Homeschool Pennsylvania History at the Little Library

Last year I left a little space in my school plans for Pennsylvania history, knowing I’d have to tackle this required subject at some point. With only a month left in the school year, I dutifully scanned my library shelves for useful books. One huge stack later, I was raring to read.

So much American history happened right here in Pennsylvania, and a surprising number of living books have been written about it. I’m going to share some of my favorites to inspire you in your school planning. These books are all available for Little Library in the Big Woods members to borrow, so stop by when you have a chance.

• Introduction to Pennsylvania, Lucille Wallower: This isn’t one I would hand to the kids, but it provided a general overview for my own knowledge and planning purposes.

• Indians of Pennsylvania, Lucille Wallower: A perfect starting point for elementary students. It covers which tribes lived in Pennsylvania, their way of life, and their contributions to our state. Each chapter concludes with creative activity ideas.

• The Story of William Penn, Aliki: An engaging biography for kindergarten or early elementary students. (See other options in the photo).

• America Builds Homes, Alice Dalgliesh: The “Homes in Pennsylvania” section provides an overview of Quaker, Pennsylvania German, and Swedish immigrants.

• Yonie Wondernose and Henner’s Lydia, Marguerite de Angeli: And now the fun really begins. These beautifully illustrated books of a Pennsylvania German family are perfect for days when life feels hard but school still needs to happen. Snuggle down with sweet stories and beautiful illustrations while still learning a ton of PA history. We followed up our reading with a lovely visit to the Amish Farm and House in Lancaster.

• Skippack School, Marguerite de Angeli: A German boy moves to the Skippack area with his family and attends a school taught by none other than Christopher Dock.

• Thee, Hannah!, Marguerite de Angeli: Quaker girl Hannah helps a runaway slave in Philadelphia just before the Civil War.

• The Fourth of July Story, Alice Dalgliesh: The Liberty Bell rings boldly from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in this story of the writing of the Declaration of Independence. We had fun making our own ringing Liberty Bells, cracked and all, after enjoying the book. Of course, a visit to the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia would really bring the book to life. Some excellent titles for older elementary and middle school students along these lines include Through These Arches: The Story of Independence Hall, Our Independence and the Constitution, and The Story of the Constitution.

• Saving the Liberty Bell, Megan McDonald: And now for the rest of the story…An eleven-year-old boy and his father sneak the Liberty Bell out of war torn Philadelphia, delivering it to a safe hiding place in Allentown’s Zion Reformed Church. Who knew the decisive role a hoop skirt played in winning the Revolutionary War? Read it to find out!

• Benjamin Franklin, Charles P. Graves: Among the profusion of Franklin biographies for all ages on our shelves, I especially like this one for newly independent readers. It conveys profound ideas simply and of course always sparks a kite-flying frenzy.

• Betsy Ross, Alexandra Wallner: Finding the cats in each illustration kept my girls turning the pages of this one. See the photo above for more options.

• The Winter at Valley Forge, F. Van Wyck Mason: Pair this book with a trip to Valley Forge Park for your older elementary or middle school students.

• Milton Hershey: Chocolate King, Mary Malone: We decided it only made sense to supplement this book with a trip to the Hershey Story Museum in order to truly savor the story. And speaking of candy, we added some hands-on PA history learning with salt dough maps. We used giant gumdrops for mountains, Twizzlers for rivers, and M&Ms for cities. My girls were ever so willing to participate in this project. Happy history studies to you! I would love to hear about your favorite PA history books and projects.