Since our family does a four year history cycle, consisting of Ancient History, the Middle Ages, Early Modern, and Modern History, we don’t even focus exclusively on United States history. However, at the same time, I want our kids to understand our country, so I try to incorporate American history learning whenever possible.
Since I am a big fan of Evan Moor’s History Pockets, in the past there have been years when my kids have done the Native American and Life in Plymouth Colony pocket books along with their regular history curriculum. This past year, when we were studying modern history, I had my kids do the Civil War History Pocket. We have never done them, but there are several other History Pockets focusing on U.S. history, with topics such as Colonial America, the American Revolution, and Moving West.
Another resource for learning about the American Revolution that we love is the television series Liberty’s Kids available for free on YouTube. For awhile my oldest was very into the musical, Hamilton, and this series was the perfect way to incorporate child appropriate learning into his passion. (Just a note: Even the edited “clean” album is not really kid-appropriate, but I love it as much as my kids, so we make an exception for Hamilton. There is still some language I don’t want my kids repeating, but we talk about it and so far they are good about not saying those words. There is also one sexual track, Say No to This, which we skip.)
Below are some additional resources I have created for learning United States History. I created the timeline and list of events at a reader’s request and I haven’t used them with my own kids yet. However, I found making them to be very helpful for myself in terms of getting American History organized in my mind. This is handy, because it allows me to better make connections and discuss U.S. history with my own kids.
Click here for more History activities for kids.
Related Links
General History Resources
Learning Social Science
Best Books for Kids
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 