Have you found yourself relying on workbooks and videos to incorporate Social Studies into homeschooling? If so, I have a fun, hands-on idea that’s perfect for American Girl collectors.

Featured today, you can see how we are homeschooling with Nanea’s Collection. Check out this video overview!

What Comes with Nanea’s Collection?

Nanea’s Collection comes with Nanea’s Family Market, Nanea’s Luau Set, and Nanea’s Shave Ice Shop.

With Nanea’s Family Market, you receive a wooden store with a movable counter and 1940s-style cash register, plus signs, stands, souvenirs, and pretend food.

In Nanea’s Luau Set, you receive a low wooden table, place settings, and pretend food and drinks.

Nanea’s Shave Ice Shop has a colorful shave ice stand with a 1940s-style ice machine, plus pretend scoops of shave ice, pretend syrup, menu board, and more.

Although the individual accessories are sold separately, it is new that you can purchase them altogether in a collection. This is perfect for your travel-inspired set up, while all the items combined also serve an excellent educational purpose.

Homeschooling Ideas That Use Nanea’s Collection

With this collection, children will naturally be inclined to think about educational ideas, including how to run a market, word problems with money, and the history / geography of Hawaii.

However, I would recommend that you lead them in developing their ideas in these areas to incorporate play in a meaningful way. I have found that this collection is a great inspiration for caring about the topics, and I can tell when my child needs a brain break from homeschooling just to play too.

You can check out my free printable Nanea’s Collection Homeschooling Worksheets for ideas that use this collection.

In my homeschooling worksheets, I included some math word problem ideas. One fun interactive element is that this collection allows children to price items themselves. They can switch out the prices and try new word problems.

Since the collection mostly includes items labeled in cents, you should introduce the idea that 100 cents equals a dollar, and explain what the decimal means that you usually see when you discuss dollars.

Although the collection comes with play dollar bills, it does not have coins to use as manipulatives during math lessons. You could draw out the coin combinations, or create your own coins using construction paper.

I also included discussion questions for running a business, like Nanea’s Family Market. You could introduce vocabulary words supply, demand, and entrepreneur.

Another idea is after a study of Hawaii, do a 51st state project. This creative project idea teaches map skills. Children enjoy thinking of an original, creative state idea and creating a map for it.

You can use the tiny accessories to study the geography of Hawaii. Examine the postcards to notice the landforms. Pick up the tropical and exotic fruit, and discuss why it grows so well there.

Pick up a globe, and see that Hawaii is close to the equator. Discuss how the warm climate affects the items for sale in the market. From the sandals to the shaved ice, the purpose of many items sold is to keep people cool.

Nanea Mitchell is the sixteenth historical character from American Girl. She represents the 1940’s and shares Hawaii’s role in WWII. You can ask your child what they notice about the newspaper headlines and wartime posters. If there is interest in learning more about what life was like during these times, read and discuss her chapter books.