Stig of the Dump

Homeschool History Study Resources

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Stig of the Dump by Clive King is a great way to study stone age people. We used this as part of our 'mining for kids' series, so the emphasis of my resources is prehistoric tools and weapons.

Stig is a caveman who lives at the bottom of the old quarry close to Barney's grandparents' house. When Barney comes to stay he accidentally falls over the edge of the dump and tumbles down through the roof of Stig's den. And thus begins a strange friendship full of adventures!

We found this an enjoyable read, which introduced a lot of ideas about the stone age.

A great resource to use with the book is the adventure software from Topologika.

They say "Stig of the Dump brings Clive King’s story (of the same name) to life, putting the learner in Barney’s shoes in a ‘virtual environment’ that contains people, objects and locations from Barney’s house, Stig’s cave and Stig's Dump itself"

I really liked that you had to read the first 3 chapters of the book, and use the clues you find there, to solve the game.

You can download a free demo before you buy, and although UK based, they do ship worldwide.

Stone Age People Resources

Cresswell Crags has some good stone age information for kids.

Who Were the First People?

(Usborne book). We have used this little book quite a lot when discussing pre-history. Its quite comprehensive but with lots of pictures.

Prehistoric World is a downloadable book. It looks very comprehensive. There is a preview button so you can see if it is suitable for you. I also liked this 3D Prehistoric Diorama

Prehistoric Man Coloring Book

from Dover publications.

Stone Age Weapons Resources

Mining of Flint - Grimes Graves in Norfolk, UK has evidence of prehistoric mining (including a mining shaft). Apparently the mine was abandoned when new materials were discovered for tool-making - but then re-opened for flint for guns. Most of the guns used in the Napoleonic wars contained flint from Nofolk!!

Rudiments of Wisdom page on flint in cartoon form.

DK Images have some great pictures of stone age tools and weapons.

Photographs and information on prehistoric tools and weapons.

Other Home School Ideas

At the end of the book Barney goes back in time to help build a preshistoric monument of four giant standing stones. We investigated other monuments such as Stonehenge in the UK.
Why not make your own animation of a stone age hunt? Or try foraging for food and having a homeschooling prehistoric meal. We also had a go at making our own bows and arrows.

And of course, this would be a great time to look at Dinosaurs!

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