Looking for a hands-on way to introduce early American history to your children? A simple small world sensory bin is a fun, play-based way to begin. This year I wanted to begin to introduce history to my kindergartener, so I created this simple Native American Small World for him to play with. This is the first post in a new series all about introducing history with small world sensory bins. 
Native American Small World
November with all its emphasis on the pilgrims is the perfect month to introduce the early history of Native Americans to young learners. A wonderful way to do this with children is to create a small world for them to play with while you read great books all about Native Americans.
Supplies:
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- kinetic sand or other sensory bin filler
- Native American figurines
- small bin
How to Set Up:
This is a very easy small world sensory bin to set up. Simple spread out your sensory bin filler in the bin. I’m all about using kinetic sand lately. It’s perfect because it doesn’t get too messy and helps the small figurines stand up and stay in place. Plus is has a neat texture!
Then you or your child can arrange the Native American figurines in the tray to play with and explore while you read some awesome books about Native American history!
The first book about Native Americans I decided to read aloud to my child was The Very First Americans. It gives a simple overview on how the indigenous people arrived in North America and how the different tribes lived.
While playing and listening to the book my five-year old son asked many questions.
- Why aren’t they wearing many clothes?
- What is the animal skin for?
- What is this log for?
I was so glad to see his interest in learning about history and tried my best to answer his question. When I didn’t know the answers to his questions, we looked them up in other books or online! This is what is so amazing about homeschooling, the ability to learn along side my son!
Looking for more hands-on history activities?! Check out these wonderful posts that make learning about Native American History fun!
DIY Native American Corn Meal from Mom Explores The Smokies
Native American Games for Kids from Planet Smarty Pants
Native American Vest Craft from School Time Snippets
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Erica Cardinal says
November 12, 2016 at 11:49 pmThanks for linking to the figurines. I was wondering where you got them.
Paula Miller says
October 18, 2018 at 12:55 pmCan you tell me where you got that color of sand? Or how you colored it? Thank you