Preschool Activities You Can Do At Home During COVID-19 School Closures
Preschoolers learn best in a secure environment where they are free to develop in their own time, without pressure or fear. Far from being ready for independence from parents, most 3 and 4-year-olds need one on one attention, a hand to hold, a lap to sit on, and plenty of hugs.
General Tips for homeschooling preschoolers:
Make time to talk to your child. Answer questions about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Here are a few thoughts to get your started-
Involve your child in your day. Let him help you cook, clean and run errands. Give him simple tasks such as tearing lettuce, folding washcloths or pushing a child sized grocery cart.
Build your day around simple routines that give structure to your child’s day. You don’t have to watch the clock or schedule your time down to the minute. Just establish a predictable pattern of meals, household activities and nap times. Leave plenty of free time in your day for your child to explore.
Focus on learning, not teaching. View yourself as a parent helping your child with what he is already learning, not a teacher forcing information upon your child..
Keep formal preschool lessons simple and fun. If your child is getting anxious or frustrated, put away the activity and call it a day.
Give your child plenty of outside time to run, jump and climb, or collect rocks and watch the clouds.
While there are many great educational programs on TV, it is still a sedentary activity. My children are more creative, content and energetic when we limit or eliminate television viewing
Provide your child with quality toys that encourage open-ended play. Try to avoid electronic gadgets in favor of wooden toys, trains, and figures that stimulate the imagination.
Let your child make a mess. Hands-on discovery is a dirty job, but preschoolers need to do it.
Set aside time in your day to read to your children, draw with your children, listen to their stories or play a game of tag. Don’t move through the day on autopilot. Step away from the broom and take time to enjoy your children!
Daily Schedule
Kids thrive on routine and predictability
Children need routine and predictability in order to feel safe. It's one thing to be off of your routine for a few days over the holidays. It's quite another to be off of your routine for an unknown amount of time, without any of the familiar signposts to anchor you (which are readily available during the holidays, and other changes). So, this is very important: Create order, with some flexibility
Sample Schedule: Set up a schedule that involves regular times for bathing, eating, school-work/learning activities, and socializing.
Maintain a set time for going to sleep, and the same bedtime routine your kids are used to. Here is sample of a routine:
Program Overview - Preschool at Home
Your preschool homeschool program should focus on getting your child ready for math and reading, strengthening fine motor skills, and helping your child understand the world around him.
Here are some things your preschooler should know before entering kindergarten:
1) Gross Motor Skills
As your child grows, you should notice an improvement in gross motor coordination. A typical preschooler can: jump, hop on one foot, skip, climb up and down stairs, walk backwards, and throw, catch, kick and bounce a ball.
2) Social Skills
Preschoolers should also learn social skills such as: following rules and directions, cleaning up after themselves, dressing themselves, managing buttons and zippers, caring for bathroom needs, and caring about the feelings of others. You may also want to make sure your children know their full names, their mother and father's full names and their telephone number.
3) Reading
To be ready for reading, your pre-kindergartner should know how to: point to and identify body parts, speak clearly and talk in sentences, retell familiar stories and tell stories about experiences, listen to a story and enjoy being read to, hold books correctly, recognize rhymes, and identify some letters and beginning sounds
4) Math
To be ready for kindergarten math, your preschooler should be able to: count to 10, identify numbers 0 through 10, recognize shapes and colors, sort by shape, size and color, complete simple patterns, and use simple mathematical terms like long/short, big/little, heavy/light, etc
5) Writing
Your child needs strong fine motor skills for kindergarten writing. Teach your preschooler to: hold crayons, pencils and scissors correctly, cut and paste, trace vertical and horizontal lines, draw simple shapes, and trace his or her name.
6) Science
Because preschoolers are naturally curious, there are many ways to teach preschool science in everyday life. When teaching your child, you'll want to cover topics like bugs, animals, animal habitats, seasons, weather, space and the human body.
7) Music
Music is incredibly beneficial for children's emotional, social, and physical development. They learn about storytelling, voice control, and social interaction. Having songs that teach habits and rhythm help students in classroom settings later in their schooling. It is also a great way for students to burn off energy!
8) PE - Physical Education
Preschool physical education releases energy, and builds muscle strength, coordination and flexibility. Physical activity also helps develop gross motor skills – the large muscle movements of the arms, legs, feet and bod
9) Art
When using pre-planned art activities, look for simple projects that have step-by-step instructions, use inexpensive household materials, are easy to set up and easy to clean up.
Un-planned art projects are those amazing creations that a child dreams up from supplies on hand.
Both pre-planned and un-planned have great value in allowing for creativity
10) Dramatic Play
Dramatic play allows children to imagine and pretend. It can also be a healthy way for children to express emotions. Instead of buying prepackaged kits and outfits, look for materials your child can use in a variety of ways.
1) Gross Motor Skills
Setting up a Construction Center:
Construction centers turn your children into designers and architects. They allow children to build little worlds, and imagine themselves to be a part of them. Older children may want to hammer nails into wood with adult supervision. Home Depot sponsors free building workshops that are suitable for older preschoolers.
The following items promote constructive play: Blocks, cardboard boxes, legos, lincoln logs, k'nex, tinker toys, rulers or boards for ramps, small people and animals, and wooden trains or matchbox cars.
Setting up a Sand/Water Manipulation Center:
This center can be messy, so save it for the bathtub, or a plastic pool in the kitchen or backyard.
Let your child get down and dirty with: Sand, water, shaving cream, shovels, a toy rake, buckets, cups, pitchers, measuring spoons, a spatula, a muffin tin, spray bottles, plastic food containers, empty ketchup bottles, a colander, a sifter, funnels, plastic people and animals, toy boats and cars, shells, rocks, and gravel.
2) Social Skills
Some parents are under the assumption that preschoolers need to be with their peers in order to learn good social skills. However, preschool settings you see teasing, bullying and exclusionary play that occur among children as young as age three.
In contrast, home is a wonderful place for children to learn to be kind to younger siblings, negotiate with older siblings, share, handle frustration and help others. When we homeschool preschool, we spend our days modeling positive habits and character traits – the exact opposite of what our children would learn from their immature peers.
3) Reading
Here are some great resources to help your child Learn how to Read. There are also plenty of well-designed apps for your smartphone to reinforce the learning you are doing with your child.
Online & Book Resources:
Hooked on Phonics uses a proven, fun method to teach critical reading skills. Developed by leading educators, each session takes just 20 minutes or less.
English I love the format and the way the book is organized. It makes sense providing a lot of the spelling rules and that really helped with understanding structure of words logically (great for Dyslexic learners). Logic of English has built in grammar and spelling lessons that makes a very complete language arts curriculum.
Orton Gillingham approach has a slower pace and specialized for dyslexic learners.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons
Is your child halfway through first grade and still unable to read? Is your preschooler bored with coloring and ready for reading? Do you want to help your child read, but are afraid you'll do something wrong? RAs DISTARreg; is the most successful beginning reading program available to schools across the country.
Reading is the single most important skill for any child to develop. And the key to learning how to read effectively is recognizing the sounds that letters and words represent.
Alpha-Phonics. Probably the simplest, most effective systematic, intensive phonics reading instruction program available today.
The Dog On The Log Chapter Book: Systematic Decodable Books for Phonics Readers and Folks with a Dyslexic Learning Style.
4) Math
There are many natural ways to teach preschool math. Everyday activities, like cooking and grocery shopping, involve mathematical concepts. Help your child learn to identify shapes, colors, and numbers by pointing them out in your daily activities. Have your child push the correct elevator button, bring you the red ball, match socks, or play. Form shapes out of food, popsicle sticks, or toothpicks. Use paint or food coloring to experiment with color.
Teach your child the language of math by using words like:
big/little
heavy/light
long/short
add/subtract
more/less
near/far
empty/full
same/different
first/next/last
Also use the terms pair, dozen, half, quarter, divide, measure, seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years.
Using Picture Books to Teach Math:
Picture books are a great tool for teaching preschool math. As you read to your child, ask him to point out items that are specific shape or color. Count the number of certain objects on the page and use sequencing words to help your preschooler retell the story.
Counting is as Easy as 1, 2, 3
Before kindergarten, your child should know how to count to 20 and identify numbers 0-20.
Here are some simple counting activities:
Have your child count fingers and toes, toys, cookies or the number of cans to put in the grocery cart.
Incorporate preschool physical education by playing hopscotch, or counting steps, jumping jacks or trampoline bounces.
Tell your child to bring you 1 diaper or pick up 6 toys. Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood to find 1 bug, 2 flowers, 3 rocks, and so on.
Reinforce the concept of 1 to 1 correspondence by having your child set the table or give each member of the family 1 cookie.
Give your child spare change to save. Help him count the number of coins as you put them in a jar or piggy bank.
Sing preschool action songs that involve numbers and counting.
Hang a wall calendar in an easily accessible location. Help your child count down the days to important events.
Invest in puzzles and storybooks that emphasize shapes, colors and numbers.
5) Writing
Preschool writing involves encouraging children to express themselves on paper, and strengthening the muscles they need to physically write. Many parents begin by teaching children to write their names. Your child can start writing in sand, shaving cream, pudding or rice before progressing to pen and paper.
Here are some ways to encourage your children to express and communicate their ideas:
Let your child make cards, or dictate letters to friends, siblings, parents, grandparents, public figures or even cartoon characters. You can also let your child write a letter using her own symbols and read it back to you.
Tell your child stories and let your child tell stories to you. Or begin a story and let each member of your family add a sentence. (see resources below)
Staple blank pages together to form a homemade book. Let your child decorate the cover and draw pictures on each page. Write the story your child dictates. You can also have your child retell and illustrate one of his favorite stories.
Help your child make lists, a sign for a bedroom or labels for toy buckets. You can also make and decorate a list of family rules. When my oldest was three, he sat with me as I wrote our Christmas budget, and made one of his own by writing random numbers on paper.
Keep pictures in a scrapbook or photo album, and have your child dictate the captions. Or take pictures while cooking or planting flowers, and make a cookbook or how-to manual.
6) Science
Because preschoolers are naturally curious, there are many ways to teach preschool science in everyday life. When teaching your child, you'll want to cover topics like bugs, animals, animal habitats, seasons, weather, space and the human body.
Here are some guidelines for teaching preschool science:
Slow down and give your child time to explore. Don’t hurry him along as he stops to examine a leaf or flower. Try not to cringe when he picks up an earthworm.
Encourage your child to ask “why” and “what will happen if?” If you don’t know the answers, take time to look them up. Find books and videos, and plan that relate to your child’s interests.
Let your child repeat her “experiments” over and over again. A chid never tires of pushing her rubber duck under the bath water only to watch it float to the surface. She’s testing her environment.
Use the terms “lily” or “daisy” instead of simply saying, “flower”. Ask your child if she sees the “mallard” instead of using the word, “duck”. Even young preschoolers can remember proper names and terminology.
Talk to your child about science during the course of daily life. Tell him about germs as he washes his hands. Explain that digestive juices make his tummy rumble, etc.
Let your child bring nature in. Give her a special box for her leaves, flowers, and rocks, even if they are really just chunks of concrete.
Set up a science center in your home to help your child experiment and discover.
7) Physical Education
Preschool physical education releases energy, and builds muscle strength, coordination and flexibility. Physical activity also helps develop gross motor skills – the large muscle movements of the arms, legs, feet and body.
A typical preschooler should be able to:
walk in a straight line
walk backward
run
march
stand on 1 foot
hop
jump forward and backward
climb stairs
alternate feet walking down stairs
slide
throw, catch, bounce and kick a ball
Some preschoolers may even be able to skip or pedal a tricycle.
Physical activity also reduces sedentary behavior, thus decreasing the risk of obesity in later years. It is recommended that children get at least 2 hours of moderate to vigorous activity per day. Children need free play outdoors to take walks, run, ride bikes or scooters, and play with frisbees, hoola hoops, jump ropes or balls.
Here are some of our favorite activities for preschool physical education:
Take duct tape (outside) or blue tape (inside) in a straight line on the ground or floor, and let your child practice walking the balance beam.
Have a race while balancing a bean bag on your head, or take turns tossing bean bags into buckets or laundry basket from various distances.
Set up an obstacle course in your back yard. Jump over a rope, toss a bean bag in the bucket, do five jumping jacks, kick a ball into the goal, then zig-zag through the cones to the finish line.
Let your child play with a jumbo exercise ball. For safety reasons, limit this activity to the back yard.
Wiggle a jump rope along the ground like a snake and have your child jump over it.
Play tag, Follow the Leader, Mother May I, Red Light/Green Light, or Hide and Go Seek.
Don’t forget everyone’s favorite – water balloons!
Indoor Preschool P.E. Activities
Grab opposite ends of an old sheet, and raise it up and down like a parachute.
Pile pillows, blankets and couch cushions on the floor to climb or jump into.
Play musical chairs or freeze dance. When the music stops, those who don’t stop moving are out.
Outside games, like Mother May I and potato sack races can also be played indoors.
8) Art
Setting up an Art Center:
One way to encourage creativity is to set up an art center in your home. Keep supplies easily accessible, but have your child ask for permission to use materials such as paint, scissors, play dough, glue and glitter.
Provide your children with oversized t-shirts to use as art smocks. Teach them to place an old sheet on the floor before beginning and clean up after themselves when they are finished.
Purchase different types of paper, such as butcher paper, computer paper, construction paper, tissue paper, doilies, envelopes, finger paint paper, manila paper, newspaper, paper plates, roll paper, sand paper, and wrapping paper.
You may also want to keep the following available:
cardboard boxes
cardboard tubes
tempera paint
water colors
brushes
sponges
chalk
markers
crayons
colored pencils
stencils
erasers
paint chips
feathers
glue
sequins
glitter
beads
buttons
pompons
google eyes
fabric
scissors
tape
yarn
ribbon
empty spools of thread
Children also like using the hole punch and stapler with my help and supervision.
9) Dramatic Play
Setting up a Dramatic Play Center:
Old clothes
bolts of fabric
Sheets
Scarves
Hats
Caps
Visors
Backpacks
Purse
Jewelry
Glasses
Shoes
toy food
empty food boxes
pots and pans
Utensils
puppets
10) Music
Setting up a Music Center:
Bells
rhythm sticks
Xylophone
egg shakers
Maracas
Drum sticks
A recorder
CD player and CD's.
You can make your own maracas by putting beans or rice in an empty toilet paper roll and wrapping it with paper. For an old fashioned set of drums, use pots, pans and a wooden spoon
Song list:
Baby Bumblebee
I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee. (cup hands as if holding bee)
Won't my momma be so proud of me?
I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee.
Ouch! It stung me!
I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee. (slap and rub hands together)
Won't my momma be so proud of me?
I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee.
Ewww! What a mess!
I'm wiping up my baby bumblebee. (wipe hands on pants)
Won't my momma be so proud of me?
I'm wiping up my baby bumblebee.
Now I'm all clean! (turn palms up, showing clean hands)
If You're Happy and You Know It
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap, clap)
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap, clap)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap, clap)
Repeat with:
stomp your feet
pat your head
jump up and down
shout hurray
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout.
(make spider movements with fingers)
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
(twinkle fingers down like rain)
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
(put arms up overhead forming a circle)
And the itsy, bitsy spider went up the spout again. |
(make spider movements with fingers)
The Ants Go Marching
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah, (march)
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah,
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb, (pretend to suck thumb)
And they all go marching down to the ground, (stoop and march)
To get out of the rain. Boom, Boom, Boom!
(Repeat with...)
Two by two - tie his shoe
Three by three - climb a tree
Four by four - shut the door
Five by five - take a dive
Six by six - pick up sticks
Seven by seven - pray to heaven
Eight by eight - shut the gate
Nine by nine - check the time
Ten by ten - say the end.
BINGO
There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
And bingo was his name-o.
There was a farmer had a dog and bingo was his name-o
(Clap)-I-N-G-O
(Clap)-I-N-G-O
(Clap)-I-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-o.
Repeat verses replacing each letter with a clap, ending when all five letters are replaced with claps.
Head and Shoulders
Head and shoulders, (touch the parts of body as named)
Knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
Head and shoulders,
Knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
Eyes and ears,
And mouth and nose.
Head and shoulders,
Knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
Repeat the song once slowly, once quickly and again as fast as you can.
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here we go round the mulberry bush, (hold hands and walk in a circle)
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.
This is the way we wash our face, (pretend to wash face)
Wash our face, wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face,
So early in the morning.
Repeat with:
This is the way we comb our hair.
This is the way we brush our teeth.
This is the way we put on our clothes.
Hokey Pokey
You put you right hand in, (put hand in front of you)
You put your right hand out, (put hand behind you)
You put your right hand in, (put hand in front of you)
And you shake it all about. (shake hand)
You do the hokey pokey, (put hands up and shake them)
And you turn yourself around. (turn around)
That's what it's all about! (put arms up)
Repeat with: left hand, right foot, left foot, head, whole self
Johnny Works with One Hammer
Johnny works with one hammer, (pound one arm)
One hammer, one hammer,
Johnny works with one hammer,
Then he works with two.
Johnny works with two hammers, (add other arm)
Two hammers, two hammers,
Johnny works with two hammers,
Then he works with three.
Repeat with:
Three - add one leg
Four - add the other leg
Five - add head
On last line of verse five say, "Then he goes to sleep."
(put hands under head like pillow)
London Bridge
(two people join hands, forming a bridge for the others to walk under)
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down.
My fair lady.
(two people lower hands, trapping whoever is underneath)
Take the key and lock her up,
Lock her up, lock her up.
Take the key and lock her up.
My fair lady.
Build it up with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, silver and gold.
Build it up with silver and gold.
My fair lady.
Repeat with:
Build it up with stone and clay.
Stone and clay will wash away.
Build it up with stone so strong.
Stone so strong will last so long.
Gold and silver, I have none,
I have none, I have none.
Gold and silver, I have none.
My fair lady.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
(two people sit across from each other,
holding hands and rocking back and forth)
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don't forget to SCREAM!
Row, row, row your boat
Gently to the shore.
If you see a crocodile,
Don't forget to ROAR!
The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round (roll hands in a circle)
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.
The doors on bus go open and shut, (open and close hands)
Open and shut, open and shut.
The doors on the bus go open and shut,
All through the town.
Repeat with:
The driver on the bus says move on back.
(point back with thumb)
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep.
(push hand in front as if honking a horn)
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish.
(move arms from side to side)