How To Teach Young Kids About Their World Starting With Me First

9/14/2025

I've always enjoyed teaching social studies in my classroom. It's exciting to see the connections kids make from who they are to how they fit into their community and their place in the world.

Kids naturally learn best when we start with learning about themselves, and then gradually widen the circle: first to their family, then their neighborhood, their community, their country, and finally the world. This approach helps children feel connected, curious, and confident as they learn about people and places beyond their own experience.

I have put together a Growing Our World blog series to help break down the process into manageable pieces. In this four-part blog series, we’ll explore:

Starting with Me and My Family: Helping children share their own story and feel proud of who they are.
From My Neighborhood to My Community: Noticing the people and places that make up everyday life.
Exploring Different Types of Communities: Learning about rural, suburban, and urban areas and how they change over time.
From Our Country to the World: Discovering where we fit in the “big picture” and celebrating our place in the global community.

Each post includes ideas that are helpful for all children, even those who may not have happy family memories or who have experienced changes or challenges in their community. You’ll also find links to helpful resources that make teaching social studies engaging and easy to plan.

Starting With Me And My Family

This is a great place to start because kids naturally love to talk about their favorite food, the people they care about, and even what they want to be when they grow up. When we begin here, social studies feels less like memorizing facts and more like telling their own story.

Starting small and personal also helps children feel confident. Once they’ve shared about themselves, it’s much easier for them to see how they fit into their family, their neighborhood, and eventually the wider world.

A great first step is inviting kids to share who they are in a fun, visual way.

All About Me Posters or Booklets are a simple way to get everyone talking. Kids can include their favorite color, the pets in their house, or even a drawing of what they want to be when they grow up.
Family Timelines are another engaging option. Children can mark special events like birthdays, moving to a new home, or the day a new sibling arrived.
Traditions and Celebrations can spark some of the most meaningful conversations. Invite students to share what they do for birthdays, holidays, or other family events. These conversations naturally lead to noticing how families can be similar and different, and that all kinds of families are important.

Important Alternatives For Inclusion

It’s important to remember that not every child will have happy memories to share, and not every home life feels safe or loving. We can make sure every child feels included by:

Using the word “family” broadly: this could mean parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster families, stepfamilies, or the people who take care of them every day.
Offering choices: instead of “Draw your mom and dad,” try “Draw the people who are important to you.”
Focusing on the present and future: kids can share about what they enjoy doing now or what they hope for in the future if they don’t want to share about the past.

This approach ensures that every child has something positive and meaningful to contribute, even if their family story looks different.

Connecting Today With Stories Of The Past

Children love to hear stories about the past, especially when they’re about their own families. Discussing with parents and grandparents about what school looked like when they were young can feed their curiosity. Reading stories about children growing up long ago and how their lives were so different can lead to wonderful conversations.

If you want to turn this curiosity into a project, the Flat Family Project is a fun way to get families involved. Children create a “flat” version of themselves and send it on adventures with family or friends. The stories and photos they bring back make for a wonderful sharing day. (Note: If connecting with family members is difficult, other people can be chosen. In the past, I have sent flat families to some of my relatives for those who don't have someone to approach. This way they have also had stories and packages to share with others.)

Learning About Our Heritage

For older students, the Heritage Project: Discovering Our Roots is a gentle introduction to exploring where their family comes from, through favorite foods, languages spoken at home, or special traditions. It can also help them to feel proud of who they are and develop confidence in sharing this with others.

(Note: I created this project when a young girl in my class was afraid to let people know about her heritage because she had been teased in her former school. By the end of the project, she was able to share many things about her culture and feel confident in letting people know about her heritage.)

Starting with “me and my family” isn’t just a fun way to begin the year, it’s a foundation. When kids see their own lives as part of a story, they begin to understand that everyone has a story worth sharing.
They also start to learn that:

Families may look different, but each one is special.
Our lives are connected to the past through the people who came before us.
Everyone’s experiences matter, including their own.

Once they feel comfortable sharing their own world, they’re ready to take the next step: learning about the people and places around them.

This is just the first part of our Growing Our World series. In the next post, we’ll move from family life to neighborhoods and communities, and discover how the people around us help make our world work.