Teaching Change Over Time in Early American History
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A theme woven throughout Journey Through Early American History is helping children recognize that the world they live in today once looked very different.
Transportation was different.
Communication was different.
Even something as simple as light inside a home was different.
Before children can understand major historical events, they need to understand daily life in early America.
Because history is not just about events.
It is about people.
Real families.
Real homes.
Real tools.
When children begin to see how life looked in the past, history becomes personal instead of abstract.
I did not always feel that connection growing up. History felt distant to me. It felt like a list of events that had nothing to do with real life. I never fully understood the world those events were happening in.
So as a homeschooling mom, I wanted something different for my children.
I wanted them to see the world first.
To picture it.
To compare it.
To feel the difference.
That is how I am building connection inside Journey Through Early American History.
A Hands On Past and Present Sorting Activity for Kids
This simple Past and Present sorting activity supports the theme of change over time throughout the curriculum.
For this hands on history activity, we use flat acrylic eggs labeled with everyday objects:
Car
Covered Wagon
Ink & Quill
Pen
Candle
Flashlight
The eggs are sorted onto two flat acrylic nests labeled:
Past
Present Day
Before we begin, I say something playful like:
âOh no. These eggs have been scattered. They need help getting back to the correct nest so they can hatch. Some belong in the present and some belong in the past.â
And just like that, it becomes a mission.
Building Historical Thinking in PreK and Kindergarten
Children read the word.
They pause.
They picture it.
They decide where it belongs.
That pause, that moment of thinking, is where historical reasoning begins.
Instead of just hearing that life was different, children sort the difference themselves.
They are not just told that people used candles instead of flashlights.
They compare them.
They are not just hearing about covered wagons.
They place them in a different time.
This sorting activity strengthens early historical thinking skills by helping children:
⢠Notice change over time
⢠Compare past and present tools
⢠Connect vocabulary to daily life
How This Activity Fits Inside Journey Through Early American History
Inside Journey Through Early American History, children are not dropped straight into one event.
They begin with people.
We start with the Founding Fathers.
Then the 13 Colonies.
Then daily life in the colonies.
Plymouth Rock.
Jamestown.
From there, children move into the tension that shaped early America:
The Stamp Act.
The Boston Tea Party.
The American Revolution.
And eventually, they explore Civics and Government and Westward Expansion.
Throughout the entire journey, one theme remains consistent.
The world they live in today did not always look this way.
This Past and Present sorting activity reinforces that theme.
Before children discuss colonial protests or westward movement, they already understand that:
Travel was slower.
Communication required effort.
Light came from flame instead of a switch.
That understanding grounds every historical event in reality.
Instead of memorizing isolated moments, children build a picture of a changing world.
And when history feels like a world instead of a worksheet, it sticks.
Explore More Early American History Activities
If you are teaching the Boston Tea Party, you may also enjoy this hands-on activity that helps children visualize the event.
