HOME LEARNING

Do your kids like to help out in the kitchen?

Meal prep is the perfect time to get children counting, measuring, estimating, comparing, and recognizing shapes. Ask your child to measure and count cups of ingredients, count how many plates and utensils are needed for the whole family, and figure out who has more or less mashed potatoes. 

Get creative with math during cleanup time, too: you can have your child name the shapes of the dishes and sponges, count the number of steps they took to complete the cleanup task, and predict how many dishes will fit in the dishwasher.

Your daily book reading sessions are golden opportunities to actively build early literacy skills. 

To boost vocabulary knowledge, watch for words you think your child may not know and briefly define and talk about them. When you reread a book, ask your child if they remember what the word means, and try to use the new words at other times of the day to reinforce knowledge. 

To build letter recognition skills, try pointing to letters as you say their names, singing a slowed-down ABC song while you point to each letter in the book. Turn to random pages in the book and see if children can name and point to the letters themselves. 

You can follow up by having your child make their own ABC book, finding or drawing pictures for each letter.

At times when you’re home together and it seems like life is slowing down, sink into some comfort rereads of favorite picture books. 

Kids love hearing the same book many times, and the repetition is actually beneficial to their developing literacy skills, since it gives them multiple chances to absorb the language of the book. 

If you want to make the most of repeated readings, choose high-quality books with words that stretch your child’s vocabulary and language knowledge.

Make a museum at home with a little imagination and a few simple materials.

If your child has collected little treasures over the years (rocks, shells, toy dinosaurs, buttons, etc.), show them how to arrange their collections in themed displays using shoe boxes, small jars, or egg cartons. 

Help children label their treasures—a great way to practice letter writing and recognition—and build their language skills by encouraging them to give “tours” of their personal museum to visitors.

Why not start a restaurant at home, and use it to help teach language and literacy skills? 

Stock your play area with empty boxes, food containers, and restaurant props with writing on them, such as takeout menus, placemats, or a newspaper circular. Read the menu with them, or help them create their own menus from scratch. Help kids make a sign with their restaurant’s name. 

As children play, point out words on the restaurant props and encourage them to spot familiar letters and words.

To make writing/prewriting activities inviting to young children, designate a table or desk as your home’s “writing center.” 

Fill it with open-ended materials that invite exploration and experimentation. Offer kids blank paper in different colors, a small dry erase board, markers, crayons, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, hole punches, and envelopes. 

Kids who have a variety of materials on hand will be more likely to initiate self-directed writing projects.

Are your kids passing the time by making a long cardboard road for their cars, or building a tall tower with blocks? 

Dig out your ruler and incorporate a little measurement lesson into their play. Show them how to use the ruler to measure the length of their road or the height of their tower.

They might have fun predicting how many inches long or feet high their creations are.

If you’re starting work on a garden, this is a perfect opportunity to teach math and science concepts while your kids get some much-needed fresh air. 

Have them measure water into a watering can, count seeds, start tallying days on a calendar to keep track of plant growth, and record observations.

(If you don’t have a backyard, you can start a windowsill garden with kids. They can measure soil into small pots, count and plant seeds, predict which seeds will sprout first, and make observations.)