Homeschool History:
Making the Past Interesting

There are lots of ways to make homeschool history interesting and meaningful. History is more than memorizing dates. It also involves learning about the land, government, and culture of a country.

Curriculum

It is important to find the right History Curriculum. The right curriculum is especially important if your child struggles with reading or remembering facts. There are resources for every learning style and teaching method.

I think that it is also important to find Christian curriculum that teaches about how God is involved in history.

Another way to homeschool history is with literature . There are fictional books written for almost any time period. Some are written for children.

Reading biographies is another way to teach history. The Sower Series has biographies about Christians in history. The stories are written for elementary children.

The Story of the World is written in narrative form. It is written to be read aloud to elementary aged children.

Besides world history our children should learn about the country that they live in. If you are living in the United States you will want to study American History

Making History Interesting

Hands-on history activities can make history fun. The activities can be simple such as coloring a picture. Other activities can be complex such as learning a handicraft that is related to the time you are studying.

Besides handicrafts there are other history crafts that you can do. Make replicas of a covered wagon, knight's armor, or a frontier fort.

Art history can also teach us about different time frames. We can learn how people dressed and what their buildings looked like. We can also learn about what the people valued.

Music can also make history interesting. You can find CD at your local library. When you are learning about the classical era listen to Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven. When you are studying about United States history listen to songs like Dixie, and I have been Working on the Railroad.

Using the American Girl historical books and dolls can make history interesting for girls. Girls might like to learn about the how women lived in times past. They would like to learn about how different food was cooked and what the women wore.

Boys usually like to learn about different battles and how the battles were fought. They might like to learn about different weapons.

Both boys and girls would like to cook food from times past. Look for recipes for the food of the civil war time frame or what cowboys ate on the trail.

Playing games with your child can help him remember facts. There are several varieties of trivial games. Or you could make your own.

Timelines

Timelines can help children understand history chronologically. You can make it more visual with pictures of famous people and events. There are ready-made timelines or you can make your own.

Geography

Geography is important to teach along with history. It is more than maps. It involves where people are from. It can also include natural resources and climate.

It can help us learn about why a country was invaded or why a group of people might have left a country.

You can make it fun by doing hands-on projects or playing games.

Be sure to add geography to your homeschool.

Social Studies /Culture

Social Studies is an important aspect of homeschool history. It is the study of human behavior and interactions. When we learn about culture we can better understand the events of history.

For young children social studies would include the study of community workers. You will want to teach about people who help us such as doctors, policemen, and firemen. You will also want to include other types of jobs that people have.

A person's culture also includes the type of government that they live under. We all have rules that we live under. A young child can learn about the rules of your family.

Older children should study the different roles of people in the government. They can also study about the different governments in the world. .

Homeschool history can be fun and interesting for all children.