One of the greatest misconceptions about homeschool is that kids are sheltered from what’s happening in the outside world. As all our homeschool moms know, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, homeschooling can provide more opportunities to jump the gap between education and current events versus traditional education! You just need to learn how to talk to kids about government and other current events. The best books for homeschool families will help you immensely. That’s what Autumn discovered when reading the Tuttle Twins books to her kids!
A Routine and a Daily Moment
She reads from the Tuttle Twins series every day as part of her homeschool routine, and when they finish all of the books, they start over at the beginning. But the time she spends reading with her kids isn’t the only daily moment she creates with her kids. She also uses the Tuttle Twins books as a launchpad for daily discussions of current events and to help her kids understand government and the law.
Studies have shown that kids whose parents create meaningful moments for discussions on critical topics have better vocabularies and are more successful in school. That’s why more and more parents are using books like the Tuttle Twins series to trigger these types of discussions.
How to Talk to Kids About Government Using Books
Books like the Tuttle Twins series serve as an excellent starting point for conversations and special moments with your kids. For example, in The Tuttle Twins Learn About the Law, they discover personal freedoms, where they come from, and everything else they need to know about the government and the law.
When using books like the Tuttle Twins series to launch discussions, you should ask a variety of open-ended questions to help your kids connect what they’re learning with current events. For example:
- How does the way the twins solved their community problem compare to how local leaders are solving problems today?
- If the twins were real, which current event do you think they would be most interested in correcting and why?
- In what ways did the twins display good citizenship and how can we do the same now?
- Did the twins do something in the book that you would probably do if you were in a similar situation today? Why or why not?
- What is a current law being talked about that is particularly important to you?
- Which government branch would be tasked with solving the problem in this book and how do they take care of similar issues now?
- How does this story help us understand why people are either protesting or voting on this issue now?
- Based on the rights talked about in this story? Which rights do people in the news appear to be battling for now?
- What varying perspectives on the issue in this book appear in it? How do those same perspectives appear in the news today?
- What are some alternate solutions to problems presented in the book? What similar solutions to today’s problems do you see?
If you’re still wondering how to talk to kids about government, just think of the moments when you have time to sit down with your kids to discuss various topics, like at the dinner table. You could even pause to ask these questions while you’re reading a book to them. The number of possible moments you could create is virtually endless! Just start with the best books for homeschool families and go from there.
