Rocks, Stones, Pebbles: Day 2 (Simple Preschool At Home)
We’ve been continuing our first week of simple preschool at home, quarantine-style. We kept day 2 fairly low key, making sure to include some basic math in our learning. Once the ‘real’ school work was finished, my boys had plenty of time for more open ended, low-tech outdoor play that provided new opportunities for learning about rocks, stones, pebbles together. Keep reading to see what we did on day 2!
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rOCKS, STONES, PEBBLES: WEEK 1 dAY 2
Rocks, Stones, Pebbles: Day 2 Ideas
Letter of the day:
P is for pebble. I created a simple free printable ‘P is for Pebble’ page on Twisty Noodle. My son used stamp pads and his fingers to cover the letter with little stamped ‘pebbles’.
Word of the day:
Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘pebble’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)
Book of the day:
Love You When… By Linda Kranz.
Journal prompt of the day:
If I smashed open a geode, I would hope to find… [inspired by geode smashing on Day 1]
Activities and play we enjoyed:
I printed these free rock counting cards, and pulled out our dot dabbers. My son loved counting the stones on each card and ‘dotting’ the correct number.
My 4 year and his big brother both loved the opportunity to try stone stacking. I had grabbed 2 sets of 7 fairly flat stones in ascending size from our local lakefront the other evening. They happily stacked their own set, then decided to combine sets for a bigger challenge. After that, they began hunting down other rocks from our yard, and added chalk, acorns, and other accessories to a creative city they put together. The play is a great opportunity for problem solving, creative thinking, and early STEM work. This open ended play opportunity has gone on for several days, and they want to go get more rocks from the lake soon, so I’m calling it a major success!
YOU MAY NEED THESE TO LEARN ABOUT ROCKS, STONES, PEBBLES…
colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / stamp pads / chalk
But PLEASE Remember…
This is what is working for us during the pandemic, for the time being. It may seem overwhelming to your family to attempt anything like this. Or if you’re like me, you may welcome a little structure in your days. It’s important for you to consider the needs, emotional health, and learning styles of your entire family, and make adjustments as needed. The goal is NEVER more stress, more comparisons, or more guilt.
Keeping the above in mind, here’s a little bit more about our process…
- We’re aiming for about an hour of ‘school-ish’ work a day. This might included coloring, painting, writing, drawing, stickers, and more. My 4 year old is used to attending UPK for two and a half hours a day, 5 days a week, so 1 hour seemed like a good starting point at home.
- I build a ton of breaks and flexibility into our days and weeks. I plan 5 days of ‘school’ each week, and we generally accomplish all the activities by stretching them out over 7 total days. Some Wednesdays, we just can’t do school. So we’ll make it up later, if we can. Again, the goal isn’t stress or pressure, so flexibility is key.
- Variety is helpful for my kiddo. His attention span is short, so most of what I plan is quick, and we change styles of learning often. You know what will work best for your own families.
- Our journal is simply a basic notebook. Every day, I provide a prompt, and my child draws a picture on a blank index card. I tape that into the notebook, and write most of the prompt. At least one or two words are written larger, in dots, so my son can trace them.
- I have a pretty well stocked supply of craft and learning materials already, and know that may not be the case for you. Be creative, be flexible, and be open to compromise! We also have a large home library for the kids, which is very helpful right now!
