"Three ways to steer your children into history are through living books, unit studies, and my own preferred method as a boy, reading wherever my interests took me."
"Books: Countless biographies and colorful histories are wonderful vehicles for teaching about the past while also providing great opportunities for extracurricular reading. Rush Limbaugh’s “Rush Revere” series, for instance, with its stories about the Pilgrims, the American Revolution, and more was a big hit with some of my younger grandchildren. Poetry, like “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and historical fiction, like the “Childhood of Famous Americans” books, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books, “Ben and Me,” and “Johnny Tremain” are only a few of the many fine books available to readers in elementary grades.
"To get started, search online for “best historical fiction for elementary students.”
"Music: Singing American history is a fun way to slide into the past. Songs like “John Henry,” “Cape Cod Girls,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Dixie,” and “Battle of New Orleans” offer a springboard into a discussion of the lyrics and their place in history. “The Star Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” and other standards can easily become part of a child’s repertoire as well.
"Search YouTube for “classic American history songs for kids” and you’re there. Thirty years ago, when my older children were elementary school age, our favorite was “Wee Sing America,” also available on YouTube.
"Movies: The animated series “Liberty’s Kids,” having received two thumbs up from some of my grandkids, traces the history of the United States from the Boston Tea Party to the writing of the Constitution. “Animated Hero Classics” offers outstanding biographies of American heroes. The Civil War movie, “Shenandoah” is an example of a classic film that gives older elementary school students food for thought on slavery, war, and the rights of the individual.
"Check out the Christian website Fields of Daisies, and you’ll find plenty of other films that will appeal to the K-6 set." . . .
The republication of this article is made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal.
