Family Blog Series #4-Learning and Family Activities

Hello! Thanks for coming back for #4 in my blog series for families who have just started remote/virtual learning during school closures.

If you’re looking for support, I started a Facebook group for families just like you. Today I did a quick Facebook live and shared a bit about the writing your kids might be doing as well as 2 quick St. Patrick’s Day activities. I plan to be in there a lot over the coming weeks as you need more support.

Every family situation is different and I hope that you hear me say whatever you are doing is enough. Some schools have sent a ton of stuff home and you may be wondering, “how will we ever get this done?” Or you may not have any direction at all or you may be trying to figure out what the heck Google Classroom is. No matter what, though, I know that time spent with family is way more important than any homework. So today I wanted to share some ways to build academics into your daily or weekly routine.

Cooking and Baking

My favorite activity to do with my daughter right now is baking and cooking. She is almost 2 and is quite the picky little eater. She is way more interested in trying new vegetables and flavors if she helps me prepare them! I encourage you to let your kids start helping you prepare meals for so many reasons, but during this time, you can hit so many academic skills in a relevant way.

Here are a few questions/prompts you can use while cooking.

What do you think this word on the recipe could be? What would make sense?
We need 1/4 cup of this. Can you get the correct measuring cup for that?
We need 2 cups for this. How much would we need if we made 2 batches?
Can you describe this ingredient using your 5 senses (see/smell/taste/hear/feel)?
How will heat change this ingredient?
Is a tablespoon or teaspoon bigger?
Which tool should we use for this? Why?
What if we ran out of _____….what do you think we could use instead?
We need to cook this for 10 minutes. What time will it be then?

Board Games

Board Games are an excellent way to practice important academic skills while you’re all making memories having fun together. Even if you don’t ask any questions during your game your child is most likely learning a ton. Some skills (like problem-solving and sportsmanship) are as important (maybe more) to their future than addition and subtraction.

Can you keep track of the points for us?
How many MORE points do you have than me?
How many points do we have together?
I’m stuck on this word on the card. Can you help me figure it out?
I rolled a 4 and a 5. How many squares should I move?

Movies/TV

So many comprehension skills can also be practiced with TV and movies. While its a little more challenging to do with books (and definitely more important) its still great practice!

Who are the main characters?
What is the problem they are trying to solve?
Tell me something you can infer about the character. (To infer means to use what you know and clues from the book/text to make an inference)
Can you summarize the plot of this movie for me?
What just happened? What caused that to happen?

Other Activities

There are so many ways to build learning into your day and I will continue to add to this list! Here are a few more!

Write a grocery list (allow them to write the sounds they hear or use pictures)
Write letters to family members
Ask everyone in your family a question and graph the answers (you can call far-away relatives for extra fun)
Facetime/Google Hangout with friends and family and read them books
Write story problems and trade them with family members or neighbors