5 Ways To Help Little Kids LOVE History

My husband and I met in college while we were both studying to be history teachers, so it's obviously a subject that we're quite fond of! History can be difficult for young children to understand, though, since their sense of time isn't fully developed. There are definitely ways that you can help young kids learn history, and more importantly, help them learn to LOVE history so that they'll continue wanting to learn about it as they grow.

The trick is to make it FUN, and one of the best ways to do that is with historically themed toys and books. Here are some of our favorite tools for How To Help Little Kids LOVE History.

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Historically Themed Dolls

A special doll can go a long way in helping a child to love history. My daughters LOVE the "Little House On The Prairie" series of books. When The Queen's Treasures offered to send us one of their officially licensed Laura Ingalls dolls to review, I knew my daughters would be thrilled to play with her! So far, Laura has really helped to expand their dramatic play. They have been busy acting out prairie scenarios from the books!

Laura is an 18" doll with bright blue eyes and pretty brown braids. She comes in a sweet prairie nightgown with her very own rag doll, quilt, and pillow. Her box even turns into a bed!

A history themed doll, along with some well chosen accessories can help children's history learning come to life. Learning through play is definitely the way to go with young children!

You can get your own Laura Ingalls doll and a complete line of accessories by visiting The Queen's Treasures. The line is also available from Target.com.

Dress Up Costumes

Another way to encourage kids to love history is to provide them with historical dress up costumes. I recently made my daughters prairie girl costumes to help with their "Little House" play. They've been in Laura-And-Mary-La-La-Land ever since! We also get lots of great ideas for "Little House" play from the Little House On The Prairie website. There are loads of great crafts, recipes, and other historical information.

Other fun historical dress up choices are kings and queens, knights, Greek gods and goddesses, presidents, renaissance ladies, soldiers, or gladiators.

History Picture Books

Picture books are such a fantastic way to introduce kids to history. While there are plenty of great non-fiction books available, younger children are typically drawn to the great stories and characters in picture books. Some of our favorites (other than the "Little House" series, of course) are Moonshot: The Flight Of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca, The Buffalo Storm by Katherine Applegate, and Locomotive by Brian Floca. Books in the "Magic Tree House" series by Mary Pope Osborne, while not technically picture books, are also great for historical learning.

Coloring Books About Historical Time Periods

Dover makes a great line of historical coloring books. They may be too advanced for preschoolers, but kindergartners and elementary kids should be fine with them. Pick a subject that your child is interested in and let them color away! There are loads of great details to notice and think about in the images.

Other History Play Sets And Toys

There are fantastic play sets that can help your child act out historical scenes. Playmobil has many choices from many different time periods.

You can also find Safari Toobs of small figurines from many historical eras. Provide children with the basic narrative and facts about a time period or place and let them play with toys to act it out!

Despite it's reputation, history isn't boring. With the right tools and strategies, young children can learn to love history and carry that love of learning with them throughout their lives!