Using Living Books to Encourage a Love of American History in Your Kids

I was compensated for my time and provided with a copy of this curriculum for review purposes, but all opinions expressed are my own.

All kids have a favorite subject in school right? I mean besides lunch and recess; even now as an adult I will tell you that I loved science and hated history. And the same is true for homeschool kids as well. Some love history and others are like me and just don't. For me history seemed to be just events and dates with nothing really interesting or exciting to learn about.

Now as a homeschool mom, I know it can be better. It can be more than bland facts on a page or a timeline of events. There can be more meaning behind those events to make history memorable. And getting to this depth of interest doesn't take elaborate activities. It simply requires better books.

What About Text Books for History?

Now, don't get me wrong, I think there is definitely a place for text books. Textbooks are great for getting a basic knowledge of a subject like American History. And they are wonderful if you are one interested in learning all the dates and battle names and other history minutia.

For most kids though, I think history should be learning about events, why they happened, and how they shaped our world. These can be more fully appreciated when a textbook is followed up with living books allowing kids to dive into history.

Help your kids fall in love with American history through the fabulous living books included in Sonlight's Intro to American History D!

What Is a Living History Book?

These books are known to many as living books. Not because they are actually alive, but because it brings whatever the subject is to life for the reader.

These books typically have a story format and don't focus on specific dates, but instead give an in depth view of an event.

What Do Living Books Add to History?

Engage kids with historical events.
Learn cultures past and present.
Improve empathy by seeing others' perspective.

Living books are perfect for learning history because they capture the interest of the reader. They drag them into the story, so they are looking at the actual day-to-day life of people during a particular event.

The lives of the people, their stories, are way more interesting then learning that a war started on a specific date between these two countries. The specifics are more important for older kids or those who actually want to study history, but for most of us knowing the why trumps the date and location. You can only know the why when you see how society behaved at the time. You can only really understand when you know their stories.

Take American history, many of us know when the Great Depression happened, and how people suffered because of it, but do we really understand the desperation based on the facts presented in a text book. No! Reading a story set in the time period gives you a much clearer look at how people were really living. It is much more memorable! It shows why people made the choices they made at the time and shows us why we want to avoid the same situation if at all possible.

Just like learning about various events by diving into the stories of people who lived through it, reading living books also teaches about other cultures. Whether it is a culture from another country or another time in history, living books give a deeper perspective than a textbook can.

Learning these other perspectives helps kids understand why different people behaved the way they did and do especially when it is a situation unfamiliar to the child.

How Do You Find Living Books that Fit?

Maybe you have a specific time period you are looking at teaching or maybe you are just going off your child's age, either way you have a lot of books to wade through! And you totally can do it. You can gather books and read them and plan out discussion questions, but I don't think it is worth your time. Not when Sonlight has already done it for you and wrapped it into a neat package.

In fact this year my son will be using Sonlight History / Bible / Literature D: Intro to American History, Year 1 of 2. It is all laid out with great text books and amazing living books to dive into major historical events in America up to the mid-1800's. No need to wade through tons of books looking for the right reading level, the events covered, or age appropriateness.

This particular product also includes Bible and read aloud Literature (more living books) making planning for the new school year even easier.

Not only does Sonlight American History include all the books it also has all the lessons planned out. It is literally open an go which makes it super easy! Each day has plans laid out for each subject including pages to read and discussion questions. It even specifies which books are meant to be read aloud.

Sonlight American History is by far the easiest Christian, literature-based, American History curriculum to use. It includes excellent literature to compliment the text books and immerse your child in the history of the United States, and it is all laid out in such a teacher friendly manner.

Head to Sonlight now to grab your copy of Sonlight History / Bible / Literature D: Intro to American History or a different level if your kiddos are at a different point. You can't go wrong; all the Sonlight curriculum is excellent!