Homeschooling has been around since the late 20th century after compulsory school laws were implemented. It resulted from the dissatisfaction of some groups in the dominant school system.
Today, the practice is conducted by a tutor or a parent or done through online classes. Teaching techniques may vary, but the problem is that not all subjects will pique your child’s interest.
For instance, learning about history is not everyone’s cup of tea, so it can be quite challenging to introduce this to your child. To help you out, here are tips on how to make history fun at home.
What Are the Advantages of Homeschooling?
Did you know that several famous people have been homeschooled? This just goes to show that it does work! Before we dive into the methods of how to make history fun, let’s discuss the advantages of homeschooling first.
Personalized Learning
Each child is unique. Because they function differently, they also require various approaches in the way their lessons are conducted.
With homeschooling, you can build a teaching plan that is more individualized. When your kid retains more visual information, you can decide to add more images and videos to your lessons. If they enjoy writing, you can allot more time to practice that.
Freedom and Flexibility
Because homeschooling is done mostly by parents, they can have full control over the time, place, and technique used in teaching.
Furthermore, homeschooling allows you to develop your own curriculum, timetable, and rules. You can also choose the methods you think are suitable for you and your kid.
The pacing at which you go about it is also more manageable. Your child does not need to keep up with a bunch of other students. Instead, you can proceed to the next part once you’re done or stay on an unclear topic longer.
Safe Learning Environment
Social harm, such as bullying, is avoided with homeschooling. Being taught at home also means that children are less exposed to violence, racism, drugs, and alcohol.
Their relationships become well-guided, and they are less prone to developing destructive ones. Health concerns such as viruses and outbreaks are also avoided.
Stronger Relationships
This does not only apply to kids and their parents but also to spouses. By supporting each other in educating their children, spouses become closer. The family can spend more time together.
More Affordable
With homeschooling, there is no need for a physical location to teach courses. This equates to a decrease in daily expenses for transportation and meals. There is also no need to buy books and supplies anymore, as most online classes use online modules.
Why Is It Important To Learn History?
There are various ways to teach history from home these days. The key is finding techniques to make the learning journey more engaging as it is informational. But why is it important to learn about history?
History teaches us a lesson and gives us tools to analyze and interpret problems. Through history, we may be able to see patterns that can aid us in making wise decisions in the present.
Learning about history also widens our perspective. It makes us see the bigger picture and what the world used to be. Through history, we develop not only an understanding but also an appreciation of our present.
What Is the Easiest Way To Teach History?
History contains very specific and detailed information. To help you remember, you can add annotations and footnotes to the text material and dog ear pages of printed-out copies. You may also make a summary for every chapter of a book in bullet form.
When it comes to teaching kids history, flashcards are useful. Another technique you can use is making associations to retain information. For example, to remember the first president of the United States, you can associate a white house with Washington.
How Do Beginners Study History?
The following methods are effective in helping beginners learn history faster and better:
- Make flashcards of important details.
- Read the text out loud.
- Let students write their own notes.
- Use mnemonics.
- Create a timeline of events.
- Take turns in asking each other questions.
8 Interesting Ways To Teach History at Home
Are you exploring ways to involve your kids more actively in their studies? Do they find time periods, oral accounts, material artifacts, and historical mysteries boring?
If you said yes to any of the questions above, you’re in luck. Listed below are eight interesting ways to teach history at home:
Incorporate Activities With Learning
If your students like writing, you can ask them to write an essay about their opinions on the role of women during the American Revolution. If they play sports, let them role-play as sumo players.
For creative students, introduce caricatures to them and have them draw their interpretation of King George III. If they interact through games, you can play chess but change the chess pieces to personas involved in history, such as Queen Elizabeth.
Models
Hands-on history activities are highly engaging and memorable. You don’t necessarily need to spend money on this. Be resourceful and use readily available materials at home, such as used coffee grounds.
You can do pottery art with excess cookie dough and give your kids the freedom to create their own. In the end, you can compare this to different signature designs from other countries, such as China, known for its porcelain.
Play Dress Up!
Want a new way to dress up for Halloween this year? Through the years, Disney has become more inclusive by creating stories from different countries around the world.
Because children can create a better connection through stories, what better way to educate them than through playing dress-up? Not only do they dress the part, but they also learn about other countries’ cultures as well.
Encanto involves a Colombian family; Moana shows the world how beautiful the Polynesian people and culture are; and Coco has Mexican characters who highlight the value they put into family.
Create a Visual Timeline
Involve your kids in this great hands-on history activity. Discuss the ancient civilization and medieval era while involving photos and images they can link with that certain period of time.
You can also do this in a refrigerator or magnet board to make it more fun. You might even want to incorporate short clips on YouTube to make them appreciate the topic better.
Cooking
If there is something that has been around for years that everyone can relate to, it has to be food. Since it is a basic need, food has been around for centuries. Different cultures have distinct flavors that are characteristic of their palates.
Bring history to life by preparing traditional dishes such as the Philippine’s adobo, Taiwan’s xiao long bao, India’s butter chicken, and Thailand’s pad thai. Let your kids taste them and tell you what they think.
Watch Documentaries
Through this method, students don’t need to imagine what people during the 16th century were wearing. They can see the elaborate designs of a corset gown, the Roman toga, and the flapper outfits of the ‘20s for themselves.
Documentaries allow students to know who Imhotep was and how ancient Egypt is known for its contribution to the world. Documentaries are like time capsules that allow one to travel through time without leaving the house.
Do Research and Discussions
The process of doing research is a skill that kids need to learn. Regardless of the mediums that they are going to use, students need to know which sources are reliable. Knowing how to find the right answers to questions is a necessary ability.
Teach your student how to be independent by giving them questions from time to time instead of assigned readings. Let them find the answers by themselves and hand it to you the following day. You can have a detailed discussion about it by then.
Online Travel and Field Trips
Kids these days are lucky to travel even in the comforts of their own homes. You can make use of this technological advancement to the fullest.
Take them to virtual museums where they can see historical artifacts and ancient stories crafted on rocks. Go through these elements one by one and explain each one to them as you go along. Allow them to participate by asking questions.
How To Make History Fun
History is a branch of knowledge that deals with the systematic study and documentation of human activity.
Because of its nature that takes place in the past, most students find historical information irrelevant. They usually miss the point of learning the subject and regard it as rather dull and boring.
However, if taught correctly, students can gain a better appreciation of this subject. Hopefully, our guide can help you make learning about history fun. Remember to allow your students to be creative in their learning process, take breaks, and give rewards when they deserve them.