Simple Learning at Home
This post was originally written in Spring of 2020.
I don’t know about you, but I am already getting overwhelmed with resources for learning at home. Having so many choices is great, but also makes things a little too complicated in an already complicated time. So, I just wanted to add a quick note about keeping things simple while learning at home while still keeping the kids learning and busy! This is what I am doing with my elementary-age kids.
I printed a checklist for each child so they can keep track of what they have completed that day. Not only does this give them ownership over their own learning, it also gives me one less thing to manage. If your kids are preschoolers or kindergarteners, they may need more hands-on and active interaction than this.
Our checklist has Monday-Friday with blank lines and boxes to check off what is complete. Here is a copy of the checklist I use.
Click on the image on the right to download a pdf.
Then I fill it out with things to do! Each day has:
Listening - watch 3 stories read aloud on storylineonline.net
Reading - read 30 minutes, record in book log.
Math - complete 3 pages of workbook and play xtramath or Prodigy math game online.
Writing - journal, letter, or story
Science and Social Studies - watch a video (we like Mystery Science, Magic Schoolbus, BrainPOP, and Scholastic)
Art - draw with Art for Kids Hub or Mo Willems Doodles
That’s it for us! If you have a child learning to read, you might want to replace some reading time with an online phonics game like Teach Your Monster to Read or lalilo. If you don’t have math workbooks at home, there are a lot of free worksheets available now. There is also Engage NY math curriculum which I believe is always free. You can pick and choose which pages to print based on what your child is working on.
Older kids may enjoy Ted-Ed videos for Science and Social Studies.
It is a good idea to have a lot of down time and movement in the day as well. What activities will reduce your stress? What activities help your children relax? Take care of yourselves and your families. Know that even if you are physically distant, you are not alone. We hope everyone stays healthy, safe, and happy in these difficult times.
