Week 24 Lesson Plan for Homeschooling Preschool

Cognitive activity ideas

Objective: (Reason) Mimics problem-solving strategies of others

To accomplish this week’s cognitive objective, your child will need to play cooperatively or work on a task with an adult or other children. Try to provide your child with situations where they can observe someone more experienced than themselves at a task or activity. Watch for signs that your child observes how others overcome obstacles and then tries to reproduce those efforts. If you do not notice this behavior, prompt your child to carefully observe and then replicate the successful efforts of others.

• Put together a challenging jigsaw puzzle.
  
  
• Build a complicated Lego structure.
  
  
• Complete an obstacle course or conquer a new climbing apparatus at the playground.
  
  
• Build a pillow and blanket fort that is large enough for your child and their friends and doesn’t fall down.

Literacy

Objectives:

• Identifies uppercase and lowercase X
  
  
• Tells the main sound of /x/

Parent instructions

Choose one activity a day with the exception of #1 and #3, which should be done a few times a week if possible.

NOTE: The letter X has the distinction of being the most incorrectly taught letter with the most horrible examples provided to preschoolers. We insist on using example words like xylophone, in which X does not make its main sound /ks/, or x-ray, in which X says its name rather than any sound at all, instead of using proper examples. You might as well be using the word pneumonia as an example for the letter P. The reason for this? Proper example words for X don’t start with X, and this bothers the manufacturers of alphabet toys and the publishers of alphabet books to no end. I give you, by way of proper examples: fox, box, ox, ax, etc. The solution? Don’t fret about the fact that these words don’t start with X. If your child questions why the X comes at the end of the example words rather than the beginning, simply let them know that X doesn’t make its regular sound at the beginning of words. Instead, we use examples where X comes at the end so that we can clearly hear its main sound.

Activities

• #1 Say the ABCs using your chart from beginning to end once a day, pointing to each letter as you say it. After going through all the letters, ask your child to find this week’s letter—X. Look at and have them trace with their finger the upper and lowercase examples. Tell your child that X is a consonant, which is a name for all the letters that are not vowels. Say, “X says /ks/ like fox.” Try to ask your child a few times a week (during bathtime, driving in the car, etc.) to tell you the sound of X. (Don’t forget to include some previously learned letters, especially those vowels!) If they need help or say it incorrectly, model the correct way by repeating, “X says /ks/ like fox.” Always say it with its example word. (Estimated Time: 5 minutes)
  
  
• While out and about or while reading books, point out words that contain the letter X making its main sound /xs/. (You could also use your X flashcards for this.): Fox, Box, Ox, Oxen, Axe, Exit, Fix, Mix, Six, Wax. (Estimated Time: 10 minutes spread throughout the week)
  
  
• #3 Continue going through your letter flashcards 2–3 times a week. By this point, it usually takes less time since your child has fewer cards to practice. Revisit cards your child has mastered only occasionally. Make sure you are mixing up the order of the cards. Pay special attention to the vowels. (Estimated Time: 5 minutes throughout the week)
  
  
• Complete a “Find the Letter” worksheet to locate all the upper and lowercase Xs. Use a marker, highlighter, or dauber to mark all the letters they find. Alternatively, you can substitute a tracing or writing activity for the letter X, since it is a good letter to practice early writing skills. This could be done with paper and pencil or crayons, or have your child write the letter in sand or shaving cream with their finger. (Estimated Time: 5 minutes)

Math

Objectives:

• Estimates simple measurements
  
  
• Knows seasons
  
  
• Knows how to read the hour on an analog clock
  
  
• Knows 1 dollar equals 100 pennies

Parent instructions

Choose one activity a day with the exception of #3, which should be done several times a week if possible.

Activities

• With your measuring tools from last week set out to measure some new things. Only this time, ask your child to guess (estimate) the measurement in advance. “How many pounds do you think this book weighs?” “How many cups of beans would you guess is in this bowl?” Then, check to see how close they are. Make it a game! The goal is not precision accuracy, just to gain familiarity with estimating measurements. As your child sees how close or far off their guesses are, they should gain accuracy over time. But this takes a lot of experience and should not be expected in this activity. (Estimated Time: 15 minutes)
  
  
• Your child may already know the four seasons or have recently picked them up from our seasons' project or through reviewing the months of the year. Now is a good time to make sure they know the following information:
  
  - There are four seasons
  - Their order
  - Their names, including that fall/autumn, could be called by either name
  - The traditional characteristics of each season (snow is associated with winter, flowers bloom in spring, etc.)
  - What major holidays (that your family observes) occur in each season
  - Advanced option: Which months of the year generally correspond with each season (answers will vary depending on your location in the world)
  
  You could discuss this information using your wall calendar or read books about the seasons to cover this information instead. (Estimated Time: 15 minutes)
  
  
• #3 Teach your child how to tell the difference between the minute (long) and hour (short) hand on an analog clock (or clock model). Tell them that when the minute hand points to the 12, the hour hand will point to the hour. Show them several examples: 1:00, 2:00, 3:00. Then, adjust the clock to 4:00 and prompt them to tell you what the hour is. Repeat this several times throughout the week. (Estimated Time: 15 minutes spread throughout the week)
  
  
• Ask your child if they remember how many pennies (or cents) are in a dollar. Show them the 100s chart to jog their memory if needed. Have your child count out 100 pennies. They can place one on each number on the chart as they count. When they’re finished, have them stack the pennies by 10s on top of the dollar bill. Reiterate that 100 pennies equal 1 dollar. (Estimated Time: 7 minutes)

Fine Motor

Activities:

• 1 tripod grasp activity
  
  
• 1 spherical grasp activity
  
  
• 1 open thumb web space
  
  
• 1 gross (cylindrical) grasp activity

Parent instructions

Choose one fine motor objective each day and then select an activity that practices that objective from the list in Appendix A. Feel free to choose more than one activity or work on more than one objective a day if you like! Just remember that little hands tire easily and short, regular practice sessions are better than long, sustained ones. (Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes)

Download the Appendix A that lists all the fine-motor activities.

Social-Emotional

Objectives:

• (Relationship skills) Asks for help from peers
  
  
• (Self-awareness) Demonstrates reasonable confidence and/or caution in approaching new experiences

Activities

Choose one activity a day (Monday - Thursday)

• Together with your child, write down two things you are each good at and two things you each want to learn or get better at. Parents can use sentences like, “I am good at cooking and solving puzzles, and I want to learn how to dance and how to paint with watercolors.” Then, offer support to your child for the activities they would like to learn or get better at. “You can count on me when you need help with __________.” (Estimated Time: 5-7 minutes)
  
  
• Discuss with your child how it makes us feel when we help others. Remind your child of the things they listed in the first activity which they are good at. Discuss how those are things they could help friends learn and how their friends may be good at different things which they could teach your child. (Estimated Time: 5 minutes)
  
  
• Encourage your child, during playdates or group activities with other children, to ask assistance from peers where appropriate, for example, to complete a puzzle or to learn a new game. (Estimated Time: 2 minutes)
  
  
• Make a plan with your child for them to learn a challenging skill or activity—learning and preparing for it, and then evaluating the experience with your child. Some examples might be learning to swim, riding a bike with no training wheels, or tap dance. Checking out the community classes offered in your area is a great place to get ideas. (Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes of initial discussion and planning. Total time will vary based on the activity chosen.)

Additional resources

• “Swimmy” by Leo Lionni