Some of the greatest sources of learning for young children are what they know best: their families and the people and places in their neighborhoods. Social learning begins the moment a mother and child gaze into each other's eyes at birth and continues throughout the early childhood years as children form new relationships, learn to communicate and explore the world around them.

With almost every new experience, children form understandings that relate to geography, civics and history. To preschoolers, geography lessons come in the form of walks around town that teach them about where the post office is located in relation to home.

Beginning civics education happens in the sandbox at the playground where children learn to take turns and be mindful of others feelings. History is often as simple as the telling of the story of the day they were born or adopted or pointing out how much they have grown or what they can do now but couldn't do last week.

Family activities that encourage social learning

Families play a vital role in helping young children learn the social "ins and outs" of the world in which they live. Here are some at-home activities that encourage social learning:

• Discuss with your children how each person is unique and important in your family. Talk about what each member does within the family and at work or school.

• Mark special occasions, religious holidays and family traditions. Children learn about continuity and security from holiday and other family traditions. They also learn a lot about what is valued by their families. Events that bring friends and family together teach young children the importance you place on loving and giving.

• Celebrate national holidays. Child-friendly explanations of such celebrations as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Veteran's Day can help increase children's awareness of national heritage. Something as simple as a car game of I Spy with the American flag as the search object can help children learn to recognize the symbols of our nation.

• Talk about varied family situations, such as adopted children, single-parent families, divorced or remarried families.

• Take your child with you when you vote or go to public meetings.

• Use reference materials, such as globes and maps, to help your children understand the larger world around them For instance, "This big green mass is the United States." "Here is the Atlantic Ocean." "Grandma and Grandpa live here, in Tulsa."

• Help your children create a family tree. Draw a picture of a tree with plenty of branches on a piece of poster board. Children can cut leaves and apples from construction paper or color in ones that you've drawn. Once glued to the branches on the tree, these can be decorated with photos or your children's drawings of themselves and other family members. Hang the finished tree in a common space for your family to share.

• Create simple scrapbooks with children that highlight their family and friendships as well as what makes them unique. Though there are a myriad of scrapbooking materials available at discount and craft stores, memory books featuring family and friends can easily be made by slipping pictures of the people special to your children into an inexpensive photo album. Simple scrapbooks also can be made by binding together a series of your children's illustrations of family and friends using a three-hole punch, reinforcing tabs for the holes and yarn. Pages can be laminated or preserved with clear contact paper to increase durability. Preschool-aged children may like to dictate or try their hand at writing the text for the book.

• Begin to teach space relationships by helping children draw a simple map of their rooms, or take a walk around the neighborhood and then draw together a map of the homes, businesses, streets and landmarks that you have seen.

Social learning in the preschool setting

The basic social skills learned early on as a member of a family and during forays around town are expanded as children become part of a group in a daycare setting or at preschool. A quality preschool or daycare program will tap into young children's natural curiosity to learn more about the people, places and things they see every day. Some of the preschool experiences that enhance children's social skills and knowledge include:

• Play. Through play children learn to share, take turns and cooperate. Playing with such toys as dolls and kitchen play sets lets children try out different family roles and responsibilities. Props and accessories, such as tools, doctor's kits, cash registers and dress-up clothing give children opportunities to play at being the people they see in their lives.

• Discussions about classroom rules. This activity helps provide early lessons in citizenship by teaching children about the needs of the group and how decisions that govern them are made.

• Learning more about what they already know. Ever curious, preschoolers question how things are made, how they work, and who makes them. During preschool, children can learn in more detail about the things and people they see every day. For example, children might take a class trip to the local fire station to learn first hand about how firefighters work and help keep the community safe.

• Studying new topics. Though children may be familiar with the holidays that their own families celebrate, such as Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, preschool units on multicultural holiday celebrations allow them to sample foods, learn symbols or play games associated with a range of winter time holidays.

Books about community

• Children Just Like Me by Susan Elizabeth Copsey

• City Green by Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan

• All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka

• The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

• How Pizza Came to Queens by Dayal Kaur Khalsa

• Jobs People Do by Christopher Maynard

• Career Day by Anne F. Rockwell

• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

Books that celebrate children's unique qualities:

• I Like Me! by Nancy White Carlson

• Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis

• Black, White, Just Right! by Marguerite W. Davol

• On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier

• A to Z: Do You Ever Feel Like Me? by Bonnie Hausman

• Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron

• Eyes, Toes, Fingers and Nose:

• A First Book All About You by Judy Hindley

• I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse

• The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

• Henry and Amy (Right Way Round and Upside Down) by Stephen Michael King

• Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus

Books about family:

• Going Home by Eve Bunting

• Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

• Dancin' in the Kitchen by Frank P. Christian and Wendy Gelsanliter

• Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis

• Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse

• Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale by Karen Katz

• I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose A. Lewis

• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

• Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco