History projects with preschoolers

Some notes from Dana Gagnon

Preschoolers are not quite old enough to understand that abstract concept of a time line, or something

like 150 years ago. There are, however, a few things you can do to help them begin to understand.

(Don’t feel bad if they don’t quite get it, though—as they get older and acquire more understanding of

the abstract, it will click.)

One way to make the abstract complete is with a timeline. If you can draw a timeline on the sidewalk or

tape one on the carpet, the children can take physical steps back in time. Keep in mind that the events

on a preschool timeline have to make sense to a preschooler. Just putting numbers on it for years and

labeling events they cannot remember won’t help. You’ll want to label a few year marks to give yourself

a scale (and for the benefit of parents watching, however. Put a mark at the end and tell them, “This is

today.” Ask when they were born (you’ll get a small range), and mark that. “That’s just a tiny step back

on our line.” If a parent is willing, ask when he or she was born. “Let’s go back to when Mommy was a

little girl.” (Or you could just use your mommy.) Many preschoolers know their grandparents, and have

a sense that it has been a very long time since they were little. Go back a little further and mark a date

for when grandma was a little girl.

Now you have marked three “historical events” that make sense to preschooler. Let them see how

small the steps are to go back on your timeline. Then mark a point for your story of today: “Today’s

story is from WAY WAY before even when Grandma was a little girl. Let’s see how big a step that is.”

You’ve now given them a concrete way to actually see (and physically step) how long ago something

was. (With second graders, I’ll sometime add the American Girl dolls to my timeline and step through

those, too.) You’ve also introduced the timeline concept at an age much younger than they usually see

it, which really impresses parents.

Simple stories about a little girl or boy make history more real for little kids. What did they do during

the day, what did they wear, how was their day different? You won’t have their attention very long, so a

short, colorful picture book is the way to go. The trick is, of course, there are not very many history

books for that age. You may find yourself finding picture books with too much text, aimed at older kids.

You can still use them if you just turn the pages and tell the story on your own. (That’s what I did at

Ohio Village with my Old Abe the eagle book.) The key is that it should be a story about a PERSON (or an

animal), and not an EVENT. To stay focused, they’ll need to be able to follow one person throughout the

story.

Hands-on activities are the next part of most programs. At this age, too many choices are distracting,

and they do not have a lot of motor skills. Pick activities that will work if not done the “right” way, and

keep an eye out for overly-helpful parents. Gently and happily remind them that it should look like a 3-

year-old did it. It helps if your sample is not too perfect.

A couple of non-craft options are to have them do chores (bring a wash bin and have them scrub some

things, have them snap the tips off of beans, have them sort buttons so Mama can have all of the blue

ones for her new dress, etc), or have them play with old-fashioned toys (point out that their toys never

had batteries). You can also organize a preschool game for them to play—A Girl’s Own Book (1833) is a

great source.

You can demonstrate clothing with paper dolls. (I called them Paper Friends or Paper People so the

boys wouldn’t be weirded out. Make sure you print a boy figure, too.) You can use a set that you’ve

colored and cut out as a demonstration, and then you can have the library make copies for the

munchkins as an activity or a take-home sheet. You can also consider tracing the main character (or

two) and making “paper people” from the story they can color and cut out. If you bring popsicle sticks

to glue or tape on the back, now they are stick puppets and the child can “play” the story at home.