We’re rounding out our week of sun, moon, day, + night lhome preschool with a day focused on something special. My son was excited to spend time learning about eclipses, because he knew very little about them. (I love how exciting anything new is for a 4 year old!) You’ll definitely want to check out all the fun we had today learning about eclipses!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN, MOON, DAY, + NIGHT:  WEEK 3 dAY 5

Learning About Eclipses: Day 5 Ideas

Letter of the day:

E is for eclipse. I created a simple free printable ‘E is for Eclipse’ page on Twisty Noodle. First my kiddo colored the ‘E’ in with black, to represent the shadow of the moon. Then he used yellow around the outside of the ‘E’ representing the light from the sun shining behind the moon.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘sky’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!) (And yes, you’re right. I originally intended for today’s word to be ‘eclipse’. But I took inventory of my son’s attention span in the morning, and KNEW a shorter word was needed for him to be successful. Ya gotta adapt to the kid you have, always!)

Books of the day: 

Sun. By Susan Canizares and Daniel Moreton.

The Night Sky. By Alice Pernick. Illustrated by Lisa Desimini.

Journal prompt of the day: 

During an eclipse the… shines behind the… (I went for a more fact-based entry today, since I wanted to be sure he had a decent understanding of an eclipse.)

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

Together, my son and I put together 2 different models that helped him visual an eclipse. The first one I printed helped to show how the moon moves in front of the son. It was also a great way to show that eclipses can be either partial or total. The project came together super quickly, but had a big impact!

Our second eclipse model was another I printed out. My son colored the pieces with crayons. Then I cut them out for him. Together, we assembled the model using tape and a craft stick. Afterwards, we talked a bit about what we were seeing.

Finally, ever the singer, my son was thrilled to end our day with a song about eclipses. The tune is simple, and by our second time going through it, he was able to join in on parts of it. He even asked me to be sure I saved the song sheet for later, because he liked it so much!

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT ECLIPSES…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / brass fasteners / craft sticks

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

Have your kids been lucky enough to see a live eclipse? What did they think of it?!

After day, must come night! Today my son moved on to learning about nighttime. First he was thrilled for a chance to use his geoboards again. Later he had fun with our other project for the day. Be sure to keep scrolling to read all about it!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN, MOON, DAY, + NIGHT:  WEEK 3 dAY 4

Learning About Nighttime: Day 4 Ideas

Letter of the day:

N is for night. I created a simple free printable ‘N is for Night’ page on Twisty Noodle. I drew a horizon line towards the bottom of the N. My kiddo used a black crayon to color the night sky in the upper portion, and a green crayon to color the green grass on the ground. Then he added a foam sticker moon and some clouds as well.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘night’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

Day And Night. By Eric Carle.

Journal prompt of the day: 

At night I… (I switched up our journal format a bit for some variety, and used half of this printable prompt instead!)

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

We took some time today to talk more about how the Earth and moon move in relation to the sun. I gave my kiddo a print out that included all 3. Then he used crayons to color each. He really liked the opportunity to talk about the sizes of each in relation to each other while he colored. (My boy was AMAZED at how big the sun is!) Next I cut out the pieces, and we assembled them with brass fasteners. The model we created was a perfect visual representation of all the rotation and orbiting happening in the sky. It was a great way for my kiddo to really grasp how night and day are created.

I pulled out our geoboards and rubber bands again today, which delighted my son. The night before, through trial and error, I created a star on one side of a board, and an N (for night) on the other. My 4 year old grabbed a blank board, and we worked together on recreating both the star and the N. He needed some guidance and prompting to correctly recreate the images, but my main goal with these was extra fine motor work, so it was a successful activity.

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT NIGHTTIME…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / rubber bands / brass fasteners

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

Early birds or night owls? Does your family prefer daytime or nighttime?

Today we moved on to talking more about the sun and learning about daytime. My kiddo loved this day because I was able to incorporate some truly hands-on learning opportunities. Check them out in the rest of this post!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN, MOON, DAY, + NIGHT:  WEEK 3 dAY 3

Learning About Daytime: Day 3 Ideas

Letter of the day:

D is for day. I created a simple free printable ‘D is for Day’ page on Twisty Noodle. I drew a horizon line towards the bottom of the D. My kiddo used a blue crayon to color the blue sky in the upper portion, and a green crayon to color the green grass on the ground. Then he added a foam sticker sun and some clouds as well.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘day’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

Sunshine, Moonshine. By Jennifer Armstrong. Illustrated by Lucia Washburn.

Journal prompt of the day: 

During the day I… (I switched up our journal format a bit for some variety, and used half of this printable prompt instead!)

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

I pulled a simple sundial kit out of my craft stockpile that I picked up at Target last summer. My son and I assembled it together, and talked about it as we worked. It gave him some great fine motor time, and also a little bit of number practice as well. After it was all constructed, we turned down the lights and used a flashlight to represent the sun. (It was a rainy day where we were!) He loved seeing the different shadows and calling out the ‘time’. We also checked out some time lapse videos on YouTube to really see how the shadow moves over the course of a day. (The kit is pretty much a foam circle with a paper straw standing in the center. You can totally DIY this without an actual kit!)

I pulled out some new geoboards and rubber bands for the first time, and was surprised how much my kiddo LOVED them! The day before, I played with them a little bit. Through trial and error, I created a sun on one side of a board, and a D (for day) on the other. My 4 year old grabbed a blank board, and we worked together on recreating both the sun and the D. He needed some guidance and prompting to correctly recreate the images, but my main goal with these was extra fine motor work, so mission accomplished. Plus, he asked to play with them several times the rest of the day, so major win in my eyes!

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT DAYTIME…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / rubber bands

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

What are your kids favorite things to do during the daytime?

After a day spent focusing on the sun, learning about the moon was the logical next choice. My 4 year old was pretty excited to tackle this topic. We spent our day reading, drawing, and SNACKING our way through our lessons! Keep reading for all the easy – and delicious – ideas!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN, MOON, DAY, + NIGHT:  WEEK 3 dAY 2

Learning About The Moon: Day 2 Ideas

Letter of the day:

M is for moon. I created a simple free printable ‘M is for Moon’ page on Twisty Noodle. My son used a black crayon to color in the M, representing the night sky. Then he added some foam moon stickers in the sky.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘moon’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

The Moon’s Time To Shine. By Gregg and Evan Spiridellis.

Journal prompt of the day: 

If I went to the moon… (I switched up our journal format a bit for some variety, and used this printable prompt instead!)

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

We spent a little time singing a moon song together, since my kiddo always loves learning with music.

My kid BEGGED me to take this photo EXACTLY like this. He’s a kook.

I printed a page for moon-themed cutting practice. Ultimately, I had my son trace them instead of cut. The shapes of the dashed lines were a bit too complex for him to master with scissors, but they provided some great writing practice.

The activity my son was most excited about today was the Oreo phases of the moon lesson. I printed 2 copies of this page. Using a black crayon, I colored the circles on one of the pages to match each phase of the moon. With a knife, I opened the sandwich cookies and scraped away cream to represent each phase of the moon as well. Then I set both pages as well as the plate of open cookies in front of my kiddo. We spoke about the different phases of the moon represented in the pictures, and then he found the correct cookie to place on his blank page. Then, of course, he got to indulge in eating some ‘moons’ and couldn’t have been happier! (Bonus: baby brother LOVED this lesson too, haha!)

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE MOON…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / oreo cookies / craft foam or stickers

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

Green cheese? What do YOUR kids think the moon is made of?

My preschool son has become more and more interested in outer space lately. I knew I wanted to talk about it with him during homeschool, but I was concerned space was too broad a topic for one week of work. Ultimately, I decided to narrow our focus down to the sun, moon, day, and night. On Day 1 we focused on learning about the sun, so we’re sharing our fun with you.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN, MOON, DAY, + NIGHT:  WEEK 3 dAY 1

Learning About The Sun: Day 1 Ideas

Letter of the day:

S is for sun. I created a simple free printable ‘S is for Sun’ page on Twisty Noodle. My son used yellow foam sun stickers to decorate the letter S.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘sun’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

Where Is The Sun? By Eric Carle.

Journal prompt of the day: 

The sun is important because…

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

I printed a simple day and night sorting activity, and cut the pieces out for my son. He glued ‘day’ to one side of a paper, and ‘night’ to the other. Then we talked about each of the pictures, and whether we saw them during the day or at night. He glued each picture on the appropriate side of the paper.

I also printed sun sequencing pages. After the rectangles were cut out, my son and I talked about each image and what time of day it showed. I chose to use the already colored version, rather than having him fill it in, simply because his attention span for fine motor work is short. He used terms like sunrise, sunset, etc. as he sequenced the images correctly, and glued them in the right order.

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / glue / craft foam or stickers

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

Sunrise or sunset- which you do prefer?

We finished up our week of learning about seeds, plants, and flowers with a day mainly focused on seeds. My son loved the opportunity for some real-life learning. I also included a little bit of sensory input, which he thinks is the best. Read on to see how the end of our week of home preschool looked!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT SEEDS:  WEEK 2 dAY 5

Flowers, Plants, and Seeds: Day 5 Ideas

Letter of the day:

S is for seeds. I created a simple free printable ‘S is for Seeds’ page on Twisty Noodle. Using what I had on hand in our kitchen, I assembled a small bowl of a seed mixture. Ours included chia, sesame, and fennel seeds, as well as 2 types of lentils. We spread some glue on the S, and my son covered the glue with the seed mixture. He loved the opportunity to touch the type of seeds, smell them all, and learn about how they can be eaten.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘seed’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

Seeds. By Colin Walker. Illustrations by Bryan Pollard.

Journal prompt of the day: 

I would like to invent a seed that could grow more…

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

I gave my son some colored pencils, and had him color the images for a printable plant life cycle flip book. When he finished coloring, I cut out the pieces, folded, and attached them. Then we talked about each stage in the plant life cycle, and how important seeds are in it.

And of course, what sort of plant themed preschool unit would be complete without some actual planting?! We were lucky enough to receive seeds, soil, and some living plants from a local nursery as part of the learning materials sent home from our school district. (Thank you so much, Welch’s!) My son loves watering them, and watching the changes as growth occurs. This sort of real-life learning is so important, and really makes the lessons ‘stick’ for my kiddo.

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT SEEDS…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / glue / lentils / assorted seeds / planting kit

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

How have you been able to incorporate hands-on activities into your home learning this week?

After a few days discussing plants and flowers, my pre-k kiddo and I turned our attention to what plants need. He already had a pretty good idea, based on some of our earlier reading. Because of that, we spent our Day 3 ‘school’ time reviewing the basics of what plants need, while getting a fine motor workout. We had a lot of fun, and want to share our activities with you today.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT WHAT PLANTS NEED:  WEEK 2 dAY 3

Flowers, Plants, and Seeds: Day 3 Ideas

Letter of the day:

W is for water. I created a simple free printable ‘W is for Water’ page on Twisty Noodle. My son used some of his favorite markers, which are erasable highlighters from Crayola. He colored the W with the blue end of the marker, and then used the ‘eraser’ end to make little white raindrops all over the W.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘water’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

Sunflower House. By Eve Bunting. Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt.

Journal prompt of the day: 

My favorite seed to eat is…

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

My son got some much-needed scissor skills practice with a Flower Cutting Practice page I printed. I helped him hold the paper a bit, since he still has trouble coordinating both hands to complete tasks like cutting.

I gave my son some markers (his favorite way to color!) and had him color the images for a What Plants Need printable activity. After he had colored the pictures, he traced the words. Then I took over and cut the pieces for him, and assembled the activity. My son loved ‘reading’ it to my parents, and showing them what plants need to grow.

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT WHAT PLANTS NEED…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / erasable highlighters

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

What sorts of fine motor practice do your kids like best?

Now that the upstate New York snow is (fingers crossed!) completely behind us, we’ve turned our preschool focus to learning about plants. On Day 2 we incorporated a bit of math into our lessons, in addition to our ‘usual’ activities. Check out the rest of this post to see how we spent the day learning about plants, flowers, and seeds.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

LEARNING ABOUT PLANTS, FLOWERS, + SEEDS:  WEEK 2 dAY 2

Flowers, Plants, and Seeds: Day 2 Ideas

Letter of the day:

G is for grass. I created a simple free printable ‘G is for Grass’ page on Twisty Noodle. We cut some thin strips of ‘crinkly grass’ from a roll of green crepe paper. My son attached the paper grass to the page using double sided tape.

Word of the day: 

Instead of working on his name, my kiddo wrote ‘grass’ with 4 different writing instruments. (I grabbed that printable page from First And Kinder Blue SKies on Teachers Pay Teachers!)

Book of the day: 

Today, we read a trio of books about vegetables. You’ll notice that because we read more than usual today, I kept the number of activities I chose for learning about plants very minimal. You’ve gotta know your limits when it comes to a 4 year old’s attention span and patience!

1. Carrots Grow Underground.
2. Tomatoes Grow On A Vine.
3. Lettuce Grows On The Ground.
   By Mari Schuh. Gail Saunders-Smith, PhD, Consulting Editor.

Journal prompt of the day: 

My favorite kind of vegetable to eat is…

Activities and play we enjoyed: 

Our UPK teacher mailed a package with some learning materials a few weeks ago. It included a Scholastic My Big World for learning about plants and flowers. I pulled it out for Day 2, since the topic was perfect. The issue included another fun plant song to sing together, which he loved. The back featured some simple graphing practice, which also incorporated a bit of counting and fine motor work as well. My son completed that page, and we talked about all the information the graph showed us.

YOU MAY NEED THESE FOR LEARNING ABOUT PLANTS, FLOWERS, + SEEDS…

colored pencils / crayons / markers / transparent tape / pens / scissors / pencils / double sided tape / composition notebook / index cards / green crepe paper

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…

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!

How have you been incorporating math into your home learning lately?