6 History Games for kids (+ Other Ideas to Bring the Past to Life and the Linky!)

History can be a tough subject to teach. Kids can feel disconnected and find it difficult to relate to people and events from the past. Making it fun is the trick. Here are six of my free printable games to illustrate that point.

Louisiana Purchase Game

Printable Underground Railroad Quilt Game

Medieval Kingdom Card Game

Westward Bound! {A Lewis & Clark Board Game}

Ancient Greek Temple Building Game

Presidential 4-in-a-Row Board Game

Want more great ideas? Go clickin' crazy ...

LANGUAGE ARTS

If You Sailed on the Mayflower (boat-shaped book) at The First Grade Parade

CRAFTS

Dye Yarn with Kool Aid at Mama Smiles

Making Tea Paper for Maps, Journals and More at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

OJ Carton Lantern and Paul Revere's Ride at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

What Do Mayflowers Bring? Pilgrims! (make a Mayflower boat) at Naturally Educational

Columbus Day - Christopher Columbus Spyglass Craft at MPM Ideas

Pioneer Crafts for Kids at The Crafty Crow

BOOKS

Fun books about History for Kids at The Measured Mom

Teach Kids about History - Even Preschoolers can Learn at The Measured Mom

Books about Brave Girls, Strong Ladies, and Great Women at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

MUSIC, ART, & FOOD

Bake Civil War Hardtack at Education.com

Do You Didgeridoo? Making Your Own Didgeridoo at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

6th Grade Carved (Egyptian) Cartouches at There's a Dragon in My Art Room

HISTORY UNITS

History Mini Units for Busy Families at Planet Smarty Pants

Hands On Vikings Unit for Elementary Homeschoolers at 123 Homeschool for Me

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

Hands On Pompeii Lesson (archeological LEGO city dig) at Adventures in Mommydom

Presidential Paint Stick Timelines at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

DIY Project: Potsherds for an Archaeological Dig at Tikkido

Mummification: Let's Mummify Barbie at Kids Activities Blog

COSTUMES & ROLE PLAYING

DIY George Washington Wig at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

Kids bring famous people to life with this DIY Living History Museum at The Educators' Spin on It

Viking Shield {upcycled history craft} at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

Wearing Lincoln's Hat at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

I am Pharaoh {craft and writing prompt} at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

PUZZLES & CIPHERS

Reading Comprehension with the Greek Alphabet at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

Preamble Scramble at National Constitution Center

DIY Spy Cipher - American History (Revolutionary War) Project for Kids at 123 Homeschool for Me

What have you been doing with your kids? We'd love for you to share!

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

Equivalent Fractions Pegboard Practice

Reducing fractions (or equivalent fractions) is part of my oldest boys' fourth grade curriculum. And since he's ahead of the class when it comes to math, I figured I'd give him an introduction at home before they start tackling the topic at school.

To do this, I made a page for him to match equivalent fractions using our pegboard (see how I made our wood and nails pegboard here).

What I love about these pegboard pages, are that they're like multiple choice questions. He has a limited number of answers to choose from so it's not overwhelming and all you need is a nontraditional hole punch and rubberbands to practice an endless amount of skills.

Download this 1-page PDF here.

My son did great stringing rubberbands from one nail to another to match the equivalent fractions!

After School Linky (10-6)

Welcome to the After School Linky!

Every week these parties deliver a bounty of inspiration.

Here are a few of my favorite activities, ideas, and blog articles shared last week.

Make Your Own Adinkra Cloth at Marie's Pastiche.

The Worst Apps for Kids at Sunshine and Hurricanes.

 Dip Dye Art at You Clever Monkey.

Fire Safety Smart: Fire Safety Printables for Kids at Look We're Learning!

Glue Ghosts {Halloween Fine Motor Craft for Kids} at Gift of Curiosity.

Create an Optical Illusion at KC Edventures.

Poetry Writing for Kids - Sensory Poems at Planet Smarty Pants.

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

Chicka Chicka Letters Climb

My son's PreK/Alternative Kindergarten teacher had nothing but good things to say about our 5-year-old's progress so far this year. One thing I did note though, was that when tested for letter recognition, he missed the Mm.

This little 1-person activity is meant to improve that, but can be played with any upper and lower case letter.

It pairs perfectly with Chicka Chicka ABC, which has been a favorite book in our house for years.

What You Need

1 die or a wooden cube

Masking tape

Permanent marker

2-page PDF printed on cardstock (download it free here)

2 game pieces (glass baubles, buttons, coins, etc.)

Clear plastic page protectors (optional)

Fine-tip dry erase marker (optional)

Prep

Cut the masking tape into six small squares and write the upper and lower case letter (3 of each) onto each in permanent marker.  Adhere to the sides of your die.

If you want to make the game reusable, slip the printed coconut tree pages into the sheet protectors. Use the dry-erase marker to write the upper case letter on one page (both in the lined strip and inside all the tree trunk's circles); do the same with the other page, but with the lower case version of the same letter.

Play

The child rolls the die and moves the game piece up one of the trees, depending on whether they rolled the upper or lower case letter. Which will reach the top of the coconut tree first? Have your child guess before they begin rolling.

Even though this is a 1-child game, our oldest son got in on the action and the boys took turns rolling the die and predicting which would make the climb fastest.

The boys played three rounds and even our 9-year-old said, "This is kind of fun!" SUCCESS!

This game was inspired by Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten's activity (check it out here).

Louisiana Purchase Geography Game

My 9-year-old son asked me if our state was part of the Louisiana Purchase. "Um … well … that's a good question, son," was my response. Yeah, I admit it. 

I didn't know.

So this little game was as much about helping him learn the states in the Louisiana Purchase, as it was about familiarizing me … and having fun doing it, of course.

All you need to make this game is a the 2-page PDF I made (download it free here), cardstock, some scissors and glue, and 15 game pieces per player (we used small glass baubles).

Print a map game board (page 1) for each player.

Print, cut, fold, and glue the icosahedron die. It contains the 15 states that have land in

the Louisiana Purchase. It also have five "Roll & Return" sides.

Now gather your game pieces and get ready to play.

It's simple. The youngest player rolls first and places a game piece on the state rolled. Each player takes a turn.

If a player rolls and "Roll & Return" is on the top of the die when it stops, they must roll again and remove the game piece from the state they roll, returning it to their pile of game pieces. If they roll another "Roll & Return," they continue to roll until a state appears. If they do not have a game piece on the state, their turn is over.

The game goes fast at first, but I can assure you, getting all states covered takes time. If you expect your child's interest to wane, set a timer for 10 minutes and see who has the most states covered when it goes off.

Playing is a great way to memorize the geography of the Louisiana Purchase and helps kids fine tune their ability to locate those 15 states on a map.

Want a good book to go with this activity? My son read Expanding a Nation: Causes and Effects of the Louisiana Purchase by Elizabeth Raum. This 32-page book is loaded with facts but written in easy two- to four-paragraph chunks, keeping kids from the fatigue that sometimes comes with non-fiction.