What do you love for K content subjects (geography, history, science)?

[Staceyshoe]

My older children are in high school so it's been a LONG time since we've done K here.  Our focus will be short phonics/reading and math lessons, and I have a plan for those.  I would like to add some content learning--perhaps social studies, science, or geography.  I want something gentle and possibly using living books.  What curriculum or parent guides would you recommend for us?  What do you just love for this age?  TIA!

[Gil]

  

15 minutes ago, Staceyshoe said:

 What curriculum or parent guides would you recommend for us?

Nothing beats a library card and a stock of recycled house hold materials for educational crafts/posters if the mood strikes you.

15 minutes ago, Staceyshoe said:

 What do you just love for this age?  TIA!

Simplicity that is easily sustained and costs me nothing more than time I'd already give to my child anyway.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Gil

[Slache]

Library. If I wanted something structured I would use Sonlight or Beautiful Feet, but I wanted to do my own thing.

[Clarita]

I love Generation Genius videos for science. For K-2 they are short 10-15 minute videos and includes a hands-on experiment you can do at home. 

For social studies and geography, I just got a history textbook designed for 1-4 grade (Notgrass, but it's unabashedly Christian). We read that and I see if my kids could do any of the suggested activities or I make up an activity for them to do. I don't expect them to learn the history. I just let those stories lead into something age appropriate to learn. (Like when we learn about explorers to America we talk about modes of transportation and my kids listed via stickers different ways one could get across the ocean.)

 

[Xahm]

I'm on my third Kindergartner now. Mine have all been curious kids who pay attention to the world around them. We do things like Mystery Science and listening in to The Story of the World or The Story of US, but most of the learning happens from life and the discussions we have. The grocery store might lead to a discussion about nutrition or finances, but also seasons, different climate regions, logistics, etc. Some families don't have those conversations and having a set curriculum is great for giving structure and opportunity for learning, but those set K level curriculums can be horribly frustrating for a family like mine as they feel artificial and shallow. 

[Green Bean]

MP Enrichment guides/booklists for everything you mentioned plus some. FIAR is similar.

My olders liked k12 Social Studies K for geography.

[qlauraq]

Geography: 

Dover's Around the World and Lorenzo coloring books along with a simplified world map, a globe, and then add in lots of library books (especially picture book, myths, etc.) of various countries, and do some art, cooking, etc. on a grand world tour. 

History:

I don't usually start this until 1st and just focus on geography, but you could maybe start talking about the idea of history, such as with Usborne's Living Long Ago or Archaeologists Dig for Clues or one of the ____ Through Time books (I especially like Street)

Science:

We read a bunch of library books on a theme, such as the Solar System, Rocks & Minerals, Weather, etc. We also added in some Dover coloring books on these topics, and learned about some dinosaurs. I think the only kit we got was a set of rocks from HST that we used with a Dover sticker activity book--they coordinated well! We also used parts of DK Eyewitness Earth to learn about physical landforms and water formations and made a big plaster model that we painted. 

Honestly, if my child show an interest in any science topic, I just check the hi-lo books on the topic at our library.

[ScoutTN]

Library books!