Since everyone is suddenly being thrown into homeschooling, thanks to the Coronavirus, I asked if anyone would be interested in free resource links for activities with preschoolers and my favorite inexpensive busy bag items. Pretty much everyone said that was something they were interested in (other than a few people who don’t follow me and have no kids), so here you go!
I wanted to get this up as soon as possible, so this will just be my favorite free resources and activity websites and I’ll do another post asap on busy bag activities. When it comes to homeschooling, I don’t follow a set curriculum yet, I see the holes in things Iris needs to work on and just start searching for activities and worksheets that will fill them in for her. We usually pick a letter of the week too and find things that coincide with the letter we choose.
If your child has a set curriculum from their schooling, these could still be a source of extra entertainment and learning. During this time of uncertainty and pretty much waiting to be on lockdown here in Germany like they are in Italy and Spain, we have been going on very long walks as well and I have Iris tell me the first letter of everything we see. If your child is older, you can have them spell each thing. That way we get our vitamin D, exercise, and phonetics practice all in one long walk.
We also read a lot. You can find books that go along with things your child is studying, but since libraries aren’t open right now, it’s not a necessity. They are learning so much from books and reading, whether they are listening to you read or reading them out loud or to themselves. Don’t underestimate this one. We spend a good chunk of our days reading and I completely credit that to a lot of Iris’ extensive vocabulary.
Ok, no more jabbering, I could go on all day about education related topics, but I’ll spare you…
Favorite websites for worksheets:
Teachers Pay Teachers
This is my favorite resource for worksheets. There are tons of free options and the paid options are usually inexpensive, plus the money you pay is helping teachers buy things for their classroom!
Education.com
This is a great resource for worksheets and they have resources all the way up to 5th grade level. This is where I found most of the color books we did when Iris was learning colors and they have some good letter worksheets as well.
Habitat Schoolhouse
They have an amazing curriculum for preschoolers that we have tried and love. It’s beautiful and thoughtful, plus easy to navigate. They are offering a great sale and a few freebies right now to help out. I have already printed the Spring Bucket List and Grass Scavenger Hunt to do with Iris this week!
All Kids Network
This is a great spot to find simple color sheets that correspond with your letter of the week. I just search for “__ color sheet” and tons of options pop up. Last week we did the letter R, these are all the worksheets I had to choose from on their site.
Favorite websites for Activities:
How We Learn
I find a lot of science experiment ideas and activities from this site. I don’t sign up for a ton of newsletters, but love to have this one on hand for holiday activities.
Fun with Mama
I used this site a lot when Iris was younger for sensory bin ideas. Once you start doing activities like that, it’s easy to think up your own twist on them!
Natural Beach Living
This site is another one with a lot of great activities for younger kiddos.
What is your favorite resource for free worksheets and activities for your children? Please let me know in the comments below if there is one I should check out!
♡ MALLORIE