The #1 Surprisingly Simple Homeschool History Curriculum Hack

A Surprisingly Simple Homeschool History Curriculum

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As a homeschooling mom, I am always looking for ways to tie education into things my kids already love to do. So when three of my kids started an Age of Empires craze, I knew there had to be a way to tie this fun video game into a homeschool history curriculum.

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And let me tell you, we have really loved using this fantastic history resource. This has been a great addition to our regular afternoons of worksheets for kids.

Age of Empires – An Educational Video Game for Homeschoolers

Who here remembers playing Age of Empires as a kid?

*raises hand*

Did you know Age of Empires is still around? I hadn’t thought about this fun strategy game for years (decades in fact) until one day my brother in law brought it back to my attention.

As a child, I played this video game all the time on CD-ROM (I know – back when dinosaurs roamed the earth) but nowadays, Age of Empires has gone completely digital.

I am not a huge gamer (or even a huge techie) but apparently, there is an online gaming community called Steam that is a kind of portal for hundreds of online games.

Games that kids like me used to play on the computer or even the Playstation way back in the day. And even more games are being released all the time.

Like I said – I’m not a huge gamer. But I was pretty excited when my brother in law re-introduced me to this fun game.

We’ve been playing Age of Empires as a family (husband and kids as well as brothers and sisters and their respective spouses) ever since.

And as the kids grew, we realized that we could take this fun family activity and turn it into a great homeschooling opportunity!

Homeschooling with Age of Empires

For those that aren’t familiar with this game, Age of Empires (made by Microsoft) is a strategy game that puts you back into ancient history and throws you into the middle ages.

You pick an ancient civilization to play with. Some of these civilizations are still around the world today in modern times, but a lot of them are no longer around.

There are dozens of civilization options in the main version of the game. And dozens more when you buy the expansions. Civilizations such as the Huns, Vikings, Chinese, Koreans, Mayans, Byzantines, and so many more!

In addition to exploring ancient civilizations, you also get to learn about some influential historical characters. Characters such as Joan of Arc, Atilla the Hun, and Ghengis Khan.

You could easily do a unit studies on any of these nations or characters. Just think of all the possibilities for social studies lesson plans.

Seriously, it would take me FOREVER to list all of the options here.

So anyways, you pick a civilization and you start the game.

When you start the game you are thrown into the middle ages time period. You are given a town center and a handful of peasants. You get to gather resources and build your city from the ground up.

This is always my favorite part. I love the strategy behind building and creating and organizing.

Now you’re not going to be the only civilization on the map. Depending on the details (decided upon at the start of the game) you might have one or two or half a dozen other ‘players’ occupying the same map. Some of these might be allys and some of them might be enemies.

There are a few different ways you can win (again, these are decided upon at the beginning of the game) but one of the ways (and my family’s favorite way) is to win by conquest. The winning player (or team) wins when all enemies have been destroyed and wiped off the map.

My favorite way to win is less war-filled. I prefer being the first player to build an Ancient Wonder or find all the hidden relics.

However you choose to win, this game is a lot of fun and we spend at least a few hours a month playing together as a family.

The kids absolutely love it.

Our Favorite Homeschool History Curriculum

So how does homeschooling come into play?

You know those ancient civilizations I touched on earlier? Well, each of those civilizations is based upon REAL nations.

And the more you know about the timeline and history of these real-life civilizations, the better you play the game.

The part of the map these civilizations do better on, their economic strengths and weaknesses, and their specialty bonus units are all based upon the real-life counterparts.

The more you know about the real-world history of the nation you are playing with (and against), the better your in-game strategy and the higher your likelihood of winning!

And a detailed write-up on every single civilization is included in the game.

So now that our kids are a bit older and are better at reading and writing, we have begun requiring they research a civilization before they are allowed to play (as or against) that civilization in the game.

This has given us a fun, DIY homeschool curriculum resource. A resource that gives us an overview of the story of the world and how characters and nations helped develop and grow the ancient world into modern times.

This DIY history course includes ancient history, world history, and a look at how the middle ages relate to modern times. There’s even a little bit of social studies thrown in.

Sadly, as much as this game introduces all kinds of information regarding world geography and history, there is not currently an Age of Empires nation that goes into American history. The United States is still an infant country when it comes to world history.

You’ll have to do your own unit studies on U.S. History or read some fun history books (such as the Beautiful Feet Books) if you want to include American History in your studies this school year.

Or maybe we’ll get lucky and Age of Empires will come out with another new expansion!

You can find all the available Age of Empires games on Steam here. (not an affiliate link)

Free History Worksheet Study Guides for Homeschoolers

Ben (my husband) and I put together a couple of questions we want our kids to answer about each civilization.

We thought about having the kids write a research paper on each civilization, but then we decided putting together a worksheet template would be easier and just as effective.

However, if you are working with a middle school or high school student, feel free to require a full-on research paper.

I made some nice history worksheets to use in our new Age of Empires Homeschool History Curriculum.

This has been a fun way for us to bring ancient history to life!

Do you want me to send you a copy of these fun history worksheets?

These would make a great stand-alone, DIY homeschool curriculum for any grade level.

Or they would be a great history curriculum supplement if you are already using one of the other top pick history curriculum options, including but not limited to Notgrass, Sonlight, Story of the World, The Mystery of History, or The Family School.

Actually, I’ve got an entire history curriculum comparison guide here if you want to check it out.

Or as I touched on above, you could also use these free homeschool worksheets as a supplemental educational resource for middle school and high school students writing a research paper in a public or private school situation.

Just tell me where to send it and your digital copy of these free history worksheets will be sent to you right away!

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And hey, I’ve teamed up with a WHOLE BUNCH of other bloggers to bring you an epic list of free educational activities and boredom busters. Feel free to browse this list if you’re in a bind! There are some great resources here.

A Surprisingly Simple Homeschool History Curriculum

Looking for more ways to make history fun? Here are some more ideas.