Making Social Studies Come to Life

So many kids these days hate history/social studies. I happen to LOVE history, so it seems almost unnatural to me when someone doesn’t want to know the workings of our heritage.
If the only thing a student ever sees is a textbook, then yes, history is going to be very dry and boring. However, your homeschool social studies has much more freedom built into it than the curriculum the brick and mortar schools use. Your child has choices in what they study, when they study, and even how they study. This is terrific for subjects like history.

Ideas For Jumpstarting Your History

• hands-on activities
• useing costumes 
• creating a historical college 
• drawing posters 
• playing games fashioned like jeopardy
• creating period arts and crafts
• cooking period foods
• painting
• incorporating drama and skits
• creating multimedia presentations
• hosting a history night
• interviewing elderly grandparents, war veterans, skilled laborers… 
• writing local, state, or federal officials 
• playing quality online social studies games
• going on field trips 
• having a mock televised debate
• building a diorama 
• playing software history games such as The Oregon Trial 
• letting your child be the teacher and teach you--complete with a test 
• planting heirloom seeds or designing a victory garden 
• designing historical stamps 
• constructing timelines 
• writing songs and poems 
• creating a period newspaper 
• creating and designing your own history blog  (great for writing lessons too!)
• watching the history channel 
• watching PBS history based cartoon shows

Your list of activities is only limited by your imagination.
As the learning coach you have so many options for making history come to life. Hands-on activities are right at the forefront of creating a rich experience for your child.
Below is one activity to get your started:
 If you are studying colonial trades, why not have your kids pretend to be a white smith. It is fun to use a tin pie plate to make something to hang in the house. Simply have the student draw a simple design on white paper, or use a preprinted design. A star or a simple flower work well. The design must fit within the pie plate. Affix the design by taping it down. Younger kids can use a blunt pencil or a something similar to simply trace the design onto the plate. The blunt pencil will leave the design impression after the paper is removed. Older kids can put evenly spaced dots on the design then using a nail, they lightly punch through the dots leaving a punched design in the tin. You might want to do this outside so your furniture or tables don’t end up with a design. To hang the newly designed piece of art work, remove the tab from a can of soft drink and hot glue, super glue, or similar to the back of the pie plate.  Voilà!