Unit 1 Anthropology: Our Families' Stories - Week 1
Use these activities to learn with your child every day!
30m
Social Studies
Spotting Landmarks
Plan a trip for your child to experience riding public transportation, like a bus, train, tram, light rail, or ferry (ideally something where you can look out the window together).
Ask your child to notice familiar landmarks at your starting destination.
Sit near a window. Throughout your journey, encourage your child to point out familiar places and landmarks they see.
Ask your child to notice familiar landmarks at your ending destination.
5m
Physical
Getting Dressed
Encourage your child as they get dressed independently.
Demonstrate how to put on the clothes. For example, show them how to button or zip up their clothes. Then, encourage them to finish buttoning or zipping independently.
Your child can also have fun dressing a cushion! Put clothes on the cushion and secure it by buttoning one button or zipping it up a little so they can finish.
15m
Physical
Move in Different Directions
“Let’s move our body in different directions. You will follow me as we move around. Watch carefully because I’m going to change my directions as I go.”
Move around together and change directions every so often. For example, go forward, then go backwards, then move from side to side.
You can also vary the type of movements e.g. dance, hop, jump, march etc.
Take turns leading the game so your child can lead you around too.
Unit 1 Anthropology: Our Families' Stories - Week 2
Use these activities to learn with your child every day!
15m
Social-Emotional Learning
No, Thank You!
Hold out a toy and say, “Would you like this?” Encourage your child to shake their head to say no. Respond, “Oh! You don’t want this. That’s okay!”
Try offering another toy and watch their response. If they shake their head, acknowledge it: “I see you shaking your head. That means no, thank you!”
Practice saying no with your child. Model polite ways to say no. Try, “You can shake your head, or say, ‘No, thank you. When you don’t want something’” Let your child choose how they respond.
Let your child offer you a toy. Shake your head to say no and smile while saying, “No, thank you.” This helps reinforce the skill in a playful way.
15m
Approaches to Learning
How Would You Feel?
As you’re reading stories with characters who have simple problems, ask your child how they would feel in a similar situation, and what they might do to help that character. Then, talk about how that character might feel after your child helped them.
Instead of using books, you can also talk about relevant scenarios with your child. You can even involve your family to make decisions! For example, talk together about how you would feel and what you would do if you knew that a neighbor needed help with their gardening. Then, talk about how the neighbor might respond and feel.
10m
Health & Wellness
I Spy a Clean Floor
Ask your child for help cleaning up the floor after a meal. Give your child a dustpan and brush, a child-sized broom, or a small handheld vacuum.
Play "I Spy" to identify areas that need cleaning. Encourage your child to "spy" messes as well.
Show your child how to finish the job by dumping the dustpan into the trash or emptying the vacuum.
Repeat daily to help your child build a habit. Over time, help your child complete more steps on their own (like grabbing the cleaning supplies, moving chairs out of the way, making sure all the dirt is gone).
Unit 1 Anthropology: Our Families' Stories - Week 3
Use these activities to learn with your child every day!
1hr
Creativity
Paper Mache Bowl
With your child, make the paper mache paste, whisk until consistency is similar to pancake batter:
1 cup flour
2 parts water
Tear newspaper or tissue paper into strips about 2" wide.
Place a bowl upside-down on a baking sheet (to catch drips). Help your child dip a newspaper strip into the paste, then lay it across the bowl, which is your mold. Continue placing strips until the entire bowl is covered. Let dry overnight.
Remove your bowl from the mold. Let your child decorate the bowl with paint or markers.
10m
Math
Clean Up Countdown
Pick something in your house that needs to be put away (like clothes into a drawer, crayons into a box, dishes into the dishwasher). Try to choose something with 10 objects or fewer.
Ask your child to count how many things you're starting with (5 plates, 10 socks, 8 crayons, etc.).
Put the items away one by one. Count backwards along with your child as you put each item away.
When the last item has been put away, say "Zero! There's nothing left to put away."
15m
Science
Push and Pull
Gather a laundry basket/cardboard box and objects of different weights to put inside (books, cans, water bottles, toys, shoes, etc.).
Ask your child if they think the basket will be easy or hard to push. What about if they add different things inside?
Test your child’s predictions by pushing the empty basket. Then, add different objects and invite your child to push the basket.
Ask them to observe which objects were easier or harder to push in the basket. Were their predictions correct?
Unit 1 Anthropology: Our Families' Stories - Week 4
Use these activities to learn with your child every day!
Varies
Health & Wellness
Healthy Habit Pretend Play
While you’re playing make-believe with your child, find opportunities to include healthy habits in your role play.
For example:
Together, decide on healthy foods to feed the doll.
See how many different kinds of healthy habits you and your child can come up with to include in your play! Expand and add more healthy habits each time you play!
15m
Social-Emotional Learning
Joining in with Play
Ask your child what they usually do when they want to start playing with a friend.
Share three steps they can try:
Step 1: Wait and Watch
Step 2: Share ideas for playing together
Give a few examples of what they might say, using the 3 steps.
Practice! Ask them to try joining in play with a sibling or someone else in the house. Remind them of the three steps.
30m
Language & Literacy
Book Play
Ask your child to select a book that they enjoy reading. Read the book together and discuss the characters and settings, and important parts of the story.
Ask your child to retell this story through a short play performance. Assign parts to family members (or use stuffed animals and dolls as puppets if you don't have enough people for the play). If you'd like, find costumes and props to help tell the story. You can set up a "stage" and "audience" (toys) too.
Perform the book as a play. Allow your child to take the lead in retelling the story. If they need help remembering details, you (or your character!) can prompt them.
