Elementary Recommendations

Davenport Recommendations for Students Working At Home

With our new normal in Iowa, making a schedule and tackling “homeschool” can be pretty overwhelming for us as parents! Please use the guide below to help you establish reasonable expectations for learning during this time. You can find district recommendations for online resources and activities separated by grade level and content area at this website!

A few reminders as you get started:

  • This situation is completely new for you AND your student - no one should expect perfection!

    • Recognize the feelings your children have right now. Take time to talk and address questions your child may have.

    • Accept disruptions and when things don’t go as planned! Laugh, take a break, move on to the next day!

  • Plan for academic time, but also use this time to make awesome memories with your children!

    • Your children won’t necessarily remember the tasks they complete these next few weeks, but they WILL remember how they FELT when they were with you.

  • PLAY- so much is learned through play and we don’t have time for it at school, at least not as much time as we want. Play board games- learn to take turns. Play games like Yahtzee, Rack-o, dominoes, and Sequence to teach math and strategy. Play scrabble and do word searches to work on reading!

    • Playing also teaches collaboration, problem solving, and so many other important skills our students need!

  • COOK- cooking is cross-curricular. Math, reading, science, time management, and nutrition!

  • CRAFT and CREATE - allow for critical thinking and problem solving through the development of crafts! Use household supplies to make a solution to a problem, develop new artwork to display in your home, or clean and organize a room! Creativity is an important skill for our future, and it can be a ton of fun!

  • EXPLORE - let your child investigate things they are curious about through research, hands-on experiments, or just wandering around outside! Too often CHOICE isn’t a part of their daily schedule in the classroom, so let it be now! Learn a language, learn to code, explore painting techniques, find out how elephant toothpaste works, and MORE!

General Timeframe Recommendations

  • Preschool - 2nd Grade: 1-3 hours per day

      • Math - 30 minutes

      • Literacy (Reading and Writing) - 30 minutes

      • Movement - 60+ minutes

      • Science/SS/Enrichment - 30 minutes

  • 3rd - 5th Grade: 2-4 hours per day

      • Math - 40 minutes

      • Literacy (Reading and Writing) - 60 minutes

      • Movement - 60+ minutes

      • Science/SS/Enrichment - 60 minutes