History doesn’t have to be boring, in fact it can be a lot of fun. Our favorite way to learn history around here is by reading fascinating books, and watching fantastic documentaries, but that’s not all! It’s not just about learning names, dates and events, but about understanding life from a perspective of another culture, another time frame, a different mind set. Broadening our perspective with every book, every documentary and every field trip. Talking to people. Listening to stories, and loving every minute of it.
Here is a list of our favorite history resources for homeschoolers.
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Books:
- National Geographic Almanac Of World History: while I have to admit that this was a bit concise, it was easy to follow, and gave a great overview.
- National Geographic Student Atlas of the World is another great resource.
- Kid’s Beginner World Atlas is fantastic for the youngest.
- Story Of The World Volume 1, and Volume 2 were great for when the kids were younger.
- Stupid History Of The World for a bit of fun.
- Mistakes That Worked were a ton of fun too.
- Weird NJ Volume 1 and Volume 2 books for some spooky local history. It was a lot of fun for a pre-teen, but too scary for the little one. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have ‘Weird’ books for many states. Also, this Weird Civil War one that I absolutely will purchase in the future.
- Our newest interest is all about the WWII era. This is our most recent addition to our collection of books: Bizarre Tales From World War II by William B. Breuer. The teenager also read the Unexplained Mysteries of WWII, but liked the Bizarre Tales better.
I also bought this book upon many recommendations of various homeschool groups, and found that for both my kids it did not work at all: A Little History. That is not to say that it won’t work for you and your family. The same thing applies to all the books I listed above. I wound up giving A Little History away to another homeschooling family, and they seemed to be happy with it.
TV Series and Documentaries:
Ok, so we are not big on watching things, but some of them are wonderful:
- Globe Trekker: Globe Trekker is probably one of our favorites. We usually catch it on PBS. Love exploring the world with some of their journalists!
- America: The Story of US (History Channel)
- The World Wars (History Channel)
Usually we go by channel: History Channel, BBC, PBS, National Geographic, etc.
While documentaries aren’t our strong suit, we would love to hear from you! Just comment with the name of your favorites and where to watch them.
Websites
There are several great sites listed for Social Studies and History right HERE. Here is one that is worth a special mention: Big History Project. It is relatively new, and just looks so amazing! I can’t wait to explore it, and have high hopes!
Field Trips
Probably one of the most fun ways to learn history is by visiting the places where it happened, and talking to people that are passionate about it.