How can you move beyond dry dates and dull textbooks and make history a favorite subject in your homeschool? In this episode of Vintage Homeschool Moms, Felice Gerwitz is joined by longtime friend and fellow homeschool mom Meredith Curtis to talk about teaching history in a way that sparks excitement and long-term retention—from the early years all the way through high school.

You’ll hear practical ideas for using biographies, co-ops, timelines, cooking, music, art, original documents, and a Christian worldview to bring both American and world history to life.

Why Felice sees history as God’s story unfolding through time

The importance of teaching historic facts without revisionist or secular spin

How a biblical, creationist worldview changes the way you approach history resources

Why most students won’t remember much from simply reading and answering end-of-chapter questions

How Felice and Meredith both started with textbooks but quickly realized they needed more

How to use a solid textbook as a jumping-off point for unit studies, hands-on work, and deeper discussion

Using biographies and picture books (even with teens!) to make historical figures feel real

Simple ways to add fun:

Coloring pages or doodling during read-alouds for kids who focus better while their hands are busy

Simple crafts, skits, and pretend diaries written in the voice of a historical character

Themed days such as “Pioneer Day” or “Christmas in Colonial America”

How Meredith’s family used cooking as history in their co-op:

Geography year: authentic foods from each country

American history: recipes from different eras (including an authentic turtle soup recipe!)

Ancient history: foods that would have been eaten in the ancient world

Using Christmas unit studies tied to specific time periods and having your kids:

Make historically themed wrapping paper

Plan menus based on the era you’re studying

Bake cookies and foods that match the culture and time

A clear, simple definition of a homeschool co-op:

A group of three or more families learning together, with parents sharing teaching responsibilities.

How Felice and Meredith have homeschooled:

Just their own family

With one other family over many years (which eventually grew into a church co-op)

With larger, more structured co-ops

Examples of memorable co-op activities:

A medieval or colonial feast with costumes, bread-as-plates, eating with fingers, and “bones on the floor” to mimic the era

Weather stations and student “broadcasts”

Outdoor activities like jousting and historical games

How Felice structured her week in the early years:

Half-year focus: American history first half, science second half—then later alternating by days instead

Monday & Wednesday – History

Tuesday & Thursday – Science

Friday – Catch-up and field trip day

Why it’s okay to skip a day and then catch up with a synopsis instead of feeling “behind”

How field trips bless both kids and moms with community and shared experiences

Using timelines in notebooks or all around the room so kids can “see” history across the ages

Doing a giant floor-length timeline and assigning each child a century to fill with key events

Marking history with Christ as the focal point:

Creation

Major biblical events (Noah, Abraham, David, Jesus)

Key turning points like the fall of Rome, the Battle of Hastings, Magna Carta, the Reformation, exploration, and more

Ending the timeline with “Jesus returns” to remind students that history has a beginning and an end

Why Meredith has her students memorize a small set of crucial dates as “pegs” for everything else

Using maps to:

Track explorers (Columbus, Balboa, Cabot, etc.) in different colors

Notice that cities and civilizations grow around water and fertile land

Connect geography to culture, trade, and war

Keeping everyone in the same time period while assigning more advanced work (projects, papers, and readings) to older students

Beginning to emphasize the “why” behind events:

Laws and changes in light of the U.S. Constitution

How different cultures’ worldviews shape their decisions, art, laws, and daily life

Using original documents and primary sources:

Reading real accounts of events like the Salem witch trials instead of relying on modern commentary

Looking at historic speeches, letters, and newspaper articles

Encouraging teens to evaluate current events through the lens of the Constitution and Scripture

Exploring how philosophy, literature, and worldview show up in:

Architecture

Paintings and sculpture

Music styles (Gregorian chant, Renaissance, Romantic, etc.)

Clothing and everyday objects

Comparing different periods:

Why Renaissance art is breathtaking but some students find Renaissance music hard to enjoy

How Romantic art, literature, music, and architecture all share a recognizable “feel”

Introducing teens to Francis Schaeffer’s classic series on culture, art, and philosophy to see how ideas shape civilizations

Pairing your history spine with:

American literature for U.S. history

British and world literature for world history

Using classics like Anne of Green Gables and C.S. Lewis to:

Stretch vocabulary and appreciation for language

Practice worldview evaluation and discussion

How Felice uses writing curriculums like WriteShop to strengthen high school writing in the context of history and literature studies

Why Felice had to set aside a secular world history textbook that started with “ancient man” and evolutionary assumptions

Using creation science resources to compare claims and expose fallacies in evolutionary timelines

Encouraging teens to think critically about:

Fossil evidence

Assumptions in secular history texts

How worldview drives the story we tell about the past

Felice shares about the Media Angels American History and Government video classes:

Taught by AP-level instructor and award-winning professor Robert Woodrow Wilson

Recorded with a live audience

Heavy use of visuals, timelines, and “fabulous facts”

Students match key inventions, events, and people to the correct presidents and eras

How these classes help:

Build a solid chronological framework

Encourage parent-led worldview discussion

Train students to evaluate political candidates and current issues using the Constitution

Using local history (like Edison’s museum in Fort Myers, FL, or Victorian homes and pioneer villages) to make the past feel close and real

Finding “day trip” guidebooks for your state and exploring:

Hands-on museums

Historical homes

Small but meaningful local sites

Why field trips are worth the effort—even if some destinations turn out a little “lame”—because your kids remember the experiences forever.

(Always check the sites for current specials and updated offers.)

Media Angels – Homeschool science, history, American history & government video classes

Website: MediaAngels.com

Vintage Homeschool Moms podcast archive & show notes

Website: VintageHomeschoolMoms.com

Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network – Home of Vintage Homeschool Moms and many more homeschool podcasts

Look for the Vintage Homeschool Moms and Finish Well shows

Powerline Productions (Meredith Curtis) – History cookbooks and Christian history resources

American history and ancient history cookbooks with recipes, activities, and study guides

Finish Well Podcast with Meredith Curtis – Encouraging teens and parents to live for Jesus and think biblically about life and culture

Host: Felice Gerwitz – author, publisher, and homeschool mom

Website: MediaAngels.com

Guest: Meredith Curtis – pastor’s wife, worship leader, homeschool mom, and owner of Powerline Productions; host of the Finish Well podcast

Have a question about teaching history in your homeschool or ideas for future episodes? You can usually reply directly to Felice’s email newsletter or contact her through MediaAngels.com or the Vintage Homeschool Moms page on the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network.

Happy history teaching!

with your co-hosts, Felice Gerwitz & Meredith Curtis

History is about a bunch of dead people and stuff that happened long ago or so I thought when I was a kid. As a homeschool parent I found that history is actually “HIS” story and when it is revealed we find so many wonderful lessons to learn. In this session you’ll hear some of the ways that both Meredith & Felice have taught history to their children from the zany to the classes Felice asked her brother-in-law to teach to homeschool kids!

Please give us a rating on iTunes – go to iTunes, find our show (Vintage Homeschool Moms – or type in Felice Gerwitz) and rate it! AND… use the social media buttons on this page to share the show with your friends.

with your co-hosts, Felice Gerwitz & Meredith Curtis

History is about a bunch of dead people and stuff that happened long ago or so I thought when I was a kid. As a homeschool parent I found that history is actually “HIS” story and when it is revealed we find so many wonderful lessons to learn. In this session you’ll hear some of the ways that both Meredith & Felice have taught history to their children from the zany to the classes Felice asked her brother-in-law to teach to homeschool kids!

Please give us a rating on iTunes – go to iTunes, find our show (Vintage Homeschool Moms – or type in Felice Gerwitz) and rate it! AND… use the social media buttons on this page to share the show with your friends.

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The post Taking the Mystery Out of Teaching History in Your Homeschool appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.