Stepping Stone School
Supporting Families & Learning at Home
May 15th
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.
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Community & Cultural Awareness
My Family Tree
Children love to learn more about themselves and each other, and what better way to do that than celebrate their ancestry? In this interactive activity, children will learn about what countries their ancestors are from and what the word “diversity” means.
This activity gets the whole family involved and helps children celebrate diversity and the family unit. Parents help fill in a simple family tree template and the world map, and photographs to match the names of those in their family tree. To keep it simple and on their age level, students will learn their parents’ names and grandparents’ names. You can make it an interactive learning center to practice matching and name recognition. There’s so much you can do with this lesson to extend it beyond one activity.
Questions to Ask You Child
  • What is your mommy’s name? Daddy’s name? Grandparents’ names?
  • What is the name of the country we live in? 
  • Where did mommy and daddy grow up? 
  • Where did my grandparents grow up? 
  • What is different about where my ancestors grew up?
Sky Parfaits
Ingredients
  • package (3 oz) blue gelatin
  • cup whipped topping or yogurt

Directions:
  • Prepare the gelatin per box instructions. Refrigerate until fully set.
  • Rake set gelatin with a fork.
  • Layer in parfait glasses, alternating with whipped topping or yogurt to form clouds and sky.
Fruit Rainbow!
  •  2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
  •  2 cups cut-up cantaloupe (1/2-inch pieces)
  •  2 grapes, , sliced
  •  1 cup blueberries
  •  1 mango, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
Arrange fruit in arc shape on large platter to resemble rainbow!

Art & Creative Expression
Weather: Wind Art
Supplies:
  • Paper
  • Paint
  • Straw
  • Newspaper or something to protect surrounding surfaces
Directions: 
Invite the children to squeeze paint into a “pile” in the middle of their paper. Give each child a straw to blow the paint across the paper. Be sure to coach children first that they should only blow out, not suck in. Don’t let the straw actually touch the paint, just so there are no accidents!
Discuss the power of wind and how it can move objects.
Weather: Frost Art
Supplies:
  • Heavyweight Paper (120-lb)
  • Water
  • Epsom Salt
  • Food Coloring
  • Paintbrush
Directions: 
Mix roughly equal parts epsom salt and water. You may need to heat the solution in the microwave to get the salt to fully dissolve. Divide the solution into dishes or cups and add a couple drops of food coloring.
Invite the child to paint. The more color the better. Let children know that while the paint currently just looks like watercolor, it will eventually crystallize and look like frost!
Weather: Rain Art
Supplies:
  • Tray of Watercolors
  • Medium Weight Paper
  • Water
  • Dropper
  •  Towel
Directions:
Use the dropper to create rain drop art.
Writing and Literacy Readiness
The Snowy Day
Written and Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
Peter ventures out into the snow and marvels at the tracks he makes, the snowman he builds, and the angels he imprints in the snow. He doesn’t even mind being hit by a snowball! 
The Snowy Day: Reading Adventure Pack
This Reading Rockets Adventure Pack is designed to support reading activities at home. We’ve chosen a fiction and nonfiction book about snow, appropriate for a kindergarten listening level, and included related activities to encourage some hands-on fun and learning.The featured books for the The Snowy Day Adventure Pack are The Snowy Day , written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, and Snow Is Falling , written by Franklyn Branley and illustrated by Holly Keller. The Snowy Day , winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, tells the story of a young boy who wakes up to discover that a beautiful blanket of snow has fallen during the night. Snow Is Falling explores how snow can help plants, animals, and people to survive a harsh winter and thrive in the spring. To explore more Reading Adventure Packs, visit Reading Rockets at http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-adventure-packs-families
Ezra Jack Keats Activity Kit
Source: Penguin
Printable games, writing prompts, and coloring pages to accompany the books of Ezra Jack Keats.
Create you Own Preschool Weather Channel
Provide desks, a felt board on the wall and weather felt pieces (sun, rain, clouds, etc.), a chalkboard to draw "weather patterns", microphones, chairs and desks, a camera, paper, pens
The children are meteorologists giving weather reports!
For older children you can use this green screen app to produce "real" weather forecasts!
Mathematical & Scientific Concepts
Materials
  • Shaving Cream
  • Clear Container (vase, jar, etc)
  • Small Cup of Water
  • Food Coloring (preferably blue and other colors)
  • Eye Dropper or Syringe

Step 1 :You can r ead a story about clouds or look outside at clouds and point them out.
Step 2:   For some sensory play, put a little shaving cream on the table top and allow a few children at a time to create clouds or draw designs in the “clouds.”
Step 3:  P our water into a larger clear container about half way.
Step 4:  Squeeze a generous amount of shaving cream on top of the water. sharing, “this is like a CLOUD.”
Step 5:   Add water to a small cup and add drops of blue food coloring to make the water blue. Use an eye dropper or syringe and fill it with the blue water.
Step 6 :  Allow children to slowly add the blue water to the top of the cloud until it is emptied to see the cloud get full and then “rain.”
Bonus :  If you have additional food coloring colors on hand, create different colors to add to your clouds! As you add additional colors, you can talk about colors in the rainbow.
Questions to ask your Child:
  • What is a cloud made of?
  • What kinds of clouds are there?
  • Why are clouds different shapes?
  • How are clouds helpful?
  • What kind of weather is my favorite?
Rain in a Jar
Supplies:
  • Glass jar
  • Paper plate or bowl
  • Ice
  • Hot water
  1. Boil water then added 2-3 inches to the glass jar, instruct children NOT to touch the jar. (Be sure to use a jar that is heat resistant) Put the paper plate on top of the jar of hot water and let it sit for a few minutes.
  2. After a few minutes take the ice from the freezer, and add the ice to the paper plate.
  3. Then observe.
How does this answer the question  how does it rain ?
The plate seals in the warm air in the jar. Once the ice is added to the plate the cold temperature causes the moisture in the jar to condense and form water droplets. This is the same thing that happens in the atmosphere as warm, moist air rises and meets colder temperatures high in the atmosphere. Water vapor condenses and forms precipitation that falls to the Earth as rain, sleet, hail, or snow. 
Character Development
In life, helping children “connect the dots” or link the cause and effect between actions and the results of those actions enables children to see the relationship between their choices and the consequences of their behavior.
Here are some ideas to help develop this character trait at home:
  • Help your child discover the link between what he does and what happens by “connecting the dots.” “You caught the ball because you have been practicing!” or “You jumped in the puddle, now your shoes are wet.” Identifying the cause and effect of various actions will help your child develop a better understanding of the results of certain behaviors.
  • When your child makes a mistake, remain calm. Let her know everyone makes mistakes, but we always learn from the situation. Once settled, discuss what she can do differently if she ever finds herself in a similar state. Help her think and consider how to make the current situation better. This practice not only builds personal responsibility, but also develops resilience in children.
  • Help your child understand and accept the rules and consequences for his behavior by remaining consistent with your expectations. For example, before getting into the car, remind your child of the expected voice level for a trip in the car verses at a playground or the library. Reminders specific to a given place enable both you and your child to arrive to your location with the same expectations.
  • Read children’s books together in which the character must make decisions about her actions. Pause to ask your child what she should do if she finds herself in a similar situation before reading how the character resolves the matter. This practice helps to build empathy as she examines how to help another person solve a problem. In addition, it provides her with an opportunity to develop a plan of action with an appropriate response for herself.
  • Create role-play scenarios with toys replaying a situation from earlier in the day in which your child made a poor choice. Often seeing the scene unfold from an outsider’s perspective enables a child to better gauge the consequences for his behavior so he can respond appropriately in the future. This technique is often used to provide opportunities for reflection and ideas for social problem-solving in the future.
  • Over time, your child will learn to evaluate his choices, beginning to take ownership of his words and actions.
Physical Development
Weather Motor Skills and Movement
Rain Dance
Make the sounds of rain using movement such as: rubbing their fingers together to make mist, rubbing their hands together to make a drizzle, patting knees to make a downpour, stomping the floor to make thunder. Then reverse the movements for the rain to stop.
Weatherman Says
Like Simon Says, play Weatherman Says...be a gentle breeze, be a loud thunderstorm, be snow flurries, etc.

WEATHER YOGA POSES FOR KIDS
Now, act out different types of weather through yoga poses for kids. Invent your own weather yoga poses or try these six yoga poses for kids below.
1. SUNNY – EXTENDED MOUNTAIN POSE
Stand tall in Mountain Pose, inhale, look up, take your arms straight up to the sky, and say hello to the sun. You can then exhale and bring your arms back down alongside your body. Repeat the inhale, raising and lowering your arms, for a few breaths and imagine soaking up rays of sunshine.
2. WINDY– TREE POSE
Stand on one leg. Bend the knee of the leg you are not standing on, place the sole of your foot on the opposite inner thigh or calf, and balance. Sway like a tree in the wind. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
3. LIGHTNING – CHAIR POSE
Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees, and keep a straight spine. Hold your hands up in front of you with straight arms, pretending to be a lightning bolt.
4. RAIN – STANDING FORWARD BEND
From Mountain Pose, bend your upper body, keep a straight spine, and reach for your toes. Pretend your arms are falling raindrops.
5. SNOW – CHILD’S POSE
Sit back on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest on the floor in front of your knees, rest your arms down alongside your body, and take a few deep breaths. Pretend to be a snowflake falling from the sky. Take a few deep breaths.
6. CLOUDY – EASY POSE
Sit cross-legged and rest your palms on your knees. Close your eyes, if you are comfortable doing so. Imagine being a cloud floating across the sky. Take a few deep breaths and relax your body.
Cognitive & Phonological Development
Weather Graph
Create a chart depicting if each day is sunny, rainy, cloudy, snowy, etc. and keep track of weather for the week.
Will the Wind Blow It?
Have a collection of items to show children (such as feather, straw, piece of paper, rock, marker, seashell, etc.). Ask children to predict which items will blow when it is windy. Turn on a fan and place each item in front of the fan to see if their predictions were correct.
Our YouTube Channel features over 60 videos of our beloved teachers reading stories from our Classic Literature Library, Teaching Daily Lessons, ASL and Spanish vocabulary!
Emotional & Social Development
Feelings Thermometer
Taking a moment to check-in with your child can help you understand how they are feeling. It also gives them the opportunity to evaluate their own emotions and navigate themselves to a solution, if needed.
Instructions:
1. Print or create your own Feelings Thermometer and introduce it to your child. Take the time to explain that some emotions may cause their body to feel different ways. If they feel stressed or angry or afraid there are things they can do to make themselves feel better!
2. Throughout the day, ask your child if they would like to check in with their Feelings Thermometer. This gives them the opportunity to identify how they are feeling.
3. Take the time to talk to them about how they are feeling and brainstorm together how to help that emotion subside if it is making them feel bad.
Tune in to learn about S.T.E.A.M education, Superhero Movie Reviews, unicorns, and a variety of interesting topics chosen and produced by our School-Age classes!
Cloud Dough
Materials
  • 2 cups corn starch
  • 1 1/4 cups unscented white hand lotion
  •  2-3 drops of peppermint extract
  •  Bowl
  • Spoon
Process
  • Invite your child to measure the ingredients. This is great for following directions and developing math skills.
  • In a large bowl mix the corn starch, lotion and peppermint oil.
  • As you stir, the mixture will start to form into what looks like a snowball.
  • Sprinkle a flat surface with corn starch.
  • Knead the dough until it is a firm snowball that is not mushy or sticky.
  • Note: As soon as the dough holds together well, break into smaller balls and invite your child to continue kneading until it’s smooth.
  • That’s it! Did you notice this recipe doesn’t call for any cooking? Yes!