Growing Your Readers and Learners While Staying at Home

Apr. 16, 2020—By now, we’ve all been home with our families for a while, and the novelty has worn off.  We may be running low on creative ideas for keeping young children entertained while also developing their minds in constructive ways. What can we do? First, take a deep breath and consider this a blessing in disguise. We now have the opportunity to interact with our children throughout the day, without the hectic schedules of dropping them off at the sitter’s or at daycare. In honor of the Week of the Young Child, here are some excellent activities for you to do at home.

Start with a daily schedule to provide a consistent routine. This is important for all ages. Here is a sample schedule with a menu of authentic learning activities for you to try out.

Morning Routines

• Healthy Habits: even 3-year-olds can make their beds, get dressed, wash their hands and face, etc. Start every day with this routine. Teach them a familiar song to sing while they do this.
• After breakfast: Do you have a backyard or driveway? Give children time outside to play and run. If you have chalk, create an obstacle course on your driveway or sidewalk. Start with a hopscotch (counting), then draw arrows to walk straight, turn left, right, etc. Add circles for children to jump into, with letters of their name inside each for them to sing as they jump. 
• Focus on kindness to others: brainstorm ideas together for young children to think about helping others, such as: drawing a picture and tucking it inside a card to mail to an older relative; helping pack a box of food to donate to the food pantry; baking cookies together and sharing them with a neighbor by leaving the box by their front door with a note.  
• Lunch time: Have the children help you make their lunches. Review healthy eating habits. Go to www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/ for a helpful diagram of the types of foods to include in their lunch menu.

Afternoon Routines

• Book time: children will welcome an opportunity to find a cozy spot with a favorite stuffed animal to read some books. Set a timer for just a few minutes at first and gradually increase time to nurture their reading stamina. Or, sit together and read the books aloud to them, having them join in if a word or phrase is repeated. This enables young children to see themselves as readers, too. Follow this up with free doodle time: give them each a blank spiral notebook and have them write or doodle their reactions to what they just read. Need access to books while your school and library are closed? Try these links:
  • 11 Great Places to Find Children’s Books Online
  • Scholastic Books resources
• Active time: Take a walk around the block and turn it into a scavenger hunt! Ask your child to point to a red mailbox, a tree with buds on it, a squirrel, a house with the number 4 (to match the child’s age) on it, the color yellow, etc. Remember to remain at least 6 feet apart from neighbors you may encounter, and to wear face masks while out. 
• Snack time: have children help you to follow a recipe to make a favorite snack or dessert. Take out the recipe and point to the words so that your child sees the words as you read them aloud. Be sure to have him help add the ingredients, too.
• Family time: do a puzzle, play a game, mentor young children in learning one of your own hobbies, like planting flowers, or do something silly like charades. Be sure to make time for playing and laughing together.

With steady routines, parents and caregivers can create authentic learning opportunities at home that will bring their families together during this unique time. Enjoy these moments!

Jacqueline Witter-Easley is a professor of Education at Carthage College.