As I was preparing to homeschool my teens for the first time, I asked my kids which social studies topics were the most interesting to them. My daughter told me she wanted to learn about the Civil Rights movement and slavery. Race relations has always been one of my favorite things to learn about, and that curiosity led me to major in sociology in college. So I set out to plan how to teach my teens about the history of slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights Movement. If you want to understand the present, you first need to understand the past. Let me repeat that: As with everything I do, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time researching, and I want to share what I've found with you. So if you'd like to benefit from all of my overthinking and save yourself some time and effort, please read on! Now as I said, I've been homeschooling my kids, so what I am doing is a full history curriculum. However, if your teens are in public school, you definitely … [Read more...]
Teaching Tweens & Teens About the Presidential Election
With the 2020 presidential election in the US quickly approaching, many parents are wondering what is the best way to teach their kids about voting and elections. Tweens and teens are old enough to learn about the issues and the process of the 2020 election. Unfortunately, being old enough does not go hand-in-hand with having an educated opinion. Understanding politics and issues has become sooooo sticky and tricky in the modern era! Tiktok, YouTube, and other social media are inundating our kids with opinions and "facts," many of which are biased, oversimplified, or just plain wrong. It can be very hard for parents to figure out how to intelligently present their teens and tweens with information about politics, civics, and voting. Like usual, I've been spending tons of time researching this, and I'm here with some suggestions! Whether you are homeschooling your teens or you just want to have some intelligent family conversations, I've got your back. As I see it, … [Read more...]
