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10 Ways to Hook Homeschooled Kids On History

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have 10 ways to hook homeschooled kids on history.

Though I don’t consider myself a classical homeschooler now, the lure for me to the homeschool classical approach was my never ending thirst for learning history.

Knowing not everybody feels the same way and because I wanted my sons infected with the same passion, I am sharing 10 ways to hook homeschooled kids on history.

Maybe one of these “secrets” will work for you.

10 Ways to Hook Homeschooled Kids on History (Easy. I Promise) @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Besides you can never have enough ideas of out of the box ideas for kids who want to learn out of the box.

10 Ways to Hook Homeschooled Kids On History

1. Hone In on the Conflict

Having boys, I know that it’s important to not just teach about moments but boys want to know about conflicts.

Embrace the Imperfect in History

Conflicts lead to war.

Boys and most kids are interested in war, but this doesn’t mean your focus is about teaching violence or war.

It is about seizing teachable moments to instill essential moral values.

Use events that stir the sense of right and wrong in your child’s heart to develop their love for history.

Check out my World War II Free Resources for a Middle School Unit Study and free lapbooks on the American Civil War.

You can’t find anymore injustices than these two hotly debated topics.

2. Make Art, Drawing and Coloring THE Lesson.
(the activities are not just for little kids.)

Avoid moans and groans that can accompany writing and instead have your child draw or color what he knows about history.

Especially if you have a creative child who may loathe history, having an outlet to showcase their natural talent will help them to give history at least a glance.

And no, drawing is not just for young children.

I am eager for Tiny to try Drawing on History , Pre Civil War- Vietnam 1830s-1970s when he hits the high school years.

This is a high school level art appreciation course with short lessons and another outlet for creativity.

If you do have younger kids, look at Draw and Write Through History. It is a whole series with different periods.

My boys liked this series and opening the history day with a drawing always won them over.

Check out Dover History Coloring Book and Coloring the Story of the World: 60 Coloring Pages inspired by Susan Wise Bauer’s The Story of the World.

And I have 20 Ancient Civilization Coloring Pages to add to your mix.

Then never underestimate the power of childhood games like Gold Fish.

3. Play Board Games for History.

Whether you create them yourself, check out my post 13 Free Printable History Board Games.

Also, look at my page Kids History Games Boosts Learning & Promotes Critical Thinking for more game ideas and free games.

Games are one of the best ways to bring history to life.

We loved the fun and easy distraction to learn history by Go Fish Cards and Book Ancient Egypt by Bird Cage press

Birdcage Press History Game @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

. Look at some of Bird Cage press games. Some are available at different times.

Birdcage Press History Game 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Though I don’t have any kids as dramatic as myself (okay, okay) drama and dressing up are equally fun ways to stroke a budding history buff.

4. Mix Drama with History.

Besides, the perfect mix is drama and history.

Learning about Shakespeare was so much more engaging when the kids could do a short drama in a co-op setting.

That is the kind of history that is worth taking time to do because it’s memorable.

Learning history through Drama @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Too, when I first mentioned the idea of learning about period dress or dressing up, my boys were not so interested.

You know, I got the I-really-want-to-roll-my-eyes-but-know-I-better-not look.

By not letting my boys always have the final say on things we did to learn history, dressing up and even drama became some of our fondest memories about learning history.

Check out my article Bring History to Life With Historical Costumes: Fun, Fashion and Unforgettable.

5. Use Living Books.

Living books can seem to make dead people live.

Okay, maybe not so dramatic that living books bring dead people back to life, but they sure make you feel like you have stepped back in time to see events unfold through their eyes.

Living books are one of the best ways to revive a spark for history and the ones I love using are inspired by Beautiful Feet.

We love the series by Genevieve Foster as we learned about George Washington’s World or The World of Columbus and Sons.

Check out my article, When We Used Beautiful Feet as Our History Spine as I share about the value of history living books.

6. Watch a Movie for History.

Pop the popcorn, butter please.

Living in a digital age has advantages and that means movie watching can be instant and it can be cheap.

When I start our unit studies on history, I do look for ways to kick it off by watching an epic movie.

I have a great list if you are studying the ancients. Check out my article Homeschool History – Teaching Ancient History Using Netflix.

Try coaxing your little and maybe not so little homeschooler with a few of these unconventional ideas.

7. Cover History in 14 Lessons.

Next, turning history into an overflowing amount of minute details can turn off even the most intriguing.

So, cover history in broad strokes and be done.

How? Look at my post How to Teach History in 14 Lessons (From Daunting to Doable).

8. Choose a Character to Study History Through.

Also, learning history through the eyes of a famous character brings history to life.

Study the events in the character’s life and things he or she liked or didn’t like.

What food they ate, the homes they made and their surroundings makes for a fascinating study.

For example, look at my study of history through Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

9. Study Music for the Music Lover

Additionally, another out of the box way to draw in a child is to study what they love.

I love Music in Our Homeschool to add different periods of music to history periods.

Finally, look at this last way which is lapbooks.

10. History Lapbooks

Lapbooks are products of a child’s work. However, do not make it busy work.

Lapbooks can be as complicated or as easy as your child wants it.

For instance, look at my page Homeschool Lapbooks – Powerful Tools For Mastery Learning.

Who knows maybe you have a hidden history buff in bloom?

Have you been able to hook your homeschooled kids on history?

What other ways do you teach history that are sure to bait a history hater?

Free Homeschool History Cards – French and Indian War

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I created 6 free homeschool history cards about the French and Indian War. Also, look at my page French and Indian War 1754 -1763 for more ideas.

This way Tiny can decide if he wants to do a lapbook or not. 

Free Homeschool History Cards - French and Indian War

If he does not, then we will use the easy and interactive history cards to cut out, laminate and put on an “O” ring to memorize.

I created 6 easy cards.

Hands-on History

Again, remember there is no way to put all the details about the French and Indian War unit study that we did on these small cards.

The cards are to serve as a quick overview and your child can do this on his own or with a sibling.

Here are the five questions on the cards and the information on them so you can plan.

What was the French and Indian War?

  • The French and Indian War matched France and its American Indian allies against Britain and its colonists.
  • At stake was control of North America.
  • The French and Indian war took place between May 1756 to February 10, 1763.
  • The war took place in the Ohio Valley and it was also called the Seven Years War.

Free Homeschool History Cards

Who were some of the key players?

  • American Indians, Marquis Duquesne (dyoo-KAYN) was Governor of Canada, Robert Dinwiddie (DIN-wid-dee), the Governor of Virginia, a young George Washington, Major General Edward Braddock, Major General James Wolfe commander of the British fleet and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm commander of the forces in North America.

Name some key events leading to war.

  • The French found the American Indians trading with the British. Marquis Duquesne had orders to take control of the Ohio River Valley.
  • The French began building forts in the Ohio River Valley.
  • Washington was sent to deliver a message asking the French to leave. They refused.
  • The French captured the “Forks of the Ohio”.
  • Washington skirmished with the French.
  • The French attacked Washington at Fort Necessity.

More French and Indian War Activities for Kids

Give a few facts about young George Washington.

  • In spring 1753, a French officer led 2,000 soldiers into the Ohio Country to uphold France’s claim to the region.
  • They built forts.
  • In October 1753, Virginia officials sent George Washington to deliver a letter demanding that the French withdraw.
  • They declined to leave. Washington’s attempt, a year later, to force the French to depart sparked the first battle of the French and Indian War.

What were the consequences of war?

  • The 1763 Treaty of Paris formally ended the war.
  • France gave the British all of its land in North America east of the Mississippi River other than the city of New Orleans.
  • The French land west of the Mississippi, called Louisiana, was given to Spain.
  • The Spanish gave Florida to Britain and the British returned Havana.
  • The end result was that the French no longer had territory in North America.

Cut out the cards on the gray line, fold in half, glue and have fun learning few facts.

More History O Ring Free Cards

Free Homeschool History Cards. French and Indian War @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

How to Get the Free French and Indian War History Cards

Now, how to grab the free history o ring cards. It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) Sign up on my email list.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

3 Reasons Hands-on Geography is Important in Middle and High School Homeschool

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

It’s easy enough to understand the importance of hands-on geography in the younger years, but it is equally important to understand why hands-on geography is important in middle and high school. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school and how to homeschool high school page for more fun tips. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

Having one child who rolls his eyes at the mere mention of hands-on and prefers taking a hands-off approach and another child who fails to comprehend anything unless it’s hands-on, I want to share tips on why it’s important to keep homeschool geography hands-on.

3 Reasons Hands-on Geography is Important in Middle and High School Homeschool @ Tiina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Hands-on geography requires participation or collaboration.

The tendency when teaching this age group is to assign a boring text, drill and kill and then move on.

Geography is a subject that is fascinating because it is not only about describing the earth, but it includes pictures, maps, diagrams and it includes a description of life here on earth.

It is a subject that is overflowing with possibilities because to some extent it also includes man’s interaction with the resources of the earth.

With all of these facets to study about geography, collaboration gives the middle and high school student the teaching reins.

Hands-on geography requires active and not passive participation or studying in isolation.

My sons have taken the teaching reins as we have studied North Star Geography.  That is one reason too why we didn’t just crack open the curriculum and study the first page.

When my boys studied together, they skipped around to hone in on a part of geography that interested them first.

Guess what? You can do this when studying geography because geography covers so many topics.  You can have several trails in geography and decide which topics interests you.

homeschool high schoolgeography north star geography @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Contrary to what some people may think, hands-on learning shifts the focus of learning to the responsibility of your child.

Middle and high school years are about teaching them more independence and project learning is one of the best ways to do that.

That is one reason we use North Star Geography because it has projects that foster independent learning skills.

Geography Bundle

I will continue to use North Star Geography, which is for middle and high school kids, with Tiny now that Mr. Awesome 2015 is about ready to graduate.

Our middle and high school students just don’t know geography.

Just because a child is in middle or high school doesn’t mean his learning style has changed.  We are in a visual world and visual learners are valued now more than ever.

Too, the conventional method of throwing a map to outline at the student and a textbook to read is not working.  More and more students, including homeschoolers are graduating with little to no knowledge of geography.

Visual learners who learn best through hands-on still need projects and activities at the high school level. Rote memorization does not work for all kids.  We need to abandon the notion that hands-on geography is not for mature learners.

We want to avoid turning out middle and high school students who are geography illiterate and conventional methods are not working.  Returning to what did work in the elementary grades which was hands-on learning without doing babyish projects is key to helping our upper grade kids make meaningful connections.

Hands-on geography instills a greater awareness and fellow feeling for other cultures and historical activities.

When we studied about the American Civil War, geography took on another whole meaning when we tied it to our family roots where our ancestors fought in the battles.

It is one thing to read about history and geography in a dry text book and another to visit the physical area and walk the grounds.

Connecting geography with a physical location helps a middle and high school student to develop higher critical thinking skills.

For example, after studying together and creating maps of the battlefields during the American Civil War it lead to discussions about whether or not man learned anything about history from that bloody war?

At the high school level, my boys have formed strong opinions about the war and I am able to pass on our family values.  If they studied this in isolation, they might not have reached some of the same conclusions.

Middle and high school should be a time for activities and projects that are selective and purposeful.

It’s true that many times I didn’t insist that my son who preferred a hands-off approach to join us, however, many times I did insist and not give him a choice.

Our high school kids still need guidance, direction and interaction with us. They are preparing for adulthood, which means they are not ready yet.

I am so grateful that North Star Geography sees the value of hands-on learning in the upper grades and I will continue to use it with Tiny for the next couple of years.

When I asked both of my oldest sons what they remembered about geography, it never was about a book, but it is always about a hands-on project we worked on together.

Also, you may like to read:

Hugs and love ya,

Gunfight at O.K. Corral – American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

We continued on with some writing about the gunfight at the OK Corral. Also, look at Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

We are focusing on our study of American history through the life of Wyatt Earp. 

The gunfight at O.K. Corral is probably one of the most legendary events in American history but it only lasted about thirty seconds long.

Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Gunfight at OK Corral

On October 26, 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona, a gunfight started at O.K. Corral.

Close to 3:00 p.m., three lawmen, Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp, and brothers Virgil and Morgan went looking for cattle thieves, Ike and Billy Clanton along with the McLaurys.

Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Too, the gunfight wasn’t at the corral but was at a vacant lot. After the gunfight broke out Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton were dead.

Public opinion was divided as to whom started the fight.

Whatever the facts about the most famous gunfight in American history, it certainly is an exciting enough topic for Tiny to summarize and write about.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral story and about Tombstone Arizona minibook @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 1
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral story and about Tombstone Arizona minibook @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 2 - Copy

So I created the minibook Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Too, this a popular enough topic in American history that there are many references for your child to research.

Gunfight at the OK Corral & About Tombstone Arizona minbooks @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Have your child fill in the information he has gathered.

Fold in half vertically and glue the cover on the front outside.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral story and about Tombstone Arizona minibook @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 2

Too, the founding of  Tombstone, Arizona is an interesting read and especially about how it got its name.

So I created a mini flip book about the founding of Tombstone, Arizona.

Again, there is no shortage of websites about this famous place in American history.

Research about the founding of Tombstone, Arizona and about Ed Schieffelin.

Have your child write in his research at the bottom insert piece and then glue that into the minibook cover (pictured on top).

Fold over and keep because you know we are not finished.

We have several more minibooks coming as we plod along on this unit study.

Since we already have done a few hands-on activities about the everyday life, we will be working on minibooks next about life during the time of Wyatt Earp and we are ready to write up some quick facts about Earp also.

We are really loving the angle we took on this unit study to learn more about American history. I love it because Tiny is engaged and he loves it because he can write about guns. (okay, okay)

MORE ACTIVITIES FOR LEARNING ABOUT WYATT EARP AND THE COWBOYS

Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Gunfight at O.K. Corral - American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp

HOW TO GET THE FREE WYATT EARP LAPBOOK, NOTEBOOKING PAGES & BOARD GAME

Update: The lapbook is now complete. Download all the freebies below.

  • Art cards by Frederic Remington about Wyatt Earp
  • Cover pages for the outside of notebooking pages 1800s and 1900s. Look here how to fold ordinary worksheets to interactive minibooks.
  • 8 Features of the SW United States
  • The 4 Southwestern states
  • American History during the Life of Wyatt Earp 1800s notebooking page
  • American History during the Life of Wyatt Earp 1900s notebooking pages
  • Who was Wyatt Earp
  • Who were the Cowboys
  • Who Was Doc Holliday
  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Tombstone, Arizona – About Tombstone – Ed Schieffelin
  • Printable Game with Game Pieces – The Most Famous Shoot Out – Gunfight at O.K. Corral

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. This is a subscriber freebie.

 1) Sign up on my list.

2) Grab the freebie now.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Continuing on with our learning American history, I have some hands-on history today. Also, look at Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

Hands-on history as we are learning American history through the life of Wyatt Earp, we did one more easy peazy activity for our unit study opening.

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2

We made soap.

Now I would have loved to have made one of these cutesy, full of fragrance, pink heart shaped soaps, but I have never been able to get one of my boys to make soap like that.

American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp

So I have to settle for the science of making home made soap, which is to make suds.

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2

Too, this recipe calls for baking soda but baking soda is not plentiful here in Ecuador because they won’t sell it.  It’s almost like it’s banned here in this country.

I had to substitute with baking powder.

We did learn some chemistry with this because we learned we can substitute baking powder for baking soda but you can’t substitute baking soda when you need baking powder.

Easy ingredients for making soap.

1/4 cup salad oil. I just used what I had.
1/4 quarter cup baking soda. We had to substitute with 3x the amount of baking soda.
Glass jar.

Add oil and soda to a pan and warm it on low heat and stir.

When it thickens, remove from heat and let it cool.  Then add 1 tablespoon of mixture with 2 cups of hot tap water in the jar.

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2

Shake until you see suds.

Though it may seem like simple science, it was good for Tiny to understand how the things we take for granted today like bubbles and suds just did not exist then.

Of course this would be even more meaningful if we had ashes, but then again reading about making soap in the olden days was a good reading assignment to do on his own.

Next, we were ready to start our unit study so I decided to use a history magazine as our spine.

As a side note, one of my very favorite history magazines, which was Learning through History that we used a lot on our unit studies, stopped printing issues.

I have most of the issues but after they stopped printing, I started receiving another subscription from History Magazine, though it wasn’t for kids. 

HANDS-ON HISTORY FOR KIDS

I do have to look it over when we get it, but because the boys were getting older, I wanted something that wasn’t just bare bones history.

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2

So for this unit study we are using one of the articles out of our history magazine about Wyatt Earp.

Also because it is for adults, it helps to nurture a love of history for kids who are advanced in reading too.

After he read from the magazine, I had a website that I wanted us to look at together because it is the direction we needed to go in, which is to add some science and a bit of geography.

Though Wyatt Earp is known for his famous gun fight at the OK Corral, he lived most of his life traveling and living in the desert and Southwest area as a lawman.

Features of the SW US - Wyatt Earp Unit Study @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Check out this website Wyatt Earp Desert Lawman, which talks about Earp living most of his life in the deserts of the Southwest.

Then, even though we are finished with our science book for the year,  I love to use free resources I already have to build my unit studies.

So I knew that I had a free science magazine that talked about animals and ecosystems of the Southwest.

I shared that link with you too before, which is Free Science Magazines and the science magazine is Animals and Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States.

Be sure you download it because your child will need it to fill in the minibooks about the desert.

Features of the SW US - Wyatt Earp Unit Study minibook @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Features of the SW US - Wyatt Earp Unit Study Triple Fold Book @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

One book is a minibook about the states that make up the Southwestern U.S. and the second book is a triple fold book.

On the triple fold book, your child lists 8 features of the Southwestern U.S.

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp. Learn about American Deserts @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Though hot temperatures and cacti come to mind, Tiny found that a few other things are characteristic of this area of the United States.

Having kicked off our unit study with some fun and easy hands-on ideas, he is ready to start doing a few printables to start building our lapbook.

MORE ACTIVITIES FOR LEARNING ABOUT WYATT EARP AND THE COWBOYS

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2

HOW TO GET THE FREE WYATT EARP LAPBOOK, NOTEBOOKING PAGES & BOARD GAME

Update: The lapbook is now complete. Download all the freebies below.

  • Art cards by Frederic Remington about Wyatt Earp
  • Cover pages for the outside of notebooking pages 1800s and 1900s. Look here how to fold ordinary worksheets to interactive minibooks.
  • 8 Features of the SW United States
  • The 4 Southwestern states
  • American History during the Life of Wyatt Earp 1800s notebooking page
  • American History during the Life of Wyatt Earp 1900s notebooking pages
  • Who was Wyatt Earp
  • Who were the Cowboys
  • Who Was Doc Holliday
  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Tombstone, Arizona – About Tombstone – Ed Schieffelin
  • Printable Game with Game Pieces – The Most Famous Shoot Out – Gunfight at O.K. Corral

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. This is a subscriber freebie.

 1) Sign up on my list.

2) Grab the freebie now.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!