Our Curriculum › History & Social Studies › Pre-K
Social Studies Pre-K
A parent-led year of gentle social studies for four-year-olds: who I am, my family and home, feelings and friendship skills, the community helpers around us, and caring for people and places. Short daily activities, no worksheets.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
7 units
Each opens to its lessons
Becoming-a-Kindergartner
A family celebration on the last day
Standards
Head Start ELOF & Texas Pre-K Guidelines
What's taught, unit by unit
All about me, my family and my townDays 1–20
Names, looks and likes; families that look different; feelings and turn-taking; the first community helpers (firefighter, doctor, mail carrier, teacher, police officer, librarian, grocer); my house, street and town; a wrap-up of the first four weeks.
- 1 · Welcome to Social Studies Pre-K
- 2 · All About Me: Name and What I Look Like
- 3 · Likes, Dislikes, and What Makes Me, Me
- 4 · My Family
- 5 · Families Look Different — and That’s Okay
- 6 · Naming My Feelings
- 7 · Taking Turns and Sharing
- 8 · Community Helpers: Firefighter and Doctor
- 9 · Community Helpers: Mail Carrier and Teacher
- 10 · My House, My Street, My Town
- 11 · Community Helpers: Police Officer
- 12 · Community Helpers: Librarian and Grocer
- 13 · What We Do to Celebrate
- 14 · How I Calm Down When I’m Upset
- 15 · Noticing How a Friend Feels
- 16 · Cleaning Up Together
- 17 · Things I’m Good At
- 18 · Helping at Home
- 19 · All About My Body
- 20 · All About Me: A Wrap-Up
More helpers, friendship and routinesDays 21–50
The nurse, veterinarian, farmer, dentist and construction worker, plus friendship skills (asking to play, welcoming a new friend, saying sorry), manners, listening, the shape of a day, wants and needs, and helping the earth.
- 21 · Community Helpers: The Nurse
- 22 · Community Helpers: The Veterinarian
- 23 · Community Helpers: The Farmer
- 24 · Jobs People Do: Helper Review
- 25 · Friendship Skills: Asking to Play
- 26 · Friendship Skills: Being a Good Friend
- 27 · My Favorite Place
- 28 · Follow the Directions Game
- 29 · Same and Different: People
- 30 · Waiting My Turn & One-Month Celebration
- 31 · Community Helper: The Dentist
- 32 · Community Helper: The Construction Worker
- 33 · When I Grow Up
- 34 · Please, Thank You, and Comforting a Friend
- 35 · A Tradition We Love
- 36 · Going to the Store: Want or Need?
- 37 · Helping the Earth: Picking Up and Watering
- 38 · Deep Breaths and My Calm-Down Corner
- 39 · All the Helpers I Know
- 40 · One Month of Growing: A Celebration
- 41 · Making a New Friend Feel Welcome
- 42 · Taking Care of Something
- 43 · What Makes a Good Listener
- 44 · My Day, In Order
- 45 · Working Together
- 46 · Different Jobs Need Different Tools
- 47 · How I’ve Grown
- 48 · Saying Sorry
- 49 · Helping Around the Neighborhood
- 50 · Fifty Days Together: A Celebration
Solving problems and caring for othersDays 51–90
Working out disagreements, different homes and neighbors, growing and changing, thanking helpers, good sportsmanship, patience, routines, asking for help, kind words, saying sorry and making it right, and places in our town.
- 51 · Solving a Small Problem Together
- 52 · My Body Can...
- 53 · Different Homes Look Different
- 54 · Helpers Who Keep Us Safe
- 55 · Growing and Changing
- 56 · Thank a Helper
- 57 · A Celebration Together
- 58 · Working It Out When We Disagree
- 59 · All Kinds of Neighbors
- 60 · Two Months Together: A Review Celebration
- 61 · Paid Jobs and Helping at Home
- 62 · Favorite Foods from My Family
- 63 · What Makes Me, Me — Identity Collage
- 64 · Good Sportsmanship
- 65 · Helping a Friend Who Is Hurt or Sad
- 66 · My Favorite Way to Move My Body
- 67 · Counting My Blessings
- 68 · Trying Something New
- 69 · A Kind Surprise
- 70 · Two-Month Review and Celebration
- 71 · Waiting for My Turn to Talk
- 72 · The Truck That Takes Our Trash
- 73 · Waiting Is Hard: Practicing Patience
- 74 · Our Morning and Bedtime Routines
- 75 · Quiet Voices, Big Voices
- 76 · Asking for Help
- 77 · Kind Words: Giving a Compliment
- 78 · Helper for a Day: Dress-Up Play
- 79 · Taking Care of My Things
- 80 · Eleven Weeks Together: A Look Back
- 81 · Listening with My Eyes and Ears
- 82 · The Baker
- 83 · Everyone Has a Job in Our Family
- 84 · A Kind Surprise for a Neighbor
- 85 · Places We Go in Our Town
- 86 · Where Do I Feel My Feelings?
- 87 · You Pick, Then I Pick
- 88 · Saying Sorry and Making It Right
- 89 · Using My Words When I’m Upset
- 90 · Twelve Weeks of Growing Together
Responsibility, mistakes and shared placesDays 91–120
Taking care of something day after day, everyone makes mistakes, finishing what I start, working together on big jobs, caring for parks and borrowed things, asking first, being happy for a friend, and helpers such as the bus driver, crossing guard and gardener.
- 91 · When Plans Change
- 92 · The Librarian: A Helper Who Shares Books
- 93 · Taking Care of Something Day After Day
- 94 · Everyone Makes Mistakes
- 95 · The Veterinarian: A Doctor for Animals
- 96 · I Can Teach Someone Something
- 97 · Asking Questions to Know Someone Better
- 98 · Finishing What I Start
- 99 · Happy Waiting: Looking Forward to Something
- 100 · One Hundred Days of Growing Together
- 101 · Too Big for One: Working Together on a Big Job
- 102 · The Farmer: A Helper Who Grows Our Food
- 103 · Games with Rules: Happy Winning, Okay Losing
- 104 · When a Friend Is Sad: How to Help
- 105 · Look How I’ve Grown: Things I Can Do Now
- 106 · The Park Belongs to Everyone: Caring for Shared Places
- 107 · Hooray for You! Being Happy for a Friend
- 108 · The Bus Driver: A Helper Who Takes Us Places
- 109 · Can I Play Too? Joining a Game Already Going
- 110 · Ask First: Things That Belong to Someone Else
- 111 · The Crossing Guard: A Helper for Walking Weather
- 112 · Bringing It Back: Taking Care of Borrowed Things
- 113 · Helping Someone Littler Than Me
- 114 · Gentle Hands: Caring for Small and Growing Things
- 115 · That Proud Feeling: I Worked Hard and I Did It
- 116 · The Gardener: A Helper Who Keeps Things Growing
- 117 · A Gift I Made: Giving Something Away
- 118 · Playground Fair Play: Taking Turns with Kids I Just Met
- 119 · Warming Up Slowly: It’s Okay to Watch First
- 120 · Look How Far We’ve Come: A Springtime Celebration
Being a good friend, guest and neighborDays 121–150
Being a good guest and a good host, keeping promises, fair trades, taking turns as leader, staying close in busy places, big feelings, saying a kind no, landmarks on my street, welcoming new neighbors, summer safety and picnics.
- 121 · Being a Good Guest
- 122 · Keeping a Promise
- 123 · Staying Close in Busy Places
- 124 · Being a Good Audience
- 125 · A Fair Trade: Both of Us Say Yes
- 126 · The Delivery Driver Brings It to Our Door
- 127 · Two Feelings at Once
- 128 · Taking Turns Being the Leader
- 129 · Making Room for One More
- 130 · Our Look-Back Party: 130 Days Together
- 131 · When Someone Needs Quiet
- 132 · The Hair Stylist
- 133 · Friends Can Like Different Things
- 134 · Telling What Really Happened
- 135 · The Blue Mailbox Turn: Landmarks on My Street
- 136 · Friends at MY House: Being the Host
- 137 · Look How Far We’ve Come: The Story of a Friendship
- 138 · SO Excited! When Happy Feelings Get Big
- 139 · A Bigger Job for a Growing Kid
- 140 · The Growing Show
- 141 · Someone New: Welcoming a Neighbor We Don’t Know Yet
- 142 · The Lifeguard: A Helper Who Watches the Water
- 143 · The Story of My Name
- 144 · A Kind No: Saying No Without Being Unkind
- 145 · Picnic Together: Sharing a Meal Outside
- 146 · Hot-Day Helpers: Taking Care of My Body in the Heat
- 147 · Feelings Come and Go
- 148 · Making an Ordinary Day Special: Our Own Little Tradition
- 149 · Saying Goodbye to Fun: Leaving Without a Storm
- 150 · The Sunshine Picnic Revue: A Look Back Together
Getting ready for kindergartenDays 151–170
What a kindergartner is, excited-and-nervous feelings, asking for help when something is new, friends who stay friends, what stays the same when things change, being patient while learning, memories, and helping someone littler.
- 151 · What Is a Kindergartner? (A Kid Who Keeps Growing)
- 152 · Look What I Already Do!
- 153 · When Something Is New, I Can Ask
- 154 · The Farmer at the Market
- 155 · Excited and Nervous Can Share One Heart
- 156 · Being a Good Guest Again: The Other Half of Every Visit
- 157 · Almost Five: Look How I’ve Grown
- 158 · People Who Help Kids Learn
- 159 · Friends Stay Friends While We Grow
- 160 · The Keep-Growing Celebration
- 161 · What Stays the Same When Things Change
- 162 · Try It Myself, Then Ask
- 163 · Taking Care of My Own Things
- 164 · Community Helper: The Park Ranger
- 165 · Endings Make Room: When a Big Thing Finishes
- 166 · A Year of Helpers: Look Who Helped Us
- 167 · Being Patient With Yourself While You Learn
- 168 · My Memory Keeper
- 169 · Now I Can Help Someone Littler
- 170 · The Growing Wall Look-Back Tour
A year in review & the graduation partyDays 171–180
Look-backs at feelings, friendship, taking care, kind words and thank-yous; a letter to next-year me; one last neighborhood walk; then planning and holding a Becoming-a-Kindergartner family celebration.
- 171 · My Feelings Toolkit: A Year of Big Feelings
- 172 · A Year of Friends: The Friendship Skills We Grew
- 173 · Thank You to the People of My Year
- 174 · A Year of Taking Care: My Summer Care Job
- 175 · Kind Words I Keep: My Year of Words That Help
- 176 · Passing It Forward: I Can Be a Welcomer
- 177 · A Letter to Next-Year Me
- 178 · One Last Neighborhood Wander
- 179 · Planning My Becoming-a-Kindergartner Celebration
- 180 · The Becoming-a-Kindergartner Celebration
By the end of the year, your child can
- Say their name, describe themselves, and tell about their family and home
- Name feelings, notice how a friend feels, and use calm-down strategies
- Take turns, share, ask to join play, and say sorry and make it right
- Name many community helpers and what each one does for us
- Help at home and care for shared things, places and neighbors
- Talk about their town, their street and the places their family goes
Other Pre-K subjects: Math Pre-K · Reading Pre-K · Writing Pre-K · Science Pre-K