This is a guest post by our friend Danika Cooley from Thinking Kids Press. This post uses affiliate links.
Learning about history with kids can be engaging. Here are two simple ways to teach fun history kids will love! Have you ever heard kids say history is their least favorite subject? There’s all those dry dates and boring names! Still, history matters, right? It’s important because history tends to repeat itself.
Edmund Burke once said:
Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.
Fun History Kids Will Love
History doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, you can teach fun history your kids will love! Using two simple tools, learning history with kids can be both simple and enjoyable. Fun history your kids will love is ready and waiting for your family! Not only can learning about history be fun, your family can incorporate it easily into your day.
Learn History with Kids through Literature
Children, just like adults, love stories. Our favorite way to homeschool has been through literature-based learning. My kids have learned about history through a variety of genres, like biography, narrative history, historical fiction, creative nonfiction, classic literature, activity books, and illustrated source documents (historical documents like the Declaration of Independence, illustrated for kids). It’s not hard to put together a fun history unit for your kids. Consider using a variety of books from each genre that will help your kids get a sense of the time period, location, major events and figures, and important theological and historical consequences. For instance, if you’re studying the time of the Reformation, you could use some of the following resources:
- Biography:
- Narrative history:
- Historical fiction:
- Creative nonfiction:
- Classic literature
- The Pilgrim’s Progress (picture book) or, The Pilgrim’s Progress (complete text, in modern English)
- Activity book
You can add as many resources as you’d like, depending on the time you have available. For resource ideas, check out the absolutely enormous list of Christian history books for preschool to high school.
Learn History with Kids using Hands-On Projects
Not only do kids love story, they love hands-on learning. Children are concrete thinkers, so anything that helps them visualize an abstract concept they’re learning about can be really helpful–and hands-on projects are a fun way to learn history! To continue our Reformation focus, here are a few hands-on projects you could add to your Reformation study:
- Make Martin and Katie Luther and a cute little castle.
- Learn Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” with this easy hymn craft.
- Work through these three free Reformation lapbooks (bottom of the page).
- Build a printing press and Johann Gutenberg from toilet paper rolls.
- Put together a Reformation celebration with these fun snacks.
- These Reformers are easy to create.
History matters for our kids. And, your family can learn about fun history kids will love with great literature and a few hands-on projects!
Danika Cooley’s Who What Why Christian history series is perfect for your 8-11 year olds. Your children will better understand the history of the Christian faith, the people who loved Jesus, and what the Bible says about really important issues! Danika is an award-winning children’s author and Bible curriculum developer. Her popular Bible Road Trip™ is used by tens of thousands of families. Learn more about the Who What Why series and grab your free history lapbooks here.
