A Magical Homeschool

Looking for some hands-on ways for kids to work on history, geography, government and more? There are so many great ways to work on these skills with kids besides boring lesson plans and textbooks.

Here are 50+ great ways for kids to learn social studies from fun, games and real life:

1. Volunteer at a historic site
2. Do living history
3. Read historical fiction books
4. Attend wacipis (pow wows) and other local Native American events
5. Watch great shows like Liberty’s Kids, Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiago? and Wishbone
6. Put maps up in the house
7. Go to your state capital and talk to your legislators about issues that matter to you
8. Make a timeline together to go around the ceiling of your rooms
9. Watch TV shows with a time travel theme like Timeless
10. Write tourism centers from other states and countries and ask them to send you visitor information
11. Visit international grocery stores and shops
12. Play games like The Scrambled States of America
13. Bring home great library books about different times, countries and cultures
14. Play Timeline games
15. Print out free paper dolls from ancient history from around the world
16. Play with globes
17. Watch travel shows
18. Talk to elders about life when they were young or historic events they lived through
19. Visit local historical sites and museums
20. Watch movies based on historic events like Hidden Figures, Harriet, Apollo 13, Newsies, and On the Basis of Sex
21. Tour your local courthouse
22. Chart your family tree and learn where your ancestors came from
23. Do a postcard swap with families from around the US or the world
24. Subscribe to kids’ magazines like National Geographic Kids, Honest History and Cobblestone
25. Play apps like Stack the States
26. Go with the family when voting and caucusing
27. Read the local paper together and talk about what’s happening in your area and around the world
28. Watch biographies of famous people
29. Learn a foreign language
30. Visit historic sites when traveling
31. Watch election coverage
32. Watch YouTube courses like Crash Course US history, world history, civics or geography
33. Watch fun shows like Drunk History and How the States Got Their Shapes
34. Have conversations with lots of people from lots of places
35. Watch documentaries on history
36. Use Google Earth to “visit” places around the world
37. Use apps or pages that tell you what happened on this day in history
38. Use fun, free geography game sites like Lizard Point
39. Attend history-based events like Civil War Days, the Renaissance Festival and Pioneer Days
40. Volunteer on the campaign of a local person running for office who you support
41. Color in all the state license plates you see over the summer on car maps
42. Attend cultural events in your area like international festivals
43. Put a pin everywhere in a map that you’ve traveled together (or where loved ones live)
44. Visit churches and temples of all denominations
45. Watch fun videos that teach history through song parodies like History for Music Lovers
46. Regularly cook foods from all around the world
47. Use maps and atlases when you travel to new places
48. Print out free historic coloring pages from sites like these.
49. Talk about your history, your family’s history and what’s going on in the world together
50. Travel

Of course, this is just a drop in the bucket! There are so many historic apps, games, websites, books, activities, etc. that it’s impossible to name them all.

What are your family’s favorite ways to learn social studies together?