I absolutely love homeschooling in Kindergarten! It may be one of my favorite ages. Kids are so eager to start school, there are so many opportunities to instill a love of learning in the simplest of ways, and the possibilities of what you can include to make school fun are endless. The question I hear floating around sometimes in the relaxed homeschooling circles is, “Is Kindergarten too young to add an American History curiculum to your homeschool?” My simple answer is, no. You can never be too young to start learning about our nation’s history! However, I do have certain ways that we like to do it, and it all starts with using great books.
If you haven’t found out by following me by now, our homeschool thrives off of using real, living books! We can’t get enough of learning from literature and all of the doors that those books open up for us. That’s why I was so excited to get my hands on the Rabbit Trails through History curriculum! Not only is it literature based, but it has beautiful books to use as a spine for the curriculum, an easy to follow format for me to follow as a busy homeschool mom, and includes all of the fun ideas I need to get started.
Literature Based History with Read Alouds
I’ve said it time and time again, using literature to teach our kids is my favorite! I’m like a kid in a candy store each and every time I go to the library or order books for our homeschool. I love reading these books over again or discovering them for the first time myself. I’ve been introduced to classics I’ve never read by following curriculum like Rabbit Trails. No child is ever too young to be read quality literature to. In fact, this is one reason why I like incorporating American History into Kindergarten- it’s a great way to learn through read alouds. You don’t have to make history complicated at this age, but rather introduce new topics to them in ways they can relate to- through picture books like Big George, Leave it to Abigail, and more.
Picture books for a fun American History spine!
Something that makes history come alive is learning about real events and people. In Kindergarten, American History curriculum that revolves around highlighting real people in the midst of important events as opposed to just events is something that young children can understand because they’re able to comprehend people as being real as opposed to an abstract idea like past events may be to them. That is why I love Rabbit Trails’ America Founders unit. It focuses on different founders of our nation, along with the events that happened surrounding them during that turning point in America!
Kindergarten American History Curriculum, with a Biblical focus!
When looking for curriculum, I want a history curriculum that will not only tell all sides of the story, but also put in Biblical principals. All Rabbit Trails units have Bible verses and lessons included in every single lesson. There are scripture cards you can get to memorize with your kids as you work your way through the unit. This is no different in America’s Founders! I love that I can trust this curriculum source to always point all lessons back to Jesus.
History for all ages!
Rabbit Trails through History isn’t just for Kindergarten- it is a great curriculum for all elementary and middle schoolers! This is another reason why I love literature-based learning- we can do it all together as a family. While America’s Founders is my favorite to use for Kindergarten, we will be going through it once again in my own home when my son is in 8th grade…using the same curriculum we used when he was a little guy. That’s because Rabbit Trails has such a diverse amount of books and ideas that you can make it work for such a large age range! I love bringing back the one room schoolhouse feel right in my own home by teaching all of my children together.
Do you use a literature based history in your homeschool? Let me know about it in the comments or in my Online Homeschool Community!
You can find more awesome resources for your homeschool history and geography by clicking the image below.
