Topic One - Social Studies in the Early Learning and Care Program

Topic One: Social Studies in the Early Learning and Care Program

Children are born into social environments and at each age they explore the familiar experiences of daily life. This exploration reflects the culture, community and family experience of each child. Children naturally begin with an exploration of self within the social setting and expand to the broader concept of neighborhood, community, the wider world and diversity.

In the article, “Social studies in today’s early childhood curricula”, (2008,) Mindes identifies 10 themes that fall within the topic of social studies:

                                             

These broad topics can be studied across the lifespan and we can also provide interesting and appropriate ways for very young children to explore and build awareness and understanding in these areas. Each child’s approach will be framed by their lived experience, their multiple identities, and their skills and abilities. For example, Mindes suggests that in the topic of ‘Time continuity and change’, very young children might be interested in exploring their knowledge and understanding of grandparents. (p. 3)

Mindes describes the initial explorations with our youngest children as “self-development in a social world.” (p. 4).  We provide a rich, responsive, respectful environment for infants, toddlers and preschoolers to explore, interact within and learn to get along with their peers and caregivers. There are many opportunities to support children to listen to each other, follow simple social rules and become aware of their own and others’ rights and responsibilities. We provide documentations and narrations of diverse families and support children to begin to notice similarities and differences.

We include everyday experiences that are pertinent to children’s lives, including awareness of people and how they live, the concept of work and how we get along with each other. We can begin with the physical characteristics of people, similarities and differences in habits, homes and work, and family structures and roles.

We can talk about family members living in the same house and provide children with options to draw, paint, represent and tell their family stories. We can wonder about jobs that parents do, point out similarities and differences of friends and think about how we take care of our homes, parks, playgrounds and environments that we care about.

When we think about people and the past we recognize that children live in the present moment and the concept of chronological time is abstract for young children. It is appropriate to think about time in relation to the children themselves, their daily schedule, and what they might do tomorrow. Children might consider change by thinking about what they could and couldn’t do as babies and how that has changed. Children can bring in their baby/toddler pictures to compare with themselves now.

As children explore their understanding of Grandparents, we can invite grandparents or elders in to talk about their lives as children and to bring toys and items that they might have grown up with.

These explorations of people and family include spaces and geographies as we look at the characteristics of the place where children live and the relationships between that place and other places. We can provide opportunities, materials and activities such as walking in the neighborhood and representing children’s understanding with playdough, clay, art and paper. I remember taking a neighborhood walk with a group of children and the excitement children felt when we walked past their houses. The children remarked on how each house was similar and different, if there was a pet in the family and what was in the yard. The excitement continued when we returned to the centre and children were interested in making a map of where everyone’s house was. Children constructed their homes out of paper, clay and boxes and then place them on the map that they collectively constructed. It was a great project that continued over a number of weeks and expanded everyone’s understanding of geography, neighborhood and community, houses and homes, family, mapping and sense of place.

We can also introduce or expand the concept of mapping by providing opportunities for children to draw or paint maps of places they go so they build an understanding that maps represent actual places. They can begin by mapping how to get from one area to another, where to find things in their favorite space, their bedroom, etc.

Mindes ends her article with a summary of approaches to use with young children as we focus on explorations in social studies:

  1. Build on what children already know
  2. Develop concepts and process rather than focusing on isolated facts
  3. Provide  hands-on activities
  4. Use relevant social studies throughout the year as issues arise in the program
  5. Capitalize on children’s interests

Children’s experiences with their world allow them to develop spontaneous everyday concepts. These concepts hook onto whatever information and experiences children are given… the richer they are, the greater chance for children to see the relationships.

Using books, hands-on explorations, comparisons, documentations of families and children, representations of children’s understanding, we support children’s social studies investigations.

In topic two we will take a closer look at the concept of social justice and children’s experience of culture, gender, and racial identity.