Welcome to Primrose^® At Home – Powered by Fisher-Price™

The weather is changing, and the leaves are falling everywhere. What a mess!

Scatter a few pieces of paper or cut out a variety of leaf shapes and scatter them around the floor. Have your child “code” a path for the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™ to touch one of the leaves.

Fun that Focuses on: Problem-Solving | Coding | Directionality 

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

This week your child has been learning about buildings and the 3-D shapes we see in buildings. Your child also learned new mathematical terms such as taller than, shorter than, on top of, and behind.

Using recycled materials such as empty and clean cereal boxes, clean yogurt containers, and other clean containers, work together with your child to create a ”street of buildings”. As you and your child are building, encourage your child to talk about the 3-D shapes they are using. Compare the sizes, i.e., this box is taller than this box, and I am putting the short box on top of the taller box. Once your child has created the street, have them code the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™ to drive on the street and avoid knocking down the buildings.

For additional challenge, create a city or town block with the buildings, and code the robot to travel around the block.

Fun that Focuses on: Problem-Solving | Directionality | Shape Identification 

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

For this activity, place large paper on the floor and a marker on the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™. In Secret Codes mode, use the Secret Codebook to program the robot to draw various shapes. Take turns programming and naming what shape the robot is making. Can your child combine various codes to make a drawing out of the various shapes? 

Fun that Focuses on: Creativity | Directionality | Shape Identification  

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

Your child is learning about three-dimensional shapes. Reinforce the concept by placing a sphere (ball), a rectangular prism (box) or a cylinder (oatmeal container) on the floor. Call out a shape and have your child code the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™ to drive to touch the shape. Then call out another shape and have your child code the robot to travel to and touch that shape.

Fun that Focuses on: Early Math | Coding | Problem-Solving

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

The Art Center this week introduces your child to the art of stamping with items from nature (such as pumpkins and leaves). Encourage your child to try stamping with the Doodle Pro^® Super Stamper. Can they make a pattern? What shapes do they notice? 

Fun that Focuses on: Patterns | Shapes | Creativity

In Unit 3, your child learns how good it feels to give to others without expecting anything in return as they collect canned and boxed goods for the annual Primrose^® Caring & Giving Food Drive. As you and your child collect canned and boxed goods at home, encourage your child to tally each item on their Doodle Pro^® Super Stamper.. Next, your child may count the total number of tally marks and write the numeral representing the total number of canned goods. 

To add some challenge, you may have your child tally and count each type of can or box (e.g., vegetables, fruits, cereal).  

Fun that Focuses on: Counting | Number Sense | Dexterity 

Play a mathematical version of “Simon Says” with the Doodle Pro^® Super Stamper. Have “Simon” give mathematical directions such as, “Simon says use the circle stamp twice and stamp a square once”. After several turns, have your child switch with you and have them call out the directions.

Fun that Focuses on: Counting | Number Sense | Listening

This week in Small Group Math, your child is exploring measurement concepts. At this age, children are not expected to measure using a ruler (they are introduced to measurement first by using objects and then later by introducing a ruler).  

Play the game, How Long is My Line? Have your child draw a long line on the Doodle Pro^® Super Stamper. Ask your child to estimate the number of stamps it will take to fill the whole line and then measure how long their line is by stamping one in front of the other across the entire line. Repeat with a new shape. Does the number of shapes change based on the shape chosen?

Fun that Focuses on: Predicting | Nonstandard Measurement | Dexterity 

Storytelling comes alive with puppets. Your preschooler can practice reading, or telling their favorite books, stories, and poems to Erwin. Ask your child to make up stories about adventures to tell Erwin, or have Erwin read you his favorite books.

Fun that Focuses on: Literacy Skills | Language Skills | Science Concepts

Play the silly rhyming game with Erwin. Have Erwin say a simple, three-letter word (such as hat or log). Encourage your child to produce another word that rhymes with Erwin’s word. Continue until your child is unable to produce new rhymes or switch to a different word.

Fun that Focuses on: Early Literacy | Rhyming | Taking Turns

Your child has been learning about giving to others as they participate in the Caring & Giving canned food drive. Encourage your child to create a puppet show with Erwin to create their own unique Caring & Giving event. Who will they decide to donate to in their own imaginary puppet show?

Fun that Focuses on: Character Development | Imagination | Generosity

See activity in Doodle Pro^® Super Stamper week four.

Read the book. Ask your child about their favorite part and re-enact that part of the story.   

Fun that Focuses on: Comprehension | Personal Connections | Vocabulary Development 

Choose a short story with repetitive phrases and ask your child to help you “read” the repetitive parts. Use different voices (read like a robot, animal, loud, soft, etc.). Have fun reading the repetitive phrases in these different voices and encourage your child to determine which was their favorite.

Fun that Focuses on: Fluency | Love of Reading | Inflection | Expressive Reading 

Support creative thinking by encouraging your child to tell their own version of their favorite story. What if they created a new ending or added a different character to their favorite story? How would that change the story?

Fun that Focuses on: Cause-Effect| Comprehension | Creativity

Choose nonfiction books related to your child’s favorite topics and look at the pictures. Since nonfiction books are set up differently than fiction books, it is okay to do picture walks and read the captions instead of reading from the beginning to the end. Discuss the sections your child is most interested in learning about.

Fun that Focuses on: Nonfiction | Content-Related Concepts | Vocabulary Skills

Reinforce letter sound (phoneme) knowledge through this fun “find the sound” game. Find several objects that start with the letter “b” and several that do not and spread those around the play area. Encourage your child to code the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™ to each item that starts with the /b/ sound. Try with objects representing a different consonant sound (such as one in your child’s name).

Fun that Focuses on: Coding | Letter Sounds| Problem Solving | Following Sirections

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

During this unit, your child is participating in the Caring & Giving Canned Food Drive, a service-learning project where children collect canned and boxed foods to donate to people in need. At school, your child sorts canned goods by category, tallies, the number of food items collected, and identifies food groups. Try a fun food group identification challenge with the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™. To play, select 5-8 canned goods and place them on the floor. Call out a food group (fruit, vegetable, grain, protein) and ask your child to code the robot to drive to the appropriate food within that food group. When finished, pack up the canned goods to take to school the next day!

Fun that Focuses on: Coding | Food Groups | Service Learning | Following Directions 

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

Your child is learning about animals and how they behave in fall. You and your child may want to pretend the Kinderbot is an animal. Think about a special action that the animal may do. For example, a squirrel gathers acorns. Scatter some blocks or balled socks to represent acorns. Have your child code the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™ to “gather” the acorns. When the robot “squirrel” touches an “acorn,” your child can put it into a container to “help” the squirrel. What other animal can the bot become?

Fun that Focuses on: Animal Movements | Coding | Trial and Error 

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

This week, your child learns about ways to express their thankfulness. To support thankfulness at home, encourage your child to create a paper “basket” and tape to the Code ‘n Learn Kinderbot™. Inside the paper basket, have your child write ways they are thankful and place in the basket. Your child may code the Kinderbot to deliver messages in the basket to various family members. Family members may write their own thankfulness messages and code to send back to your child.

Fun that Focuses on: Coding | Character Development| Problem Solving | Following Directions 

* Make sure to keep your codebook somewhere safe!

Fun that Focuses on: Data | Mathematics | Counting

This week, your child is learning about generosity as they collect canned goods for those in need. Using the Doodle Pro, encourage your child to tally each item they plan to donate for the canned food drive. When all items are tallied, your child may write the total number of items they collected.

Add challenge by sorting the canned goods into categories and tally each type.

This week during the Caring and Giving Event your child is learning about generosity and kindness. Practice reinforcing generosity throughout the week by using Erwin as a thought partner. Have Erwin ask your child each day one way they can show generosity today and then draw their ideas on the Doodle Pro^® Super Stamper. Revisit in the evening to see if your child was able to accomplish their goal. (Example: Help with a task at home, do a chore, help a friend at school, etc.).

Fun that Focuses on: Kindness | Generosity| Service Learning

This week, your child practices counting a small number of dots arranged in different ways. Start this activity by asking your child to draw the number of dots you say (from 1-5).

After they can do this successfully, play the game How Many? with your child. Draw a small number of dots (1-5 dots total) on the Doodle Pro. Show the dots to your child for a few seconds and ask them to quickly tell you the number of dots they saw without counting them. (Hint: Start with 1-2 dots and gradually move to 3-4, then 5 dots).   

To make it more game like, exchange places having your child draw the dots.  

For an additional challenge, use numbers 6-10.

Fun that Focuses on: Mathematics | Subitizing | Counting

This week your child is learning about the fall season. Take a walk outside and encourage your child to draw some things they notice. What types of flowers, leaves, and animals does your child notice?

Fun that Focuses on: Seasons | Observation | Scientific Concepts

Play the song Benjamin Bear. Encourage your child to move around the room like a bear while listening to the tune. Encourage your child to think about how they should move during each part of the song and why?  

Fun that Focuses on: Movement | Musical expression 

Play the song, Swish and Stomp and move your arms in a swish movement, like the leaves swirling around in the wind. During the stomp words, encourage your child to stomp their feet each time they hear that word. Encourage your child to move their body in smooth movements as if the wind were blowing them around. When the song ends, your child may fall to the ground like all the leaves on a tree have fallen. 

Fun that Focuses on: Connections to Science Concepts | Creative Movement 

Play the song, Time for Giving. Freely dance with your child as you play the song. Encourage your child to repeat the parts of the song, "this is the time for giving." Take a moment to talk about how your family is giving this season.

Fun that Focuses on: Giving | Kindness

Ask your child about some of their favorite songs and movement activities that they are doing during Harmony & Heart music time in school. Play that music from the Fall Collection along with the music allowing your child to take the lead. 

Fun that Focuses on: Making Choices | Movement | Self-Confidence

Ask your child about some of their favorite songs and movement activities that they are doing during Harmony & Heart music time in school. Play that music from the Fall Music Collection and move along with the music allowing your child to take the lead.

Fun that Focuses on: Making Choices | Self-Confidence

Play the song, Time for Giving. Freely dance with your child as you play the song. Encourage your child to repeat the parts of the song, "this is the time for giving." Take a moment to talk about how your family is giving to others this season.

Fun that Focuses on: Giving | Kindness

Play the song, Swish and Stomp and move your arms in a swish movement, like the leaves swirling around in the wind. During the stomp words, stomp your feet each time you hear that word. Move your body in smooth ways like the wind blowing in the fall. When the song ends, fall to the ground like all the leaves on a tree have fallen.

Children learn to control their bodies as they engage in playful, rhythmic movement.

Fun that Focuses on: Spatial Skills | Moving to Beat of the Music

Play the song Benjamin Bear. Move with your child in bear-like ways while listening to the tune. Stomp your feet like a big, burly bear and then move low to the ground during low parts and higher during high parts.

As children listen and move to music, they begin to identify the mood and other musical elements such as fast, slow, higher, or lower.

Fun that Focuses on: Imagination | Musical Expression

Children love interacting with puppets! This week your child is learning about the Fall season. Encourage your child to share with Erwin what their interests are during the fall. Have your child ask Erwin what he likes to do in the fall.  

Fun that Focuses on: Social Development | Science Concepts | WE Skills 

Storytelling comes alive with puppets. Your preschooler can practice reading, or telling their favorite books, stories, and poems to Erwin about the fall season. Ask your child to make up stories about fall adventures to tell Erwin, or have Erwin read you his favorite fall-themed books. 

Fun that Focuses on: Literacy Skills | Language Skills | Science Concepts

Your child has been learning about giving to others as they participate in the Caring & Giving canned food drive. Encourage your child to create a puppet show with Erwin to create their own unique Caring & Giving event. Who will they decide to donate to in their own imaginary puppet show?  

Fun that Focuses on: Character Development | Imagination | Generosity

Practice reinforcing generosity throughout the week by using Erwin as a thought partner. Have Erwin ask your child each day one way they can show generosity today. Revisit in the evening to see if your child was able to accomplish their goal. (Example: Help with a task at home, do a chore, help a friend at school, etc.). 

Fun that Focuses on: Character Development | Kindness| Generosity

Read the book. Ask your child about their favorite part and re-enact that part of the story.   

Fun that Focuses on: Cause-Effect | Comprehension | Creativity

Support creative thinking by encouraging your child to tell their own version of their favorite story. What if they created a new ending or added a different character to their favorite story? How would that change the story?  

Fun that Focuses on: A­ttention | Comprehension | Creativity

Choose a short story with repetitive phrases and ask your child to help you “read” the repetitive parts. Use different voices (read like a robot, animal, loud, soft, etc.). Have fun reading the repetitive phrases in these different voices and encourage your child to determine which was their favorite.  

Fun that Focuses on: Fluency | Love of Reading | Inflection | Expressive Reading 

Choose nonfiction books related to your child’s favorite topics and look at the pictures. Since nonfiction books are set up differently than fiction books, it’s okay to do picture walks and read the captions instead of reading from the beginning to the end. Discuss the sections your child is most interested in learning about. 

Fun that Focuses on: Nonfiction | Content-Related Concepts | Vocabulary Skills