Did I get you with “low-effort home learning”? Haha, I love to get creative with the kids, but sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day! I actually ran out of creative and exciting ways to make Distance Learning fun a long time ago. While we are so appreciative of everything our teachers and district are doing to help out, it was time for me ti outsource — but holy heck. Some of these Pinterest Home Learning things are insane. The color-coded charts are awesome. But.. I couldn’t stay on top of a baby book, so I will not be color-coordinating anything.
I am talking low-effort home learning resources that moms AND kids love! I am excited to share a few resources/products we’ve been using/playing with the last few weeks. Bonus? These all work on motor skills, problem solving, creative thinking, reading, STEAM, and most importantly: they’re FUN.
Peyton is in third grade, and London is in Kindergarten, she was also in the Speech Program at school, so we are navigating distance learning through Zooms, Google Classroom, SeeSaw, and an at-home IEP. Whew.
When learning gets frustrating for the kids, I end up getting frustrated, and then they get more frustrated, and it’s just a lose-lose situation. The big key for me has been to lower my expectations. While we aim to have all of our Distance Learning assignments done before lunch, somedays, we end up not tackling them until the afternoon. Or maybe we stayed in PJs all day. Either way, find what works for you and your kiddos, and just go with it!
Reading Reimagined
This is by far the coolest subscription box service ever. And probably the best product “of the times”. Each Reading Reimagined Read & Play Box comes with a beautiful hard-cover book and then a box of activities to correspond. Instead of some coloring sheets (which was my go-to “craft pairing” for a book), we basically received an entire lesson plan for the day. It was amazing.
We got the The Circus Ship Read & Play box ($60). It contained all the things needed for the girls to create their own circus (like supplies for a pennant banner, admission tickets, microwave popcorn and popcorn boxes, tightrope, and even a clown nose!) The girls loved the Connection Activity the most! We got to build a circus tent gingerbread cookie, the kit was included in the box, and also came with icing with bags and tips, and decorations.
Use code JENNA10 for 10% off any order.
There are a few other boxes available on the site, and also a monthly subscription box option! By subscribing to the monthly box (rather than purchasing an individual box), you’ll save $10 per box. This is amazing, because it helps you be the PinterestWinning Mom you’ve always dreamed of… but just didn’t have enough hours in the day, or any more brain cells left to function to plan at the end of a looooong day (I freaking feel you, it’s fine!). This one gets the absolute first prize ribbon for the best of the low-effort home learning resources I am sharing today. Let Reading Reimagined do all the work, and then you can take all the “Cool Mom” points 😉
For Little Hands
Adaline is in Preschool, so she doesn’t have “schoolwork”. This Cat & Mouse Peg Game Set is the cutest!
There are 3 different skill levels for the cards (1 star for young toddlers, and 3 stars was fun for London!). This peg block set totally reminds me of a toy I had as a child. It is so colorful, and engaging.
The girls and I sat for about a half hour the other day, and used the cards to build the sets, and I found them this morning just sitting and free-building with the set! For an additional discussion, you can ask your kiddos to make up their own stories about their creations!
Science Fun
While slime and glitter are my mortal enemies, I know the importance of letting the girls get messy — I’ve shared a few of our sensory bin activities before, we just love experimenting with textures, sensory learning, and more!
We recently received this Squishy Water Beads Science Kit, and the girls couldn’t wait to dig right in! I loved the layout of the illustrated storybook lab guide (which had over 30 pages!!) with learning supplies to build sensory crafts like: a stress ball, a vanilla scented mini mood lamp that lights up, and calming mood tube!
Overall, there are 10 learning activities you can do with this kit, with the goal of helping kids better understand the scientific method, properties of matter, and sensory play! The girls had fun, but they also learned about the scientific characteristic of gases, liquids, and solids… even though they probably thought they were playing with squishy, slippery, and bouncy water beads! This is the “hiding the veggies in the sauce” for homeshcool 😉
#PlayToday
The Genius of Play launched their #PlayToday Campaign. They believe play is critical to our physical and emotional well-being at any age. (and I agree!)
Play can bring comfort and relieve anxiety, in stressful times, and it can help us to decompress and stay positive!
Click here to visit the virtual hub to help bring the joy of play to your family during these uncertain times. You’ll find a HUGE collection of play ideas, expert advice, and other helpful resources. While scrolling, I saw some creative projects we’ve done over the years, or ones I remember doing with my own mom as a child! inspire hours of fun – but there were also SO MANY that I wouldn’t have thought of!
Here are a few other low-effort learning resources we have been loving, too:
I hope you’re hanging in there, and finding a way to make Distance Learning work for you and your kiddos! We are almost there, guys!!