Hey mommas, I know times is rough right now. And to top it all of, now you're homeschooling your kids while trying to fight neighbor Kelly for the last roll of toilet paper. If you have no idea where to start, I got you! Here's a simple, no stress list of essential skills primary students can work on at home. Of course this is in no way all that they would be learning in school, but these skills are foundational and lead to better academic success with more challenging skills.
PK-K
Kiddos in PK-2 still love to learn through song and dance! I highly recommend getting familiar with Jack Hartmann's Youtube Channel. There are tons of videos for everything!
Letter identification and beginning sounds
Number identification and counting to 50
Handwriting and fine motor skills
Identifying shapes and colors
Cutting
Listening skills (attention and following directions)
Vocabulary development
Social skills- sharing, manners, personal hygiene, etc.
K-2
Reading:
Identifying sight words
Identifying common phonics chunks (th, sh, ch)
Asking and answering questions about text
Blending letter sounds (/b/, /a/, /t/ to make "bat")
Making predictions and inferences about text
Identifying story elements (title, characters, setting)
Retelling a story with key events- this is a major component of text comprehension.
Vocabulary development
Making connections to text (personal or worldly)
Writing:
Identifying beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words
Using writing conventions:
-handwriting and correct letter formation
-beginning sentences with capital letters
-adding "finger spaces" in between words
-adding punctuation to the end of a sentence
-matching a colored illustration to their own text
Writing about themselves or their own experiences with a beginning, middle, and end
Writing for different purposes (lists, letters, opinion writing, etc) *Don't overthink it. 1-5 sentences will do just fine.
Math:
Number identification and counting (backwards and forwards from any given number) to 100
Number sequencing and skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s
Comparing numbers
Measuring objects with other objects and measuring tools
Using objects to break apart numbers (for example 10 cheerios could be broken down into a group of 6 cheerios and 4 cheerios)
Using objects and/or drawing pictures to solve simple word problems
3-5
3rd through 5th grades focus on more challenging skills due to standardized testing. Again these are basic skills that can be worked on at home. If you feel you still need more guidance, I highly suggest checking out GreatSchool's YouTube Channel.
Reading:
Identifying, comparing, and reading different genres of text
Vocabulary development
Identifying higher elements of literature-this is such a vast skill. Check out this helpful website for more info.
Answering and asking questions about text
Identifying main idea with supportive details
Math:
Completing multi-step number problems
Mental math strategies
Interpreting charts and graphs
Comparing numbers, decimals, and fractions
Telling time and understanding elapsed time
Order of operations (parentheses, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction)
Writing:
Writing within different genres (stories, research, opinion, etc)
Handwriting in cursive
I hope that helped a little. And just remember, that whatever you do, is better than doing nothing at all. You got this and go easy on yourself! If you have any specific questions about specific content areas or activity ideas, leave them in the comments, because I'd love to help you out. We have to stick together! And if you think someone else could use this info share it with a friend.