Teach History with Food

8/7/2018

"Cancel the lunches? No way!" My son was indignant. "That's the best part of history co-op!"

"We won't cancel. It's just that some of the Moms are complaining," I replied.

The next morning at 20th Century History Co-op, I asked the children and teens if they enjoyed the lunches. They raved and raved about them, proving to be as emotionally enthusiastic about them as my son.

You see we were studying world history of the 20th century with HIS Story of the 20th Century and we were making food each week that corresponded to that place and time period. We were gathering recipes and trying out new dishes.

It all started when my friend Laura and I were studying geography and wanted to get the dads more interested in what the kids were learning.

"They love food," we decided and started making meals from other countries as we studied those countries. The dads loved it!

The next year was American History and the kids still wanted to cook and eat recipes. Now, we would have to gather up American History recipes. So we did.

And we ate!

Of course, we had to find the recipes and in the research we were learning, but don't tell anyone that. We loved cooking and baking up recipes, often modernizing them to use blenders, mixers, and already-butchered meat.

Why Food Makes History Fun!

Our World War I Trench Sundae

We want to know the story, the culture, the daily life to make history exciting and fun.

There are several reasons food makes history fun!

Food tastes good.

It's fun to try different things.

In the process of looking up recipes, students discovers foods that were eaten and enjoyed. Often those foods are native to the area.

Beyond cooking and baking, it's fun to have celebrations where food is served and you dress up and play games from the era you are studying.

When we study the Middle Ages, we have a Medieval Banquet. When we study Ancient Times, we have a Passover Feast and Ancient Greek Olympic Games. When we study Hawaii, we have a Luau.

Does this sound fun?

Our families have had a blast cooking, baking, and throwing parties to make history more fun!

History Resources & Cookbooks Just for You!

If you like the idea of making history fun, we have lots of resources for you to use in your home school.

You can use our cookbooks and timelines. We also have a series that gives you step-by-step instructions on having your own history celebration.

Did I mention unit studies and lapbooks.

If you want to spice up your history studies this year, check out our resources here. You can also click on the photos of some of our resources below to learn more about our cookbooks and event planning books.

We hope you have a wonderful time teaching and learning history the fun way!

Until next time, Happy Homeschooling.

Warmly,
Meredith Curtis