Early Learning Ideas for Home

For the week of May 27th- June 3

Things we can do Everyday: 

These are activities that you may already be doing or that you can build off of and make them yours.  See where it takes you…

• Have Breakfast outside on the deck or in the backyard on a blanket enjoying the morning sounds…  “what do you hear?”, “What do you see?” and are they different to what you see and hear in the afternoon or evening? 

Playful Literacy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. Here are some great Summer time activity themed stories: 

• From Youtube Llama Llama Learns to Swim 
• From YouTube And then Summer Comes….
• Here’s a great playful literacy for kids of all ages. From Pinterest: Letters in Bag

Playful Numeracy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Try making your own puzzle. Here’s one you can print and cut up. Have your child arrange it either by the picture or by the numbers on the bottom. There is even a second page where they can draw their own picture and make a puzzle out of it! Click the link from Pinterest: Make your own puzzle

Art and Craft Ideas

• Let’s go fly a kite… This site shows you how to make your own kite!!!    How to make a Kite!   
• Try making some “Stained Glass” with this craft from Pinterest: Stained Glass 

Some Cool Science:

• Here’s a great wind experiment. All about “seeing” the wind, using a homemade pinwheel. From Pinterest Pinwheel Experiment

A Moment for Parents 

 These are links and/or ideas for parents to support their early learners while at home. 

• Here are some great ideas for keeping the kids busy while at home and it comes with charts!!!! From Pinterest: 25 Things to Keep your Kids Busy  
• What’s your “self care language?” and is everyone the same? Find out more by clicking this link from Pinterest: Self Care Language 

Early Learning Ideas for Home

For the week of May 20th-27th 

Things we can do Everyday: 

These are activities that you may already be doing or that you can build off of and make them yours.  See where it takes you…

• Read, read, read-read stories with your child or have your child read to you.  Talk about the story throughout, have your child predict what will happen next.  
• At family meal time, share your “High” and “Low” of the day or your “Sweet” and “Sour”  (Best part/not so great part).

Playful Literacy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. Here are some great “Spring” themed stories: 

• From YouTube and National Geographic Kids: Everything Spring
• From YouTube: Spring is Here Song 
• From YouTube: Bear Wants More

Playful Numeracy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Try going outside and collecting some rocks and using them in this really cool way of making shapes or just letting your child see what they can make with the lines. 

From Pinterest: Rock Shapes 

• Try going outside and instead of making the regular old “Hop-Scotch”. Make some shapes with your chalk and try playing “Shape-Scotch”. 

Here’s the Link from Pinterest: Shape Jumping Game

Art and Craft Ideas:

• Collect and paint rocks-place them in your garden or play hide ‘n seek around the yard.  Painting too messy, use paint brushes and water!

(Google Image)

• Here is a really cool recipe for Chalk Paint for those nice outside days. From Pinterest: Chalk Paint                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Some Cool Science:

• Sink or Float Activity

A Moment for Parents 

 These are links and/or ideas for parents to support their early learners while at home. 

• Have you checked out the SD#60 Virtual Early Learning websites yet?  Here is the link: Virtual Early Learning
• Now that the province is reopening here’s a link from the BC Government with all the info for you to know before taking our family out. Reopening of BC

Early Learning Ideas for Home

For the week of May 6th-13th

Things we can do Everyday: 

These are activities that you may already be doing or that you can build off of and make them yours.  See where it takes you…

• Set the table in a special way for a mother’s day tea OR any daily snack time.  Are there fancy dishes you only use for a special occasion-well today is the day!  Place out fancy napkins, flowers in a vase, real tea cups, etc…  
• With the days getting warmer find a sunny spot in the yard or on the deck to lay out a blanket and read books together

Playful Literacy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Enjoy a Mother’s Day Story on YouTube, just click on the following links:
  • “Pinkalicious Mother’s Day Surprise”
  • “Clifford’s Happy Mother’s Day”
  • “The Night Before Mother’s Day”
• Have your child provide the answers for mom or grandma.  Read or print out the questionnaire by clicking on the link from Cupcake Diaries: Questionnaire about mom/grandma

Playful Numeracy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. Now that we are starting to plant gardens, flower beds and pots let’s find nurmerance opportunities there. 

• Plant flowers and vegetables with your child.  Open the packages of seeds and talk about the differences in size, shape, colour, which packages have more or less.  When planting the seeds outside or transplanting plants into the garden, discuss and measure the spacing and depth of the seed/plant
• Track the growth-use a stick for tracking the date and height of the plants and flowers.  Have your child guess how tall the plant or flower will grow.
• Click on the following link form Sage Street for a fun fitness activity with your child and even more challenging options for adults: Spell Your Name Workout

Art and Craft Ideas:

• Here is a great Mother’s Day keepsake you can do together.  You could even put mom’s handprint and let dry and add your child’s handprint on top!   Click on the following link for directions from Christina Maria blog:  Handprint vase
• Make a special card or even on a canvas for mom or grandma with your handprints and poem.  Click on the following link from Fun Handprint Art blog:  Handprint card and poem
• Can’t get out to buy mom or grandma for mother’s day?  No problem, click on the link from Easy Peasy and Fun to make a paper bouquet:  Paper flowers

Some Cool Science:

• Teach your child about growing seeds and the germination process without dirt!  Try a variety of seeds and watch them grow!  Click on the Scholastic link for directions:         Watch seeds grow 
• Make a sweet treat by incorporating math, language and science…yum!  Click on Annabel Karmel’s link for easy cupcakes recipe Easy Cupcakes Recipe

A Moment for Parents 

 These are links and/or ideas for parents to support their early learners while at home. 

• Every Thursday evening Scholar’s Choice is offering a free webinar for parents/educators.  Each week there is a different guest speaker: discussing how to keep your children captivated, engaged and having fun during this extended school and childcare shutdown. Click on the following link to register: 
• Grab a tea or coffee and notebook and take 5 minutes for you and your self-care. Journal writing is a great way to get your thoughts and feelings out of your head, focus on what you’re grateful for, set goals or dream of the future.  Click the following link from Simply Fiercely:   “5 WAYS TO USE YOUR JOURNAL FOR SELF CARE”
• Here is a YouTube link that gives a great visual for other journal ideas: Journal Ideas

Early Learning Ideas for Home

For the week of April 22-29th

Things we can do Everyday: 

These are activities that you may already be doing or that you can build off of and make them yours.  See where it takes you…

• ESTABLISH A ROUTINE: for the young ‘readers’ use a visual schedule with pictures (breakfast, toothbrush, getting dressed, playtime, learning time, outside, TV, stories…)  Simple pictures you and or your child draws, cut from a magazine, pictures of your child, etc…and have your child help plan out the day!  When that activity is finished take it down or a check mark if it is a written schedule.  HAVE FUN with it!  

• WHAT IS THE WEATHER TODAY – have your child look out the window or go outside and encourage your child to talk about what they see, how it feels – do we need a sweater or a jacket, what do they notice?  Make a simple chart to track each day or draw a picture of the weather today

Playful Literacy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Sing about C L O U D Y to the tune of “BINGO” (and many more songs) Here is the link from Preschool Express –Cloud Songs

• Here are some read aloud picture books about clouds.  Click on the book titles links to watch them on YouTube: 

“It Looked Like Spilt Milk” by Charles G Shaw

 “Little Cloud” by Eric Carle 

• Talk about how the sky looks today!  Are there clouds in the sky, are they wispy or fluffy, observe what happens when the sun goes behind the clouds. Can you find different shapes/pictures from the clouds in the sky?

Playful Numeracy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Draw fluffy clouds on a sheet of paper.  Write numbers 1-5 (or to 10, 15, 20) under each cloud and have your child count and place the corresponding cotton balls in each cloud
• Shape clouds.  Find it online with the following link: 

Here is the link from Planning Playtime – Shape cloud activity 

• Do you remember making mud pies?  Take pans, spoons and measure cups outside and experiment…how much water do you need to mix with dirt to make a ‘mud pie?’  Get dirty, have fun…we are all washable!!  

Art and Craft Ideas:

• Draw and Colour a Rain Cloud:   Click on the following link to watch it on YouTube – How to draw a rain cloud
• Cloud Pictures:  Blue paper, cotton balls and glue (if you don’t have cotton balls-mini marshmallows, popcorn, tips of q-tips, white yarn, tiny ripped up white paper)  Variation – for gray rain clouds, have your child colour the white materials with black or gray markers/crayons
• Puffy Paint Cloud Pictures:  Find the recipe and instructions from Teaching Mama by clicking on the link – Puffy Paint recipe

Some Cool Science:

• Make a rain cloud in a jar – explore clouds and rain.  Here is the link from Fun Learning for Kids –Rain cloud in a jar

• All About Clouds for Kids video on YouTube – All About Clouds video

A Moment for Parents 

 These are links and/or ideas for parents to support their early learners while at home. 

• The following link will provide some tipsheets where you will find ways to support your children during this uncertain time of covid-19 –World Health Organization

Early Learning Ideas for Home

For the week of April 16-22th

Things we can do Everyday: 

These are activities that you may already be doing or that you can build off of and make them yours.  See where it takes you…

• Talk about what can be recycled at the breakfast table. The cereal box, the bag the bread came in for toast. Have your child find things in the kitchen while sitting at the table eating. Start a discussion. 
• Just Breath!!!! Try out this site for different breathing activities that you can do with your child any time.  Find the link on Pintrest: Just Breath activities

Playful Literacy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Watch the Recycling Truck come and remove your recycling. Talk about what is going to happen to it. Watch a YouTube video on what happens to our recycling. Watch it on YouTube: Recycling Video

• Here’s a read out loud book about Earth Day with the Little Critter’s. Find it on YouTube: “It’s Earth Day” by Mercer Mayer

Playful Numeracy Ideas: 

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week. 

• Have your child help sort your “What goes where”, Recycling-Trash-or /Compost.

• Nature hunt in the backyard. While you’re out in the yard or if you’re just looking to have five minutes alone. Send the kids in the backyard on a scavenger hunt. This is the link to a sheet that is easy to print. Find the Link on Pintrest: Nature Hunt

Circle Time Fun:

• If you’re looking for some songs to sing and some circle time fun try our Earth Day song. (See attached Song sheet) 
• Colours song! This song has actions and can be done anywhere or maybe just when you need a movement break.  Find the Link on Pintrest: Colour Song

Some Cool Science Stuff. 

Try this science experiment with milk and food coloring. See how it swirls and talk about what is happening. You could even use earth day colours.

Find the link on Pintrest: Milk Science Experiment

A Moment for Parents 

 These are links and/or ideas for parents to support their early learners while at home. 

• Let’s talk about loose parts. Do kids need toys all the time? What happens when we just give them “random things”? Here’s a link to an article about “Loose Parts”. I will be touching on this type of play during the weeks to come. Check out the Article on Pintrest: Loose Parts

• Don’t forget to take time for yourself either during nap time or after the kids have gone to bed… Here’s a link to the local FSJ public library where you can get e books using your library card. Here’s the link to the Fort St John Library: Digital Downloads

Early Learning Ideas for Home

For the week of ​April 8-15th

Things we can do Everyday:

These are activities that you may already be doing or that you can build off of and make them yours. See where it takes you…

1. Brush Your Teeth song – the video and lyrics to add some extra fun to staying healthy! Here’s the link to Youtube: Brush Your Teeth Song
2. Wash hands together and sing-ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Bday, etc… Don’t forget the tops, between your fingers and your wrists!
3. Bring bikes inside – set the training wheels inside adult runners and let your children ride! For added fun, search “scenic indoor cycling video” on your TV or computer screen
4. Go for a walk together – play eye spy along the way

Playful Literacy Ideas:

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week.

1. “Sleeping Bunnies” song – get creative with a variety of animals ie: bunnies, chicks, dinos… or with a variety of movements ie: hop, skip, jump, etc… Find the song on YouTube: “Sleeping Bunnies” song
2. Who doesn’t love Pete the Cat Easter story: ​Listen to the story on YouTube: “Pete the Cat’s Easter“
3. “The Biggest Easter Basket” Find the song on YouTube: “The Biggest Easter Basket” ​
4. Action poems or take the poems and create pictures for a felt story poem. Words and Ideas on Pintrest: Action poems
5. Put an “egg-ercise” movement activity in each egg and hide. Have your child open 1 egg at a time and do the activity together! ie: 7 bunny hops, 10 jumping jacks, 5 push ups, 6 ninja kicks, ect… Find ideas on The Seasoned Mom page: Movement Easter egg Hunt
6. Colour the snow – fill spray bottles with water and food colouring-talk about the colours, designs, the distance the spray goes, the snow, the ice, ect… The coloured snow could turn into an ice cream shop with cups and scoops, build coloured snow castles with cups and buckets, a construction site with toy diggers – see where your child takes it!

Playful Numeracy Ideas:

Decide which activity you’d like to do or do them all this week.

1. Paper Easter egg matching ​Extension – add number on one half and dots on the other. Check out the picture on ​Images: Egg Matching
2. Make ‘no bake’ cookies and turn them into nests using mini Easter eggs or jelly beans-have your child help read, measure and create the treat! Recipe and more on Bake-eat-repeat. No Bake Cookies Recipe

Art and Craft Ideas:

1. Easter craft with clothespins ​Check out he instructions on Pintrest: Clothes Pin Craft
2. Chalk painted Easter eggs. Find the Craft on Momto2poshlildivas.com: Chalk painted Easter eggs
3. Toilet paper roll bunnies (toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, paper, googly eyes, pom poms, buttons, markers-get creative with whatever you have around the house. Every way is the right way!)!
4. Directed drawing of an Easter bunny! Learn how on YouTube: Draw an Easter Bunny

A Moment for Parents

These are links and/or ideas for parents to support their early learners while at home.

● Parent site for learning about the different types of play and their importance. Find the Article on Pintrest: Importance of Play Article

● The importance of self-care for parents/adults. Learn how on Zero to Three. org: Importance of Self-care