Just like many families, I've gone from working most of my day to caring for my small children all day. In order to keep sanity and a schedule for all of us, I've begun homeschooling the 2 and 4 year old. My very minor contribution to the lives of us in quarantine is that I will share resources and even free worksheets right here!
When it comes to resources, I go the path of least resistance. I first search the internet and resources I have on hand. If I can't find what I want for free, then I make it. Paying for materials is a last resort. Any worksheets I've made, I will post up here for you. I will update this page frequently.
Scheduling tips
The best thing to keep kids calm is to have a consistent schedule. I try to start school time each day by 9:30 am. I feed the kids a hot breakfast, and then start the school day. I have the children get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair before school time as well.
A basic schedule looks like this:
I do share more of my day to day schedule and lessons on Instagram stories if you are ever interested.
Resources
Here are some resources that I use in our homeschool. Any Amazon links will give me a small commission. Thank you for your support! Here's what I'm using in my preschool:
This book is amazing. I use this book every single day to guide our learning. I have one book and make color copies for my second child.
And it's excellent counterpart.
ABCMouse.com has been a priceless asset. After the preschool day, I like to set the kids up with the ABCMouse app to work on their skills.
Worksheets/Lessons
Three Little Pigs
For this lesson, I read the kids the Three Little Pigs book, and then completed the worksheets and discussion (guided by the worksheets). This lesson teaches sequencing and reading comprehension.
Three Little Pig's Lesson, Download Here
Seasons: Spring
This lesson began by watching the Bubble Guppies Season 1, Episode 13 The Spring Chicken is Coming. Season 1 is free with Amazon Prime. We then worked through "My Book About Spring" discussing the elements of Spring as they interacted with each page. They found it really fun and were talking about it for days, showing off their books with pride!
My Book About Spring, Download Here
Science: Growing a Bean Sprout
I spread this lesson out over a few days. Day 1, we went on a nature walk and talked about the blooms on the trees and the different types of plants we saw. Each child brought along a disposable cup and plastic spoon. I had them dig up a little dirt and put it in their cups with the spoon. We read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (left). We took bean mix and planted a few and watered it. Then we did some other supplemental games and such I found online. To go along with this, I created a Bean Journal that the kids will use to observe their plants over 14 days. The Bean Journal is attached below.
My Bean Journal, Download Here
Brief Lesson about the Hygiene and the Pandemic
I created a few learning pages with an experiment, a worksheet and some fun ideas for indoor activities. I made this to help my preschool-age kids process the strange things they are seeing and what they can do to feel safe and have fun during this time.
Pandemic Hygiene, Download Here
4-Day Unit on Community Helpers
For this lesson, I spread out my resources over 4 days. I'll just list everything here and you can pick and choose what to use and how to spread it out. Here goes:
We also read these two great books. And we watched Blippi, Season 2, Episode 6, which goes over community helper vehicles in great detail. Show is free with Amazon Prime.
Reinforcement Worksheets from the Preschool book above as well as my own: Download Worksheets
Lastly, we played Community Helpers Dress up. I'm a huge fan of the quality and realness of the Melissa and Doug Costumes. So, that is what we use at home. I'll link a few below, and I'll include the best doctor play set I have ever found.
All About Me
I am starting a week-long unit about the self. Each day has a different theme. Day one is "All About Me" We watched the YouTube video: "I Like Myself" from OBKidz which is a book read aloud. This is my new hack since libraries are closed. If I need a book, I find someone reading it on YouTube! I gave the children a mirror and had them make a marker drawing, self-portrait. We also read the book Just Look at You! which incorporates both Hebrew and English names for the body parts in a really sweet story. Lastly, we did an interview "All About Me," which was really fun to do and will be an awesome keepsake for the future. The interview is free to download.
All About Me Interview: Download Here
