Homeschooling Social Studies

Bring Culture to your Home

Homeschooling social studies can be interesting. When I think about social studies I think about different jobs that people have like firemen and doctors. Social studies is more that that. It is the study of the culture of a place. It looks at the roles people have in society. Social studies looks at the food people eat, how they dress, and what they do for a living.

What to Include

Preschool and kindergarten is a time to expose children to as many jobs as they are interested in. Look for ways to teach your child about farmers, mailmen, truck drivers, and bakers. There are several picture books about jobs that people have.

In preschool social studies teach your child about people who help keep your child safe. Your child should know about police, firemen, doctors, and dentists. The young child needs to know that these people are here to help us.

Young children like to play to understand. You can read a picture book about a fireman. Then give your child a fireman's hat so that he can put out pretend fires.

There are also videos about jobs. I can remember seeing one about being a baker. Mr. Rogers TV show had shows about people in my neighborhood. You might be able to find videos in the library.

Also tell your child about your job. Maybe sometime he can see where mom or dad works. My husband's work had a Christmas party at his place of employment. My children could see his office and the equipment that he worked on.

Homeschool social studies for older students should include the culture of different countries. You can get information from different almanacs and encyclopedias.

Fun Ways to Teach

When children get older it is still fun to teach culture. Homeschool social studies should go beyond teaching about the economy and population of a country. Incorporate something of the food, music, and language of the people.

Have a culture day. In school find the country you are studying on the map. Learn something of the history of the country. Learn about what the country produces. What fruit and vegetables grow there?

During the day listen to music from the country. Try to find tapes of people speaking the language.

Go either to the library or internet to find recipes from the country. Cook some for dinner.

My family has also enjoyed listening to talks by missionaries. Most of the missionaries we have listened to also had displays of native items.

Your children could go to work with Dad. Before you send your child off to work have your husband check with their employer to see if it is okay.

Some museums have culture displays. We have seen art from different countries. We have also been to several museums that display Native American life.

Some manufacturing plants have public tours. We have been to a cheese factory in Oregon. My children learned how cheese is made and were able to sample some cheese curd.

Books for Homeschooling Social Studies

When my children were little we looked at a lot of picture books about what people did. Golden book and the Bernstein Bear books have books about firemen, policeman, and going to the doctor.

If you are looking for a unit studies for homeschooling social studies check out the WannaBe series by the Old Schoolhouse. There are ten books in the series. Some of the titles are I WannaBe a firefighter, I WannaBe a Doctor, and I wannaBe a Missionary. You can buy the ten books as a bundle or separately.

When my children were older we used the World book Encyclopedia of People and Places. It is a series about people in different countries. The books have lots of pictures. People and Places have articles about the history, economy, environment, and people of different countries.

We also have used Operation World. It is written from a Christian perspective. For each country it lists the people groups, population, languages, economy, and religions. It is very similar to an almanac.

I have used the recipes in The Kids' Around the World Cookbook by Deri Robins. It is a short book with recipes from different places around the world. Each recipe has steps with pictures.

Homeschooling social studies can be fun. Your child can learn about the different people in the United States. They can also learn about different cultures around the world.

Back to Homeschooling Social Studies