Making History Fun ~ History of Fashion Mini Study

About a month ago, Celeste and I decided to stop using our regular world history curriculum. It is a great program (History Odyssey from Pandia Press) but I had been noticing that she wasn't absorbing the content and rarely enjoying our lessons. 

History is a subject, in my opinion, that has the potential of being fascinating if one is interested. Especially since Celeste is only eight years old, I would like to make history a subject she enjoys. 

I thought about what Celeste liked in general, and put some ideas together. I then introduced her to two of my ideas that I thought she would like best. The first one was to do a short study on the history of fashion, the second on the history of homes (which will do next).  

Her response was very positive. This was history she was intrigued about! 

We have now finished our mini study on fashion and I thought it might be useful to share how I went about creating this short study. 

I already had a small book that I decided to use as a "spine", our main read aloud book. The Fabulous Story of Fashion by Katie Daynes was perfect for us. I read it aloud first and Celeste has been picking it up and reading it aloud to her father, for fun. 

Celeste loves Usborne Dolly Dressing sticker books and I had picked up the 1920s Fashion months ago. I pulled it out of my cupboard when we arrived to that time period in our read aloud. We googled interesting things and went on "bunny trails" often as we worked along this sticker book. 

Another main book we used, which was also a sticker book was the Clothes & Fashion Sticker Book, also from Usborne. This went along perfectly with the read aloud. 
I read aloud by time period in the Fabulous Story of Fashion and then we worked on the sticker book pages that matched that particular time period. We both read aloud from the sticker book, and then Celeste put the stickers on. Sometimes I was "allowed" to put a sticker down too...

Both sticker books include Usborne Quicklinks, which are great for further study. You can visit the site and see the list of pre-selected links to websites that enhance your study. We also loved the time line included in the Clothes & Fashion sticker book. Time lines really help Celeste understand the flow of history. 

At the end of our study, I started a Pinterest board. Celeste quickly took interest and wanted to find some of her favourite fashions we had discovered in the books. This board is a true collaboration between the two of us. I included links for the books we used, some of our favourite links we visited, and she chose all the fashion items. She isn't very interested in making lapbooks or notebooks, but I think this is another great way of having a record of our study. 

Whenever I create mini studies like this, tailored to my children's interests, they are always a success. I often use what I already have, or find suitable books at the library. I usually keep it simple and build up as we go along. I believe anyone can do this! If Celeste was more interested in art or colouring, I would have included a couple of Dover colouring books  (they have so many!) or search online for other art projects. 

When you create your own study, you can do as much or as little as you think and know your children will enjoy. Celeste and I both learned a lot through this study, and it made learning about history fun again! We will start our mini study of homes soon.

Note: This review is based on my family's personal experience. We did not receive any incentive or any compensation for sharing my opinions. Read my full disclosure policy for more information.

This post is linked to The Real Thing with the Coake Family for her Real Family Fun #11.