Helping Your Child

Helping Your Child
Learn History

with activities for children
aged 4 through 11

By Elaine Wrisley Reed

Edited by Jacquelyn Zimmermann


Contents


Introduction

History Education Begins at Home

Children and History
Parents Make a Difference
History Is a Habit
Enjoying Your Child and History

The Basics of History

The Meanings of History
A New Look at History
Asking Questions

Activities: History as Story

What's the Story?
Our Town
History on the Go
What's News?
History Lives
Cooking Up History
Rub Against History

Activities: History as Time

Time Marches On
Weave a Web
Put Time in a Bottle
Quill Pens & Berry Ink
School Days
Time To Celebrate
The Past Anew

Appendices

Parents and the Schools
Resources
Local and National Resources
Acknowledgments


Introduction



Imagine waking up one morning to find out that you have no
memory! You are not able to remember who you are or what
happened in your life, yesterday or the day before that. You
are unable to tell your children from total strangers, you
cannot communicate with people because you no longer know how
to greet them, or understand their conversation. You don't
remember what "the election," "war," or "the movies" mean.

Lack of historical memory is parallel to this loss of
individual memory. The link on which we depend every day
between the past and present would be lost if we had no memory
of our history. And we would miss a great source of enjoyment
that comes from piecing together the story of our past.

Today American educators are working to promote the study
of history in the schools and at home. Knowledge of our history
enables us to understand our nation's traditions, its
conflicts, and its central ideas and values. Knowledge of world
history enables us to understand other cultures.

We hope to encourage children to love history and to enjoy
learning about it. This booklet is a tool you can use to
stimulate your children's active involvement in the history
that surrounds them every day. It includes:

* Basic information about history, and approaches to
enjoying history with your children, aged 4-11;

* History activities that you and your children can do--at
home, in your community, and out of town--for no or little
cost; and

* History resources in your community and nationally, in
bookstores, and libraries.


History Education Begins at Home


Children and History



As parents we are in the best position to encourage our
children's natural interest in history. It is to us they
address their first historical questions: "Where did I come
from?" and "Was I always here?" These two questions contain
the two main meanings of "history": it is the story of people
and events, and it is the record of times past.

Now is the time to bring out the historical evidence and
to share family stories with your child. Birth and adoption
certificates, immunization records, first pieces of your
child's writing and art, as well as photographs all count as
historical sources that tell the story of your child.

The stories you tell and read to your children, or make up
with them, are part of their cultural heritage and reinforce
the two basic parts of history: "Once upon a time, and long
ago."


Parents Make a Difference



Your child is born into history. She has no memory of it,
yet she finds herself in the middle of a story that began
before she became one of its characters. She also wants to have
a place in it.

As parents we can prepare our children to achieve the
lifelong task of finding their place in history by helping them
to learn what shaped the world into which they were born.
Without information about their history, children don't "get" a
lot of what they hear and see around them.

Your attitude about history can also make a difference for
your child. Showing your interest in history--your belief that
knowing history makes a difference for your life--encourages
your child's own interest.

Many parents say they love history. If you are one of them
you can share your particular interests in history with your
children as well as help them develop their
own.

Many other parents say they find history boring. If you
are among these, try one of the following: start writing your
own life story; read the diary of Anne Frank, or the
autobiography of Frederick Douglass; read the Declaration of
Independence, or rent a video about the Civil War. As you
rediscover history your children may be inspired by your
interest.


History Is a Habit



The activities in this book can help you start doing
history with your child. You will probably get more ideas of
your own. In addition, you can develop some of the following
"history habits" that make history important not only during an
activity but every day.


History Habits for Parents


Habits are activities we do on a regular basis. We acquire
habits by choosing to make them a part of our life. It is worth
the time and effort to develop good habits because they enhance
our well-being. We suggest the following history habits to
enrich your life experience and your children's.

Share family history with your children, particularly your
memories. Help your own parents and other relatives know your
children and talk with them about family stories.

Participate in your community by voting and helping to
make changes in areas that interest you. Encourage your
children to vote in school elections, to present themselves as
candidates, and gain knowledge of history and the values and
behaviors that are the basis of their citizenship.



Read newspapers and news magazines, and watch television
news programs to maintain an informed judgment about the world.
Talk about current events and your ideas about them with your
children and other adults, and explore different points of
view. Check the encyclopedia or your local library for
additional historical information.

Watch television programs about important historical
topics with your family, and encourage conversation about the
program as you watch. Get library books on the same topic and
learn more about it. Check to see if the books and television
programs agree on significant issues, and discuss their
differences.

Read with your children about people and events that have
made a difference in the world, and discuss the readings
together. The list of publications at the end of this book
serves as a support to you for choosing materials.

Help children know that the makers of history are real
people like themselves, who have ideas, work hard, and
experience failure and success. Introduce them to local
community leaders in person if possible, and national and world
leaders via the media and biographies.





Make globes, maps, and encyclopedias available and use
every opportunity to refer to them. A reference to Africa in a
child's favorite story, or the red, white, and green stripes on
a box of spaghetti can be opportunities to learn more about the
world.

Have a collection of great speeches and written documents
to read from time to time with your child.

Your own involvement in history, in any of the forms
referred to in this book, is a good habit you can pass on to
your children.


Enjoying Your Child and History


We have intentions of good fun as we plan any activity
with our children. We also want them to learn something from
most activities. They probably would say they want to have fun
and learn something new too. But sometimes the difference in
abilities between us and them, or the demands of time, end up
leaving us disappointed. Keeping the following in mind can help
keep your time together fun and productive:

You don't have to know all the facts or fully understand
history to help your children learn. Your willingness to learn
with them--to read, to ask questions, to search, and to make
mistakes--is the most important gift you can bring to the
process. By viewing their mistakes as sources of information
for future efforts, your children gain confidence to continue
learning.

Conversation gets you past the difficult moments. Keeping
open the communication between you and your children, and
encouraging continued discussion no matter how off the mark
your children may seem, tells them you take them seriously and
value their efforts to learn. The ability to have a
conversation with your children profoundly affects what and how
they learn.



Children have their own ideas and interests. By letting
them choose activities accordingly, you let them know their
ideas and interests are valuable. Often they will want to teach
you as a way to use what they know. Share their interests and
encourage them to learn more.

Make the most of everyday opportunities to do history:
visits from grandparents, reading books, telling stories,
holidays, elections, symbols like the flag, the national anthem
before sporting events, pictures in newspapers and magazines,
visits to museums. If your child asks about a person in a
painting, stop to find out who it is. Keep asking: "What does
this mean? How do I know?"

Choose your activities well. The activities in this
booklet are for children aged 4-11. Each of the activities can
be adapted to a child of any age and ability level. Even a
preschooler can "read" a newspaper with your help, for a short
period of time. While an activity that is too difficult will
frustrate your child, an activity that is too easy will lose
his interest. Challenges bring feelings of accomplishment.

Have a goal. When you choose or begin an activity you may
not have a clear idea of where it's going. But keep in mind
that the purpose of doing the activities in this book is to
learn something about history. The first section of this book,
the introduction to each activity, and the question boxes can
help you. As you complete each activity discuss with your child
what you learned together. Making bread is one thing, knowing
that bread has historical meaning is another. Achieving a goal
for an activity also helps your child sense the pleasure of a
completed project.