History can be one of your favorite subjects to homeschool. There are so many fun ways to dive into history and bring it to life.  It is so important to teach to our children to help improve the future ahead of us. Have a blast and make homeschooling history one of your most treasured parts of the day.

Making History FUN in Your Homeschool

Stock up on plenty of books. Historically accurate historical fiction or biographies like (affiliate links to follow) “The Royal Diaries“, and “Dear America“, or the “Who Was” series are great for helping your child imagine themselves in the footsteps of people you are studying. There’s nothing like a good book to set the imagination loose.

Look for videos and documentaries that teach kids about history in a fun way that is easy for them to connect to. The Liberty’s Kids cartoon series is great for helping your child feel connected to a time period they can never go back and experience themselves. For example, it does it by taking children and placing them in major parts of the American revolution they made it feel alive and personal. Older kids do well with documentaries about parts of history that fascinates them.  There are great documentaries available on all of the major streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

Take advantage for potential field trips. History is one of those subjects that have nearly limitless field trip possibilities. From reenactments to historical sites, museums, and traveling events that all bring history to life. Look up places you can visit when planning what you will teach. If you go on a trip out of town, check what historical field trips are available to you where you are going and on your way.

Act out history. Join local reenactments or put on a small play. Have your kids try their hands at being the people they are studying.  Costumes and props are optional!  This is a great way to help drive lessons to memory.

Cook historical recipes as you learn about different time periods and locations. There’s nothing like food to help you connect to others both past and present. You can easily find historical recipes online and in books.  Get together with other homeschooling families to sample food from different places or time periods to make it even more fun.  That also opens it up to even more of a learning opportunity, because your kids can learn about other cultures or times in history.  Your kids could even work on their public speaking skills by telling the other families a bit about the origins of their recipe!

Build something from history. Kids love getting hands-on with fun stuff like building a Medieval trebuchet. If your child likes to sew why not help them sew their own Renaissance outfit?  What about trying your hand at making your very own compass?

Create your own newspaper reporting historical events as if they just happened. To be a good reporter you need to really research the facts, so your students will learn some great skills from this.  It’s another way to incorporate some writing into your history curriculum as well.  Encourage them to illustrate or take photographs to enhance the stories!

For more recent history, take advantage of the opportunity to allow your child to interview someone that lived through the historical event. This kind of real-life connection makes it easier for students to truly relate to history in a new way that you just can’t do with a book.  Who can they talk to who lived through World War II?  What about 9/11?  How about someone who experienced the changes following the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Throw a time period themed party. This is a great way to have some fun that brings history to life, from the music to the clothes and food! Invite some friends and family members to join in as well.  Popular period-themed parties include the Roaring Twenties or a 50’s Sock Hop.

Gathering with your homeschool co-op to study history? Why not host a big wax museum event? For this, everyone chooses a historical figure, dresses up, and gives a speech about the person they are pretending to be. Kids young and old can participate!  This one is great because you can really open it up or narrow it down as much as you want.  

Hopefully you’ve gathered some new ideas for how to make history fun in your homeschool!  I’d love to hear what you do to make it come to life!