Preschool Social Studies

By TheNanny612 On August 8, 2007 · Leave a Comment

Your child
lives in a social world. The better that he understand the people in that world and the diversity
that those people includes, the better equipped he will be to live well in that
world. And the better equipped that he is to live in a social world, the more
likely it is that he will have a positive impact on others in that world. For
this reason, preschool social studies is critically important. You want to give
your child an early understanding of others so that he can be an empathic individual.
And you want to give him an understanding of his place in the world so that
he can develop positive self-esteem and feel connected to the life around him.
These are things that are done through the social studies.

While it includes
many different individual facets, social studies is basically about
the study of people. It’s
about the study of communities and how they interact with one another. For that
reason, much of social studies is based on history. Bringing history to life
for your preschooler will help him gain an understanding of the world as it
currently is. And social studies follows-up on this by also being about the
way that societies interact today. Since an interrelated world is a key part
of your child’s future, you’ll want to lay the foundation of social
studies in the preschool years.

Here are some things
that you can do with your preschooler to encourage social studies:

Encouraging
playing with toys that are used in society. Trucks and toy cars are
things that children naturally love and are critical to our society.
Blocks can be used to build houses and whole communities of people.
Dolls help teach interaction. All of these toys can be used to start
discussions about the social world around your preschooler.
Be
part of a local community. Maybe you’re involved in a church. Perhaps
you attend a play group. Maybe your interaction with the community takes
place at the local park playground. Whatever you choose, be sure to
involve your child in the community around him during the preschool
years (and beyond). This helps to develop an understanding of how communities
and individuals interact.

Combine
social studies with other topics. For example, math and social studies can be combined
with money since money can be used for counting and is also an important part
of social studies. Use pennies and nickels to teach your preschooler to count
and explain also the value of these things in society.
Notice
opportunities to explain brief parts of history to your child. For example, if the topic
of race comes up with your child, explore it and discuss history and your
beliefs with your preschooler.
Make
use of a preschool curriculum
that has worksheets and projects that include preschool social studies. Use supplementary preschool social studies software and books
to make this part of your child’s learning experience.
Share
your interest in the world around you with your child. Make it a point to make observations
about the world in conversation with your child. Obviously, this should be
done appropriately (and not with a cynical tone) but when done right, it will
encourage your child to care about his society.