Day 2: Homeschool/Playschool

Here we are – day 2 of homeschool courtesy of school closure (Flatten the Curve!).

Actually, it’s still Day 1 and while we watch A New Hope (about to pause it for the night), it’s time to plan ahead for the next day to get an idea on what tomorrow will look like and gather up links.

Reading: I dug through our bookshelves and found Curious George: Discovers Plants. I bought the book as part of a multi-pack off Scholastic a year or two ago, and it was the perfect intro book to read during breakfast. The book has both a story, and “Did You Know” facts which are perfect for early elementary age kiddos.

Nature Walk: Following the CDC guidelines, we went outside but stayed at least 6 feet away from other people outside our family group. Using this FREE nature walk printable I found on Pinterest, we checked items off as we found them. It was an hour of quiet, listening to the sounds of the animals while discovering all we could find.

Scholastic Time: Preschool lesson of Living Things: Plants and Weather for First Grade tie together. Each kiddo was read to via the corresponding device allowing for kitchen cleaning. Then, the first grader read solo while I read the other book to the preschooler. These readings tied well into what we did, saw and discussed on our nature walk.

Lunch: Leftovers! Made a giant batch of turkey soup yesterday, and we all need to keep up with veggies, protein and fluids – so yum-o with more soup!

Virtual Field Trip at 12:00 noon PST: Back to the Cincinnati Zoo to learn about porcupines! We checked out the Facebook page to find out what they were presenting, and both girls wanted to watch. The girls really like the question and answer aspect thanks to Facebook, and it is such a unique opportunity.

Chore Time: Dishwasher emptying and cleaning off the dining room table. Taught the oldest about wiping off door and sink handles too, which she was eager to do to “combat flu season!”

Science Experiment!: One of my favorite Amazon book purchases is The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments. Because it is St. Patrick’s Day and the overall theme is nature/weather, we made a Rain Cup. When homeschool was on the horizon, I paged through the book to see what we could do. We aren’t fully stocked to do most of the experiments, but Rain Cup only required a jar, water, shaving cream and food dye. I thought I had thrown all our dye out, but thankfully found one lone box in the pantry and viola! – a discussion clouds, rain, precipitation AND rainbows.

Creative Time: Mo Willems is a favorite in our household, much like many others. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is read almost nightly, and Elephant and Piggie were the first solo-read books by our then Transitional-Kindergartener. The Kennedy Center began live streaming drawing “Lunch Doodles” with the author, and the videos are on YouTube for free after streaming. This video is day one. This was seriously awesome – it is engaging for all ages, and really sparked their creativity. Another video was posted today (we are a day behind) so we will continue to use these videos throughout the next month.

Exercise: Fitness Bingo! Because of the extraordinary situation of a month of homeschool, the school district provided a packet of daily lessons that included Fitness Bingo pages. So the girls rolled one die each onto Bingo sheets and we all had to do the exercises for 20 minutes.

Math: Another math minute (well, two minutes for 30 problems) for the first grader and number recognition for the preschooler.

Snack: A (the eldest) was insistent that snack be on the schedule. Sticking to our healthy eating habits – fruit for snack – orange, apple or banana.

History: Reading Meet Molly (holy moly it is pricey on Amazon!). Thankfully, the girls both love being read to, and I enjoyed the American Girl series when I was a child. While this doesn’t tie in with plants or science necessarily, these tidbits of reading of history in a way they can grasp helps them understand. I’m thinking Tuesday/Thursday will be history lessons via reading or some sort of YouTube video of a historical place . The girls got so into the book that I read beyond the two chapters I was planning on doing.

And “school” is done by 4 pm. Things definitely flex in time. In fact, I moved around a few items based on how the flow of the day was going, and what the kiddos (or I) needed to do at that time.

St. Patrick’s Day Coloring: Crayola had free coloring sheets for the holiday, so we printed them to complete after dinner as a “coloring competition”. Will post on Instagram and Facebook stories because the eldest wants to see who votes for which one!

See you tomorrow!