History often seems dull and boring to children. It is important to learn from those who came before, who laid down the foundation for life today, and to convey that importance to children. Turning history into discussion and discovery will take a lot of the "boringness" out of dry textbooks, enable them to "own" the learning process, and will keep children with various learning styles engaged.
A great way to introduce your children to the importance of history is to read the newspaper. This may not seem like history at first glance, but current events are a huge part of any good social studies or history program because these events will become the historical events of tomorrow. Reading the newspaper yourself will show your children that you find it important to keep abreast of what is going on in the world. When your children see you reading, it just might spark their curiosity, and may have them wondering what you are reading and why you are reading it. Use that curiosity as a starting point.
Discussions
Talk with your children - ask them if they know why you are reading the newspaper. Tell them one or two important things that are going on in the world from that day’s newspaper. Have discussions about why it is important to stay aware of what is going on in the world. It is important to keep open communication between you and your children, and it prepares the way for you to have conversations that teach important lessons.
For example, if the newspaper has an article about a drug bust at a school, use the opportunity to discuss the importance of saying no to drugs. It can also be a way for you to find out more about your children’s lives by asking them about their friends at school, and why it is so important for them to be honest with you so that you can help them learn to be safe. These conversations can also help you teach your children how to make better decisions about how to live in the world today.
Bringing the Past into the Present
Reading the newspaper can also help you show your children how current events touch their lives. One way this discussion can be structured is to bring your own growing up experience into the conversation. Children love to hear about when their parents were young, so talk about the gas prices when you were their age, and how it impacted your life and compare it to the gas prices today and how it is affecting your children’s lives. Talk about who was president when you were younger and what impact he had on the world, and compare it to the current president and the impact on today’s world. Talk about the wars you experienced growing up and compare it to what is happening in the military today.
Scrap Booking
To get your children more involved in hands on learning, have them cut an article out of the newspaper each day or week and keep a scrapbook of current events. Any article that interests your children is fair game. Tie writing into the activity by having them write a reaction to the article. Have them write about why they picked that article, what it teaches us, and why it is important. This is a great way to practice writing on a regular basis, which is benificial for those children who struggle with writing.
Branching
If something catches your child's attention, allow her the opportunity to do some research and find more information about a specific topic. This concept is called branching. The idea is that you are branching out to different topics as they come up and interest your child.
Use your imagination and your newspaper and get your children more interested in their history lessons!
