How I Teach Homeschool Social Studies

This is part of a five day series on how to homeschool Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students. Today I am giving you a glimpse into how I teach history for kids . You’ll find lots of units, free social studies printables, great books, and more.

how i teach history for kids K-3rd grade #history #homeschooling

I love history. I think a lot of it stemed from growing up in Europe which is so rich in history. I loved exploring Roman ruins, visiting World War 2 Sites, seeing mummies in museums, and so much more. It all lead to a deep love of history and a desire to not only teach my children about history, but to have them live it and really enjoy homeschool history.

Our History for Kids Curriculum

As I mentioned I want my kids to dive into history units and really explore all the different facets of a time period. I want them to live it and thoroughly enjoy it. As a result we tend to have very involved, fun, hands on units. Since my kids are still young I pick something they are interested in and then flesh it out to cover that chunk of time in history or country.

Here are the units we’ve been through so far (from Preschool – 2nd grade)

Ancient Egypt Unit

(doing currently; details coming soon)

Additional Unit Resources: Wild West Sensory Bin

Expanding Horizons (Kindergarten)

Me on the Map

Expanding Horizons

American Landmar: Golden Gate Bridge from 3D Puzzle

United STATES

American Symbols & Landmarks

From Sea to Shining Sea Unit (a journey through all 50 states with indifvidual state workshet packs)

Vermont Lapbook

more study information later)

Around the World

Italy

France

Sri Lanka

England

JamaicaSpain (currently studying; more study information later)

Our plan is

When & How I teach Social Studies

I teach Social Studies either in the morning after the older kids have finished their math and language arts (around 10am) or in the afternoon at the end of our day (around 3 pm). Because our history units are lots of fun even my toddler and preschooler love doing school too. There is always a craft, element of play (like our huge castle or Viking ship with room for 3), food, printables, and lots of good books. Because our social studies units are involved (by choice) we usually stick with the same unit for about a month to really dive in. Often times we will do Social Studies every day for 1-2 hours or take Fridays off from regular studies and just focus on Social Studies which allows us to have lots of fun. I like to do field trips when we can and make stops on our family vacations to align with what we are studying.

I love these fun, unscheduled days of learning & play. When my oldest is in 4th grade we are planning on moving to The Mystery of History to go back through history in a more chronological order and cement in earlier lessons. Many schools will cover the same material 3 times during a students entire school career, each time diving a little deeper.

Our Favorite Social Studies Stuff

These are all great hands on “toys” that will peak your child’s interest and help them explore the wonderful world of Science. These would be a great educational Christmas gift or birthday gift!

Want to know how we teach other subjects? Don’t miss my complete series >> Homeschooling Preschool – 2nd Grade: This is How I Teach << which is part of collaborative hopscotch from iHomeschool Network.