Homeschool

Programs for the 2024–2025 School Year

Exploring New Hampshire: Granite State History for Homeschoolers
Recommended for ages 7 to 12

Dates: One Tuesday a month—September 10, October 8, November 12, and December 10, 2024, and January 14, February 11, March 11, and April 8, 2025.
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Our flagship “Exploring New Hampshire” program introduces homeschool learners to state history through a unit-study approach. With a small group of learners, participants will explore the Granite State’s history through stories, images, maps, crafts, games, and primary resources drawn from the Society’s collection of objects, manuscripts, photographs, and books. Each session will feature a welcome activity, a lesson on the theme, and a craft, game, or other hands-on activity for kids to apply what they’ve learned. We will also explore tie-ins to objects on display in the museum exhibitions. Takeaways include a curated list of resources about each topic and suggestions for extension activities. At the end of the program, children will have produced a portfolio of projects on New Hampshire history.

This program is recommended for children ages 7 to 12, although younger children are welcome to participate with their older siblings. Many activities include reading and writing. All children ages 5 and older must register and pay the registration fee. The registration fee is $150 per child for the first child in a family, with a $25 sibling discount.

Pages of History: A Book & Film Club for Homeschool Learners 
Recommended for ages 12 to 16 

Dates: One Friday a month—September 13, October 11, November 15, and December 13, 2024.
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Can a fictional story teach us about history? Is a poem a window into the past? Does a movie educate as well as entertain? The answer to all these questions is an enthusiastic yes! Join us as we explore New Hampshire’s history through a selection of novels, plays, and more. Each month will highlight a different genre and time period of New Hampshire history, and learners will explore the ways in which literature and film can enhance what we read in the history books and even teach us things we can’t learn elsewhere. Learners in this program will build critical thinking skills, practice gathering and using evidence, compare and contrast primary and secondary sources, and learn how to analyze texts, visual sources, and artifacts in the New Hampshire Historical Society’s collection.

Each session of “Pages of History” will begin with a welcome activity that will tie together the content and genre of the material, and include a robust discussion of the reading selection as well as a creative brainstorming exercise. We will also visit the Society’s research library and Discovering New Hampshire exhibition to view collections that relate to the month’s theme. Learners will explore the use of evidence in literature and film, compare how different genres, such as historical fiction, nonfiction, and drama depict historical events, and practice their narrative and argumentative writing skills.

This year's topics will include Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve, selections from Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire and a PBS documentary about Mount Washington, poetry from New Hampshire poets, and parts of contemporary films about New Hampshire, such as On Golden Pond. Learners must provide their own texts or borrow from a library.

This program is recommended for children ages 12-16. Participants are expected to prepare before each session by completing the reading and/or viewing the film. The registration fee is $80 per child for the first child in a family, with a $10 sibling discount.

Civics for Homeschoolers
Recommended for ages 11 to 14

Dates: Every other Friday for 3 months—January 10, January 24, February 7, February 21, March 7, and March 21, 2025.
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Join the New Hampshire Historical Society for a six-part program where we dive into civics at the national, state, and local levels. We will explore the fundamental ideas that shaped the formation of government in the United States and examine the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Learners will participate in hands-on activities and examine primary sources. This program will help fulfill the state requirement that a home education program include instruction about the New Hampshire and United States constitutions.

“Civics for Homeschoolers” is geared to a middle school level and is recommended for children ages 11 to 14. Participants are expected to prepare for each session by completing the provided pre-class activities, which might include watching a short video, listening to a podcast episode, or reading a brief essay. Additional optional extension activities will also be provided. The registration fee is $120 per child for the first child in a family, with a $20 sibling discount. 

How to Register

Full, nonrefundable payment must be made at the time of registration to secure your child’s place. Registrations will be processed in the order in which they are received. 

Please note that the New Hampshire Historical Society is an approved provider for the State of New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts program, but does not accept ClassWallet as a form of payment. Families should pay out of pocket and will then be provided with an itemized receipt, which they can use to apply for reimbursement from the Children’s Scholarship Fund New Hampshire.

For more information or to register, contact Visitor Services Coordinator Laura Paryl. 

Contact

Laura Paryl
Visitor Services Coordinator
603-228-6688
lparyl@nhhistory.org

Contact