This time during quarantine has had it’s ups & downs but whenever there is new government guidelines approaching I can’t help feeling quite anxious. As much as I want the lockdown measures to relax so we can get back to some form of normality & see our family & friends, there is a big part of me that worries that people will get too carried away & will forget about social distancing resulting in a second wave.
We recently had the news that schools & nurseries could start to re-open from the 1st June. I couldn’t help but get that sinking feeling when I heard this, what would that mean for Leo? As his nursery is privately run I assumed this would include his nursery. Then the dreaded email comes through his nursery will be re-opening the 3rd week of June, suddenly we have to decide if we are going to send him back just yet. Although I knew this day would come; with the date now looming this has brought us a whole lot of worry!
Now I don’t think there is a right or wrong decision when it comes down to whether you send your child back or not. Everyone is different, everyone’s circumstances are different & we all have the right to do what we feel is best for our family. Truth is I don’t think anyone knows what to do in this situation.
As I am currently on maternity leave since having Arlo, we felt it was right for our family to keep Leo at home for the time being. I have nowhere else to be, no work commitments & I will probably never get this much quality time with Leo ever again so why not enjoy it whilst I can.
The only problem is since lockdown began all routine has pretty much gone out the window & we are really missing it. Therefore we are turning to a bit of home learning to add a bit of structure to our week – just 2 days a week (the same amount of time he would be at nursery). I feel this will really benefit both of us. Learning through play is also the best way for him to learn at this age so we will still encourage this as much as possible too!
As Leo is 2 & a half years old we thought we would start by focusing on the Alphabet. Although he knows some letters can get these muddled up every now & then. To prevent him being too overwhelmed we are starting with 1 letter at a time, teaching him phonics, whilst incorporating numbers & some fine motor skills too. Aiming to make it as fun as possible & varying the activities to prevent him getting distracted & bored.
Here are some examples of how we tackling each letter…
Letter A
- Print off letter A & let him colour in
- Show him examples of things beginning with the letter A (i.e Apple, Anchor, Ant, Acorns etc.)
- Show him an Apple, cut it into pieces, count the pieces together then eat the Apple
- Using an ‘A’ shaped cookie cutter & playdoh, cut out the shape
Letter B
- Show him examples of things beginning with B (i.e Bus, Banana, Bat, Ball, Balloon, Bugs)
- Letter B printouts to be painted
- Show him a banana, cut it into pieces, count the pieces & then eat the banana
- Using a ‘B’ cookie cutter & keeping with the B theme bake some letter B biscuits
- Show him different examples of bugs & try to find different bugs in the garden or out at the park/woods
We will continue to follow this routine until we reach the letter Z. Each week I will brainstorm for the following week to ensure I have everything I need for the week ahead. Mixing up activities such as doing crafts, baking, outdoor exploring etc. should keep it interesting for him. The idea is to keep it short & sweet so if he starts to get fed up we will come back to it later that day.
If you are starting to do a bit more homeschooling then it is important to remember you will never be able to fully recreate a nursery set up from home so try not to put too much pressure on yourself. Children learn so much from everyday things you may do around the house such as tidying, cooking, decorating, building furniture etc. Getting them involved as much as you can will encourage learning, only do this if it is safe to do so.
Below is a list of things I have brought for our home learning. Some are linked in case you wish to make a purchase :-
- Kitpas window crayons – I have been using these instead of a whiteboard or chalkboard but either of these would also work
- The Jam Tart Alphabet Animal Flash cards – another tool great for showing him examples of different things beginning with each letter, they also have the capital & lowercase letter on the back. These are beautifully designed & are different to other flash cards we have seen before.
- Alphabet cookie cutters – there are loads of different ones online so worth looking for the right size for you, perfect for baking & playing with playdoh
- Alphablock book by Abrams – brightly designed for children showing more examples of different things beginning with each letter. Majority of these show different examples to the Jam Tart Alphabet flash cards too which is great as both can be used each week! We will use this to go over older letters to refresh Leo’s memory when we move onto different letters
- Classic world table top easel – this comes with magnetic letters & has a whiteboard one side/chalkboard the other. This item is great as it can be easily stored away.
- Petit Collage Magnetic Play & learn Alphabet- this is our favourite learning piece. As well as ABCs this also contains simple words to help with their spelling. The words come in English, German, Spanish and French, so if you feel like tackling a second language when they are slightly older this is a great way to start!
- Printouts – there are tons of these online through google & Pinterest. Some Pinterest accounts & websites will try & charge for these so look out for free Alphabet printables. The Great Little Trading company have lots of other printables at the moment which we love, these are for age 2 & above!
Happy home learning everyone x