Learning at Home posts from March 2020 and April 2020
This “learning at home” post has been in the works for months. It kept growing, for one thing, and I wasn’t sure about the best way to organize it. So, in true librarian fashion, I organized it in two ways: first by subject, and then by example. My basic guiding principles were/are having a daily routine, and recognizing that – especially at the pre-K age – nearly everything kids do is some kind of learning. Before really diving in, I want to say that this is not a lesson plan or an instruction manual; this is what works for us. If you can snag an idea from here, fantastic! But everyone who is at home with kids during the pandemic – especially those who are single parents or who have multiple kids – has had a different experience.
There are learning opportunities everywhere, and most activities hit more than one “subject area.” Baking or cooking, for example, involves reading (a recipe), math (measuring), nutrition (we learned about the food pyramid), fine motor skills (pouring, scooping, mixing, kneading), and scientific reactions (what makes bread rise?).
Learning by subject
Writing: I got a few pads of “airplane paper” – the kind that has a solid line on top and bottom and a dotted line in the middle – and we use that to do a little writing most days, unless we’re writing a card or a letter to send to family or friends. Writing practice can be anything: focusing on a certain letter or number, “-ing” words, names, science or math words (e.g. shape names), even Mad Libs-style stories. She is confident writing capitals but prefers to trace lower-case letters. She also showed an interest in typing, so we opened up a blank document and let her type her own stories on the computer (definitely still hunt-and-peck style, but she learned to spell more words on her own this way).
Reading: We read so much. (Surprise!) We read aloud, listen to audiobooks, and now she reads by herself (though I assured her we will always read to her for as long as she wants). Reading is entertainment and learning. We read picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, fiction and nonfiction.
Tie-in activities:
- When we noticed animals tracks in the snow this winter, we borrowed library books that helped us identify the animals by their tracks.
- A friend recommended the “Living In…” series of early readers by Chloe Perkins, which were a good way to learn about other countries. We found each country on the world map on the wall, and watched some National Geographic Kids “Are We There Yet?” videos. These books and videos have opened up conversations about skin color, religion, food, and culture. (She’s most interested in what time kids eat lunch, which varies a lot!)
- Mother/daughter book club: We started this a few months ago with some friends, and it’s been a success! We meet once a month on zoom for a read-aloud, associated art/craft, and virtual hangout.
- When she discovered Jarrett Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady series of ten graphic novels, we went back to the “Draw Every Day with JJK” videos he produced last year and learned to draw some of the characters.
Art: In addition to learning some drawing tips from Jarrett Krosoczka and Mo Willems (Lunch Doodles), she does plenty of her own original art. We use lots of different materials, including crayons, watercolors, washable paint, markers, colored pencils, collage, and stickers. We also use a lot of materials from the recycling to build sculptures; cardboard, egg cartons, and toilet paper tubes are useful. (And Scotch tape. LOTS of tape.) We’ve visited the Carle Museum several times as well, doing art projects in their studio, looking at the exhibits, and reading in the picture book library.
Math: Puzzles and board games are great for the logical/mathematical part of the brain. As mentioned above, baking also involves math. And thanks to Harriet Hamsterbone, she’s got a basic grasp of fractions! (Hat tip to Ursula Vernon.) Math activities can be pretty simple to create at home: I made a number board (1-100), a clock toy with moveable hands, cardboard fraction manipulatives, and Montessori beads (1-10). Together, we made dot cards with dobbers and index cards, which are good for recognizing amounts. We’ve rolled dice to explore the concept of probability, talked about averages (it came up in The Phantom Tollbooth
), and are constantly counting, adding, and subtracting. Dry beans and mancala beads have been useful for teaching and learning about number families, multiplying, and dividing into equal groups as well. Sewing and quilting involves measuring and geometry; she enjoys making different patterns and scenes with fabric scraps while I sew (sometimes).
Science: Tinkergarten has introduced several science/nature projects; we’ve made a baking soda-and-vinegar volcano, set up musical water glasses, built a bird nest, made nature play-doh, and constructed ramps. We also learn a lot about animals and the natural world from books, of course, and The Magic School Bus (books and TV show) has been hugely helpful in teaching her about everything from dinosaurs to beehives to evolution. Gardening falls under the science umbrella, as well: we started seeds indoors and outdoors this spring.
Language: Early in the pandemic we found a couple of American Sign Language (ASL) videos through our library, and watched those several times. Sign is often useful, especially words for feelings/emotions and manners. Tinkergarten teaches a new sign each week as well, usually having to do with animals (chameleon is one of my favorites). We have also learned some Spanish from books, virtual programs (Rockabye Beats, a bilingual music program), and podcasts (Eat Your Spanish).
Music: Rockabye Beats encourages participation; we also listen to music at home, on the record player or through the computer. We have a kid keyboard but she hasn’t shown any interest in learning how to play particular tunes; she does a lot of singing during quiet time and before falling asleep. And she loves Caspar Babypants music and music videos.
Social skills: Even though we moved across the state during a pandemic and didn’t find a preschool program, we did make friends! We have a couple of neighbors with kids close in age, and they generously introduced us to their friends as well. We’ve had many masked, outdoor playdates at various playgrounds and on hikes in the woods. It’s not the same as being in a classroom or camp environment with other kids, but it’s certainly better than nothing, and playgrounds are more fun with friends! We get outside nearly every day, no matter the weather, for hiking, biking, playground-ing, or finding “nature treasures.” At home, we read plenty of picture books with social-emotional themes, and for a while we were having “Manners Meals” a couple times a week (definitely not a lace tablecloth and linen napkin affair; more like “please eat with a fork and keep your feet off the table.” Gotta start somewhere).
Large motor: This kid has a lot of energy: playgrounds, hiking, biking, yoga (Cosmic Kids yoga has been helpful; when I try to guide her through poses, she tends to climb on me, or go off and do something else. But if Jaime says tree pose…), freeze dance, and Simon Says. Once most of the adults were vaccinated, we started doing some indoor classes, like gymnastics (masked) and swimming (not), Farm Friends, and our neighbors invited us to try climbing at a rock gym as well.
Imaginative Play: I remember loving this kind of play as a kid; as an adult, it’s not my favorite. But she loves it, so I try to create ways to foster that kind of play, including creating “House Corner”: I borrowed this idea from her old preschool, and repurposed a very large box, which we spent an afternoon painting. We made different signs, including Bakery, Rocket Ship, Cafe, Book Nook, and “Cozy Cozy.” 
Building: Call it STEM. We’re lucky to have a lot of building toys – Duplo, Lincoln Logs, MagnaTiles, and of course there are always couch cushions for a good old blanket fort One of the local libraries lends out themed bins of Lego, which was a fantastic discovery for us. In the winter, she enjoyed building in the snow (mainly making tunnels through large piles of it; she wasn’t interested in snowmen).
Daily schedule examples
Monday
- Breakfast
- Writing practice: rhyming words
- Indoor play: Lego, while listening to an Eat Your Spanish podcast
- Outdoor play: Biking around our street, climbing a tree
- Lunch, reading
- Quiet time
- TV: Magic School Bus
- Snack
- Outside playtime: meeting a friend at a playground
- Dinner
- Play or reading
- Bathtime, story, bedtime
Wednesday
- Breakfast
- Writing practice: parts of the eye
- Gathering nature treasures for Tinkergarten
- Tinkergarten
- Video call/virtual playdate with a friend
- Lunch, reading
- Quiet time
- TV: Magic School Bus
- Snack
- Outside: playground (splash pad if it’s hot)
- Dinner / video call with Nana and Gramps
- Bath, story, bedtime
Friday
- Breakfast
- Writing practice: Family tree
- Rockabye Beats
- Snack
- Outside: Biking or playground
- Lunch, reading
- Quiet time
- TV: Magic School Bus
- Snack
- Farm Friends
- Dinner
- Bath, story, bedtime
It’s been a wild year: there was a lot of anxiety and many disappointments. But I’m glad we had this time for learning together. Just a few summer months left before Kindergarten…
It's Okay, I Have A Book 