I always loved the games as a kid and am becoming an English and History teacher, so I actually thought it would be good to clarify. I've heard that they are quite accurate historically. If they are they could be a great tool for kids learning, and if they aren't, they could be used to help kids learn how to research for accuracies in historical narratives.
If anyone knows this would be greatly appreciated!
You can find some part answers here and here. I would love to go into further detail, but there's an awful lot of content to cover. If there's any specifics you're interestes in, or, say, your fav team to play as, do ask! Generally I've found that they're decent enough to get folks interested in history, while still clearly being a game. Something Civ reinforces many historical misconceptuons, but doesn't have as obvious as a "it's just a game" feel.