Hieroglyphs, Mummies, and Timeless Mysteries- Studying History Does Not Have to be Boring!

 

Alex Shows Off Her Egypt Lap Book

Studying history doesn’t have to be boring. It doesn’t have to be irrelevant or consist of difficult-to-understand facts.  Social studies makes up one of our favorite times of the day.  We LOVE studying history. How on earth does one get a 6-year-old to love history? Let me tell you a little secret.

When we first started our school year, I began with Lifepac’s Social Studies and Geography series. We found ourselves dreading social studies. The series was boring, overly simplistic, and didn’t teach much actual history. We are Christian, but this curriculum was so religious it even turned me off from it.  This is when I decided to create my own history curriculum. Pre-packaged curriculum just wasn’t doing the trick. It was time for some creative improvisation! With a little experimentation and a lot of determination, here’s what works for us:

“The Story of the World: Volume 1- Ancient Times” by Susan Wise Bauer is currently taking us on a journey from the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor.  I’ve read critiques on this series where people don’t like its storytelling presentation, but this is actually what we like most. Bauer brings history alive beautifully.  It’s easy for young children to understand, keeps their attention, and is a perfect stepping stone to more in-depth material. This is not a text book. Rather, it’s a bunch of stories and myths written for a child’s comprehension level. We love it!

Bauer’s series includes a plethora of books, workbooks and activities, and even a test book. So far we have only the first volume. It works very well as part of a classical education. Ideally, educators cover one book a year from grades 1-4, then go into much more detail in middle school. I LOVE this approach to history.  It teaches kids that history is a flowing story of human ideas, constructs, and events. I didn’t learn this approach until college, and I remember it felt like someone had pulled off blinders. The “little bit here, little bit there” approach to history never worked to me. I didn’t make the connections as to how everything fits together. Instead, history can be taught as a continuous timeline of interrelated events. That is the approach Bauer follows and the one I want for my avid little learners.  For more information about “The Story of the World,” check out: http://www.amazon.com/Story-World-History-Classical-Earliest/dp/1933339012/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315432927&sr=8-2.

We made a giant timeline and are slowly filling it in, from the dinosaurs to the present (for perspective). We read a bit out of “The Story of the World,” then turn to other texts to learn more. We did a great big unit study on Egypt this summer. We began by reading applicable chapters in “The Story of the World.”  Next, we began working on creating a Lap Book. Here’s an amazing resource for creating Lap Books with your children: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/Lapbooks_at_HSS.php

To thoroughly study and enjoy learning about Ancient Egypt, we used these great printable resources: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ancient_egypt.php.

We printed scores of mini-books to color and fill in, checked out at least a dozen books on Ancient Egypt from the library, and had an amazing time learning.  Print out the mini-books that interest your child, put together some related lessons, and watch your child create a book they’ll be really proud of. Alex glued her mini-books to construction paper and decorated them with coloring and stickers. We did simple internet searches for coloring pages and found some great corresponding pictures to decorate with oil pastels and markers.  I glued lined paper to the blank pages so she could write about things she learned. We stapled the pages inside a report folder.

One of our favorite projects was neatly writing our names using Egyptian hieroglyphs. It’s gorgeous! To put the hieroglyphs in context, we checked out some Egyptian Art at the Cummer Museum too.  This was a simple way to bring history alive and make it relevant to modern life. Hands-on learning is what it’s all about!

Another fun activity during our Egypt Unit was checking out age-appropriate chapter-book mysteries set in Ancient Egypt. There are quite a few to choose from. We also enjoyed picture books about Egypt. One of our much-read favorites was “Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile” by Tomie dePaola.

We have progressed through history and began Ancient Greece this week. We’ve checked out a bunch of new books and printed our mini-books from http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ancient_greece.php. There are also some great power-point lessons at http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/AncientGreece.html. Do you want to join us for a Toga party?

There are simply so many awesome, interactive ways to teach your child about the wonders of human history.  If your kids are bored with the curriculum they’re using, try something else. Make your lessons more hands-on and visual. Consider how your child learns best and plan your lessons from there.  It’s okay to experiment! Something that works well for one family might not suit your kids at all. History does not have to consist of dull, dry facts. It’s colorful and exciting.  It’s relevant and engaging.  A dynamic written history is one major things that separates us from other living beings.  

What do you do to make history come alive for your children?  What are your favorite programs and texts?

We Completely Recommend "The Story of the World"!

A Small Sample of the Lap Book