How can you make history fun for your child?
We love making history hands-on with stories, and activities that bring historical time periods to life!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement for more information.
We have been receiving the History Unboxed subscriptions for over a year now, and my kids adore it! History quickly became a favorite subject with all the hands-on activities and suggested read alouds.
I love that everything we needed to make corn husk dolls, and horn book replicas came in our most recent subscription box. There was even a GIANT gummy rat!
Why?
Because this particular box was all about the English settlement of Jamestown…and rats were kind of an important part of their survival…
History Fun with the Jamestown Early American History Box
Jamestown had a rough start, but none so rough as the period known as the “Starving Time!” The population was at an all-time high of 500, but by the end of the “Starving Time”, only 60 Jamestown colonists had survived.
This is what happens when your supply ship doesn’t make it to you and there is a drought that causes a dismal crop. They didn’t have a grocery store to pop into for their much-needed supplies.
The colonists survived by eating cats, dogs, horses, and even RATS! History Unboxed provided giant Gummy Rats for the kiddos to enjoy!
Gross for mom, but fun and memorable for the kids!
*You can watch the video of the kiddos trying their first bite of a gummy rat below!
History Fun with Corn Husk Dolls
The Jamestown box explored Pocahontas and her role surrounding the Jamestown community. Then we made Corn Husk dolls just like the Native American children, like Pocahontas, would have played with!
*You can watch the video as my daughter makes her Corn Husk Doll below.
Hands-On History Fun with Our Own Horn Book
We also learned about the roles of women and children around this time, then we got to make a Horn Book! Horn Books were used by children who were learning their letters or memorizing prayers. Our daughter wrote the alphabet on her Horn Book while our son wrote this famous quote…
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln
History Unboxed has been perfect for making history a memorable experience for our kids. We learned that we probably wouldn’t have wanted to be a colonist in Jamestown as it was a hard life, nor would we have wanted to be a Native American when the colonists started arriving and the tide turned in favor of European settlement. But we enjoyed learning the rich history that surrounded this permanent English colony.
Tell me, how do you make history fun in your homeschool?
Check Out More Ways to Make History Fun with these American History Games!
You may also enjoy…
These look so cool. I know I would have loved them as a child. Have to see about getting them for my kids.
That’s what I thought too! I wish we had had these when I was growing up!