I recently shared in our Fall 2020 blog post that we’re keeping Evie home this year, instead of doing a hybrid model for Pre-K. We feel that we have the resources to provide an at home learning experience for her and want to open up her “spot” for any child who may not have those resources at their disposal. Next year she will be entering Kindergarten, and we feel that will be a great introduction to in-person school then anyway! This is such a tough position for teachers and parents to be in, and I feel for each and every one of you having to make the difficult decision to send your child or keep them home.
For this year, we plan to do an hour in-person session 2x a week with one of Evie’s amazing teachers at her previous school and one of her friends, so that she is still getting some interaction with other kiddos and is able to see one of her teachers in person (at a distance of course). Then, we will be doing the remaining of her learning via her school’s virtual schedule and cirriculum.
Anyone else joining me with remote learning!?
We pick up her schedule and resources this morning from her Boston Public School to move forward with an exact daily schedule, so right now I’m working on a space to set her up, and picking up the Chromebook that the schools provide. I will update this post once we have more direction in place from her school as this is all new to me and it’s definitely all new to me in a pandemic.
In addition to setting up a space in the house for her to learn, I’ve been curating a list of activities, and resources we can use in tandem with the school’s curriculum, and I’m excited to share them with you! I think these will be especially helpful to those of you who are fully homeschooling your kiddos.
Some of these are classic standbys in our house, others we have never tried out before but come highly recommended. Some are perfect for intentional educational purposes, others are just fun ways to keep the kiddos busy. All look amazing.
- Minni, a local Boston creative space for little ones, has some awesome creative kits for kids and is doing virtual workshops. So even if you’re not local, you can take advantage of this amazing resource.
- I also love the curated selection of art supplies Minni has on their site! I personally highly recommend!
- Young, Wild + Friedman is a great source for sensory play kits (we love these subscription boxes)
- Caitlin of The Mama Notes always has good ideas for kids activities! I love the boxes she creates for each day of the week with a new activity. And she just launched the Magic Playbook, a digital subscription that provides 30+ seasonal activities (and printables!) for your kiddos every month!
- Busy Toddler: it’s a tried and true classic in our house. She never disappoints.
- Ivy Kids Kit are monthly educational subscription boxes that were recommended via Instagram; I’m intrigued!
- Another awesome subscription service, KiwiCo, with crafts and activities for kiddos.
- Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons was also recommended via Instagram
- Workbooks from The Good and The Beautiful are supposed to be fantastic!
- Blossom and Root, a nature-based homeschooling program. Excited to look into this!
- Sunnie Press, a subscription service for kids all about MAPS!
- Teachers Pay Teachers is a great resource! We just printed a couple of pages for a counting and color sorting activity.
- I discovered Kindergarten Toolkit via Instagram and am excited to dive in more with this minimalist preschool learning tool
I’d LOVE to hear what you’re doing this fall with your little ones, especially if you’re also diving into at home learning, so share away – and let me know if you love any of the above resources and any I’ve missed!
