A Nanny’S Day—The Professional Way! the Social Studies Book: A Curriculum Book for the Professional Early Childhood Nanny

By Kristin Laubenthal

The Social Studies Book is brought to you with a variety of learning experiences for children between the ages of two to six. The key focus is teaching children about the world they live in. Kristin gives enjoyable and purposeful activities for the children to doall related to social studiesso the children are not only having fun but also learning without even realizing it. The Social Studies Book is a second curriculum book to Kristins first book, A Nannys DayThe Professional Way! A Curriculum Book for the Professional Early Childhood Nanny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524616823

Kristin Laubenthal

Kristin Laubenthal is a career professional nanny with a developmental focus on early childhood. This is her second book.

Book preview

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2016 Kristin Laubenthal. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/08/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1681-6 (sc)

      978-1-5246-1682-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016910675

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

12332.png

This book is dedicated to:

Professional nannies everywhere –

May you truly realize the impact you have on the children in your care.

And, to my husband, Christopher Hall –

You bring so much joy into our home. Xoxo.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Bakery

Birthdays

Chopsticks

Clothing

Collar Necklace

Construction Workers

Days of the Week

Dentist

Doctor

Families

Farm

Feelings

Firefighters

Flags

Flower Shop

Friendship

Grocery Store

Hair

Homes

Lei’s

Library

Mail

Maps and Continents

The Menorah

Musical Instruments

Parade

Pasta

Photographer

Presidents

Police Officers

Restaurant

Road Signs

Saying Hello

Shoe Store

Skin Colors

Telephones

Transportation

Trees for Holidays

Veterinarian

Zoo

Social Studies in the Kitchen

Australia: Anzac Biscuits

China: Vegetable Fried Rice

England: Shepherd’s Pie

Greece: Spanakopita

India: Tandoori Chicken Legs

Ireland: Irish Stew

Lebanon: Tabbouleh

Mexico: Tomato Salsa

Panama: Corn and Potato Empanadas

South Africa: Bobotie

United States of America: Sloppy Joes

Vietnam: Coconut Rice Dessert

Promoting Social Studies in the Home

Notes

Introduction

Growing up, I used to love learning about the world around me. I still do – traveling is a much loved hobby for me. My favorite subject in elementary school was always Social Studies. Having been raised in the farmlands of rural Iowa, I had wanted to move to a big city since I was a little girl. I had a strong zest for traveling and learning about other cultures and customs. So, after I finished college, it was definitely no surprise to my family and friends that I strongly sought out employment in New York City – by far one of the most diverse cities in the world. The number of languages which I heard spoken around me as I got off of my flight upon arrival beyond astonished me. I was excited for this new change of pure culture shock in my life. It was a new type of energy!

One thing I learned in my early childhood education courses throughout college was the importance of trying to create a diverse environment for children. This way, they will have some familiarity when they see things that aren’t normally part of their daily lifestyle or customary routine. I have always been a very firm believer in providing a developmentally focused day for the children in my care as a professional nanny. This includes a variety of activities from all curricular areas that are both developmentally focused and engaging to the children. Often times, I see many caregivers providing charming art and motor-skills activities but fail to leave out experiences that lead specifically to social studies and other curricular areas. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? As many people would think – how in the world could you ever teach social studies to a toddler or a preschooler? There are a lot of ways, for sure. All of the activities in this book have not only been tried out, but they will keep the children engaged too.

If you have read my first book, A Nanny’s Day – The Professional Way! A Curriculum Book for the Professional Early Childhood Nanny, then you unquestionably know that my preference is a curriculum with uncomplicated activities in which the children can do mostly independently versus relying on an adult to help them every step of the way. I am keen on learning experiences that are simplified and uncomplicated, yet are effective in the manner that the children are learning without even realizing it. The process of the activity is more important to me than the product by the time they are through. Of course, engaging in conversation is a big part of teaching them and they will still need assistance with certain steps. I also believe in the word art over crafts. To me, a craft is something that looks almost exactly the same as the model given and with multiple steps. Whereas with art, children can be more free with their design.

I have organized the lessons by focus topic. There are enough learning experiences so that can carry out at least one social studies activity per week. The topics may be a bit different than what you typically see in a social studies curriculum book designed for young children, as many are focused solely on holiday celebrations. While you will find a few that may relate to a holiday symbol, I prefer a focus on cultural experiences and learning about things that the children may or may not come across in their daily life. I also favor hands-on experiences over worksheets.

Some topics are relatively simple with a singular activity. Others are longer and can be spread out over the course of a day or two. With each topic, I’ve included a few introductory concepts for familiarizing the children with the theme – but nothing so overstimulating that it turns into a lecture and bores them. There are also extra vocabulary words