly recommend Figures In Motion Famous Figures of Ancient Times. These are great for kids to have a hands-on tactile experience learning history. Because they are moveable they are more fun than your standard paper doll and they are super easy to assemble. This is a great arts and craft to enjoy along with the learning. Kids can put on a puppet show to reenact historical events with these. They are great educational play and the imagination. The historical paper dolls are wonderful to be used with biographies, with lap books, as a unit study, with a timeline, or with any ancient history curriculum.

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