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secularhistory

Homeschool Secular History Curriculum Dynamic Reader Asks 3 Best Teaching Tips

September 27, 2023 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have some great tips for teaching homeschool secular history curriculum. Also, look at my post 35 Simple But Powerful American History Homeschool Resources K to 1.

Answering your questions means a lot to me. So today I wanted to share a question that I think you may be wondering about too.

Additionally, although I am not a secular homeschooler, I do prefer faith neutral history programs.

Dynamic Reader Asks 3 Best Teaching Tips For Homeschool Secular History Curriculum

First, here is the question.

“Hi my name is Heather,  I have been following you for awhile now and I have been planning on homeschooling for awhile but as it draws closer to the start line I realized I can not find a social studies and history curriculum that I like. I trying to be as secular as possible with the main curriculum and then teach many different religions later on. Do you have any curriculum you favor or any hints and tips for picking social studies and history curriculum ? My daughter will be doing Prek/K work and I am seven months pregnant with my next child.”

Homeschool History Curriculum

Deciding whether or not to include “religion” can be a touchy subject for most homeschoolers because every homeschooler views the term “teaching religions” differently.

I certainly think children that age are capable of understanding more than we give them credit for at times. 

Shying away from teaching them values early on when their hearts are malleable can make it harder to teach later. 

Right away principles can be involved that include your view on religion and Bible.

Dynamic Reader Asks 3 Best Teaching Tips For Homeschool Secular History Curriculum

However, because we have the inherent right to teach our children, homeschooling is about you as the parent deciding when and how to teach your values to your children.

Too, all the complexities of history do not need to be taught at this age. 

1.
Secular Does Not Mean Faith Neutral.

So, my first tip is to understand what is meant by your definition of homeschool secular history curriculum.

Because some homeschoolers feel history and the Bible are the same subject, they do not feel you can teach history separate from teaching the Bible.

Other homeschoolers feel religion biases history. This would be secular homeschoolers.

Then others feel somewhat down the middle of the road.

For example, along with learning how to read and write, children are learning at every moment.

It really is the time to be teaching them about the story of history.

When my boys were that age, I had stumbled upon The Story of the World. 

When it first came out, it sparked controversy because some homeschoolers felt it was too secular. 

Other homeschoolers understood what Susan Wise Bauer was doing, which was allowing the parents to be the ones to decide when and how to teach the Bible.

I happened to be in the second camp but probably for a slightly different reason too. 

I wanted my husband and I to be the ones responsible for their education on the Bible and religion.

Through the years, I have found The Story of the World to be more about history than a Bible study. 

It really allowed me the chance to add Bible content and teach history as I wanted to. However, I don’t consider Story of the World a homeschool secular history curriculum.

I do consider it secular friendly.

Here are some other things to think about and that I loved too about Story of the World.

The Story of the World is for ages 6 and up or starting in first grade, but easily adaptable for a slower pace or age.

As a new homeschooling teacher, regardless of grade level, it made teaching easy because I could learn right alongside my children.  Using something laid out, though engaging, makes it easier on you so that you understand the story of history.

Secular Friendly History Curriculum

The reader is written in a story format to engage early learners. 

Too, I always purchased each of my sons their own reader. 

I had one and they had one too. I felt this promoted a love of books and history though it cost a bit more, I would be using it for several years.

The questions and answers are on the same page in the Activity Guide which is like the Teacher’s Manual and Activities all together.  It is a must-have.

Other books or suggested reading are listed in the Activity Guide so that as your child learns to read, you can look for other books to add to her everyday reading.

There are a variety of hands-on projects to choose from, including map work.  From coloring, to crafting, to building, I had plenty to choose from to make our day fun.

Dynamic Reader Asks 3 Best Teaching Tips For Homeschool Secular History Curriculum

However, because your daughter is so young, I would suggest doing a bit of tweaking to this curriculum or any curriculum you use at this age. 

History Curriculum

It is more about enjoying the learning process too while she is taking in the story.

  • Do not follow the schedule of the first grader, which is about 6 years of age.  Since your daughter is younger, go slower.
Homeschool Secular History Curriculum Dynamic Reader Asks 3 Best Teaching Tips. I have some great tips for teaching homeschool secular history curriculum. Also, look at my post 35 Simple But Powerful American History Homeschool Resources K to 1. Answering your questions means a lot to me. So today I wanted to share a question that I think you may be wondering about too. Additionally, although I am not a secular homeschooler, I do prefer faith neutral history programs.

(Mr. Senior 2013, Tiny and Mr. Awesome.  Sorry for the quality of the picture, but I was a new homeschooling momma proud of the fact that when we started Story of the World, I did some things right. I immediately added more hands-on when we started Story of World like “digging for artifacts” instead of pushing through the curriculum. I get a few sniffles looking at this picture.)

For example, we did one lesson and spent a few days on it or a week instead of the time suggested by the schedule. 

Covering less and explaining it more is the secret tool to teaching well.  More does not mean better. 

More Homeschool History Resources

  • 35 Simple But Powerful US History Homeschool Curriculum Resources K to 12
  • 15 Fun Resources For History for Kindergarten Homeschool
  • First Grade Homeschool Curriculum for History and Geography
  • 8 Best Classical Style History Curriculum for a Classical Learning Style

I think about my sons’ eating habits when they were that age.  They needed less food more often throughout the day. 

Teaching is similar and not to be gulped down or forced in one sit down feeding time.

Additionally, that is one suggestion but look at more tips about the differences in a secular approach versus faith neutral approach.

2.
Know What Faith-Neutral Means in the Homeschool World.

Next, since I wrote this post many years ago, the homeschool world has changed in the definition of secular or it seemed like it then.

For example, many secular homeschool history curriculum providers like Calvert and Abeka were clearly touting how they approached those subjects.

For instance, Calvert was touted as secular but they didn’t try to attack the Bible.

Today, I would consider Calvert more of a faith neutral approach. They do not explicitly teach a secular view.

And Abeka has clearly taken a Chrisian based stand on teaching history.

What muddy the waters is that some curriculums which tout they’re secular are not in fact secular but fall under the faith neutral umbrella.

Back in the day, we didn’t really identify faith neutral curriculum.

3. Secular, Faith-Based and Faith-Neutral Simple History Curriculum Definitions

Look at this short list and my definition for the differences between them as they have morphed through the years.

Homeschool Secular History Curriculum – History curriculum which would leave all mention of the Bible out of it and with no influence of any godly intervention.

Many times, secular overlaps with a view of science. It would be scientifically accurate, and all curriculum is looked at through that scope.

In addition, one of the most important parts is that they reject a young earth or creationist view. For example, the Big Fat Notebooks, Pandia Press and Horrible History I would consider secular.

Homeschool Faith Neutral – This varies with providers and some leave in Bible events as they happened but would be neutral about providing a secular or Bible-based view.

They would not be considered secular but neutral to creationists and secular alike. For example, BookShark is faith neutral.

Homeschool Christian Based History Curriculum – This curriculum touts there is no history except with God involved or influencing men at the time.

Homeschool Secular History Curriculum

Too, some curriculum can intertwine their doctrine while other curriculum strives to include Godly values. Out of all of the providers, this one can vary the most from light Biblical influence to teaching doctrine as history.

Look ahead and see what the topic is going to be about and then find extra hands-on projects to go along with it.

Add in museum quality coloring books that are both fun and teach history. Look at Dover History Coloring Book

Remember teaching at this age should be about fun and introducing the intriguing lives of people from both the past and present. Reading aloud a book about George Washington, Pocahontas or about Columbus along with a coloring page are sufficient when you are sleep deprived.

Curriculum for Teaching History

Look at some of these other resources I have used and loved because there is an abundance of material that can make your job easier.

We love the Draw and Write Through History series. Though these books have some cursive copy work in them, the focus for now can be on following the easy step by step drawings and you writing what your daughter dictates to you about the picture or what she has learned.  

This technique is called narration.

Too, by purchasing resources like this you can get several grade levels out of them and can still use them with your next child. They are timeless tools for teaching young kids regardless of how many years go by.

I often call teaching at this age horizontal teaching. 

Don’t worry about going up so much in grade level as you do about expanding, broadening and deepening her understanding on the topic you are on through enrichment.

Picking up books at the library about the way people dress and preparing snacks together from different countries whets her appetite for appreciating the customs and culture of others.

Expanding History Curriculum

Though there are a wealth of wonderful history providers at this age, a lot of them do start with some kind of Bible or religion teaching. As the parent, you decide if and when you want to incorporate it.

Teaching your daughter through some of the products and ideas I listed above, you can stay as secular as possible and add in your world view as you decide.

4 CommentsFiled Under: Dynamic Reader Question, History Resources, Teach Homeschool History Tagged With: secularhistory, youngchildren

Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

July 11, 2023 | 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have a free American history lapbook, learning about The Old West through the life of Wyatt Earp finished. Also, you’ll love my post 35 Simple But Powerful American History Homeschool Resources K to 12. and more ideas on my lapbook ideas and best homeschool unit studies pages.

Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

We finished out lapbook and unit study and really soaked up life during the time period Wyatt Earp lived, which was the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Life in the 1800s and 1900s through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Too, I have the rest of the minibooks to share with you.

After doing the notebooking pages, it was time we focused some on the art of that time period.

Frederic Remington was an American painter and sculptor who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, especially during the time period Wyatt Earp lived.

American History Lapbook – Keeping It Fun

American History Period Art Late 1800 Early 1900s 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus -1
Free American History Lapbook. History through the Life of Wyatt Earp @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

So we read about him and studied a few pieces of his art. I have a few of his paintings below on the art cards to add some fun and appreciation for art period of that time.

There is just enough room on each card to write down the title of the painting and the date.

There are enough of his paintings and work free online that it’s worth taking some time to look through them to understand the changing time of American through his art.

And then also because Tiny wrote about life during the 1800s and 1900s in the notebooking pages and wanted to include those on this lapbook as minibooks, I created some covers.

These go on the outside of the notebooking pages after they have been folded to add to the lapbook.

American History Period Art Late 1800 Early 1900s 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Be sure to look at this post at how to turn a worksheet into a fun minibook.

By the way, Tiny glued all the minibooks on there  and forgot to include the minibook he did on Tomstone, but you can include that one if you want to.

More posts American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Unit Study.

  • Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks – American History
  • Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
  • American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp – Free Notebooking Pages
  • Free Printable History Board Game – American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp – Hands-on Activities
  • Gunfight at O.K. Corral – American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • 7 Wyatt Earp and the Cowboys Facts And Kids Gun Holster Handicraft
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Additionally, you may love a few of these books.

American History Through the Eyes of Wyatt Earp Resources

Add one or two of these books to your unit study about Wyatt Earp who lived between 1848 and 1929.

Wyatt Earp : U. S. Marshal (Landmark Books #67)

- Possibly the greatest gunfighter the Old West ever knew.

Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell (Frontier Lawmen)

On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, eight men clashed in what would be known as the most famous shootout in American frontier history. Thirty bullets were exchanged in thirty seconds, killing three men and wounding three others.The fight sprang forth from a tense, hot summer. Cattle rustlers had been terrorizing the back country of Mexico and selling the livestock they stole to corrupt ranchers. The Mexican government built forts along the border to try to thwart American outlaws, while Arizona citizens became increasingly agitated. Rustlers, who became known as the cow-boys, began to kill each other as well as
innocent citizens. That October, tensions boiled over with Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, and Billy Claiborne confronting the Tombstone marshal, Virgil Earp, and the suddenly deputized Wyatt and Morgan Earp and shotgun-toting Doc Holliday.

History for Kids: The Life of Wyatt Earp

Of all the colorful characters that inhabited the West during the 19th century, the most famous of them all is Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), who has long been regarded as the embodiment of the Wild West. Considered the toughest and deadliest gunman of his day.

Earp symbolized the swagger, the heroism, and even the lawlessness of the West, notorious for being a law enforcer, gambler, saloon keeper, and vigilante. The Western icon is best known for being a sheriff in Tombstone, but before that he had been arrested and jailed several times himself, in one case escaping from prison, and he was not above gambling and spending time in houses of ill-fame.

Wyatt Earp Dots Lines Swirls Coloring Book: Wyatt Earp Stress Relief An Adult Color Puzzle Activity Book Creativity & Relaxation

This book is designed for anyone who loves Wyatt Earp. Put all of your stress behind, have a nice seat, then find out what will amaze you inside this fascinating coloring book!

This coloring book is a perfect collection of stunning images and perfect artworks of Wyatt Earp film. Besides that, bleeding is no longer a big problem in this book because all pages are printed on high-quality papers.

With a balance of design and simple elements, these images will satisfy adults and experienced colorists without being overwhelming to a beginner.

Wyatt Earp: Wild West Lawman (Best of the West Biographies)

A biography of the lawman who helped to bring order to "The Wickedest Town in the West," Dodge City, Kansas.

More Lapbook Ideas

  • Free The Trail Of Tears For Kids Fun Unit Study Ideas And Lapbook
  • Free World War II Unit Study Ideas and Fun Lapbook
  • Carnivorous Plants Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
  • Egg to Sea Turtle Lesson Plans & Lapbook
  • Free Coral Reef Printable Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Unit Study Ideas
  • Peregrine Falcon Lapbook And Fun Unit Study Ideas
  • Bird Unit Study and Lapbook And Fun Edible Bird Nests
  • North American Robin Bird Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
  • Homeschool Unit Study Ideas | Lewis and Clark Exploration Lapbook
  • Amazing Daniel Boone Explorer Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Unit Study
  • Free Lapbook Maya and Fun Hands-on Meso-America Unit Study Ideas
  • US Westward Expansion Lapbook and Hands-on Unit Study Ideas
  • Beautiful And Colorful Amazonian Rainforest Animals Lapbook For Kids
  • 3 Free and Amazing Amazon Rainforest Lapbooks for Kids
  • South America Printable Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Unit Study Ideas
  • Texas Homeschool Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
  • Pirate Unit Study Ideas and Free Pirates Lapbook
  •  Printable Strawberries Lapbook and Fun Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Finally, look at the minibooks in this free lapbook.

  • 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

How to Get the Free Wyatt Earp Lapbook

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!

6 CommentsFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, History Based, Lapbooks Tagged With: american history, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, historyspine, homeschoolhistory, lapbook, lapbooking, lapbookresources, lapbooks, secularhistory

15 EASY History Ideas for Homeschooled Kids Who Don’t Like School

May 4, 2020 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

As a history lover I find dates meaningless; I totally sympathize with home educators and kids alike who hate anything school-ish, but I especially feel your pain when learning history. With these 15 history ideas for homeschooled kids who don’t like school, I know you’ll find one or two fun things you can use.

The first tool I use to bring history to life are (1) lapbooks.

I’m not the craft lover. However, I found a way to use lapbooks for my kids which benefited them and brought history to life.

15 EASY History Ideas for Homeschooled Kids Who Don’t Like School

Using lapbooks as a way to feed a kid’s passions and adding enrichment has been one of the best ways I’ve taught my kids.

I came close to giving up lapbooks because I over worked it. We almost went from lapbook lovers to lapbook haters. Read how I fought back and made lapbooks suit our purpose. My tips are here at Beware of the 3 C’s of Lapbooking. Don’t make my mistakes for beginner lapbookers.

Also, I have more than 30 history lapbooks here on my site.

Click on UNIT STUDIES on my site for the drop down menu where I divided the lapbooks by time period.

Another way to teach your kids is to do what kids naturally like which is to read (2) stories or to be read to.

15 History Ideas for Homeschooled Kids

You can present history stories in at least two ways.

First, you can use laid out history curriculum like Story of the World which has a reader and hands-on activities to go along with each period of history.

We loved this series.

Second, use a living book or story book.

Look at these series of books.

  • The who was/what was books. There are over a 150 books or topics to choose from.

  • Also, the American Girl Historical Characters series is historical fiction. The series is a fun way to make history meaningful.
  • Another series kids love is the Horrible History books which has British humor. The books are full of jokes about history.

Your kids will love learning about the smelly parts to history. Horrible History also has a YouTube channel which I listed below.

  • You Wouldn’t Want to Be is another fun series we are trying too.

Homeschool History Field Trips

Additionally, history just doesn’t come from stories, but it’s learned through (3) field trips.

If your kid is turned off to books because he learned from boring books, then take field trips in person and take virtual field trips.

Taking a trip through a cemetery brings enough mystery into learning history for the day.

Walking through the house of a pioneer family or visiting a one-room schoolhouse gives your child a picture of what life was back in the day. A tiny spark of love for the past can be ignited from a fun field trip.

Look at my post 22 Awesome Homeschool History Field Trips for ideas of places to visit and look below at a few ideas for virtual field trips:

  • Buckingham Palace
  • Mount Vernon
  • Ellis Island
  • The Great Wall of China
  • The White House

Too, a (4) geography twist makes a wonderful slant on history.

We used the Ancient Empires to learn about continents and not only did we learn about countries we found interesting, but we learned their history while having fun with a group of other homeschooling families.

 In our co-op each family chose a country, created a pizza box display, came in costumed dress for the country they represented, and made a delicious recipe to share with others.

Look here at my post Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too) to see how we used it.

Make your co-op as big or as small as you want. However, some kids do quite well learning with others about subjects which they consider boring.

Homeschool History Curriculum

Another study of history and science with a geography angle using living books is one by Beautiful Feet. Your kids will love the science slant.

There are no shortages of FANTASTIC ways to cover history through geography by focusing on a country.

Case of Adventure is another one we loved.

Destination Scotland - CASE OF ADVENTURE

What I like about Case of Adventure is being able to focus deep on just one country through a story and lapbooking and notebooking type of activities.

Case of Adventure - Country-Themed Kids Activity Books

Another interactive way to learn history is to (5) look real close at your own circle of family and friends.

Use what you already have at your disposal. Most people, even acquaintances, love to help educate kids.

Interview people who are from other countries or who lived through certain periods of history. It can be your parents, grandparents, or extended family member or even a friend who is well-traveled.

My kids interviewed my mom who grew up picking cotton and farming; they interviewed a close family friend of ours from Africa. The friend of ours from Africa cooked my kids soup from her country and showed them handmade objects in her house from her native country.

Speaking of connections, another friend of ours was an international flight attendant. I got creative again. There is no harm in asking.

We ask her to take pictures of each country she visited and pick up a few mementos. She was happy to oblige and told us it gave her something to do on the layover. We gave her a few dollars to spend.

She couldn’t bring back a lot from different countries since her suitcases were small, but candy and key chains make great mementos to study about from other countries.

We still have our kimonos from Japan. The items from Japan were some of the ones my kids really loved. Mementos gave my kids something to hold and look at which cemented cultural awareness and love of people and history.

Homeschool History Unit Studies

Did I mention the pictures she took of the local people, food, and costumes made for a fantastic study? We couldn’t wait for her to get back from each flight.

  • Japanese fan
  • Chopsticks
  • Japanese kimono
  • Cool keychains

Another slant I took with my kids which they really loved was to look at a period of history through a (6) real person or (7) event/place which piqued my boys’ interest.

Feed and fan a history love for your kids by basing your teaching on your kids interests.

An example of how I did this was our Wyatt Earp unit study for a history character and the FBI for an agency or interesting place to learn about.

Choosing a character or event/place has a helpful side benefit. Your topics and time period are considerably narrowed. Your child and you have a starting point for learning history.

Look at Free American History Lapbook – The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

Narrowing your focus only to the time period of your history character and learning where he lived and traveled, what was life like during his lifetime, and significant events in his life ties history to a real person. It’s a life study.

This same outline of how to teach history focusing on a person applies to a place. The FBI unit study topic was narrowed down to when it came to existence and events during modern times.

Homeschool History Media and YouTube

In addition, (8) media and/or YouTube channels can revive the love for learning history.

Look at a few of these.

  • The Horrible History YouTube channel.
  • The Simple History channel is another fun site.
  • If you have Prime Video then Drive Thru History is another option for an older learner.
  • Timeline – World History Documentaries is another channel for older learners. From the site: “We’ll be exploring the mysteries of ancient Egypt, shedding light on the dark ages of medieval Europe and examining the First and Second World Wars.”
  • Liberty Kids on YouTube is another big hit for fun history.
  • The Armchair Historian another great twist on history. From the site: “The Armchair Historian is a history channel specializing in animated military history.” Pretty cool.
  • Crash Course. Click on the playlists.
  • American the Story of US is also on Prime Video or DVD and excellent for older learners.

Studying (9) art history is another unique way to study history.

If you have an art lover or even a kid who loves to draw, they’ll tolerate history with a focus on culture.

Art is the way persons or cultures of the past express emotions about day to day life whether it’s appeasing their gods or crafting items for everyday use. It’s a great angle to teaching history.

Look at Art History Kids.

Homeschool History Tips

Look at these other unusual approaches to teaching history. (10, 11,12,13,14)

  • Study women in history.
  • Cooking time period recipes. Look at these historic recipes.
  • Study fashion through the ages of history. Look at my post Bring History To Life With Historical Costumes: Fun, Fashion and Unforgettable.
  • Learn history though a movie like Star Wars to learn about battle tactics and apply to modern day.
  • Learn fictional history from a novel like Lord of the Rings. Learn about Middle Earth and bring history alive through fiction. The Lord of the Rings has it own geography, history, languages, and legends.

Finally, the last fun way to make history fun for the kid who is most challenging to teach is to use (15) history games. You can learn so much from board games and they don’t have to cost a lot.

Look at these 13 Free and Fun BEST Printable History Board Game. Also, check out the ones at Homeschool in the Woods.

Recap 15 History Activities

Look at these ideas in a nutshell for you:

  • Lapbooks
  • Stories
  • Fieldtrips
  • Add a geography twist
  • Look to family and friends
  • Look at history through a historical person
  • Learn history through an event
  • Watch videos/use media
  • Learn history through art
  • Study women in history
  • Learn history through cooking
  • Learn history through fashion
  • Lean history through a movie
  • Learn history through a novel
  • Learn history through a game
15 EASY History Ideas for Homeschooled Kids Who Don’t Like School

You’ll love these other resources I have:

  • How to Create a Creditworthy American History Course (& resources)
  • 7 Unique Ways to Supplement U.S. History for High School
  • 4 Shortcuts to Teach Hands-on American History in Half the Time
  • How to Teach History in 14 Lessons (From Daunting to Doable)
  • 10 Early American History Events that Happened in Fall for Homeschool Middle or High School
  • Start the Homeschool Year Off Right: 5 History Ideas for the First Week
  • Medieval Homeschool History – 4 Surefire Ways to Beat a Boring Study

What do you think? These 15 unusual homeschool history ideas should at least get a nod or two yay from even the most stubborn learner.

Hugs and love ya,

2 CommentsFiled Under: Hands-On Activities, Teach Homeschool History Tagged With: american history, americancivilwar, early American history, hands on history, history, history resources, historycostumes, historyspine, homeschool, homeschoolhistory, medieval homeschool history, middle ages history, modern history, movies, secularhistory

Free Printable History Board Game American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

September 7, 2015 | 13 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a free printable history board game. Also, look at Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

Instead of writing about so many events in American history, which can be boring if you are not focusing on some action packed event.

So, I created a free history board game when learning about events through the life of Wyatt Earp.

Free Printable History Board Game American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp

Of course, when I can’t find exactly what I want, I make it for you and me.

Like I mentioned before in another post, Wyatt Earp has been the perfect American history character to focus on when I needed quite a few events to introduce to Tiny or at least make him aware of them.

Hands-on History

From The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper to The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe to music, from the American Civil War to the First World War, from art to the idea of Manifest Destiny, Earp’s life spanned so many key events in American History.

Game Cards - Pieces - American History through the life of Wyatt Earp @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Playing American History Board Game @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

We have literally been overwhelmed with so many rabbit trails we wanted to take.

So just to be sure Tiny has a good introduction to a lot of them, I created the board game along with playing cards.

And as your child plays the game, they are introduced to some events on the board game and others on the playing cards.

If your child lands on the star, then take one of the playing cards, follow the instructions and return it to the deck. If he lands on a yellow space, just follow the instructions.

This is a fun way to introduce a wide range of things that Wyatt Earp would have probably learned about during his lifetime.

Though he has already graduated, Mr. Awesome is still sweet enough to play with Tiny.

Learning American History Game through the Life of Wyatt Earp @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Just don’t do like us. Tiny got so excited that they printed the game off on regular paper instead of card stock paper.

Free Printable History Board Game

Too, like my French Revolution free printable history board game, I made the game really big, BUT you can print it out on regular size paper or print it poster size (4 separate pages under your print settings). We printed it on 4 pages this time.

Here are some of the resources we used too in this unit study.

MORE ACTIVITIES FOR LEARNING ABOUT WYATT EARP AND THE COWBOYS

  • Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp – Hands-on Activities
  • Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks – American History
  • Free Printable History Board Game – American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • Free Notebooking Pages
  • Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Part 2
  • 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!

13 CommentsFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Hands-On Activities, History Based, History Resources Tagged With: early American history, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, historyspine, secularhistory

Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks American History

September 6, 2015 | 5 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and The Cowboys minibooks to put on the lapbook that we are doing for the American history unit study through the life of Wyatt Earp. Also, look at Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp.

Since we are learning about the events surrounding the life of Wyatt Earp and Tiny wrote about the events at the O.K. Corral in another minibook, we chose to do a minibook to write about Wyatt Earp specifically.

Too, we added Doc Holliday.

Because of their friendship and also the gunfight was the result of cattle rustling by The Cowboys we added it too.

Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and The Cowboys free minibooks for an American History Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

There is enough free information on the internet and the books that we have that this is an easy independent research project for Tiny.

So your child can write a few facts about the life of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday.

And then ask your child,”What was Wyatt Earp’s beef with The Cowboys?” (pun intended, corny I know but Tiny liked it)

American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp Free Lapbook

I am just about ready to start showing you too where we put the minibooks, but have a few more minibooks coming as we finish this unit study.

The minibooks today are for the right or left flap of your lapbook. Research, cut out, fold in half and glue to the right or left flap.

Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History
Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks  American History

Check out these resources for the American West and Wyatt Earp

  • Gunfight at O.K. Corral – American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • Free American History Lapbook The Old West Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp – Hands-on Activities
  • Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cowboys Minibooks – American History
  • Free Printable History Board Game – American History Through the Life of Wyatt Earp
  • Free Notebooking Pages
  • 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

 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!

5 CommentsFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, History Based, Lapbook Tagged With: early American history, hands on history, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history resources, homeschoolhistory, lapbook, secularhistory

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