Homeschool Resources – History

Last Updated on August 7, 2022 by Ellen Christian

I homeschooled both my children for a while in their pre-teen/teenager years.  It’s a time that I really enjoyed and I often learned as much as they did about certain subjects.  Check out these tips.

Homeschool Resources – History

One of the things that I found very frustrating was finding homeschool resources that they enjoyed that were affordable. I couldn’t afford to plunk down hundreds of dollars per subject per child.  

I often supplemented with non-curriculum ideas to keep them interested and engaged in the subjects we were learning about. There are a number of homeschool resources that you can use that don’t come from the standard curriculum.

• Community Events – Our local historical society does an American Revolution re-enactment of the Battle of Hubbardton near our home each year. This is a great way to get kids interested in history.

• Library Programs – Around certain historical dates, our library offers a variety of free programs.  Great times to look for this information would be President’s Day or the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
• Craft Kits – Some really neat craft kits let you build the pyramids of Egypt or build dinosaurs. These work really well as homeschool resources.
• Public Domain books – Public domain books include books published before 1923. You can Google for these books and print them out or download many for free.
• Historical DVDs – Many great historical DVDs can be used as homeschool resources. The American Girl DVDs are great for younger children.  If you have a teenager that you are homeschooling, a DVD like Lincoln with Daniel Day-Lewis works well.

Learning about Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln (see it on Amazon) focuses on Abraham Lincoln’s final four months as President.  This is the time that he is working toward ending the Civil War and abolish slavery. President Lincoln is working toward passing the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery. This movie shows only a small portion of Lincoln’s life and presidency but it gives a fantastic insight into what went on behind the scenes to get the 13th Amendment passed. The movie includes the battle at Jenkins’ Ferry (which allowed the Union troops to retreat back to Little Rock, Arkansas) and ends with his tragic assassination.

While I’m not a history expert, from what I remember learning in school, Lincoln is historically accurate. The costuming and way of speaking both did a fantastic job in helping to set the scene for the movie.  The movie also did a wonderful job of showing what Lincoln went through personally with is family during this time period.  I did feel like I got a great look at what life was like during the 1860s while watching this movie. There are so many details and so much information that I really want to watch it over again to make sure I haven’t missed anything.

Lincoln is 180 minutes long (almost 2 1/2 hours) and is rated PG-13.  While it’s not what I would call a war movie, it does contain intense scenes of war violence and some strong language. I would not recommend it for children who are younger than 13.  If you are homeschooling a teenager, I definitely think that Lincoln gives great insight into the 13th Amendment and Lincoln’s involvement.

Get it here.

History resources

If you have a younger child, try some of these homeschool resources:

• Make your own mummy – Ancient Egypt
• Pueblo Indian history
• Statue of Liberty lesson plans and games
• Using food to teach history
• Make a Native American Drum
• Famous Black Inventors Printable
• George Washington Printable
• Martin Luther King Printable

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