Creating a Love of History at Home
October 10, 2008
One of the first questions a child asks is Where did I come from? This question provides an ideal opportunity to begin a family history story. Families possess incredible histories and each one is unique. You will know when your child is ready for you to teach history. History is a record of the past, its people and events and the central ideas and values that are a country’s foundation.
Each and every child is born into history, they do not have a memory about the past, yet they are an individual in the midst of a story that spans thousands of years. The first official record that your child has is a birth certificate. Some parents may already have medical records and documents prior to when their baby was born. As your child grows and develops many other records, certificates, and paperwork will mark significant times in their personal historical journey through life.
Many people’s birthdays coincide with significant or major events that happen nationally or internationally. At the start of each year the newspapers feature articles on the first new year babies. Perhaps a family member shares a birth date with a famous person or was born on the same day that Hillary and Tensing reached the summit of Mt Everest.
History is taught formally as a subject in schools as well as informally. As early as Kindergarten, students become aware that they hold a special and unique place in history. They begin by asking questions and investigating their family roots and what makes them different and the same as others in their class, school, neighborhood, town, state and country.
Throughout their school years children read and are read stories about how people live and lived in different parts of the world. The study of the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth helps children understand how the world in which they live has changed over time. Children are always fascinated by the small sailing ships that early explorers used to chart coastlines.
A country’s history is taught incrementally and students soon learn of the significance of national holidays. They begin to understand that things that are familiar to them may not be present in other children’s lives. Their friends’ may have come from a different country or state. Schools are not the same the world over, houses, climate, vegetation, food, clothing, travel, medical care all differ. Natural events such as earthquakes and tsunamis may occur frequently.
Gradually the students build their personal knowledge about where they are placed in history. They begin to realize that many battles and wars have been fought throughout history. Parents and immediate family members may have served their country during times of conflict and are willing to share historical details of that time.
Parents can facilitate a thirst for historical information. They can model and guide their children’s experiences to include activities that have a historical bias. Dinner table discussions can include the current news and the importance of daily events.
Knowing what is currently happening nationally and internationally and watching documentaries will broaden a child’s thinking. Their frame of reference will extend beyond the boundaries of their home town and state and help them to understand their country’s central ideas and values. They will grow up as informed and thoughtful citizens if they learn history.
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