Enjoying History With Your Child

As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s success, and, of course, enjoyment is an important motivator for learning. As you choose activities to do with your child, remember that helping her to learn history doesn’t mean that you can’t have a good time. In fact, you can teach your child a lot through play. Here are some things to do to make history both fun and productive for you and your child:

1. Use conversation to give your child confidence to learn.

   Encouraging your child to talk with you about a topic, no matter how off the mark he may seem, lets him know that you take his ideas seriously and value his efforts to learn. The ability to have conversations with your child profoundly affects what and how he learns.

2. Let your child know it’s OK to ask you questions.
   If you can’t answer all of her questions, that’s all right—no one has all the answers. Some of the best answers you can give are, “Good question. How can we find the answer?” and “Let’s find out together.” Together, you and your child can propose possible answers and then check them by using reference books and the Internet, or by asking someone who is likely to know the correct answers.
3. Make the most of everyday opportunities.
   Take advantage of visits from grandparents to encourage storytelling about their lives—What was school like for them? What was happening in the country and the world? What games or songs did they like? What were the fads of the day? Who are their heroes? On holidays, talk with your child about why the holiday is observed, who (or what) it honors and how and whether it’s observed in places other than the United States. At ball games, talk about the flag and the national anthem and what they mean to the country.
4. Recognize that children have their own ideas and interests.
   By letting your child choose some activities that he wants to do, you let him know that his ideas and interests have value. You can further reinforce this interest by asking your child to teach you what he learns.

By Barbara J. Feldman

Barbara J. Feldman is a syndicated columnist and the publisher of Surf Net Parents, Surfnetkids.com and 51+ other family-friendly sites. She has been creating websites since 1996, and loves teaching others how to solve WordPress problems.