Preceden has been such a helpful tool for learning about history. The layers and color options allow me to see the historical context of an event at a glance. The collaboration feature makes it even more powerful because I can build complex timelines with my fellow students.
See Who Lived at the Same Time
Give civilizations, people and events their own layers, and each one becomes a row on the same date axis. Your children can see that Aristotle taught Alexander the Great, that the Roman Republic was already a century old when Socrates died, and how far apart Marathon and Pompeii really are.
Ancient Dates Work Too
Type 776 BC or AD 79 and Preceden puts it in the right place, with no year zero in between. Check Approx. when a date is traditional or uncertain, like the founding of Rome, and use the notes field for what your children learned about it.
Print It for the Wall
Export a PDF to print on one page or stretched across several sheets you can tape together into a wall timeline. You can also send a link to grandparents so they can see what the kids have been studying.
Everything You Need in a Homeschool Timeline
Here's what you can do when you keep your history studies in Preceden.
Layers
Give civilizations, people and events, or each child's work, its own layer on the same date axis.
Optional End Dates
Events with an end date appear as a bar; events without one appear as a single icon.
Approximate Dates
Mark a date as approximate when historians only know roughly when something happened.
Notes
Attach notes to an event to record what your children read or narrated about it.
Images
Upload a picture for an event, such as a map or a drawing your child made.
Icons
Choose from over 3,600 icons to show what each event represents.
Zoom
View all of history at once or zoom in to focus on a single century.
Search & Filter
Search a crowded timeline to show only the events you care about.
Bulk Editor
Add and edit many events at once in a spreadsheet-like grid.
Spreadsheet Import
Import names and dates from a CSV or Excel file instead of adding them one at a time.
Date Picker
Pick a date from the calendar, or type it in when you want control over the format.
Privacy Controls
Control who can see your timeline by making it private, password-protected, or accessible via a secret URL.
FAQs about Preceden
What is a Book of Centuries?
A Book of Centuries is a notebook, popular with Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, where a student records the people and events from their reading on pages laid out by century. Over the years it becomes their own timeline of history. Preceden keeps the same record on one date axis that you can zoom from a single century out to all of history, and print whenever you like.
Can I add dates before year 1?
Yes. Preceden supports BC dates as far back as 240,000 BC. Our guide to making a BC and AD timeline explains how the years count and why there is no year zero.
Can my children add to the same timeline?
Yes. On a Pro plan you can invite people to edit a timeline, and they can do it for free. See Collaborate with Others on Timelines for how invitations work.
How do I print a large timeline?
Export it as a PDF and choose to stretch it across multiple sheets of paper, then tape the sheets together. Print Your Timeline Across Multiple Pages walks through the settings on a Mac and on Windows.
Are there timelines we can study from?
Yes. Our history timelines cover topics from ancient history to the space race, and each one can be read alongside your lessons.
Can I use Preceden for free?
Yes, you can sign up and create unlimited timelines with up to 10 events each for free. We have paid plans that let you add unlimited events and also provide more advanced functionality.
What if I have more questions?
Browse our support docs for answers, or drop us a note anytime and we'll get back to you shortly: [email protected]
Preceden for Other Kinds of Timelines
Preceden is built for more than one kind of timeline. Here's what else people use it for.
- Project Management Plan and communicate project schedules.
- Education Bring class projects and lesson plans to life.
- Legal Cases Build case chronologies attorneys can share.
- Research Map out historical and academic research.
- Fiction Writing Track characters, plots, and fictional histories.
- Genealogy Line up your ancestors' lives on one date axis.
- Personal Timelines Map the homes, jobs and milestones of your own life.
- Timeline Templates Start from a ready-made layout instead of a blank page.