It’s American Education Week! COVID has made quite a devastating dent when it comes to in-classroom learning this year. Many parents had to homeschool for some time (or still continue to), teachers needed to learn to communicate virtually with their students, and many kids are feeling a little lost in the transitions. Dating back to 1921, the week prior to Thanksgiving is celebrated as AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK. It’s observed in all communities annually “for the purpose of informing the public of the accomplishments and needs of the public schools and to secure cooperation and support of the public in meeting those needs.”
Family Entourage is stepping up to meet those needs with the latest in educational-based toys, activities and FREE resources for every family.
GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY
The election and all the current talk about cities and states and why voting is important has probably sparked many conversations in your home. Take advantage of this connection with your kids and dive into the history of America, how we came to be, what makes each state unique and more. While we may not be able to travel, we can still take a trip through the pages of books and we absolutely love the titles from Kane Miller. Books like State Capitals where each page is a different state, complete with facts and figures, history and traditions. Wonders of the USA is one of our favorites from the Shine-A-Light Series where we can visit the Statue of Liberty or the White House. In History Uncovered: The USA there is a timeline from the 1700s through today cumulating with a modern-day map of America. All perfect tools to make history, current.
And to better understand America’s place in the world, what better way to showcase then by traveling the world through interactive play with a high-tech talking globe that provides a hands-on introduction to geography. Educational Insights GeoSafari Talking Globe literally has 1,000 facts broken into different modes like continents, oceans, nature, cities and more. When you press the smart pen to the globe you’ll hear wildlife warrior Bindi Irwin as she reveals facts that help promote independent learning with your kids too.
Plus don’t forget during this COVID time to take advantage of FREE virtual field trips. Now all of the United States open up to you and you can visit the Smithsonian museums through free virtual tours like the Museum of Natural History has to offer or check out the National Parks like the free virtual tours to Yellowstone National Park of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
READING & PHONICS
Reading is one of the best skills you can develop within a child. Not only does it give them the opportunity to be more independent but it opens their minds and imaginations. It is the foundation to all other learning. This starts with solid building blocks, or bean bags in this case, for phonics. We love using the Educational Insights beanbags to have fun learning our letters and sound blends. Get your kids to learn the sounds of the letters, build them up to sight words and lay that solid foundation into comprehension and independent reading.
One of our other favorites is Educational Insights Hot Dots. From flash cards to books, kids can work on developing their reading skills. There are different sets starting for children age 3 and going up to 8+. When they get the correct answer, the pen makes a positive sound and when they choose the incorrect answer, it makes a different noise. Practically speaking, we love using this for independent work time. We can give them Hot Dots to work on, we can catch up on some work emails and when they get an answer incorrect, we can pause and help them out. On the Educational Insights site, there are lots of free printables, many of which use are based off the Hot Dots worksheets. So you can try them out and see how your student responds.
MATH
The U.S. has fallen behind other nations in math education and it’s something we use everyday so we need to motivate young kids. One of the things that we love to do is to take the worksheet that we have to complete for homework and make it into something fun. We will often create a coffee shop with our Asweets Doorway cafe, cashbox and coffee/donut set. The kids have to solve the problems on their worksheet but in a fun setting. It also helps them to see the ways that we use math everyday.
We love that Osmo is making math fun and exciting. Osmo is an app-based system that works with your iPad or Fire Table. From coding to learning math and how to draw your favorite Disney characters, we love that it has a wide-range of games for all ages. Rather than sit in front of the TV, we love that it is a positive screen time option, where they are learning STEAM-based skills and having fun. In their two newest games Math Wizard, the players use math to help create potions for dragons and help the townspeople. Math Wizard is a new self-paced, curriculum-inspired series that combines hands-on learning with digital adventure, helping children build math confidence and understanding. Osmo works closely with educators to develop the games to make sure they are aligned with traditional curriculum so that children can take what they play on the Osmo game and apply it to the classroom and life. There are settings within the game for parents to set based on their student’s ability. My son begs to play the game daily. He wants to solve the puzzles and he is also able to make the connection between what he is learning as part of his classroom studies with the game.
SCIENCE
The U.S. Labor Department predicted the 10 fastest growing occupations and nearly all are STEM careers, so we need to get our kids excited about Science. What better way than letting them conduct experiments at home! Chemistry can be simple and fun and many of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen or backyard! The Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr Jungle Crew Lab Set is a favorite to aid in experimenting. It includes 10 hands-on activity cards with clear directions
Plus Educational Insights has a whole section of their website dedicated to At-Home Activities for Kids. Their team of play experts compiled all of their favorite at-home activities that kids can enjoy on their own or with their parents, from puzzles and coloring pages, to worksheets and printables. We enjoy the Home’s Cool videos that use items you already have in your home. Be sure to checkout how to make Sidewalk Chalk and Birthday Cake Slime!
