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Best for Kindergarten Social Studies:
- Beautiful Feet Books Literature Packs
- Atlas Crate Subscription
- Little Passports Subscription
- Social Studies-Themed Books
- 180 Days of Social Studies for Kindergarten
Best for Kindergarten Science:
- Sassafras Science Adventures Series
- Beautiful Feet Books Seasons Afield Literature Pack
- Kiwi Crate Subscription
- Spangler Science Club Subscription
- Science-Themed Books
- 180 Days of Science for Kindergarten
When it comes to homeschooling a kindergartner, it’s usually easy to find great curriculum options for subjects like reading and math. But what about social studies and science? Although these subjects are equally important for kindergartners, there unfortunately aren’t many formal curriculum options in science and social studies for kids at this age level. This can leave parents feeling a little confused about where to turn when it comes to teaching these subjects to their kindergarten students.
Fortunately, there is no need for a formal curriculum in every subject at the kindergarten level. Sometimes, young children learn better through stories, fun workbooks, projects, experiments, and immersive experiences. In this article we’ll tell you about some of our favorite resources for teaching social studies and science to kindergarten students in the homeschool setting. These resources can be used on their own or in combination with each other for a wonderful, hands-on early learning experience!
Kindergarten Social Studies
Beautiful Feet Books History and Geography Literature Packs
At the elementary level, social studies usually consists of either history, geography, or a combination of both. One of the best ways to introduce these topics to kindergartners is through picture books, which is why we love the history and geography literature packs offered by Beautiful Feet Books. Each literature pack includes a group of wonderful picture books that teach children about a particular subject, such as world geography or American history. Also included is a teacher guide, which provides parents with step-by-step lessons to accompany the stories. The literature packs available at the kindergarten level include early American history, world geography, and U.S. geography. To find out more about these literature packs and how to use them for a complete full-year curriculum, check out bfbooks.com.
Atlas Crate Subscription
If your child loves crafts and hands-on projects, consider an Atlas Crate subscription. Atlas Crates are a geography-themed subscription box that arrives at your door once a month. Each box teaches kids about a different country of the world, providing colorful information cards and the materials and directions to complete two different art or STEM projects. With the Japan Crate, for example, your child will make a colorful koinoboro fluttering carp windsock as they learn about the Japanese holiday Children’s Day. They’ll also make a mini-mallet as part of the windsock game, and they’ll receive a kid-friendly recipe onigiri rice balls. A wide variety of countries from different regions of the globe are included, so in a single year kids will learn about 12 foreign countries and collect their own hand-made “souvenirs” along the way!
Little Passports Subscription
Another wonderful geography-themed subscription box for young kids is Little Passports. Little Passports is a monthly box delivered to your door that includes all sorts of fun activities, projects, and information about world geography. Each box focuses on a different country, such as Brazil, Japan, France, Ireland, and many more! These boxes make teaching geography easy for parents and very exciting for kids!
Little Passports Early Explorers
Social Studies-Themed Books
One of the best ways to inspire a love of history and geography in your kindergartener is to build a social studies-friendly children’s library in your home. You’ll want to get a good children’s atlas (we love the Usborne Big Picture Atlas and the National Geographic Kids Beginner World Atlas). We also recommend you purchase some beginner world history books – this set from Usborne is fantastic for kindergartners. Kids will love exploring the detailed illustrations in DK’s A Street Through Time and learning about kids throughout history in A Child Through Time. To introduce your kids to different world cultures, we recommend DK’s Children Just Like Me. And if your kindergartner is ready for read-aloud chapter books, consider the popular Magic Treehouse series. This series tells the story of brother/sister Jack and Annie, who travel through time and space, learning about history, world geography, and science along the way!
Under the Kindergarten Science section, after the picture of Sassafras science, add the following: For more about Elemental Science’s different curriculum options for kindergarteners, check out our article Best Homeschool Science Curriculum for Kindergarten.
180 Days of Social Studies for Kindergarten
If your child enjoys workbooks, there are many excellent social studies workbooks for kindergartners. Our favorite is 180 Days of Social Studies for Kindergarten. Each daily page in the workbook is simple, fast, and fun, and we love that this book teaches a wide variety of important history and geography topics.
180 Days of Social Studies
Kindergarten Science
Sassafras Science Adventures Series
At the kindergarten level, science is really about exploration. Young kids naturally have many questions about the world, so science is a great way to further fuel their curiosity. One of our favorite programs for teaching science to young kids is the Sassafras Science Adventures book series. Each book follows the story of twins Blaine and Tracey Sassafras, who travel the world learning about science. The first volume focuses on zoology, exploring African grasslands, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Alaskan Tundra. For the most comprehensive experience with this program, you’ll want to purchase Volume 1 along with The Sassafras Guide to Zoology and The Official Sassafras Skidat Logbook.
Volume 1: Zoology
For more about Elemental Science’s different curriculum options for kindergarteners, check out our article Best Homeschool Science Curriculum for Kindergarten.
Beautiful Feet Books Seasons Afield Literature Pack
If you’d like to introduce your kindergartner to science through a gentle, literature-based approach, consider the new Seasons Afield Literature Pack from Beautiful Feet Books! This program explores natural science through fifteen beautiful picture books that you and your children can cherish for years to come. Like Beautiful Feet’s other literature packs, this one comes with an excellent teacher guide with easy-to-follow lessons and lots of ideas for extension activities. Topics covered include biology, chemistry, botany, ecology, zoology, earth science, field science, watercolor art, handcrafts, music, and art history.
Kiwi Crate Subscription
If you’re looking for a fantastic, hands-on way to introduce your kindergartner to STEAM concepts, consider purchasing a Kiwi Crate subscription. Kiwi Crates are boxes that arrive at your door every month, filled with all the supplies your child needs to make 1-3 science, technology, or art themed projects. The directions are easy to follow, and each box focuses on a different theme, such as trees, aviation, or musical instruments. Kids love receiving their own package in the mail every month!
Spangler Science Club Subscription
Another wonderful way to introduce your kindergartner to science in the homeschool setting is through a subscription to the Spangler Science Club. Each month, your child will receive a box of materials and directions for completing several science experiments. These experiments are fun, easy to follow, and educational. Each box has a different theme, such as lava science, the science of sound, and candy science. One box can be used for multiple children, so these experiments make for a great family activity!
Science-Themed Books
One of the very best ways to inspire a love of science in your kindergartner is to build a kid-friendly science library. Luckily, there are tons of great books to choose from! We love My First Encyclopedia of Science and the Illustrated Dictionary of Science. The National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Science is also an excellent option. And if your child is ready for read-aloud chapter books, we highly recommend the Magic Treehouse series, which follows brother and sister Jack and Annie as they travel through time and space learning all about science, history, and geography along the way!
180 Days of Science for Kindergarten
Finally, if you are looking for a kindergarten science workbook, consider our favorite: 180 Days of Science for Kindergarten. It does a great job of covering a wide breadth of topics through short, simple, fun daily lessons.
180 Days of Science
Conclusion
Although there aren’t many formal curriculums for homeschooling a kindergartner in social studies and science, there are nevertheless many wonderful resources out there. Since young children often learn best by reading stories and doing hands-on projects, many families choose to use a combination of picture books and subscription boxes along with workbooks to teach these subjects.
We hope this article has helped you out. If you have older elementary kids, check out our related articles, Best Homeschool History Curriculum for Elementary and Best Secular Homeschool Science Curriculum for Elementary. If you have questions or would like more information, please email us!