Have you ever found yourself struggling to keep your eyes open while you read a history textbook? Even though you cannot see me right now, I am raising my hand with great enthusiasm. I DO NOT enjoy reading history books that are filled with facts and figures. I love a good story, but not the black and white facts and figures of history.
A little confession time, after finishing High School, I vowed I would never take another History class, and I didn’t. Then years later I became a homeschool history teacher!! What in the world?!! I never dreamed that would’ve happened. However, I want to let you in on two secrets that have helped me survive teaching homeschool history.
1. Literature Based Learning
2. Hands-On Learning Resources
With the help of these two things I have fallen in love with teaching history. Not only do these help me enjoy teaching, but my kids are also fond of learning history because of these incredible learning styles. Let’s take a look at what this looks like in my family’s everyday homeschool world.
What Literature Based Learning Looks Like
Can you use your imagination for just a minute? Do you see that book right there on the table? Pick it up and open the cover. What do you see? It’s black and white words, numbers, facts, and figures. Can you see the names and places listed. It reads very monotone and it takes you an hour to get through the first chapter.
Remember those names you saw listed? There’s another book on the table that is a biography about one of those people. I want you to pick up that book and open it. You will find that it is full of adventure and colorful, vivid details. It gives details of culture, feelings, emotions, hardships, victories, and heart felt living. The book “magically” colors in the black and white facts and figures of history of the first book you picked up.
The essence of Literature Based learning is taking the black and white facts of history and coloring it in with real stories of real people who lived in real time periods. Through this learning style, you are able to live alongside people of all time periods in history. It allows you to experience history, not just “learn” history.
When I was choosing homeschool curriculum for our first child nine years ago, Sonlight Curriculum was the curriculum I continued to come back to over and over when I was investigating what curriculum to use. I ended up buying Sonlight and have every year since because it has given us a love for learning in all areas but mostly in History. The focus on Literature Based learning has me hooked.
How Does Hands-On History Learning Work
With our family’s colorful Literature-Based history, we add an element of creative learning. When we are able to live it, touch it, see it, and submerse ourselves in history we remember it. My children are more eager to talk about the history they have learned and things they remember when it means something to them, when they have taken ownership of it, as if they actually lived history.
Hands-on activities and visits to historical places help the history of the world take root in the minds our children. There are so many activities that can be incorporated for visual and tactile learners that I could write a whole blog post just on ideas. Maybe one day I will make that happen, but today I want to share three resources that my family has used and will be using this coming year that incorporate hands-on learning activities.
1. History Lap Books/ Paper Crafting
This is an excellent tool for older kids who enjoy crafty, colorful learning activities. Our oldest two children are using these to help learn American history and World history. This paper craft is an invaluable way to connect the dots of history.
It is very interactive and is a resource for them to come back to if they need a refresher on certain events in history. Our older two kids are both working on the first lapbook in the American and World History series. They will complete the second lapbook in the series this coming year.
2. Famous Figures Crafts/ Paper Crafting
This resource is a series of books that covers different time periods throughout history. Each book is filled with prominent figures for each time period. The figures can be cut out and made into to movable paper people with the help of metal brad “joints”.
Your children can play with them as you read or use them to reenact what they’ve learned in history. It is a great way to remember the names of people throughout history. It really helps connect prominent people to a specific time periods.
3. Hands-On Projects
I am going to be real honest with you about this one. I don’t enjoy putting together or coming up with projects for my kids. I honestly run as far as I can from science fair projects, dress up days, or any other kind of major project that includes lot of planning and putting together. Now that I have that out in the open, I can honestly say I don’t plan hands-on projects for my kids.
But hold on, before you click away, listen to the rest of the story. Here’s the truth, my kids enjoy doing hand-on projects. So, what’s a mom to do? A smart mom buys a pre-made hands-on history kit with all the material and accessories put into a nice little box ready for use.
I am not a smart mom on a lot of things, but I can confidently say I made a good choice on this one. Our two younger boys will be using the World History Hands-On Kit this coming year. They are excited to create projects that will help them learn history better.
What is Holding You Back From Loving History
Maybe you already enjoy teaching history, but maybe you don’t. If you are missing the element of fun, what can you change that would make a difference? Could finding ways to make history come alive change your whole perspective? I know it was a game changer for me.
If history is the dreaded subject of the day, I challenge you to make some changes. Evaluate how you enjoy teaching and how your kids enjoy learning. Make some changes that will help you experience history and fall in love with teaching it to your family.
If you are interested in using any of the Paper Craft resources I mentioned you can enter Sonlight’s 30 Anniversary Giveaway this week to win. Fill out the form below for your chance to get some of these amazing resources free.
Let me know what you are doing to help history come alive in your homeschool.
