Minimalist Homeschooling: History

Have you enjoyed your summer? I have. I love the chance to slow down a little, and live quietly. 

This year it was really good timing, because I had a real need to slow down. The Lord has blessed us with another child, and my body and brain put on the brakes!  Slow down, Mama! they demanded, and slow down I did.

But August is here, and even though the seasons don't turn in this land of "endless summer," my calendar says it's time to start gathering the troops for a new school year.  

I consider myself a Homeschooling Minimalist (the lovely Salty Tribe made that term up, and I'm so glad she did!). As such, I thought I would share just a small, bite-sized piece of what we do for school (rather than blasting you with it all in one over-whelming go!).

What is Minimalist History?

Our approach to history is book driven.  We choose an era and dig in! Then we journal about it.

Sound too simple? Well, who said history has to be hard? Or boring?

(In all honesty, we tried the fill-in-the-blanks version, and it left ALL of us bored and burnt out.)

How to Get Started...

1. Choose an era. American history? The ancients? Church history? Your state? You decide!
2. Choose a guide (this is totally optional). This year we are using Story of the Middle Ages. It's an older book, but I love that it is written from a Christian perspective! Other ideas: Story of the World, Mystery of History.
3. Use your guide as a jumping off point. For example, we're going to read the chapter about the Roman Empire and journal about it in our history notebooks. Then we do my favorite part:
4. Raid the library! I simply log-in to the online catalog and put a hold on everything that looks interesting, and then we go pick it up when it's ready. Raiding the library is awesome because you can find things for all different student levels, and it's free!
5. Journal, journal, journal. I love Charlotte Mason's approach to notebooking and journaling. Have your students write down everything they can remember that they found interesting. Younger students can narrate and you can record it for them. Students can keep a journal in a three-ring binder, or, if they need a little help learning how to journal, you can pick up a copy of my Homeschool History Journal (Junior or Senior editions), which helps the student create lists of fascinating people, places, events, and encourages both writing and drawing.
6. Explore! Cook things, make things, see things! Get outside of those beautiful books and make history real for your kids! Then journal about it!
7. Tie it all together. My kids all have a copy of my Book of Centuries. Each week they record one fascinating thing in their BoC. They can add to it, year after year, and the BoC allows them to see how the pieces of history fit together. 

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And Relax!

History doesn't have to be boring! Record and explore. Follow your guide, but don't be afraid to abandon it if you and your kids want to take a break and study something else. That's the beauty of journaling: if you have a chance to take a history detour, you have the freedom to do so!