Stepping Stone School
Supporting Families & Learning at Home
April 3rd
At Stepping Stone School, our mission is to offer not only exceptional nurturing and education for our students, but also extraordinary support and care for all parents and families! Many families are finding new and creative ways to engage and educate their children while at home! We compiled a list of fun and educational activities and resources for you to use with your family! 
Community & Cultural Awareness
Use the link above for a virtual visit to the farm! Here are a few activity ideas for you!
Before your virtual visit:
  • Read a book about farm animals with your child.
  • Talk about the different names for animals and their offspring.
  • During a meal, talk about the different foods on the table that may have come from a farm.
  • Teach your child what sounds each animal makes and have them practice.
During your visit:
Look at different animals on the farm. Ask your student the following questions:
  • What type of animal is this?
  • What noise does this animal make?
  • What do you think each animal feels like?
  • Which animals do you think feel the same? Which animals do you think feel different?
  • Did any animal surprise you? Why?
After your virtual visit:
  • Work with your child to create a book with pictures of the different farm animals and their offspring.
Art & Creative Expression
This shadow drawing project is a great way to keep your children engaged! This project provides your children with a creative outlet, and it is something they can do outside over and over again as long as the sun is out! 
Set up drawing subjects, you can use animals, blocks, etc, and paper. Make sure the subjects are in the sun and casting a shadow onto the paper to trace — and there you have it! You can have the children extend the activity by coloring or painting their work after.
For a challenge, you can set up under a larger tree or provide a more intricate item to trace!
Writing and Literacy Readiness
Make Way for Ducklings
Written and Illustrated by Robert McCloskey
A lovely story of how a family of ducks searches until they find the right place to raise their family. Along the way, they get help from their human friends. The drawings capture the spirit of the mid-20th century, when the book was written.
Extension Activity for Older Children
Like Robert McCloskey, children will discover that observing something up close can help them get the details just right in their own drawings.
MATERIALS
  • Pet or stuffed animal
  • Drawing paper
  • Colored pencils or pastels
DIRECTIONS
1. Have children observe their animals from all sides. Ask questions to guide their observations:
  • How many legs (wings, paws, claws and so on) does the animal have?
  • What is the texture of the animal? Is it soft? Prickly? Furry? Slimy?
  • What shades of light and dark do you see in this animal?
  • How big is the animal? What object is about the same size?
  • What shapes and patterns do you see?
2. Before students begin drawing, have them experiment with various drawing techniques. Look at the book for inspiration, noticing the flowing:
  • The color of the illustrations (all done in shades of brown — children can use brown pencils to achieve a similar effect)
  • Shading (try smudging colored pencil or pastels with a finger or a tissue)
  • Shadows (notice where real shadows fall
3. Let the children draw their animal(s) several times — like Robert McCloskey — until they "know that it is right."
Mathematical & Scientific Concepts
How to Grow Seeds in a Bag
You will need to gather a few simple items to start your seed experiment:
  • A plastic zip top bag (a sandwich or quart-size bag
  • One paper towel
  • A few bean seeds (You can use dry beans from your pantry)

  1. First you will need to wet and fold up the paper towel so that it will fit easily inside the plastic bag
  2. Next, add a few dry pinto beans and place them inside the bag on top of the paper towel. Any variety of dried bean should work (pinto, black, lentil, navy, etc.).
  3. Seal the plastic bag and set it on the counter or tape to a window for observation over the next few weeks.
  4. Check your growing beans each day to see how they are changing.
  5. There will be condensation inside the bag as you are creating your own little greenhouse!
  6. After about 5 days you should notice the seeds starting to germinate! Continue to observe and ask open ended questions!
  • What foods come from seeds
  • What seeds look like and how they compare to others
  • Seeds we eat and seeds we don’t eat
  • What happens when you put different seeds in water
  • What happens when you try to grow seeds in different materials
  • How long it takes different seeds to sprout
  • What different seeds look like as plants
Character Development
  1. Demonstrate respectful behavior. Children often watch their caregivers looking for clues defining the expectations. If they see parents and teachers treating one another with respect, they will do the same.
  2. Teaching polite responses. Even infants can sign words like, “please” and “thank you.” At Stepping Stone School, we begin teaching these signs in our infant classrooms and continue to build upon these important phrases throughout all their years with us. As children begin vocalizing, adding phrases to their vocabulary like, “excuse me,” “no thank you,” and “yes ma’am/sir” continues to encourage an attitude of respect.
  3. Expect a respectful attitude. As your child grows, talk to her about the way she treats others, the words she uses, and the attitudes she portrays. Explain the expectations of respect for others and discuss ways to hold her accountable for her attitude and behavior.
  4. Praise respectful behavior. When children demonstrate good manners and respect to others, let them know that you notice the positive choices they are making.

Physical Development
Hallway Maze
For a fun indoor movement activity, simply use a roll of crepe paper to make an obstacle course in your hallway! This fun activity builds balance and coordination skills while introducing a fun and novel activity into the day!
Get Moving with Go Noodle
Go Noodle  is a treasure trove of online movement and mindfulness videos aimed at kids. They have a guided dancing playlist on YouTube that currently includes 60 videos. Go Noodle also offers a lot of extra free content on its website and also has a go noodle plus plan for those interested in some educational extras.
Cognitive & Phonological Development
Categorizing plays a large role in a preschooler’s cognitive development. Through sorting, children begin to understand that certain things have similarities and differences. This type of logical thinking forms the foundation for future mathematical concepts and even everyday tasks.
Choose activities that encourage sorting and classifying items, such as sorting toys by color, type or size.
You can gather household items or print pictures and allow the children to sort them based on different qualifiers.
For older children you can try this stop motion project! We all love a good story! This free stop-motion app will allow your child to start creating their own animations using a variety of materials and props. Your child can animate a scene from a book or bring their own story to life. You can use modeling clay, LEGOs, or construction paper to get started.
Emotional & Social Development
The Kindness Campaign’s Morning Meet-Up & Storytime
Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays 10 am, Follow on  Instagram ⁣⁣⁣ 
⁣⁣⁣⁣Join The Kindness Campaign MWF mornings at 10 am for a cheerful check-in about feelings and emotions, followed by read-aloud storytime.
Why not take a trip around the globe right from your own home!
Check out the blog to get started on your (virtual) trip around the world!