Melodiya99 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 We have to do some formal social studies for our charter, but I can't decide what to use! I'll have 2 k'ers and 1 first grader. I'd love to do a geography/culture study, but really need something pretty simple to implement:) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Storybooks. Start with ancients. Really, that's it. Beautiful, rich, storybooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I am doing a trip around the world this year. We are spending 1-2 months on each continent (although we will spend 3 months on North America, but we got to a slow start). We learn about kids in the different countries, read stories from those countries, learn geography, learn about animals and weather in the countries or regions, do crafts from the region, etc. It has been a lot of fun so far. If you are interested, I can let you know what we use. It takes some planning (and I go at least 2 times a month to the library to supplement), but it really isn't overwhelming. I spend about 30 min a week planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 You have to do a formal curriculum? With my K child, I just informally introduced basic ideas. What is a city? A state? A country? A continent? Learn the continents, the 4 cardinal directions. Community, different professions and types of leaders (mayors, governors, presidents, kings, emperors, etc) as it came up in reading stories, etc. Trust me that is far more than they'd get in K in school - private or public. K, IMO, is about getting ready to learn more than it is about learning content. Any content just comes after the child exhibits competence with very basic fundamentals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodiya99 Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 It doesn't have to be a formal curriculum, but I do have to have a spine or plan of books to use as a spine if that makes sense. Homeschooling is all new to me and I've just started planning the last couple weeks, plus I'll have 3 younger kids to care for, so I know that if I'm trying to think of books by myself I'll end up not doing what I wanted to, kwim? I'd love something along the lines of the way SOTW works with recommended books listed, but more of a general k level thing:001_smile: KristinAnne: I'd love it if you'd send me your stuff! Sounds exactly like what I was thinking, but not sure if I could come up with it on my own at this point:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Check out Galloping the Globe - it's a fun geography program that we did last year for K. I'm really starting to understand now what they learned then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 My daughter is entering 1st grade and we will be studying States and Capitals. I ordered CD's that teach with silly songs and I printed out worksheets/coloring sheets from schoolexpress.com. I have SOTW but I am going to save it for next year, I think it's a little over her head right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I have some core texts that I am using for almost all of the continents: Children Just Like Me Around the World in 80 Tales Stories From Around the World (Usbourne) DK Encyclopedia of Animals National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers Around the World Art and Activities Houses and Homes Around the World Wee Sing Around the World I also purchased a globe and some great laminated maps from Geomatters (we have the whole world and then one for every continent with the front being blackline and the back being topographical) We started with N America and the USA since we live here. :D We started the Southwest and I realized that the kids were really enjoying the Native American stuff so we did a quick two weeks on Native Americans. It is fun to be able to go on these tangents (we did sand painting and made a totem pole out of a paper towel roll). Basically, what I do is go through the Core stuff and figure out which things apply to N America. The first day, we do mapwork and general info. Then we look at the animals of the area and start reading the stories. I did American Tall Tales for N America (and got the recording by Jim Weiss). We are doing the southeast right now and it has turned into mostly a science unit about swamp animals. The kids really love that. It honestly hasn't been hard planning this. I just get a game plan and then I head to the library to get more books on animals from the region and people from the region. Even our small town library has a wealth of information available. Please let me know if you have any questions. It is also fun to print off free coloring sheets online for the units so they can color while you read them the stories. It is seriously a lot of fun and you can just go where it leads you! If you want to know what I use for each region, just let me know and I can let you know as we get there. We are doing Alaska next week and Hawaii the week after! Best of luck!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Is your Kindergartner reading? I really think doing history is a completely different ballgame with a proficient reader vs. a pre-reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Elemental History's Adventures in America is brand new, but it looks super easy to implement and just right for a K/1st grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodiya99 Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Is your Kindergartner reading? I really think doing history is a completely different ballgame with a proficient reader vs. a pre-reader. I have 1 kinder who reads fluently (she's read half of the little house series among other things), a first grader who can sound out some cvc words, and another k who doesn't know the alphabet yet. I'd like to get something that would work for all of them;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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