Preschool Social Studies

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.