What to do for K4 science/social studies??

[csolomon]

We are very new to homeschooling, and we are doing great with a daily schedule for reading/phonics, math and writing, but I am struggling with what to do for science and social studies. I want to just introduce him to some basics of science/geography/history without doing anything to strenuous. I want it to be flexible, but fun and exciting at the same time. However, we have pretty much failed at this our first month of school without a set science or social studies curriculum. I think I do better with the basics because they are organized for me, but I can still adjust each lesson to meet our needs. I am just lost with science and social studies thought. I need help!!

 

What are other K4 moms doing for science and social studies??

[zyllah]

I'm curious too. I bought a book to use for science based on the amazon reviews but it hasn't arrived yet. I've been looking at unit studies/themes to guide fun reading and handle a lot of the science/geography aspect. However I could be totally off base. This is our first official year...and I've bought so much that it's a great big eclectic mess;) I'm just not sure what my kids will find engaging enough to actually do. 

[Jackie]

We are using the books Science in Seconds for Kids and Nature in a Nutshell for science. They are oth written with science demonstrations and experiments designed to be done simply and quickly, great for shorter attention spans. I also have the Learning Resources Primary Science Kit and the Primary Magnet Set to round out our supplies. We plan three experiments/demonstrations per week plus a weekly trip to the children's science center.

 

We use the Melissa and Doug US puzzle and the GeoPuzzles world puzzle to work on geography. Before that, we had the states placemat and would talk about the states at breakfast. As we read stories, we talk about where they take place on the maps. We aren't doing history yet; I plan on introducing SOTW in K or 1st.

[thegirlwhopaintedtrees]

My DD is doing Apologia Swimming Creatures so for my 4 year old I have been getting 4-year old friendly picture books about the animals DD is studying in Swimming Creatures. Today we read Jim Arnosky books about manatees, for example. I am trying to do the same for history - we are reading A Child's History of the World and I am trying to find picture books, like First Dog by Jan Brett for example, to give him a better "flavor" of the time. BFSU is another science resource he loves.

[strange_girl]

For K4, I would probably just read books about various science and social studies topics. Things like animals, weather, plant life, and even going out and walking in the woods, etc. For social studies, learning about neighborhoods, community helpers, learning your address and phone number, things like that. For geography...I'm a little sketchy on that since I didn't do that for K4. Maybe a state puzzle if you're in the States, etc. Nothing more than that really sticks at that age unless you have a child who is really, really interested in animals or ambulances. :001_smile:  Again, I'm not the best person to ask, because beyond reading about these topics, we don't study them until 1st grade.

[nature girl]

I love the books "Science is Simple" and "Science Arts" for fun experiments at this age. They're great teaching tools. I've also looked through BFSU, and a lot of the ideas can be discussed in ways a 4yo would understand. There are a ton of ideas online as well, if you search on science experiments for preschoolers.

 

As far as social studies, I think at this age their understanding is going to be pretty limited. You can show them a map and tell them different places exist, but for the most part they're not going to be able to conceptualize that there are countries on the other side of the world, and what that actually means. With that said, there are a number of picture books that discuss different cultures, and I think my dd has gotten at least something from them, an understanding that there are people with lives very different from her own. We've also done map skills (again at a basic level), and had a lot of fun with games were I've hidden puzzle pieces throughout the yard or in our living room, drawn the "landmarks" (furniture/trees/etc.) and marked the pieces with an X, and she's used the map to find them, then put the puzzle together!

[boscopup]

I just go to the library and get whatever looks interesting to the kid.

[csolomon]

I love the books "Science is Simple" and "Science Arts" for fun experiments at this age. They're great teaching tools. I've also looked through BFSU, and a lot of the ideas can be discussed in ways a 4yo would understand. There are a ton of ideas online as well, if you search on science experiments for preschoolers.

 

As far as social studies, I think at this age their understanding is going to be pretty limited. You can show them a map and tell them different places exist, but for the most part they're not going to be able to conceptualize that there are countries on the other side of the world, and what that actually means. With that said, there are a number of picture books that discuss different cultures, and I think my dd has gotten at least something from them, an understanding that there are people with lives very different from her own. We've also done map skills (again at a basic level), and had a lot of fun with games were I've hidden puzzle pieces throughout the yard or in our living room, drawn the "landmarks" (furniture/trees/etc.) and marked the pieces with an X, and she's used the map to find them, then put the puzzle together! 

 

Thanks for the great feedback! What is BFSU? I'm still learning all the different curriculums/programs.

[csolomon]

Thanks for all the great feedback! This definitely makes me feel better that I haven't exactly gotten the hang of it yet. We will continue reading our weekly library books and check out the resources mentioned!

[csolomon]

Thanks for all the great feedback! This definitely makes me feel better that I haven't exactly gotten the hang of it yet. We will continue reading our weekly library books and check out the resources mentioned!

[HeartatHome]

I didn't do anything at this age. At least nothing formal.   Books and just real life learning/discussions as we went about our day was great and enough IMO. 

[Maela]

j listens in when M and I read the What Your [right now we're on Kindergartner] Needs to Know series.  He watches Magic School Bus episodes with us.  He joins in on a lot of our "'speriments."   We get interesting books from the library.  That's it.  I don't think you have to do anything more than read books with a child that young.

 

ETA:  I think reading, handwriting (if they're ready), and beginning math are more important at this age.

[Rosie_0801]

Dd is in K, but I'm having her memorise pictures of major landmarks. 

[PachiSusan]

We don't do Social Studies at all. I incorporate any of that into History.

[abba12]

We aren't looking to do a formal science or history program until about 5th grade, so I would not stress about not succeeding at doing any sci/his this first month.

 

Having said that, our kids won't lack of science and history knowledge. Some of the things we do/plan to do are

 

- Books. Historical fiction, little house on the prairie, stories about kids in other cultures, magic school bus, science readers and fun nonfiction books. We talk about it as we finish each book/chapter to help comprehension. 

- Shows like magic school bus, fun, kid friendly documentaries and shows set in other countries. There is also a show called Mouk, I don't like it much, but it does cover some good social studies stuff

- Fun Science. We have a book of fun science experiments and when the kids are a bit older I will be endeavoring to do one every couple of weeks, making the introduction to science fun and helping to introduce some concepts.

- Historical themes. This goes along with the books, we have plans, again when the kiddos are a touch older, to do activities around our books. For example, a day of reinacting the 1800s with little house on the prairie or building a castle out of big boxes and finding out about the structures and rooms and why things were done.

- Questions. Fact is, kids are going to ask lots of questions. Taking the time to give a real answer will cover a lot of science and history. What do the police do? Can we go to australia? Why do flowers die? Where is the river going? Why don't we have knights in real life? Most kids are curious and most kids form interests which include aspects of science and history

 

As for actually doing it, I find setting a loose plan helps. collect books and write a plan to read them throughout the year, assigning one or two each week. same with TV shows and documentaries. Write a plan to do experiments, complete with resources needed so you can prepare. Make a plan to do a big history project each term, complete with resources. If you are specific in your plan it's easier to achieve than a vague 'read a book each week'

[nature girl]

Csolomon, sorry for the acronym! BFSU is Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. It takes a little pre-planning to use, a lot of reading on the parents' part, but Nebel does a great job of outlining ways (through explanation and experiments) of introducing scientific vocabulary and concepts, and gives examples of books to enhance that understanding, a lot of which we've been able to find at the library.

 

You can buy an e-version here for just $5. http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432706104

[Korrale]

I second BFSU for science. But I am forewarning. It is harder to implement. It is not perfectly scripted and it is not linear.

However each topic builds upon each other. So you can't skip around. It goes off in tangents.

 

It is best to read the chapter on Sunday night, take notes and spend the week discussing the lessons, watching YouTube clips, reading books and doing the experiments on.

 

It is very flexible and doesn't need any writing unless you want to.

[aminuteorless]

Do you have a children's museum or zoo nearby?  All we have done in the past and for K this year is field trips, picture books from the library, and lots of playing outside.  Yesterday, my k'er played in the sandbox and kept adding water until the sand was the right consistency for making castles.  Later on he caught a toad and spent a long time playing with it.  I tried a pre-planned preschool science curriculum last year and realized in a few weeks that for us, just letting him "play" led to more meaningful conversations and discoveries.  So I wouldn't sweat it.  :)

[csolomon]

Thanks! I will definitely take a look at BFSU. I definitely feel a lot better that I wasn't doing enough or anything concrete, but now I know that wasn't working for us because it isn't suppose to at the age of 4! Thanks for all the recommendations. I think I am just so nervous still that I am not going to teach him the core things that he needs to know. I'm hoping with time and experience I can relax a little!

[happypamama]

My preschoolers tend to just come along for the ride with the big kids in science and social studies, but I often make a point to use picture books; everyone, even the big kids, enjoys them, and they help the younger kids to feel connected and to learn at least a little something.

 

Some of the series we have enjoyed:

-anything by Thornton Burgess (ie Burgess Bird Book or Adventures of ____)

-state books by Sleeping Bear Press

-If You Lived. . . books

-You Wouldn't Want to Be. . . series of books

[EKS]

K12 science and history/social studies are wonderful for that age.

[craftyerin]

We use the social studies and science in Five in a Row in our homeschool.  My kids were PK and K last year. This year they're K and 1st, and it's still working well for us. 

[Teneo]

I love Science Is Simple. Rub A Dub Dub Science In The Tub too. We also are working on identifying local nature. We have nature based themes and explore too. Like insects. We checked books out on insects. Found insects everywhere. Played with life cycle bug toys. Rocks- rock hunt, books. Forests. Now zoo animals includes pictures of animals, models, continents puzzle with matching activities, a trip to the zoo and a wolf preserve, books. For human body you can read, play with touch boards, build human body puzzles, doctor kit, make smelling bottles, sound bottles, read.

 

For social- check out books on holidays. Labor day, make thank you notes for the mail carrier. Chinese New Year. wear red. Read and explore hands on. Usborne has a Things People Do book that's great. Me On The Map is a favorite of my 4 year old.

[bakpak]

My DD has learned an incredible amount of history from the Magic Tree House series. She's constantly pretending Mt. Vesuvius is erupting, or she's on a stage with Shakespeare, or she's crossing the Delaware River with George Washington, etc.. I love that she thinks it's so fun, and that all these famous people/events are her friends. It'd be nice if I did followup activities to go along with the books, but we go through them so fast it's hard to keep up. Maybe in the future...

 

As for science, we just use appealing library books and talk about the natural world all the time. My DH and I are both wildlife biologists, so she has no choice but to hear about it!

[lilajoy]

I am new to this site and this is my first post, so I hope it's okay if I just jump right in. (My son is in Pre-K (4 years old). He attends a nursery program since we both work full-time, but I am "after schooling" (enriching) where possible. Right now I have absolutely no formal plans or programs I use, but looking ahead to K, I am trying to get ideas, hence I joined this site.)

 

For science and social studies/history, we mainly just read a lot of high-quality non-fiction:

 

The Usborne Beginners books are great, with topics in science (trees, flowers, chicks and eggs, caterpillars and butterflies, etc.) and in social studies (China, Ancient Egypt, etc.) all geared for 4-6 year-olds. The books are small and short, yet quite informative, and are hardcover so they last. They're also cheap. The only pitfall is that they are from the UK, so some of the vocabulary is not what we would use. Make small adjustments and it's fine.

 

For science, the Let's Read and Find Out Science series is also terrific. There are two levels, and the books have beautiful illustrations and lots of information, presented in an easily-digestible way. We have about 10 of them, but there are many more.

 

We also have What Your Preschooler Needs to Know and What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know, and they cover a lot of science and history topics quite well.

 

Beyond books, we let our son watch some educational videos on the computer (we don't have a television) -- Reading Rainbow is his favorite, and it's great. The shows cover all kinds of topics, from science to history, and it's all centered around books and literature.

 

We have a world map in our living room, and he has a U.S. map on his bedroom wall. At this point we don't do much formal with it, but he can identify the continents and the major oceans. We just bought him a globe that he loves looking at.

 

Finally, we go to the museum, zoo, park, etc. and just talk about what we see and experience.

 

I have enjoyed reading through all of the previous responses and look forward to exploring more of what this site and these forums have to offer.

[HS Mom in NC]

There's no need for science at that age (or academics at all) but if you choose to there are some lovely, simple books that can introduce young ones to the world.  This Let's Read And Find Out Science series can just be read aloud or you can do some of the activities fairly easily. My local Barnes and Noble carries a lot of them, so you can browse if you have one near by.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=let%22s%20read%20and%20find%20out

 

If you're planning on doing real History (as opposed to social studies) with something like Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer beginning at age 6 and doing the 4 year rotation 3 times , do social studies/community helpers type stuff now. There won't be time for most people to do it in addition to History.

 

You may find the discussion and recommendations on this thread useful:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/486716-overwhelmed-and-insecure-where-do-i-go-from-here/