Project-Based Hands On History for Homeschoolers

When I first started homeschooling, and it was just Mr. C and I, some things were a LOT easier.

See, he's just like me. Hand him a book and he's pretty much golden.

But as the kids have gotten older and we've added A-Man and Cap'n M to our homeschool, and have Miss S convinced that she's a kindergartener even though she's only three, we've had to make some serious adjustments.

One of the biggest shifts we've made was with history.

While Mr. C and I did great just reading novels and living books and having long discussions about history topics, the littles definitely needed something more hands on and project-based to help them learn.

Thankfully, we found a super fun project-based hands on history for homeschoolers!

*This post is sponsored by Home School In The Woods. I was given access to the curriculum to try with my family, and I was compensated for my time. I was not required to give a positive review, and all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. See my full disclosure here for details.

Project-Based Hands On History for Homeschoolers

We have been trying out Homeschool In The Woods Project Passport for some hands on history projects, and I have been SUPER impressed!

Even A-Man who doesn't really enjoy school has had a lot of fun with this, and I think a lot of it is because of how flexible simple it is!

But before I dive more into Homeschool In The Woods, why do we use hands on history in the first place?

Why We Use Hands On History

On top of the fact that I'm teaching a TON of tiny humans altogether, and some of them need those hands-on lessons to learn, I actually think that hands on history is super valuable for everyone.

While books can definitely leave an impact, there's just something about DOING something hands on that helps to cement what you're learning and make it more "real".

I also love that hands on history helps me to teach history to kids with different learning styles.

Why We Love Project-Based Hands On History

Beyond just being hands on, we really liked that Project Passport is project-based.

I've noticed that when my kids are working on a specific project, they're more motivated to learn. It's like they can see where their knowledge is leading them.

On a personal note, my husband is currently working toward a degree in special education, and he was also learning about the Renaissance for his own studies.

It was really fun for him to jump into some of the projects with the kids so they could all learn together!

Home School In the Woods Project Passport

We tried out the Homeschool in the Woods Project Passport for the Renaissance & Reformation for two main reasons...

First, because my husband was also learning about the Renaissance, and we thought that would be fun, and second because I am ALL about teaching modern history, but I tend to forget to go back to the earlier time periods!

What We Love About Home School In the Woods

First, we absolutely loved how many hands on projects we had to choose from.

There were lapbooking projects, edible projects, newspaper writing projects and more!

I am not a natural "activity mom", so having a massive variety of ready-to-go projects is a must for me!

My kids also loved that they were doing something different every single time we did history instead of falling into the same routines and patterns.

I also really appreciated how flexible the curriculum is, so I was able to adapt it to each of the kids' ability levels.

I'm homeschooling kids that are 9, 8, 5, and 3, and between them we have giftedness, autism, dyspraxia, sensory processing disorder, a genetic disorder, and developmental delays... So flexibility is REALLY important in our group subjects!

And I also absolutely loved that I was able to pick our projects based on the time and energy we had available on any given day.

Because let's be honest... Some days mom isn't up for a massive cooking project... Especially being pregnant with baby #6!!

Resources for Project-Based Hands On History for Homeschoolers

Home School in the Woods has a ton of fun resources for project-based hands on history!

You can sign up here to get a free mini-study on famous authors!

You can check out the entire Project Passport World History Studies here! We loved the Renaissance & Reformation!

Plus you can enter below for the entire collection of Project Passport AND Time Traveler products!