ABC Home Preschool Blog » Social Studies

“All About Me” Preschool Activities – Part I

TheNanny612 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:13:12 +0000

It might surprise you to know that many children think that what they
enjoy…. everyone enjoys. And, what makes them happy….
makes everyone happy. And, what they find fun…. everyone
would find fun. It’s true. So, today I am going to write about different
projects that will help you teach your children that everyone is different...
from their looks, to their feelings, to even their senses such as taste and
sound.

Today I’m just going to get into projects that have to do with physical attributes.
Tomorrow I will get into the feelings and senses attributes.

But, the concept of "everyone is different" can
be hard to teach to a child without some hands-on projects. So, without further
ado…..

"All About Me" Preschool Activities

Me Puppets

In this project you will be assisting the children in Making "Me Puppets".
Me puppets will help you reinforce to the children that everyone is different
in the physical sense. You will need 6 inch paper plates to use as faces, popsicle
sticks or tongue depressors as the holders. Also, get out some yarn, markers,
crayons, child safety scissors and glue to finish off the "Me Puppet".
Let them put on a puppet show.

Self-Portraits

Give the kid some art supplies and let them draw pictures of themselves. Give
them a list of easy descriptive words and let them chose the words that most
describe themselves. You can even have pictures next to the descriptive words
to help them chose the words that best describe them. For example, for the word
“funny” you can have a person laughing so that they know that word is "funny".
And, for the word “smart” you can have a picture of a person with a light bulb
above their head. Those are just examples, but you get the idea. You want to
help your child pick descriptive words describing themselves.

Eye Color Graph

Make a color graph to show the different colors of eyes such as…. blue, green,
brown and hazel eyes. Let the children look in the mirror and decide what eye
color they have on their own. Did they chose the right color. Talk about that with them.

Thumbprints

This is a really cool project… a little messy, but cool. Bring out an ink
pad and let the kids place their thumb on the ink pad and then onto their own
pieces of blank paper. Give each of the children a magnifying glass and let
them determine what makes each thumbprint different. Do they notice the differences?
Explain to the children that no two fingerprints are alike…. pretty amazing,
huh?!

Body Tracing

You might need to help the child
with this project if you don’t have more than one child. Give each child
a very large paper. Your best bet would be to use butcher paper or art paper
from those very large rolls. The paper has to be large enough that a child
can lay on top of it and be traced. Lay the paper on a hard floor and have a child
lay on top of the paper. Use a writing utensil (pencil, crayon or marker)
to trace around the child’s body. Ask the child you just traced to color
in the clothes on their body and to draw their features on it. Have them
make themselves using the traced body.

Me Stories

Let the children create short stories about themselves. They can draw pictures
and make it a picture book or you can help them write a story using word and with the pictures
as well.

Felt Faces

Cover a coffee can with felt. Also, cut out different sizes and shapes of
felt cutouts. Tell the kids to make their faces using the different shaped felt
and the coffee can. Felt sticks onto felt pretty easily, so no other supplies
such as glue or tape is needed.

Growth Charts

Provide a measurement chart and scales for the children to measure their height
and weight. Explain to the children what these numbers mean.

In Conclusion

These projects should help you teach your children all about them in
the physical sense. Tomorrow we will continue the "About
Me" topic, but go into projects that help you teach them about
themselves using their feelings and their senses.

Top image by squacco

Educational Fall Activities

TheNanny612 — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:16:59 +0000

Fall may be a terrific time of year for fun crafts but you don’t want
to be so focused on the fun that you forget about the great educational opportunities
that the season presents. Sure, it’s great to carve pumpkins and make
Thanksgiving turkeys out of construction paper during these months. But in addition
to these arts and crafts, you can come up with a number of different fall activities
which give your children great educational skills. In fact, there are fall activities
to cover all of the basic school subjects and then some.

Here are some educational fall activities for each subject:

Math

Counting activities using fall themes. The “5
Little Pumpkins” song is just one example of a fall-themed counting
activity that can be enjoyed by kids while they learn some new skills.
Measuring and counting when making fall recipes.
Use cooking activities during the fall to warm up the house or classroom
and get the kids using math during daily activities.

Reading / Writing

There are many different stories out there about fall.
Look for those that are about the changing of seasons as well as those that
relate to the fall holidays.
Work on learning the alphabet by practicing with fall themes.
For example, “P is for Pumpkin” is a good way to work on that
particular letter.
Make a fall story book. Paste leaves and other fall items
into a scrapbook and then work with kids to write a story that relates to
fall.

Science

Go outside and observe the changing seasons with kids.
Keep photo and written journals about these changes.
Fall animals. Activities involving squirrels and acorns
are great for teaching kids about animals and fall.

Social Studies

Use the holidays such as Columbus Day and Thanksgiving to teach kids about
history.
Explore how different cultures explore holidays in different
ways to teach kids about diversity.
If you taught kids about Labor Day early in the season, you can reinforce
these lessons by bringing them back up again. Point out that work
and community are important educational areas at all times of the
year.

Other subjects

Music. Kids love music and they learn a lot from it so
incorporate fall themes and music this season. One great activities making
musical shakers out of gourds by cleaning them out and filling them with beans.
Motor skills. The arts and crafts that are associated with
fall themes are good lessons in and of themselves because they teach kids
motor skills which are an important part of the rest of their education.
Environmental lessons. Kids can learn environmental lessons
during the fall months by getting out and exploring nature. Take kids hiking
or camping before it gets too cold and use it as a way to teach them about
how to treat the earth kindly and why that’s important.

Technorati Tags:educational, preschool, fall, autumn, activities, learning

Preschool October Themes – As Fall Continues

TheNanny612 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:03:18 +0000

October
just might be the most fun month there is as far as fall preschool themes go.
It’s early enough in the year that there are still plenty of outdoor activities
that can be done with preschoolers. It’s also early enough in the year
that you’re not suffering the stress of the upcoming winter holidays so
you can relax some and really enjoy creative lessons with your kid(s). But it’s
a busy month with a lot of fun kid-oriented activities (mostly centering on
Halloween) so there are plenty of different things that you can incorporate
into the day to keep things fun and interesting.

Halloween
is the big October theme that you’ll probably spend a lot of
lessons focusing on. There are many fun things that you can do with this theme.
Art projects galore spring from Halloween. Witches’ hats and pirate swords
can be made from construction paper. Counting and coloring activities can be
done with pumpkins and goblins. Halloween songs are almost countless in number.
But there are also plenty of lesser-known things that you can teach kids using
this theme. For example, even though your kids are going to be eating lots of
candy during this time, you can teach them about the importance
of nutrition. This is where moderation comes in and kids can learn
that it’s okay to indulge sometimes but not to go overboard. Similarly,
haunted houses and scary Halloween themes can be used to teach kids about good
fear vs. bad fear. Think outside of the costume box when you’re
coming up with Halloween theme activities this October.

Another
great October theme that’s related to Halloween is the celebration
of other cultures. Certain other cultures celebrate Halloween in
different ways from how we do in America. For example, Day of the Dead (or
Dia de los Muertos) is celebrated in Latin American cultures. Teaching kids
about the different ways of celebrating the same holiday is great for giving
them the basics of diversity and cultural awareness. Another great October
theme for teaching that same lesson is Columbus Day. Halloween
may be the big October holiday but this other October holiday is a good
one for lessons that relate to history geography and those issues of diversity
and cultural sensitivity. You can easily use these holidays to teach kids
about the Latin American culture as well as the Native American culture.

October may be a
great month for holiday themes but that’s not all that’s going on
in October. In most places, the weather is changing dramatically with leaves
turning colors and falling off of the trees. This makes October
a terrific month for lessons about the weather, nature and seasons.
This is good for science lessons and can be incorporated into art activities
as well. If it’s warm enough to get outside with the kids, you can have
them do observations about the changing weather. Fall animal themes
are also great in October. For example, squirrels may still be seen
out and about which is great for lessons about how animals store food and how
some hibernate in the winter. This even lends itself well to lessons about how
our own bodies change in the winter.

As you can see,
October is a fun month that allows for many different preschool themes. Like
all other months, these themes are great for art, reading, writing and singing
activities. However, they are also great for teaching social studies and science
lessons. See what October lessons you can find out there and
then expand on them with your own creativity to make October a fun and
educational month for the kids.

Technorati Tags:preschool fall themes, october, seasons, themes, preschool, kids, children, activities

Top 5 Labor Day Activities for Kids.

TheNanny612 — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 15:08:02 +0000

Today is Labor Day.
Labor Day is a day to celebrate the economic and social achievements
of workers. This day can be a difficult day to explain to Preschoolers. Yes,
it’s a Holiday, but it is a tough one for young children to grasp.

A couple of days
ago I gave you some ideas on Teaching
Kids about Labor Day. Since today is Labor Day I thought I would
give you my Top 5 List of Labor Day Activities for Kids.

Box
Town – This is a fun and easy way to make a toy town using
old boxes and cartons. A fun and educational way to use Labor Day to
teach your child about Community.
Community
Helpers and Careers Coloring Pages - Use these awesome
coloring pages to teach your child about Labor Day and what Labor Day
is all about.
Labor
Day at Holiday Station - This is one of
my absolute favorite Preschool sites for activity ideas for any Holiday.
Check out these amazing Preschool Activities for Labor Day.

Labor
Day Crafts Kids Can Make – Danielle’s Place has a wonderful Labor
Day Activities Page. They have Job Coloring Pages, a Card Craft for Kids,
and a cool Occupation Charades game.
Labor
Day Word Search KIDS - There is nothing better than combining
something fun with educational. Here is a Labor Day Word Search Puzzle for
Elementary School Kids.

Have a fun
and safe Labor Day!!

Technorati Tags:labor day, holidays, kids, children, labor day activities

Teaching Kids about Labor Day

TheNanny612 — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 01:56:28 +0000

There aren’t
too many holidays in between Independence Day and Halloween so we sometimes
have to struggle to find fun themed projects for kids during those months. But
that’s because many of us forget Labor Day. Although it’s a holiday
that gives working parents the day off and school kids a Monday break, we usually
don’t think of Labor Day is a celebratory affair. But maybe we should.
Labor Day is something that it would be good to teach kids about.
Besides, it gives us an extra holiday to plan teaching projects around!

But
first, if you’re going to be teaching kids about Labor Day, you should
probably go back to the books yourself. A surprising number of adults don’t
really know the story behind Labor Day. The short version
of the holiday is that it’s a day of rest for the laborer, as the
name would suggest. The longer history is that it started way back at the
end of the nineteenth century as a way to encourage the spirit of the working
people. That’s why there are Labor Day parades. What you’ll
want to take away from this for teaching kids about Labor Day is the value
of work as well as the importance of rest by and appreciation for
working people.

So how do
you go about teaching your kids about Labor Day? Well, hopefully they
already do some work around the house in the form of chores. You can declare
Labor Day a day off to rest in appreciation of this work. Note that the work
that you all do around the house is important and that it is equally important
to take a little bit of rest from the holiday. By making Labor Day a celebratory
day, you’ll reinforce the lesson of what it’s all about. And you’ll
also help them realize that rest days are nice vacations but that most days
we have to work.

Before Labor Day
actually rolls around, you can start teaching kids about the holiday
by teaching them generally about work. Videos, stories and projects
that emphasize the different kinds of work that there are can all be used to
teach kids about work. When you’re out in the world doing your daily activities,
make it a point to point out the work that everyone is doing to make your community
run efficiently. It goes back to the old lessons we all learned as children
about how the garbage men do their jobs, the cashiers at the supermarket do
theirs and so on to make society work.

You might
end the lessons about Labor Day with a party. Have each child dress
up in a costume that represents a worker that they admire. These costumes can
be made as part of a project to keep costs down. Hats for nurses, doctors, construction
workers and mailman can all be made from paper and other job accessories can
be culled together from the toys that kids already have. The zookeeper can carry
a stuffed lion for example. Be creative and encourage the kids to be
creative too. After the party is over, it will be Labor Day and you
can all just rest!

Technorati Tags:labor day, kids, children, education, holidays, activities

Preschool Software – Give your Preschooler a Head Start in Education

TheNanny612 — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:47:05 +0000

Computers are not
the wave of the future; they are the way that we operate right here and right
now. Because of this, it’s important to make use of computer software
as early on as you can in your child’s education. Preschool software
is designed to get your children used to using computers so that they’ll
be able to maximize their learning potential in the years to come. Preschool
software also makes use of multiple methods of learning to make sure that your
child learns quickly in the formative years when education is picked up quickly.
And preschool software is also great for parents because it enhances the learning
process and gives you more tools for educating your child.

Software
that is designed for preschoolers can help your child get a jump start on
their education. Kids start using computers in school in the early
elementary years and your child will be ahead of the game if she already
knows the basics about using a computer. By becoming computer-ready at an
early age, she’ll be more equipped than others to adapt to changes
in technology that will inevitably come along during the years that she’s
in school. And she’ll also be more skilled at using the computer as
a tool for learning which is supplemental to her non-computer education,
giving her a range of different tools to maximize her learning.

In addition to preparing
your child for the years to come, preschool software is great for the
education that your child needs right now. When appropriately selected
to match her developmental stage and to coincide with the rest of her preschool
curriculum, preschool software can actually teach your child some
of what she needs to know. It makes use of multiple types of learning styles
to really help your child develop her brain in a variety of ways. Audio tools
can be used to enhance language skills and to use music for improving preschool
curriculum. Video tools can be used to engage your child’s attention and
assist with visual learning. And interactive preschool software can help your
child’s kinesthetic learning abilities. By using preschool software to
develop your child’s different methods of learning, you can help her to
adapt a multi-modal approach to learning that will make it easier for her to
learn her preschool curriculum. And it will also help her learning in the future.

And preschool software
doesn’t just help your child; it helps you as a parent. Preschool
software provides you with a number of different tools for improving your child’s
learning. This is great for the home school parent who wants to make
use of as many tools as possible for his child’s education. And often,
this software comes with helpful tips and resources that make educating your
preschooler even easier. Of course, this does require some additional work.
You’ll want to make sure that you understand the software and review it
before using it along with your preschooler. But the advantages far outweigh
the changes you’ll have to make to incorporate preschool software into
your child’s life.

Technorati Tags:preschool, software, games, education, learning, pre-k, homeschooing

Preschool Printable Worksheets

TheNanny612 — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 01:08:47 +0000

Preschool
printable worksheets are practically a staple of the home school education.
And even those parents who aren’t homeschooling their kids find that these
printable worksheets are good for preschoolers to pass the time while learning
new and important skills. They’re great for parents because they’re
cheap to locate and easy to print out so kids can have as many as they want
to work on. And kids usually want a lot of them because they think it’s
just something fun to do.

Here are some things
that you might want to look for when seeking out preschool printable
worksheets that will be good for your child:

Look
for worksheets that are age-based.
This helps you to identify the preschool printable worksheets that are
right for your child at any given time and gives you an idea of how
your child is doing in terms of his or her development. It also lets
you easily identify the next set of printable worksheets that will be
good for your child after the ones that are currently being used.
Explore
a variety of different subjects. There are preschool printable
worksheets for math and science, reading and writing and a number of
other different subjects. Mix them up so your child gets a well-rounded
education.

Keep
an eye out for color! Sure, it costs a little bit more money to print
out color worksheets but your preschooler will be more drawn to these. You
can mix them in with black-and-white printable worksheets to save on cost.
When your preschooler is working on the black-and-white ones, encourage the
use of colored pencils and crayons to liven up the page and keep her interested
in the work.
Find
worksheets that have easy-to-understand directions. As your preschooler
gets older, you’ll want to encourage her to read some of the directions
for herself so find worksheets that are designed with this goal in mind. Often,
these include pictures with the directions to make it easier for your child
to identify what she’s supposed to be doing.
Use themed
worksheets around different holidays and events.
You can find preschool printable worksheets for various holidays as well as
for general seasons (like summer). These help to inspire your child to integrate
learning and the rest of life.
Consider
creating your own printable worksheets.
You can modify existing printable worksheets on your computer to make them
more interesting for your child. For example, change the names in stories
to your child’s name on reading worksheets. These little changes can
really personalize her preschool education and make it more relevant to her.

Of course, preschool
printable worksheets aren’t the only thing you’ll want your child
to work off of when doing learning at home. If you can find a Preschool
Program that incorporates worksheet use into a bigger curriculum
that has related projects and other activities, you’ll really complete
your child’s preschool learning. But you should definitely make use of
the printable worksheets that are out there to help your child learn new concepts
and practice various skills.

Technorati Tags:preschool, worksheets, education, homeschooling, kids, children, activities

Lap Books – A Great Tool to Teach Your Child Preschool at Home

TheNanny612 — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:24:31 +0000

LapBooks
are a terrific part of a good home preschool program. Lapbooks combine
all of the work done in a single subject area to really pull it together for
your child. They can be reviewed at later dates to make sure that learning is
cumulatively building itself. But more than this, they give your preschooler
(and older kids as well) something to look at where they can see their progress.
This can be a great source of pride which allows children to be more successful
in their learning over the long run. And they’re fun for you to put together
with your child; they basically take the joy of scrapbooking and apply it to
education.

Lapbooks
are something that you can make yourself with your child. They use a file
folder system which makes organization easy but you can add your own touches
to this system to make the lapbooks more personalized. As you’re
putting the lapbooks together with your child, you’ll be reviewing
the subject matter that she’s already learned which helps to reinforce
that learning. And every time that your child takes out the lapbooks
to show them off, she’ll be re-learning that material again.

And she will definitely
want to show off her lapbooks. Children of all ages, and especially preschool
children, love to be proud of themselves. They like showing off their independence
and their knowledge to others who are supportive of their developmental growth.
So whenever favorite aunts and uncles, family friends and grandparents come
to visit, you can pull out the lapbooks so your child can show off
all that she knows. She’ll be proud of herself which will encourage
her to continue on with her studies, learning more so that she’ll have
more to share. And as you watch her sharing all that she’s learned, you’ll
be proud of her … and maybe even a little bit proud of yourself for all
of the education that you’ve already given to her.

Besides being a
terrific tool for compiling your child’s work and encouraging her to continue
it, the lapbooks are a great activity that you can share with your
child. They’re a part of the learning process that is truly just
fun to do. You and your child can work together in scrapbook style to get everything
put together. And when your child looks back on what her home school education
was like, she’ll probably remember these times as fun. Add to them by
creating a ritual like listening to music, making and eating pop corn together
or going shopping for stickers to add to the lapbooks. These little touches
will make creating the lapbooks a shared experience that you’ll both
look forward to … and then look back on fondly!

Technorati Tags:lapbooks, preschool, education, learning, homeschool, kids, children, pre-k, activities

Preschool Social Studies

TheNanny612 — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 03:09:39 +0000

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.

Technorati Tags:preschool education, social studies, pre-k, kids, children, homeschooling