My public school education only gave me the "textbook" version of the Civil War. Now that I am homeschooling my children I once again see that there was just so much more to the story.

Know what I mean?

A huge advantage to homeschooling is giving our children an accurate picture of history, and presenting it in a way that is engaging and memorable and yet... keeping things SIMPLE. With a few well chosen books, projects, and other resources, I've learned we can accomplish a lot in our homeschool.

This collection of Civil War resources will help you keep things simple - and provide choices for every type of learner on your list.

(My children seem to learn best through historical fiction. I recall one book -- The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P Figg -- that has stuck with my children for years!)

What a tremendous opportunity we have to teach our children history in such a meaningful way.

Enjoy these resources.

Learn About The Civil War

The Civil War Trust is an excellent resource for information about the Civil War. I especially like their animated videos. Below you will see the video about Gettysburg, but you can find all of their animations on their website. This site has a plethora of information all about the Civil War such as:

Virtual Tours of Civil War Battlegrounds
10 Facts Everyone Should Know About The Civil War
Read the Primary Sources The Declaration of Independence, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The Constitution of the United States.

Learn About The Civil War

Here are some more resources to help you with your studies of the American Civil War.

Civil War Homeschool Lesson Plans

Have Fun With History videos about The Civil War

BrainPop video about The Civil War

Study maps from the Civil War era such as this one from Scholastic showing the states and capitals of the Union and Confederacy.

Play a Civil War Vocabulary Matching Game, a Civil War Printable Board Game, or Professor Noggin's Civil War Trivia Game.

Movies about the Civil War

This list of Civil War films and apps for kids offers descriptions to help you determine if the movies are right for your family. Here's another list of Civil War movies, most of these are for upper grades.

The Red Badge of Courage Liberty's Kids - The Complete Series Dog Jack

Hands On Activities About The Civil War

Visit a Civil War Battleground, local Civil War cemetery, or see a Civil War Re-enactment. We were able to go on a fascinating field trip where local historians helped us understand more about the Civil War battles that occurred in our town, and we were able to walk along trails where it happened.

Build Civil War Projects - Using this book, you and your students can work on Civil War-era projects together.

Civil War Era Recipes - Learn about the foods eaten by soldiers by following recipes from the Civil War era.

Create a Civil War Lapbook from Jimmie's Collage or use this Free Civil War Lapbook from Life of a Homeschool Mom.

Homeschool in the Woods has a thorough unit study on the Civil War. Read this review by Brandy at Half a Hundred Acre Wood for more info.

Use c opywork of Civil War Quotes and Documents to help your students not only practice their handwriting, but become more familiar with historical documents and quotes. You can find this copywork in manuscript or cursive.