There are several things you can do at home as a parent to engage your children in current events and geography. While you may not find social studies in the most traditional sense engaging, you can definitely find different ways to help teach your child outside of the classroom. One of the simplest ways to do that is to connect geography and current world events so that there can be a visual and contextual learning experience attached. Let’s take a look at some practical applications of this particular experience.

1. Get a Laminated Map of the United States. This will allow you to mark up the map without having to throw it away. Make sure you have some dry erase or overhead markers and some wet wipes as well.
2. Have Your Child Read About Current Events. The best way to do this is to get a national newspaper from the local convenience store and clip out any current events stories you want to include in your lesson. This will allow you to vet the stories based on the age-appropriateness of the content.
3. Review the Area In Which the Event Took Place on the Map. Have your child interpret the current event in his or her own words, and then he or she can identify the location in which the event took place on the actual map.

You can do this type of activity on a weekly basis in order to keep your child up-to-date with current events, as well as helping to enhance his or her geography skills.

In addition to that activity, The National Geographic Society has some excellent teaching resources available on their website. The resources are separated by grade level, and then into ideas, activities, and lessons.

In order to add some exploratory and additional visual applications to this learning experience, jump on Google Maps and try and explore the area on Street View (if possible). This will allow your child to experience some of the culture, architecture, and scenery that exists in the highlighted location.

At our private school in Orlando, we encourage parents to have a hands-on role in their children’s education. Make sure that you’re helping to engage your children in their own education. If you’re interested in attending Lake Forrest Prep, call us today to schedule a tour of the school and learn more about our curriculum.