Antisocial. It's the homeschool stereotype, right? Albeit one I don't generally find to be true, I couldn't resist a bit of humor in today's title. This episode is all about history, geography, government, civics, and all those other things we know as social studies. It's a broad field, there are so many ways to cover it! Stephanie and I talk about our own experiences learning social studies in public school, and what works for us now as a homeschooling family.

The featured image for today's episode comes from the wall of the house we lived in in Bunia, D.R. Congo. There are few things I truly miss about that house, but the huge world map we hung on the living room wall is one of them. It was often a place where kids and adults alike would stand and just study out of curiosity. It was a great reminder of just how big and interesting our world is.

In the episode, Stephanie mentioned the My Father's World history and geography curriculum. It's a biblically-based five year rotational series that's designed so additional kids can jump in at any particular year, and cover all five years somewhere between 3rd and 8th grade. It's also adaptable for kids who are slightly older or younger as well. It's been a great foundational course for our family.

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is a fantastic audio series that covers historical topics like the World Wars. These are really in depth episodes. While probably not appropriate for younger kids, they could be acceptable for junior highers and high schoolers. Most of the me are a few hours long, but they're not boring. We both learned quite a bit from listening to them, and our oldest daughter, Larinda, has listened to some of them as well. You can find select free episodes on iTunes or on Dan Carlin's Website with other episodes available for purchase.

The Tuttle Twins series of books is awesome! They cover subjects like economics and civics from a liberty-leaning perspective. Many of the books are distilled versions of well-known treatises, but they're presented in a way that makes them fun for younger kids. There's also a series of books for teens, parent guides, audio books, and a weekly free market curriculum.

Finally, Tom Woods's Liberty Classroom brings you “the history and economics they didn't teach you” in school. Like Hardcore History, this content is really geared towards adults, but it makes great material for high school students as well. You'll find broad survey courses in topics like Western Civilization and US History, but there are some more provocative courses as well. This episode is coming out a couple days before Christmas, but maybe after going through “How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America,” What’s Wrong with Textbook Economics,” or “The 10 Worst and 10 Best Presidents” along with “Intro to Logic,” your high school student will be ready to sow discord at next year's family gatherings!

Drink of the episode: A 2010 Château Julien Cabernet Sauvignon. I can't tell you much about this winery, as it appears to have been sold at some point. The bottle was a gift, and it was enjoyed!