Social Studies at Home – 5 Steps for Parents on Having Important Conversations with Your Kids

Kirsten 0:09

This is the social studies teacher podcast, a show for busy elementary teachers looking for fun and engaging ways to easily add social studies into their classroom schedule without feeling overwhelmed or pressed for time. I'm Kirsten at the southern teach, an educator and mom who is passionate about all things social studies. I love sharing ideas and strategies that are low prep and easy to implement. So let's dive in together.

Kirsten 0:47

Hi there, and welcome back to the social studies teacher podcast. I am super excited for this episode. This is going to be a little different, because we are focusing on something beyond the classroom, and that is how parents can incorporate social studies conversations into the everyday life at home. Whether it's talking about historical events, current news, civic engagement, or even where you live geographically, Social Studies isn't just something that happens in school. It's all around us, and as parents, we have a unique opportunity to help our kids develop critical thinking skills and empathy and a deeper understanding of the world. So today, I'm going to be sharing five simple steps for parents to have important social studies conversations at home for your elementary student, plus some extra tips for homeschooling families and resources to make learning easy and engaging.

Kirsten 1:45

We are going to first talk about why Social Studies conversations at home matters. It's more than just memorizing facts and dates. It's about understanding people and places and events that have shaped the world we live in today. Having these conversations at home is important because it builds awareness, where kids are starting to understand how history is connecting to their daily lives. It helps with critical thinking, they're learning to ask questions and thinking about different perspectives and analyzing information and not just taking it at face value. It creates lifelong learners, where discussions can encourage curiosity and help kids see that learning is an everyday experience that doesn't go away after you graduate high school. And it promotes empathy and civic responsibility, kids are becoming aware of different cultures and traditions and viewpoints, so this can help them grow into responsible citizens of our community. So I've got three kids. My oldest is in kindergarten right now, not quite upper elementary, but he is in elementary school, and I also taught as an educator for over 10 years in the classroom. So we are currently with my kindergartner, talking a lot about certain events. We talked about the recent presidential election, and even filled out a map with the red and blue states, and we talked about who the candidates were and who ended up winning after the fact. We also talk about who the man on TV is. So every once in a while, we'll have the news on we'll point out important people that might be in our government, such as the President or the Vice President, and we also talk about important holidays that we personally celebrate as a family, and even talking about what other people celebrate in their families. And as far as history, we talk about our family members from the past, such as grandparents and great grandparents, where they were from, where they lived. And we also talk about where we currently live. We talk about our community, we talk about our city, the state we live in, and where he was born, where his brother and sister was born. So there's a lot that we discuss, obviously not all at once. It's all just kind of naturally intertwined as he is more curious and is asking more questions and just kind of being more aware of things in general. The good news is that you don't have to be a historian to have these conversations with your child.

Kirsten 4:17

We're going to go through five simple steps that you can take to naturally incorporate social studies into your daily life with your children at home. Step number one is to start with what is familiar and connect to everyday life. Social Studies isn't just about far away places or events from a long time ago. It's about our own communities and our own experiences. So a few ways to take step one into heart is to talk about where you live with your children. Pull up a map, show them your city, state, country. You can ask questions like, who lived here before us? How did this place grow over time? You could also discuss family history. This is a great way to share stories about grandparents or ancestors and connect them to broader historical events. I know this was one of my favorite things to hear from my parents and grandparents about my ancestors as a kid, and also what they did, maybe during the Vietnam War, World War Two, and things like that, and what they did during the Great Depression. You could also bring in local history. Next time you drive by an old building or landmark in your city, talk about who built it or why it's important.

Kirsten 5:27

Step number two is to use current events to teach critical thinking. The news is full of events that connect to history, geography, government, and culture, but kids need guidance to understand them in a way that is age appropriate, first and foremost, I feel like is the biggest thing, and meaningful. One way to do this is to pick a relevant event, maybe something related to the election. You could explain how voting works. You could explain who the candidates are, who you as a family prefer to vote for, or who you prefer not to and why, and if there's a natural disaster, you could discuss how geography plays a role. So maybe something related to the LA fires, that could be a really great recent event to talk about with your kids. And also asking open ended questions. So instead of just telling kids what's happening, ask, Why do you think this is happening, you could also ask, How does this compare to something that happened in history? And asking them simple question, but really powerful, how do you feel about it? Emphasize different perspectives. So this is great to share like maybe if you're talking about a political figure, you could talk about why you value this figure over another figure, but also emphasize different perspectives and what the other side might be feeling or thinking. You could use simple sources like children's news, websites like newsELA, scholastic news, time for kids to help them see different viewpoints.

Kirsten 6:58

All right, let's go into step number three, making it fun with games, books and activities, because kids learn best when they are engaged in having fun. So you could start with or try some board games. There's a game called Ticket to Ride. It's related to geography, and it's also a strategy game, I believe. And there's Catan Junior, which is a super fun game, Catan in general, but I know Catan for kids is, I think it's like ages six through nine. It's a great way to teach critical thinking strategy, but also economics, because you're trading different resources and all that good stuff. And there's also the skillmatics guess in 10. And there's a variety of games that they have a variety of versions to make it more interactive and fun for the family. And I'll make sure to link the Amazon games, because they're all of these games are on Amazon, so I'll make sure to link that in the show notes, so you can check out more about it. Books and movies is another great way to make it fun. You could read historical fiction or watch documentaries videos together. So some great options I recommend include the I survived book series. This is a great historical fiction book. There's also the Liberty kids animated series about the American Revolution. And of course, Brain Pop has a lot of great social studies videos, and it's a really great short and sweet way to really get into different topics. So another great way to make it fun, last but not least, hands on projects. So you can try historical dioramas or making maps or even cooking different foods from different cultures. I have a blog post and a podcast episode on making social studies hands on. I'll make sure to link that if you want to learn more information about ways to make it hands on, other than the books and the movies and the board games.

Kirsten 8:54

All right. So step number four, we are thinking about encouraging civic engagement and awareness. So teaching your kids how to be active citizens and engaged citizens, keeping them involved is one way take them to vote with you on a local election. You could take them to visit the city hall or watch a school board meeting online. That's easier than ever to see school board meetings happening. You could see what's happening in their district or school if they are in a specific school district, and it's just a really great way to get them involved in the local community. Another thing to think about is teaching the basics of government. Even young kids can understand who makes decisions in their community and how they can have a voice, such as writing a letter to a local leader or a state leader. And lastly, thinking about volunteering together is another great way to encourage civic engagement, whether it's helping at a food bank or cleaning up a park, civic action makes learning real. It's all part of social studies because it's related to civics, and it's a great way to really help communities in need, individuals in need, children in need. And there's all kinds of things you can do. You could even just do something as simple as donating food or doing some type of canned drive, donating clothes, and even going to a local pet shelter. But there's just a lot of great ideas. You can search different volunteer opportunities that might be happening in your local area.

All right, the last step we are going to talk about is to let kids lead the conversation. So we started off with really just thinking about thinking about what's familiar. We've talked about connecting it to what they already know, then thinking about what's going on, current events, adding some engagement, making it fun with games and activities, and actually participating through civic engagement. Now we're letting kids take the lead and having them ask their own question, because the best learning happens that way. So think about what they are interested in and follow the lead. Maybe they're interested in ancient Egypt or the history of space exploration, or could be a recent event, encourage them to explore. Help them research these things that they're interested in, and you can show them how to find reliable resources and what's not reliable. A lot of great ideas, include different non fiction books about what they're interested in, or websites, National Geographic Kids is a really good website. Or you can go on to Britannica Kids, they have a family subscription that you can do for a low payment, either monthly or yearly I believe. You can go on to Brain Pop, since there's a variety of interesting videos related to social studies as well. And after you help them kind of research, you can also let them teach you. So have them explain what they've learned. Have them draw pictures, create a presentation, or make the 3D model, or even like some type of movie production if they want to do that. However they want to show what they've learned, have them teach you.

So I'm gonna also share some additional tips for homeschooling families. So these are for parents who are homeschooling, because there are even more ways you can incorporate social studies into daily learning. The first tip I have is to use thematic units. You can connect history and geography and culture all together into one cohesive study, interweave it together. And even not just connecting it with social studies, but tying in ELA or reading or math and science, put it all together in one thematic unit. Bonus points, if it's something that they're really interested in, and you can kind of compile that thing together to really enhance what they are learning, connect it to other subjects as well.Also thinking about joining virtual field trips or going on real field trips but virtual field trips is something that can be really easy to find. You can find websites like Google Arts and Culture, there's the Smithsonian, they have virtual field trips, National Geographic Kids offers free resources that you can look into as well. And another suggestion I have, if you're a homeschooling family, is to check out the resources I have from the southern teach - I've got the blog with lesson ideas, free tips and strategies, and also tying into the podcast episode. So if you like the podcast, you can find more podcast episodes, and there's a lot of blog posts that are related to each episode. You could also check out my Smart and Simple Social Studies membership, which includes done for you resources that makes planning easier for homeschooling and classroom teachers. I also have my social studies store, both on teachers pay teachers, and on my website, the southern teach.com with engaging web quests, vocabulary cards, daily passages that'll help kids explore social studies independently and just in a way that is super low prep and easy and engaging.

All right. To recap this episode, I want to share again the five steps for parents to have social studies conversations at home. First step, starting with what's familiar. Make sure you're connecting history, geography, anything related to social studies, to what's going on in their daily lives. The second step is using current events to teach critical thinking and really have great discussions, or try to encourage discussions about what is going on in the world, and just making it as age appropriate as possible. Step number three, making it fun. Find games. Catan Jr, if they're interested in board games or even books getting them interested into historical fiction or even real non fiction. There's the who was series that's a really great non fiction series on a variety of topics, and also hands on activities. Step number four, encouraging civic engagement. Help kids see how they can make a difference through volunteering, donating items, or just taking a look at online school board meetings that's happening in your community. And step number five, let kids lead the conversation. So follow what they're interested in and help them research, have them present, just pique their interest and curiosity.

Social Studies isn't just something that happens in school, it's a way of understanding the world, and parents play a huge role in shaping that understanding. When you have simple everyday conversations, you're helping your kids build knowledge, empathy, and awareness that will last a lifetime. All right, that is the end of this episode. If you loved it, and if you don't mind, you can share it with a fellow parent or homeschooling family. You could also check out my blog, the southern teach at thesouthernteach.com you could also learn more about easy to use resources through my Smart and Simple Social Studies membership at SmartandSimple Social studies.com. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. Until next time, keep making history and geography come alive at home and beyond. I'll talk to you next week.

Thanks for listening to the social studies teacher podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, hit that subscribe button and leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts. You can also find me on Instagram at the southern teach. I can't wait for you to join me in the next episode for more teacher tips and strategies.