American History Homeschool Activities and Resources

American History Homeschool Activities

American history can be more than a bunch of dry facts and dates. It can be full of exciting stories about real people and interesting events that make the past come alive. This is why many homeschoolers love using american history lapbooks, unit studies and other resources to teach their children. These resources aren’t just books, but also include videos, field trips, hands-on projects and more.

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has an extensive collection of artifacts, primary source documents and other historical materials about US history. You can find them by topic or by time period on their website. They also have a great collection of online learning games and resources for teaching american history for homeschoolers.

Drive-Thru History is another favorite of many homeschoolers for their history courses. They have a series that teaches US history from the early colonies through to the Civil War. Students travel through time to meet people like Leif Erikson, Benjamin Banneker, Myles Standish, Harriet Tubman, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. These fascinating stories are paired with beautiful illustrations that help kids understand and process the history they are studying.

American History Homeschool Activities and Resources

Notgrass offers a wide selection of homeschool curriculum for kids in grades 1 through high school. Their history studies are available as CD’s or downloads, and they offer different options for each level of study. Each lesson includes a book that the kids can read to or on their own, several hands-on projects (most are easy enough for younger kids to do), and a lesson plan schedule. For example, one of their lessons includes instructions on how to set up your own gold panning station. This correlates with a lesson on the California Gold Rush and helps kids to “dive into” the history they are learning about.

Sonlight’s homeschool programs sweep students through a full history cycle three times from preschool through high school. This approach helps kids to see how American society has enriched the world, but it also allows them to understand more fully the strengths, weaknesses and needs of other peoples and cultures around the globe.

The History of the World, Vol. 4 by Susan Wise Bauer is a wonderful resource that helps homeschoolers to learn American history with ease. Each lesson is packed with primary source documents and stories that make the subject fun and easy to understand.

The Story of the World is a perfect supplement for any american history curriculum, but it can also be used as a main course. The curriculum is easy to use, and it allows students to learn about the different cultures of the world while focusing on key events in the story of humanity’s evolution.