As you and your child continue to learn from home, I'd like you to consider making time for each one of the topics below.

The packets I sent home will last about 3 weeks if you follow the guide inside the folder.  But, paperwork, is really not what 4 and 5 year olds should be doing. So, feel free to add and tweek your day to help your child learn and grow!  You can do this!  

1.  READ TO YOUR CHILD  - This is the MOST important one of all.  Every day, take at least 20 minutes to read to your child.  As you read, be sure to stop and ask them questions about the characters in the story, where the story takes place, what the problem of the story is etc.

2. PRACTICE WRITING LETTERS -  At this point in the year, the children are at many differnt levels with letter writing and letter recognition.  Your child should know the letters of his/her name and almost all of their capitals by now.  Many know their lowercase as well.  Practice letters by using print around your house, writing them in a tray of flour or salt, or make your own flash cards with whaterver paper and crayons you have!  The options are endless.

3.  COUNT and PRACTICE NUMBER RECOGNITION - Once again, the options are enless.  Count dried beans, crayons, LOL dolls, or toy cars.  Count anything that interests your child.  Then be sure to show them the numeral that matches the number they counted to.

4.  FINE MOTOR SKILLS - Be sure to practice that "pincher grip" I've been talking about all year!  You can have your child use real tweezers to pick up cotton balls or move small objects from one bowl to another.  Cutting with scissors, coloring, and doing simple crafts also helps with fine motor skills.  

5.  PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - To ensure good health, and that your child doesn't drive you crazy, make lots of time to exercise!  Turn your living room into an obstacle course, go for a walk or bike ride with your family, race up and down the steps, practice skipping, jumping, hopping, and jump roping!  Practice catching a throwing with a soft ball.  Put masking tape on the tile floor and turn it into a balance beam of sorts.  Just be sure to move, move, move!

6.  REST AND RELAXATION TIME - Find some quiet music, give your child a pile of books or some stuffed animals and have them rest on their bed or a couch for 15-20 min.  For those who like to draw or write, this could be a quiet journaling time.  They could draw about their day and then you could write notes on it and date it.  Keeping track of your child's thoughts during this unique time is very important.  Whatever you do - make this time SCREEN FREE!