“Oh, you homeschool? Your children won’t know about the real world…” Blah, blah, blah.
As home educators we have a huge advantage when it comes to teaching world events as they unfold. We are not limited to only an occasional news study. We are not tied to a lesson plan that leaves no room to learn about something important happening. Homeschoolers (for the most part) are highly aware of the “real world”.
For our family, world current events always has a part in our weekly studies. Current events lessons can inspire prayer projects, set the stage for discussions/debates, lead to geography/culture studies, and make great essay/report assignments. It’s so very important for all of us to know what’s happening in the world. Even as we “shelter” the children, through current events studies they will gain knowledge of the world. Also, they will understand some of the reasons why we are “sheltering” them.
For record keeping purposes, current events counts towards social studies and will often include other subjects such as reading comprehension, geography, arts, science, history, politics, and religion, too.
This past week I was asked to share some resources for adding current event studies to the homeschooling curriculum. Below are the links to free online current events sites for kids . The ones with the * in front of them are sites that our family frequently uses, the others were recommended by other homeschoolers.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/
http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/news/
* http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/
http://magazines.scholastic.com/
http://news.discovery.com/adventure/tags/kids.htm
K-12 Current Event Resources from the Smithsonian http://tweentribune.com/
Daily News Videos for Kids (You can view without signing up, but sign up is free and you can receive more resources.) http://www.channelone.com/
And here’s a couple of additional links we like to follow with our current event studies. Sometimes we just need some good news or at least know what those of Christian faith are actively doing about the bad news. (Sometimes I choose not to include the younger boys, as the articles can occasionally be mature and graphic.)
* http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
* http://gospelforasia-reports.org/
There’s a few free current event printable worksheets and templates to choose from here (you’ll need an account, but it’s free and a site that will be good to have for resources for any subject or grade level) http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:current+events/Grade-Level/Homeschooler/Price-Range/Free
For updates and articles concerning teaching, parenting, and education, The Native Speaker’s Academy has awesome weekly posts. http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8fb495371ca5be23e1601ecc0&id=44fb271459&e
Do you have a favorite resource for current event studies? Do you have a neat way your family includes current events into the homeschooling week? Please share in the comments, inquiring minds will want to know!
betty jo
Still Learning Something New 