My eldest is like me; a history buff. It’s no surprise then that we are big fans of Honest History.
Sharing with you today what Honest History is all about and why we love them! Take a look and see; it might be a fit for your family as well!
Honest History
Honest History was created for kids aged 6-12. On their website, it says:
Our Mission is to share important, well-researched stories that inspire kids to make a positive impact on history themselves. We encourage children to conduct their own research and unearth stories long lost, supported by verified facts and accompanied by an eager sense of adventure.
Personally, I love that and I’m a big fan. We take history seriously in our homeschool and love discussing together. Aside from learning about the facts and stories, I also always remind the kids that we need to look at different sides before making conclusions. For me, Honest History is a wonderful supplement to their history books and lessons because they provide just that — stories from both sides. They also present the stories in an engaging way and the graphics are very beautifully done.
I could gush more but let me share with you the top 3 reasons why I highly recommend Honest History:
They learn about unfamiliar places
One of the things I love about Honest History is how they highlight stories from places that don’t usually make it to most general history books. I’ve heard about the World Wars so many times, but what about the history of one of the greatest empires of all time (The Mongol Empire?) Not so much.
The last 3 editions I ordered were specifically about topics we were not very familiar with: The Mongol Empire, The Ottoman Empire and Israel-Palestine. I chose them for the main reason that I don’t have a lot of books about these topics! I love that they make even the most complicated issues so easy to understand for kids (without dumbing down the text, of course!) And I have to admit, not just for the kids but for me too!
They learn to tie history to current events
When my eldest started asking about the Israel-Palestine conflict months ago, I had no resource to give him. And to be honest, I wasn’t even fully educated on the topic either. So when I got the Honest History issue “A Home to Many,” I made sure that I spent time reading it first before I handed it to him. I wanted to be able to discuss it together.
I love that the content of this magazine issue focuses on the history of the place and how the conflict started (or perhaps, grew into how it is now.) I also like that they told stories from both sides. It’s a very sensitive topic but I’m so grateful Honest History decided to delve into it. Honestly, it’s given us so much to talk over and discuss and we get to process his thoughts about it together.
They learn about lesser known historical figures
One of my recent reads was a book called “The Secret History of the Mongol Queens” so you can just imagine my delight when I found Khutulun mentioned in an issue of Honest History! We usually only learn about Genghis Khan but what about her daughters and grand daughters? They are almost forgotten! Khutulun deserves to be mentioned and I’m glad my children are learning about her.
This is true for almost all stories in history. We learn about the leaders, the kings, the presidents but there are so many stories that we miss! I’m glad we get to correct that, one Honest History mini biography at a time! 😉
How to Purchase
Overall, Honest History is a worth it investment for me. But if you are not from the US (like me,) you might be wondering if it’s worth the trouble having the magazines shipped all the way. Let me share my experience.
So I had the magazines shipped to a US address via a forwarder (I usually use PO Box PH or Shipping Cart but I’m not 100% happy with both so please do your own research). Then I had them air flown here. It costs a lot more for sure, but what I do is I consolidate my shipment together with other things I need to order anyway (like curriculum and materials for the upcoming school year)
As a bonus, they also sent the ebook files to me which was perfect because I was too excited and really wanted to delve into the topics already! Haha.
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- For more recommendations, visit my Amazon Storefront.
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