MAKING ANYTHING INTO A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

So this week in our micro learning pod, we’re learning about clothes. Today specifically, we learned about pants. We compared different colors, textures, sizes and lengths, and noticed that some pants have buttons while Ms. Jessica’s never do (hahaha)! The paper cutouts of the pants👖 pictured were not used as intended in the Mother Goose Times curriculum we’re following, but when a few of your pod moms are former teachers, you can guarantee that everything will find a way to be used educationally. With that being said, it doesn’t take a teaching degree to do this and I don’t really think they noticed they were learning, which is the best kind.

So what did we do with these pant cutouts? You guessed it…we sorted them by color! We also talked about how they were similar and how they were different, counted them (hello math via one-to-one correspondence 🤗), and were introduced to the concept of “equal” (more math 💕) since each pant pattern had 3 of the same paper cutouts, for a total of 9. If the girls had been older, we could have made number sentences with them for addition and subtraction.

I told a speech client’s mom yesterday that we have to work smarter, not harder, and I mean that…especially during these strange times. Parents are often juggling the responsibilities of their jobs with those of maintaining their household (cooking, cleaning, organizing), AND teaching their kids from home. There simply isn’t time to separate materials for 3-5 activities per day, per child. I get it. So DON’T DO IT. Seriously, it’s a lot of pressure and there’s always more than 1 way. Instead, consider using what you have and EXTENDing it. This way you get to use the same materials for multiple activities. 

If I can walk into a hospital room after someone’s suffered a stroke and do an entire evaluation with nothing but the knowledge in my head and a pen in my pocket, you CAN do this. And you’re not alone. Have a question? Just ask. I mean it. 

Send an email to Jessica@msjessicaisback.com