Flirting with the Idea of a Book of Centuries

For Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, the book of centuries (or century book) is a core idea.  In case this is new information for you, a century book is a notebook with a two-page spread for each century.  On the two-page spread, the student should record important events of that century, sort of like a timeline.  Only better.

Why is it better?  For one, instead of merely listing events or people at a blip on a line, a century book allows -- even encourages -- other details, such as sketches and other artwork, narrations, maps, and whatever information a student would like to add.  In fact, Catherine Levison points out in More Charlotte Mason Education "that the earliest form of the century book was known as a Museum Note Book [that] served as a combination sketchbook/notebook with each page representing a century."  Students brought their note books with them on trips to museums and then sketched museum artifacts on their appropriate pages along with written entries about any noteworthy events.

I love the idea, but I've been struggling with the particulars.  Levison offers instructions for assembling a century book in More Charlotte Mason Education, so I thought I'd research the topic a bit more in order to make the best decision.  Here are some ideas I found online:

Lindafay has a wonderful post about century books with a different layout on Higher Up and Further In.  Her older children's century books divide the page into topics, such as Wars, Conflicts, Politics; Art and Music; and Religion and Philosophy.

On Ambleside Online, I found a Parents' Review article published in 1923 by G. M. Bernau entitled, "The Book of Centuries."  Levison references this article in her chapter.

Simply Charlotte Mason offers a free template and instructions for creating a book of centuries.  Free is good!  It seems that this is a popular format; I visited several blogs to check out posts about century books, and some mentioned this version by name.

Design-Your-Homeschool showcases a century book with a separate timeline at the top, so that users can turn the timeline independently from the century book pages.  Scroll down to number five under "Application" to see a photo.

The Tanglewood School curriculum features a century book with a different layout as well.  It's not free, but it's very inexpensive.  The site shows two sample pages and provides instructions for assembling the book.  Depending on your desires, you can make a "quick page" or a more in-depth page about a person or event.  It seems to me that this version is more detailed than a true CM book of centuries.  It's more of a notebook.

I found these sites very helpful (and others I didn't include; just Google "book of centuries Charlotte Mason" or simply "book of centuries" and you get quite a lot), but I am still undecided as to format, paper, binding, etc.  Perhaps I am being too picky; but when I consider that Charlotte Mason intended for her students to keep and use their century books for years, indeed, as Miss Bernau writes in her article, as "a life-long interest," then I'm naturally a trifle wary of making an ill-thought-out choice.

However, Catherine Levison's advice in More Charlotte Mason Education (can you tell I really like this book?) inspires me.  Why stick to two pages per century?  Some centuries had a lot going on.  Also, there is this crucial point:  additional pages per century provide "a way for the child to mature with the book. [...]  If the child is embarrassed by earlier immature entries, he can stop adding to the sheet and begin using a fresh sheet for that century."  But, she cautions, don't remove the earlier sheet from the book.  After all, it's still a record of their education.

Another tidbit of advice from Levison:  century books aren't just for the children you teach.  Keep your own book as well, and foster an even greater love of history.