SHARE:  
Join Our Email List
Stepping Stone School
Supporting Families & Learning at Home
July 3rd
At Stepping Stone School, our mission is to offer exceptional nurturing and education for our students, and extraordinary support and care for all parents and families! Many families are finding new and creative ways to engage and educate their children while at home. We compiled a list of fun and educational activities and resources for you to use with your family.
WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU!
Community & Cultural Awareness
Three Kindness Activities
1. Read
Read  Jillee Bean and the One Good Thing  by Jill Nystul and Samanta Hollister. In the story, Jillee’s Dad encourages her to focus on doing one good thing a day. For each good deed, she earns a jelly bean to put into a jar. Jillee isn’t sure if she can fill the jar but she makes a plan and sets out to try. Her acts of kindness lead her to donating toys, to raking leaves, to helping to wash the dishes. Before she knows it, Jillee has a full jelly bean jar. Continuing on with her acts of kindness, Jillee shares her jellybeans with others and sets off on a quest to start the process all over again.

2. Do
For the next month your children can perform random acts of kindness. To help serve as a visual and to document your work. Fill a cookie jar with kindness cookies!

  • Start by making lots of cookies out of paper. It can actually serve as a math lesson too. You can count the number of candies (dot stickers) on each cookie, compare which cookie had the most candies, order the cookies from least number of candies to most and so on.
  • On the back side of each cookie you will write down our kind deed for the day. Then, you will place the cookie in the cookie jar!
  • After our cookie jar is full, you can bake real cookies to enjoy with your family!
  • For random acts of kindness ideas, check out https://www.randomactsofkindness.org
3. Sing
The last gratitude literacy activity is a song that you can sing at night before bed. It pairs beautifully with the activities above. It’s to the tune of “Where is Thumbkin”.
I am thankful.
I am thankful 
for my _______.
I am very thankful.
I am very thankful
for my ________.
Repeat the verse over and over again until each person has a chance to name what they are thankful for each day!
Fun Bagel Breakfasts
Assemble the ingredients listed below as seen in the picture above!

Ingredients Needed to Make Bagel Bear : Bagel, Bagel Chips, Peanut Butter, Blueberry, Large Candy Eyes

Ingredients Needed to Make Bagel White Tiger  – Bagel, Cream Cheese, Black Frosting Writer (note: only do if serving immediately as the black frosting will spread in the cream cheese), Raspberry, Small Candy Eyes, Strawberry

Ingredients Needed to Make Bagel Puppy: Bagel, Peanut Butter, Nutter Butters, Bagel Chips, Chocolate Chip, Large Candy Eyes

Ingredients Needed to Make Bagel Bunny: Bagel, Cream Cheese Mixed with Jam or Strawberry Cream Cheese, Blueberry, Large Candy Eyes, Nutter Butters

Ingredients Needed to Make Bagel Lion: Bagel, Peanut Butter, Pretzel Sticks, Large Candy Eyes, Bagel Chips, Chocolate Chip, Black Frosting if Desired
Art & Creative Expression
Cotton Candy Sensory Paint!
  • Start by free-drawing a cotton candy shape on a piece of paper.
  • Then mix 1 part glue with 1 part shaving cream until it forms firm peaks.
  • Add the red and blue food coloring to make cotton candy colors.
  • Cut out the cotton candy shape and start painting swirls with both colors!
  • Finish it off by cutting out a cone shape for the handle piece.
  • It should stay puffy for about a day or two then start getting flat.
  • Leave it overnight to dry!
Lion Masks
  • To make the lion masks cut the center hole out of a paper plate.
  • Cut strips of paper approximately 1/2 inch by 3 inches in orange, brown, and yellow.
  •  Glue the paper strips around the circle leaving an open whole for your child's face.
  • You can add a little fine motor practice by rolling the ends of the paper.
  • Using crayons have the children curl the bottom half of the paper around the edges.
  • This takes a bit of time so the children may want to take a break instead of doing all of the curling in one sitting.
They will be delighted with the finished lion masks. You can use for pretend play or singing songs!
How To: Make Cardboard Shoes
These giant “shoes” can be decorated according to your child’s obsession du jour (ballet slippers, robot feet, or clown shoes). They’re great for clomping around during a silly dance party or a goofy relay race. And younger children can use them to practice their bow-tying skills.

What You Need
  • scissors and utility knife,
  • markers
  • ruler
  • rubber bands
  • glue
  • tape (transparent, duct, masking, or colored)
  • gift wrap or decorative paper, kraft paper
  • 2 adult-size shoe boxes
  • construction paper
  • shoelaces

Follow These Steps
1. Cut a semicircular hole from one end of the top of each lid. (It should be just large enough for a child to slide in her foot.)
2. Decorate each box and its lid with tape or paper. Using a utility knife, punch small holes, then thread the laces.
3. Line the side rim of each lid with glue and return it to its box. Secure with tape as needed.
Writing and Literacy Readiness
Corduroy
Written and Illustrated by Don Freeman
Corduroy the teddy bear lives in a department store and is spotted by Lisa, who wants to buy him. But when she and her mother notice that a button is missing, her mother says no. Corduroy tries to find the button himself, but gets into trouble. All ends well when Lisa finds a way to buy Corduroy.
Corduroy: Cut-out Pocket
Color and cut out your own pocket, then color and cut out Corduroy to place in the pocket. Write your name in the space provided on the pocket. You can tape the pocket and Corduroy on your clothing and carry Corduroy with you on his special anniversary!

Peter Spier's Circus!  by Peter Spier

Olivia Saves the Circus  by Ian Falconer



Circus Caps for Sale  by Esphyr Slobodkina

Harold's Circus  by Crockett Johnson

You See A Circus, I See...  by Mike Downs

Sidewalk Circus  by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes

Circus  by Lois Ehlert

The Circus Ship  by Chris van Dusen

If I Ran the Circus  by Dr. Seuss

Mathematical & Scientific Concepts
Elephant Toothpaste
To use it as a science project, perform it once with your child, then ask your child what might happen if you changed the amounts or left out an ingredient. Let him or her direct the experiment! Also, the foam created is safe to touch. It is simply water, oxygen gas, and soap, so if your child has no soap allergies, she can experience and experiment with the texture, temperature, and feel of the foam!

1. Set a  water bottle  or  soda pop bottle  in the middle of a  pan  to catch the toothpaste.

2. Mix ingredients below in a separate container and swirl together for a minute.  The yeast will catalyze (or speed up) the reaction. 
** 2 Tablespoons warm water
** 1 teaspoon yeast

3. Mix these in your soda pop bottle: 
** 1/2 cup 6% hydrogen peroxide.   
It is important to use at least 6%.   Y ou can use 8% or more. 3% from the grocery store will NOT work as well.)
** 4-5 drops food coloring
** squirt of dish soap

4. Pour the yeast mixture into the soda pop bottle...and be amazed!
Cotton Candy Playdough
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 TBSP. cream of tartar
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 drops of desired Food Coloring Neon Pink & Neon Blue
  • 1/2 tsp. cotton candy liquid flavoring

Directions:
1.      In a saucepan, whisk together the flour, salt, & cream of tartar.
2.      Blend water & food coloring in separate bowl.
3.      Add colored water mixture to dry mixture and whisk until smooth and blended.
4.      Add scented flavoring.
5.      Place saucepan over low heat and stir continuously until it forms a ball – about 7 minutes (it will be impossible to stir).
6.      Remove dough from saucepan onto a mat and knead it several times while warm.
7.      Play immediately with dough or store in a sealed container for later play. (DO NOT EAT PLAYDOUGH.)
Character Development
How to Instill Responsibility and Independence in Your Child
Dr. Alexandra Barzvi, a parenting coach and clinical psychologist talks about responsibility, “It’s an attitude, the idea of taking action and being proud of doing it, not just always having your mom and dad do it for you.”
Throughout the month of July, the teachers at Stepping Stone School will provide children with focused activities centered around the  Communities of Character™  trait of responsibility. Each week, teachers will read stories about responsibility and recognize responsible behaviors.
Responsibility is necessary to be successful and there are several things parents and caregivers can do to support responsible behaviors while children are very young.
  1. Provide Routines: a large part of teaching responsibility is teaching routines and establishing habits of responsible behavior. Consider using a morning checklist or a visual chart to support children as they are learning what they need to do to get ready in the morning. As children practice getting themselves dressed and then putting dirty clothes in the hamper or clearing their dishes after a meal, they are learning good habits for cleaning up after themselves which is part of responsible living. Consistently referring to the checklist or chart as your child is learning new routines supports the development of independence while learning responsible behaviors.
  2. Start Small: toddlers especially enjoy “helping” throughout the day. Providing children with the opportunity to help with small tasks instills a sense of accomplishment. Invite children to help set the table or prepare a salad. As they grow, their responsibilities can grow as well.
  3. Praise their Efforts: when your preschooler excitedly exclaims, “I got dressed by myself!” smile at the backward shirt or mismatched outfit and praise them for taking responsibility to get dressed by themselves. Support your child as needed knowing the effort put forth in these younger years are building blocks for greater responsibility in the years to come.
As children grow, their understanding and ability to accept responsibility will grow as well. In the meantime, we can lay the foundation of responsibility by providing routines, starting with small tasks and praising their efforts.

Physical Development
Ringmaster Says!
Gross Motor and Listening Game

This version of Simon Says is great for a circus theme! Instead of saying "Simon says," you'll be saying "Ringmaster says." A little bit of a costume makes it more fun, but is not necessary!
Here are some fun circus actions that you can call out for your children to do:
  • roar like a lion
  • stomp like an elephant
  • pop like popcorn
  • walk on a tightrope
  • do a somersault like an acrobat
  • Lick an ice cream cone
  • prance around the room like a horse
  • make a silly face like a clown
  • drive a funny car around the room
  • reach up for balloons
  • pretend to juggle
Recycled Bottle Clown Bowling 
Part of the fun of this game is making the bowling pins!
  • Use empty, two-liter, plastic bottles as the pins. Paint and decorate them to look like clowns (or circus animals, if you prefer).
  • Set them up as you would an ordinary set of bowling pins.
  • Use a rubber ball to knock down the bottles. Score the game just as you would a normal bowling game!
Cognitive & Phonological Development
Exploring Shapre and Colors with Clown Faces
Gather your materials. You'll just need construction paper in a variety of colors, scissors, glue, and (optional) googly eyes.
  1. Start by cutting a small selection of shapes in different colors. You can do this yourself, or have your child help you, depending on his or her cutting ability.You can cut squares, circles, triangles, semi-circles, large white circles for heads, and large triangles for hats. 
  2. Let your child pick a color of construction paper to be their background.
  3. Call out instructions for your child to see if they can pick the pieces that you name. 
  4. You can say directions like, "Pick out a big white circle and glue it on your paper" and "Find 2 circles of the same color for eyes," and so on. Guide them through building a whole clown using instructions featuring different shapes and colors.
  5. After your children have made one clown each using your directions, Let them make several more using whatever shapes and colors they would like. While they work, you can keep the conversation going about the shapes and colors they are using.
  6. When you've finished hang them up to display!
Emotional & Social Development
Learn about Emotion With Rocks!
This activity is a simple one. Round up some rocks and give each one a facial feature. You can make eyes, noses & mouths in different expressions and then set them out so your child can create faces with them!
Emotion Story Stones Materials:
  • Rocks
  • Acrylic Paint
  • A sheet of paper with “face” (oval) on it
I’m sure you could easily create these with Sharpies but acrylic paints work well too.
  1. The children can create faces with the story stones.
  2. You can talk about the emotions they created, explaining how we feel and how we act when we are feeling that way. It’s a great way to explore emotional intelligence in a way preschool children can connect with.
  3. These can open a conversation about how they feel for each emotion created and how they can handle their bodies/feelings when experiencing said emotions.
  • “I cry when I’m sad.”
  • “I run in my room by myself when I’m mad.”
  • “I scream like this *screams* when surprised/scared.”

One example is the difference between being surprised and scared. As you make the faces and talk about the situations that can cause these feelings, they might realize being surprised dosen't only mean in a scary way, you can be surprised in a happy way!
Online Learning Resources
Online learning or distance learning is becoming an alternative method to ensure students and teachers have access to online lessons and activities. Here are 20 online learning and educational websites that teachers and parents can offer as activities for students during the COVID-19 school closures. 
Khan Academy  is a great online learning website for students of all ages. The site offers short video lessons on thousands of topics, and their programs are personalized to allow children to learn at their own pace. To top it off, all videos and resources are free for all users. Check out their  daily schedules  for students ages 4-18. 
Learn to code online! Code.org provides free K-12 computer science lessons and games to help students learn how to code at an earlier age.   Code.org  is supported by tech company donors, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and many more.
The   Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids  features fun games, riddles and puzzles, to supplement any online learning for young children. 
Who doesn’t love  Sesame Street ? Students have access to hundreds of video clips and games that help them with phonics, rhymes, colors and more. 
PBS Kids  is a great online learning option for K-12 students who love interactive content, including sing-along videos, TV series, games, virtual lessons and more. You can also download their PBS Kids Video app for live-tv streaming.
CoolMath.com  offers online math games that help students ages 3+ with basic math lessons, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, money and more.  CoolMath4Kids.com  is appropriate for ages 3 through 12 and CoolMath-Games.com includes math games for pre-K students.
What could be cooler than learning about animals? On   National Geographic Kids , students of all ages can enjoy science experiments, animal watch cameras and a ton of activities to keep them busy for hours.
Starfall.com  is a great online resource that helps pre-K to 3rd grade students with language arts and math lessons. It also offers a parent-teacher resource center for free, downloadable worksheets and more. 
TheKidzPage.com  is the perfect online resource for parents and teachers who are looking for word games, coloring activities and puzzles to try with their students. Check out their printable section for off-line activity sheets as well.
How Stuff Works  is a comprehensive articles-based site that introduces and informs on a variety of topics like culture, science, money, technology and more. Games, quizzes, and videos are also available to supplement the articles.
11.  Scholastic
You can play games, create your own comics, and more. Most importantly,  Scholastic  features an online discussion board for your students to connect with friends online.
Fun Brain  is designed for pre-K to 8th grade students to explore topics in math and reading through fun videos and games.
Exploratorium  (yes, the same one as the museum in San Francisco) has a website that teaches students about science and art. Help your students go far into the galaxy or deep down to the bottom of the ocean on this site.   
Students can walk through ancient history, or choose specific countries for more deep learning.  BBC History for Kids  is an adventure through time. 
15.  Nick Jr.
Beyond the television network,  Nick Jr.  offers many educational printables, games and other activities (yes, it includes Peppa Pig) for students to love.  
Learning Games for Kids  is all about games that can teach students about a variety of topics and subjects. Game lovers will be thrilled. 
TIMEforKids.com  offers interesting articles, photos and videos on topics like politics, the environment, entertainment, sports and health. 
Mickey Mouse  and friends will keep your students busy for hours with games, coloring pages, videos and more. 
Looking for a language learning site with fun games and creative lesson plans?   Duolingo  offers a rewarding, personalized learning experience in more than 20 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and more. 
Highlights Kids  offers online ways to play, read and craft with animated stories and more. According to their website, they are on a mission to “help children become their best selves by publishing content and creating experiences that engage, delight and foster joyful learning.
Google  has teamed up with over 500 museums and galleries around the world to bring everyone virtual tours and online exhibits. So while your students are at home, they can still take a virtual field trip to some of the most famous museums across the world.
Audible by Amazon has hundreds of titles available   completely free  for as long as schools are closed. The collection has been handpicked by editors and is a mix of stories to entertain, engage, and inform young people, ages 0–18. These stories offer a screen-free option that may help break up the day for families with students home from school.
Lucid for Education is a collaborative platform that makes classroom activities resemble the real world. Enable critical thinking, creativity and communication in your school. Trial accounts for in-classroom use are available for free.
Atlas is a mental health app specifically designed for students as they navigate the ups and downs of school and growing up. Atlas is offering their platform free for all schools with additional podcasts and guided journaling experiences that help students adjust to life in the age of COVID-19.