Social Studies
Social studies for preschool children
may be divided into 4 categories:
1. Spaces and Geography – children
build foundation when they explore
outdoor & indoor play:
 using slides, grassy area,
maneuver around a bike path
 using blocks to build structures
(roads, buildings)
 work on projects (transportation,
neighborhood map, our city)
2. People and how they live –
children build foundation when
they:
 Talk about family members
(similarities and differences)
 Talk about friends and how you
make friends
 Talk about rules in their homes
and make rules in the classroom
 Talk about people and their jobs
(community workers). Organize
plays (supermarket, hospital, post
office, etc.)
3. People and the Environment teach children take care of our
environment:
 Clean up indoor/outdoor
environment
 Take care of plants, animals
 recycle and make projects
(celebrate Earth Day)
4. People and the past – since
children focus on the here and now,
they can learn time in relation to
themselves:
 Daily schedule
 What they did yesterday and
what they will do tomorrow
 Talk about how people change
over time (provide pictures of
elderly, invite grandparents,
family tree with family pictures
and their baby pictures)