Summer Homeschooling – Every Town Has a Story

While your family may be taking a break from the books this summer, they don’t need to take a break from learning. The relaxed summer schedules offer great opportunities to explore topics that you don’t have time to study during the school year. A good lesson in social studies involves learning about the town where you live.

Every city has a history to explore, and one of the easiest places to begin learning about that history is in a local museum. Our town has three local historical museums: a museum designated for Civil War era items and photos, a military museum featuring memorabilia from all the wars, and another focusing on our specific location and how the community has grown.

Does your town boast of historical buildings, homes, or businesses? A search on the web using the words “historical landmarks” along with the name of your city should give you a list of places you can learn about. In our area, we also have two historical bridges. We can investigate why they were built, who they were named after, and why.

Does your town have sculptures of individuals who lived there? Find out who they were and what they did.

Is there an old graveyard in your city? What are the oldest graves there? Are there any famous or infamous people buried in that graveyard? Are there any soldiers buried there, and if so, when did they serve? Your students can research the individuals and the times in which they lived.

Is there a college or university in your town? If so, find out about the history of the school. How did the school play a part in the growth of the city?

Has a book been written about your town? A memoir? Check the bookstores or ask your librarian for books by local authors. Be sure to ask about picture books, too.

If your children enjoy learning about their city, you can expand your research to include your county and state as well. And the next time you have visitors, the kids will be ready to give the tour!

Guest Blogger: Samantha Bell

Photo by mikebaird