Author: ajs00frog

Research shows that they are 3 traits that make a person a good reader:

1. Having a wide knowledge of the world also referred to as background knowledge.
2. Having a large reading vocabulary
3. Accurate and fluent word recognition

You can help your preschooler to develop these first 2 traits simply by spending time with them and engaging with them. The last trait accurate and fluent word recognition won’t come until they are older, but by providing them with knowledge and experiences about the world around them, you will be laying a foundation for them to become strong readers in a few years. If you want to develop word recognition skills see my how to help your preschooler become a good reader part 2.

You don’t need a lot of money or expense trips for your child to learn about the world around them. There’s plenty to explore in your own home and neighborhood. The easiest thing to do is talk to your child often. When you’re driving in the car or shopping at the grocery store. Tell your child what your doing, where you’re going or what you’ll be buying. Ask them for their help. “Should we buy the green or red apples? I’m going to put 4 of them in this bag. Help me count the apples. One…Two…Three…Four…”

Give your child as many different experiences as possible. It could be as simple as a nature walk outside, arts and crafts, sensory bins, and “helping” with the household chores, and plenty of outside play. About this age we started letting them chop some veggies with this chopper. They loved being able to cook like mommy and daddy. Let them help with the laundry, dishes, and making beds. They love it at this age and hopefully will put some good habits in place when they are older.

We have a large puddle near our house and we love to explore it in the different seasons and talk about the changes we observe. Sometimes the puddle is large, sometimes it’s dried up, sometimes it’s frozen solid and other times partially frozen. We talk about the the different states of matter, we talk about the crystals we see that formed in the ice, we talk about textures of the ice. Some days it’s smooth and some days it’s rough and we make hypotheses about what makes it different. With proper gear, like rain pant, we can go out in all different types of weather. Rain pants have become a necessity in our home.

Set up a bird feeder and count the birds that come. Use a bird identification book to look up what kind of bird it is. (Use the book to look up what the bird is even if you already know the name of the bird. Your child will be watching how you use the book to gain new knowledge.)

Play with words and show them that words are fun and expand your child’s vocabulary. There’s been a lot of buzz about phonemic awareness and it’s importance in learning to read. Playing with words and their sounds will build these important skills. Mealtimes and car rides are a good time to play with words. I like to ask how many words can we think of that start with a particular sound. “Let’s think of words that start with the /t/ sound. I’ll go first. /t/ /t/ /t/ teacher. Do you hear the /t/ sound? Your turn. Think of a word that begins with the /t/ sound.” You can do this with rhyming words too. We like to make up silly nonsense rhyming words.

If you’re child is ready for a more difficult challenge, play Guess My Word. Think of a word and tell your child that is not your word, but if you change one letter they can figure out the word your thinking. For example, “My word is similar to the word make but it does not start with a /m/ it starts with the sound /t/. Can you guess my word?”

Learn new words together. My favorite word I learned with my son is ootheca when we hatched a preying mantis egg sac. It’s fun to look and talk about words. For ootheca we talked how unusual it is for a word to start with two o’s. Another way to expand their vocabulary is to give them new words when they are telling you something. For example, if they say “Broccoli is yucky.” Ask them some questions. Is it bland? Slimy? Bitter? Unpleasant? Dry? What makes it yucky?

Games and puzzles

Play with your kids. Follow their lead and play along. They will remember this for the rest of their lives.

Listen to a variety of music together. Share your favorites. Listen to some new tunes together. For kids music we love the Sandra Boynton books that were set to music. They are a lot fun, but hard to find now. At Christmas time we did a study on Tchaikovsky (the composer of the Nutcracker) and my son loved the 1812 Overture especially the 16 cannon shots. Peter and the Wolf is another fun one to listen to. Talk about the music – what instruments do you hear? How does the song make you feel? Do you feel sad, joyful, energetic, melancholy, or calm? Good opportunity to use and explore some new feeling words.

Make reading aloud a part of their everyday routine. For book ideas check out my list of preschool books and pre-k books.

Point out letters when you seem especially the initial letter in their name. We love the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for learning letters.

Spend time with other people. Friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, librarians can all enrich the lives of young children.

“Again!” your little one yells after reading their favorite book. Inside you groan and sigh a little as you’ve read this book hundreds of times and have it memorized. You read it again though because who can say no to that sweet face that loves a book? That’s where this list comes in handy. These books are interesting to babies and adults (at least for the first 100 readings).

It’s great to start reading aloud to your baby as a newborn or around 3-4 months as they start to settle into a routine and begin to sleep for longer stretches. Of course most babies won’t be able to sit in your lap yet for a short book so find a way that works for you and your baby to enjoy a book together. Try having a little tummy time or sitting in an activity jumper or give your child a favorite toy that they only play with at bedtime while you read.

1. MOO, BAA, LA LA LA! by Sandra Boynton This is my favorite Sandra Boynton book, but I recommend all of her books. They are all wonderful first books for baby and often include a little fun and humor for adults too.

2. Barn Yard Dance another favorite by Sandra Boynton

3. It’s Time for Bed by Mem Fox

4. Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle

The repetition in this book can get a little tiring after a while. Make it a little more interesting by having your little one try to guess the animal on the next page or hide it in the back of the bookshelf.

5. Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

It appears that this book is no longer available as a board book, but still a wonderful book to have as part of your collection.

6. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson Another favorite author

It’s fun to make the different voices of the animals in this one.

7. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Another fun one for voices especially when Llama Llama whines loudly for his mama.

8. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown a classic

9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle another classic and favorite author

10. From Head to Toe another favorite by Eric Carle

11. Bright Baby Touch and Feel Boxed Set We love these textured books and babies love the sensory component on each page.

12. Never Touch a Porcupine by Rosie Greening Another textured book

13. Our God: A Shapes Primer and any of the in the Baby Believer Series Don’t be afraid of the challenging words and text in this book. It’s good for little ones to be exposed to high quality words and sentences.

14. Who Sang the First Song by Ellie Comb Another beautiful Christian book

15. Love is Kind by Laura Sassi A heartwarming book that teaches the biblical view of love

16. Leaves by David Ezra Stein Sweet short story without a lot of text

My kids also enjoyed the books with sound buttons as they got closer to two years old, but not always my favorite to read. I love a sweet story and these are often lacking a strong story component, but if you’re trying to get your little one interested in books, these might be the answer.

A few of our favorite books with sound buttons.

1. Hear Bear Roar from the World of Eric Carle

2. Discovery: Honk on the Road by Thea Feldman

3. Sesame Street – The Monster at the End of this Sound Book by Jon Stone I like this one because it reminds me of my childhood.

1. The Library

Of course us home schoolers frequent the local library often, but have you visited the neighboring towns’ libraries and see programs they offer? We love to go and visit other libraries and have even gone to the library when on vacation. (When it’s been raining for 3 days and you’re camping with children, the library is welcome haven or sanctuary?.) Most libraries offer many programs including reading to a dog, story hours, chess clubs, debate clubs, Lego clubs, summer reading programs. And don’t forget the librarians they are a wealth of information and always ready to help. Many will offer classes for home schoolers if asked or you can invite some friends and use their space to start your own class.

2. The Pet Store

When my kids were little, they could spend hours at the pet store. Watching and laughing at the antics of the animals. The one we visited also had free cards to learn more about specific animals. We also left with a long list of animals the wanted to take home.

3. Local Businesses

Many local businesses are happy to give home schoolers a tour of their business. We toured a local ice cream shop and learned how they made ice cream. Of course we left with sticky fingers and happy bellies, so not sure this one counts as free 😉

Another local business makes fermented vegetables like pickles, sauerkraut, carrots, beans and more.  We had a tour and learned the process for making the fermented foods and then used a kitchen at a local church to make our own sauerkraut. The kids even made their own recipe before chopping and mixing.

We are hoping to take a field trip soon to a friend who loves 3D printing and will let the kids use his printer to make and design their own creations.

We have friends who visited the local pizza shop and a bakery and made their own pizzas and decorated their own cupcakes.

A bike shop might be willing to offer a class on bike safety and basic bike mechanics.

Wastewater treatment plant. We have a couple of family members who work here and would be more than willing to give us a tour. I’m sure other facilities would be happy to show kids around and explain to them where their poop goes after it magically disappears down the toilet.

We did a free basket class. Where kids made baskets from tree bark. The woman is a local artisan who makes them and sells the baskets at fairs and she was happy to share her trade and love with the kids.

Bird Watching connect with a local group of birders or ask someone at a local wildlife sanctuary. We have yet to find a bird watcher who is not excited to share their passion with children. During the fall, take a hike to an overlook and watch hawks soar on the updrafts during migration.

Most people are happy to share their job and work with the kids. Look in your neighborhood or friends you know or retired people who may have a business or skill that they would like to share.

4. State Department of Recreation and State Parks

Visit your state’s department of recreation web site and see what parks and facilities are nearby. We have a state park that the rangers offer a free weekly hiking class and they stop and talk about the history of the park and the habitat and animals that live there.

Many are happy to teach a class or do a one-time field trip for home schoolers. We did a one-day trip to a local pond and learned about the insects and other creatures that live in the pond. And another trip to a local reservoir where we learned about the trees and plants and how they impact the water supply.

5. Reservoirs

We have several reservoirs in our area. One is fun to visit for a walk and we often see animals there like snakes, turtles, herons, deer, and bald eagles. We have a second larger reservoir that hosts school free field trips and programs from it’s creation and history to the work involved in protecting drinking water.

6. Local Hikes

We have lots of nice hiking near us with gentle hikes for littles and more challenging hikes for teens. We have story walks which is a fun way to introduce hiking and getting outdoors for young children. Scavenger hunts and geocaching are other fun ways to enjoy some outdoor time together. Make a small, easy craft and then try geocaching!

7. National Parks Pass

Get a free national parks pass for the whole family!  When you have a fourth grader, you are eligible for a free parks pass for the whole family.

8. Cemeteries

Lots of history at cemeteries. Our little town does free cemetery tours during the month of October. We learned a lot about the history and founding of our town. Other famous cemeteries to visit in the U.S include 5 cemeteries in Boston that mark the graves of famous Patriots Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, and Samuel Adams. If you’re in NYC check out Trinity Church’s Cemeteries you can learn more about Alexander Hamilton and his wife. If you’re in the D.C. area there’s Arlington cemetery, the rows and rows of graves are a stark reminder of the price we pay for our freedom and our country.

9. Animal Sanctuary

If cemeteries aren’t your thing, but animals are, find an animal sanctuary near you. Kids love the animals. I love that each animal has a unique story and I like to use their stories to inspire my kids to write one animal’s story when we return or include an animal’s story in their writing.

10. Public gardens

Studying botany? Look for a public garden near you. Many have descriptions of the plants in the garden and then use that inspiration to design your own garden or design your dream garden. We pulled out seed catalogs and lots of craft items and my kids spent a couple of hours designing their own dream garden.

11. College Museums

Many colleges have museums that are free to visit or look for certain days where they offer free admission or check out the library for museum passes.

12. College greenhouses

We have two college greenhouses that are fun to visit especially in the middle of the winter. Look at their offerings ours has a spring bulb show that is full of beautiful tulips, daffodils, and crocuses in bloom. The smell is so amazing when you step into the greenhouse. They also have a fall show full of chrysanthemums.

13. Fish Ladder

Fish ladders are a lot of fun and often offer free field trips when the fish are migrating. Check out my post here for more information.

14. Trash Recycling Center

Many trash and recycling centers give free tours.

15. Town Meetings

Town meetings are a good way to learn and see democracy in action how our decisions impact our lives. My son was about 8 years-old when he spoke at the first town meeting. The topic was conservation of land that would protect and be beneficial to kestrels. He surprised us and I think everyone in the room with his passionate plea to vote to protect the land and help kestrels that would benefit conserving their habitat. The vote passed with an overwhelming majority and our son gained experience in public speaking and using his voice for a cause that was important to him.

Let me know in the comments, if you have other free homeschool field trip ideas.

We are lucky and happen to live near two fish ladders. This is a great free home school field trip that we enjoyed prior to covid. We are so excited that the fish ladder viewing areas are once again open to the public!

Before we went to the fish ladder, I got a few books from the library to build background knowledge about the life cycle of salmon and why the salmon are swimming upstream and returning to their birthplace. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any children’s books or resources about fish ladders (if you know of some, please let me know!) so I focused our studies on the life cycle of salmon since it’s an important species on Earth.

These are great books to read and learn about salmon for kids even if you don’t have a fish leader nearby to visit. I especially enjoyed learning more about the culturally significance of the salmon to Native Americans. One of the tribes in the Pacific Northwest even define themselves as Salmon People. Once again I was not able to find resources or books for kids that discuss the interconnectedness of Native Americans and salmon.

Kids Books to Study The Life Cycle of Salmon

1. Run Salmon Run by Bobs and Lolo

This is a short and sweet book that introduces the basics of salmon and their life cycle in a poetic and gentle text and beautifully illustrated. Best for preschoolers and early elementary children. They even have a sweet song that you can listen to on their web site here www.bobsandlolo.com

2. A book with more information about the life cycle of a salmon, but still simple and easy to follow check out The Bizarre Life Cycle of a Salmon by Mark J. Haraysmiw.

3. For a more in-depth information about the life cycle of a salmon check out this nonfiction book by Bobbie Kalman’s The Life Cycle of a Salmon.

4. Salmon Creek by Annette Lebox is another sweet and poetically written book about the life cycle of a salmon. This book is best for middle to upper elementary children although my high schooler enjoyed it too. This is a narrative story that follows the life a Sumi a pacific salmon. Beautifully written and illustrated, makes for a great bedtime read aloud.

5. Nonfiction and poetic books are great, but my kids love stories best and that’s why we love Salmon Forest by David Suzuki. We love the alliteration he used in the book, “mysteries, merry-go-rounds, and millions of babies.” A great book for middle and upper elementary children. It follows a girl and her father on a fishing trip in the Pacific Northwest and explains to her that she will part of the salmon story and teaches the interconnection of all living things.

6. For the science lover, check out Salmon Matters How a Fish Feeds a Forest. This book describes food webs and how their death brings nutrients to the web of life. Best for upper elementary and middle schoolers.

7. The Salmon Princess: An Alaska Cinderella because I love the Cinderella story and we enjoy reading as many versions of Cinderella stories as we can find! This one definitely puts a unique twist on the favorite fairytale. Best for all ages.

Need an extra cup of coffee? Play one of these videos for you kids and take a few minutes for yourself.

If you want a little old school, watch The Magic School Bus – Goes Upstream Ep. 8

But we preferred Wild Kratts: Alaska – Hero’s Journey  This is a longer episode at 48 minutes if you need a couple of minutes and let the Kratt brothers teach.

For older kids the PBS documentary is very well done – The Lost Salmon

A summary from the PBS web site, “The Lost Salmon, chronicles the plight and potential recovery of the iconic spring chinook salmon of the Pacific Northwest. Faced with extinction in many river systems of the West, a new genetic discovery could aid in their recovery. Once teaming in the millions and a sacrament for the oldest civilizations in the Americas, time is running out for the genetically distinct wild salmon.”

Other resources –

For more lessons and activities check out this free salmon curriculum from NOAA Fisheries called The Incredible Journey. Includes a free digital book, a game and 10 lessons about the life cycle of salmon.

Life Cycle worksheets –

There are a lot of worksheets available online. We liked this cutting and gluing one from Living Life and Learning You do need to subscribe to her mailing list to get it.

Related Activities

Make a model of a watershed: What is a watershed? A watershed is an area of land where all water drains to a common location or waterway. Water moves, or sheds downhill. In some parts of a watershed, water flows. In other parts of a watershed, water is stored. The boundary of a watershed is the high land that surrounds it, like the edge of a bowl. A water shed can be small or very large. For more information about watersheds and making a model watershed you can read this

This is a fun little 5 minute video that explains a watershed.

To make your own watershed – it’s best to do this on a warm day outside. If doing inside, have each or pair of students do it in a roasting pan or bin or dishpan to catch the water.

You can do this with paper or aluminum foil. We used aluminum foil. Have the children bend and fold the aluminum foil to make mountains. If using paper, they can crumble into a ball and then uncrumble it slightly, then use a spray bottle to make precipitation and watch what happens to the water. How many watersheds do they have? Then make a second model and before folding the aluminum foil use washable markers and color on the foil. The color represents pollutants in the environment. Then spray again and watch what happens to the pollutants that were on the land.

Mountain with no pollution.

Added some pollution with washable markers to the foil.

Mountain with pollution.

The pollution after precipitation.

Finish your study with a tasty salmon dinner!

Here’s a two-day study to help you pull everything together. It could easily turn into 3 days. Also, helpful if you want to teach the life cycle of salmon at a co-op. Here’s a pdf version

	Read	Learn	Activity
Day 1	To hook the children’s interests begin with this fun clip of grizzly bears catching salmon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSSPDwAQLXs Read a book about the life cycle of a salmon. I recommend Bobbie Kalman’s book or The Bizarre Life Cycle of a Salmon. Then read one of the poetic books Salmon Creek or Run Salmon Run	Complete a Life Cycle of salmon worksheet. Living Life and Learning   For older kids this reading selection and worksheet	Watch Wild Kratts: Alaska – Hero’s Journey   Or The Magic School Bus – Goes Upstream Ep. 3   For older kids The Lost Salmon
Day 2	Read Salmon Stream and The Salmon Princess	Discuss that salmon need clean water to survive. The land and the area around the river are important to keep the river clean. Watch the watershed video	Watershed Activity – Materials – paper or aluminum foil, spray bottle, washable markers, and tray or pan to catch the water. Crumble or fold the paper/foil to make mountains. Spray water and watch how it moves down along the mountains to a single point. How many watersheds do you have? Do it again this time draw with markers on the paper/foil and it represents pollutants. Spray and watch what happens to the pollutants that are on the land. Where do they end up?