• Read a book with your child. Before reading, flip through the pictures and ask your child what is happening in the story. Then read the story, stopping occasionally to ask your child to predict what will happen next.

• One of the most important literacy activities is reading. Read everything and anything. Read books, catalogs, letters, signs, and recipes. Read. Read. Read.

• Sing songs you know, play music and make up songs too. You will soon find your child doing the same. Songs are also a fantastic and easy way to learn rhythm and rhyme.

• Read a book to someone and use different voices for the characters.

• Review letters and sounds daily. Create alphabet cards to make words. Write the words down you make and use them in a sentence.

• Create your own book using pictures and words to tell their story.

• Draw pictures to retell a story that you have heard or read. Use pictures and/or words to retell the story. Be sure to include BME, beginning, middle, and end. Add a sentence for each part (beginning, middle, and ending).You might also record yourself retelling the story.

• Read a fiction book and create a poster of the main character. “What did you like about the character? What traits did the character have? Why was the character important to the story?”

• Trace your hand on a piece of paper and create a story glove. Each part of the glove is the character, setting, problem, solution, and favorite part. You may use the glove to write each part, draw pictures of each part, or tell someone each part.

• Make text connections as you read a story. “What does this book remind you of? What text have you read that is similar to this story?

• After reading a book, ask yourself, “What were the author’s feelings about this character or topic? How do you know?” Share your thinking with someone or write your thoughts down on paper.

• Read an expository/information text (nonfiction). Think about the topic of the book. Before reading, ask yourself, “What do you already know about the topic? What do you want to learn about the topic?” After reading, “What did you learn about the topic? What features did the author use to help you?”

• Create a writing journal for self-selected writing. Examples may include: writing about something you have read, something you have watched on television, spending time with family, etc.

*Objects can include things in your house such as q-tips, buttons, paper clips, toys, shoes, etc.

• Practice numbers by:

  • Counting a set of 20 objects (beans, toys, etc)

  • Drawing a picture to show how many you counted

  • Write the numeral to show how many

• Find or create two small collections of objects and describe to someone which collection has more/less.

• Create and act out joining and separating problems (to 10) using objects listed above. (e.g. There are 3 cars parked in the garage and 1 car left. How many cars are still in the garage? Or there are 6 birds on the fence and 3 more flew over. How many birds are on the fence?) Draw a picture to show how you solved one addition problem and one subtraction problem.

• Practice adding “one more” as you set the table, fill a bag for snack, make trail mix or clean your room.

• Practice subtracting one each time as you eat your snack, put your clean clothes away, clean your toy pile, etc.

• Organize objects by length, weight, or capacity and explain the sorting rule.

• Find examples of graphs (newspapers, magazines, websites, evening news, packaging) and explain it to someone.

• • Which category has more, fewer, or the same?

  • Compare two categories and tell how many more or how many fewer.

• Start a weather journal to show your teacher when you get back to school. Record each day’s weather with appropriate weather symbols to match. Include: temperature (hot, cold, cool, warm), wind conditions (calm, breezy, windy), sky conditions (sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy), and precipitation (clear, rain, fog). Since you live in Texas, you may have many different symbols for each day!

• Walk around your neighborhood and make a list of all the animals you see. Identify and compare the parts of the different animals for your walking partner.

• Walk around your neighborhood and make drawings of 5 different plants you see. Identify and compare the parts of the different plants you have drawn for your walking partner.

• Go outside and identify several different objects. Make a chart with two columns LIVING and NON-LIVING. List the different objects you find in the correct column.

• Make a list of the basic needs of plants and animals.

• Keep a “Quarantine Calendar.” Write the date for each day you are home and draw pictures of what you did to keep busy each day. You did three things? Draw a picture for each! You can compare it with your classmates when you get back to school.