Og® the bookworm represents caring and literacy, and is the perfect Primrose Friend to bring your child's school experience to your home. Over the next few weeks, we will provide specially designed interactive activities for children and parents as we navigate at-home learning together. If you have questions or comments on this site, click here. 

Og® the bookworm represents caring and literacy, and is the perfect Primrose Friend to bring your child's school experience to your home. Over the next few weeks, we will provide specially designed interactive activities for children and parents as we navigate at-home learning together. If you have questions or comments on this site, click here. 

Superhero "Courage" Car

Courage means that even when we are afraid to try something, we are brave and try our best. Ask your child if they think superheroes are courageous and why. Turn a large cardboard box into a superhero “courage” car! Provide materials such as paint, paint brushes, stickers, crayons, and/or markers for your child to decorate their superhero car. Then, they may create and act out a pretend play storyline in which they are a superhero and need to make a courageous choice.

I Love You This Much Craft

Just in time for Mother's Day and Teacher Appreciation Week, your child can use this simple, sweet paper craft to tell someone special how much they love them! 

Leaf Art

Turn leaves into insects! Use leaves, glue, and markers to transform leaves into the bodies of insects. Help your child glue leaves to the paper. Ask them about insects they know. Explain that some insects have antennae, legs, and wings. Add some of these features to the leaf body. Your child can also draw eyes or a mouth.

Billy's Playlist

Billy® the duck has new songs to share! Sing along with Billy here.

Parts of a Plant

Use the Parts of a Plant activity sheet and talk about the different parts of a flowering plant. Examine a real flower and point out the stem, leaves, flower, and petals. Tear brown, green, red, and pink tissue paper and construction paper into small scraps. Use the bits of paper to recreate a flower. Ask your child to identify and label each part of the flower. Another option is to label the flower parts by gluing the name beside each part.  

Kindness Poster

Talk about ways to show kindness to others. Rub your child’s back and remind them that when we do gentle touches, we are being kind. Discuss other ways to show kindness such as giving a hug, sharing a toy, or helping to clean up. Encourage your child to draw a picture of a way to be kind. Ask what is happening in the picture and write their explanation on the paper. Reference the kindness poster throughout the week and highlight the example they shared. 

Courage Mini Book

Encourage your child to draw ways they show courage! Older children may also write about ways they show courage in their Courage Mini Book.  

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Discuss the steps of growing a flower or a plant. Ask your child, “What do you do first? Second? Last?” Talk through the process, identifying simple steps such as planting a seed in soil, providing water, providing sunlight, and finally measuring its growth. Your child may make a diagram, or series of pictures, to explain the process. Fold a paper into fourths (horizontally then vertically). Your child may draw a picture of each step in each block on the paper. 

Letter Scavenger Hunt

Print the Letter Scavenger Hunt activity sheet. Together, go on a letter hunt around your house. On the hunt, find uppercase (capital) letters they recognize from printed items around your house. When they recognize a letter, your child may circle that letter on their paper. Can they find all the letters in the alphabet? Try the activity again, this time using lowercase letters. 

Living or Nonliving?

Remind your child of the differences between living and nonliving things. How do we know if something is living? It needs food, water, air, shelter, and sunlight to grow. Gather an assortment of pretend toys representing living and nonliving things and place them in a box. Take turns pulling an object out of the box and identifying whether it is living or nonliving. Then, discuss what characteristics make it living or nonliving.

Crystal Geodes

What do diamonds, salt, and sugar have in common? They’re all crystals! See the crystallization process in action by creating these simple DIY crystal geodes.  

Butterfly Lifecycle

Using modeling dough (or homemade salt dough), create each stage of the butterfly life cycle: egg, pupa (or chrysalis), caterpillar, butterfly. Check out the butterfly life cycle in color at NatGeo Kids and the video From Chrysalis to Butterfly from DKfindout. Sort the butterfly life cycle cards in the correct order after exploring the external resources. 

Insect Investigator

Get a magnifying lens and go outside for some official scientific observations. Look for ants, worms, and other insects. Use the magnifying lens to look more closely at the insects’ unique features. 

Mia's Workout Video 2.0

Feel the burn! Mia℠ the mouse is here to stretch, twist, and bend to get the wiggles out! 

Sunflower Stretches

Ask your child to pretend they are a tiny seed. Have them curl into a ball. Explain that they are a tiny seed that will grow up to become a taller plant or tree. What kind of plant do they want to grow into? A sunflower? An apple tree? Tell them you are going to water them. Ask them what happens when seeds get water? Encourage your child to slowly come to their feet while bending over and touching their toes to show they are growing. As you mention sunlight, have your child stand upright and stretch their arms high above their head to represent growing into a tree or a flower. 

Butterfly Race

Cut out the butterfly life cycle stages from the activity sheet (egg, caterpillar, pupa, butterfly). Use painter’s tape or masking tape, to define a starting point and then a second point several feet ahead. Place all 4 of the life cycle shapes at the second line. The goal is for your child to begin at the starting line, run to the second line and grab the shape that represents the first stage of the butterfly life cycle (eggs). They will race back and place the eggs at the starting line. Then they will run to the second line again, but this time they must find the second part of the life cycle (chrysalis). Have your child repeat the race until they have completed the life cycle of a butterfly. 

Animal Parade

Lay out an animal parade or an animal train with your child’s favorite stuffed animal friends. Ask your child to help you count each animal on the train. How many animals are on the train? How long can you make your train? Keep counting on! (Older child may choose a numeral card and then create an animal train representing the chosen number).

Coin Caterpillar

Gather and clean pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Discuss the monetary value of each coin and make a chart for your child to reference (penny = 1¢, nickel = 5¢, etc.). Put a series of coins together to create a “coin caterpillar”. Begin with easier amounts to count such as all pennies to count by 1s, or all nickels to count by 5s. Increase the level of challenge by creating different combinations or adding more coins to the caterpillar’s body. Once you’ve created the caterpillars, keep the coins in place by using clear tape. Your child can add legs and antennae and write the total amount under each coin caterpillar. 

Og's Story Time

This week's Og's Story Time is with Meg O'Keefe reading her book "Monsters for Sale." As you read along, think about or draw how the monsters felt in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Have you ever felt like the monsters? If you were to design your own monster toy, what would it look like? Finally, write and/or draw ways you feel special in the I am Special Mini Book. 

Og's Story Time Book List

Og has added some courage-themed books to this week's reading list! 

Bonus Story Time

Author Christina Geist is bringing us a special additional reading of her book "Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can't Go to School!" After reading, draw some silly things that might happen if your parents went to school with you. Imagine going to work where your mother or father work. Draw what you think you would do all day at work.   

Checking the Weather with Benjamin^®

Benjamin the bear is happiest when he is playing outdoors! Have your child look out the window and give a weather report for the day with Benjamin. Sing along here! 

#PaperPercyChallenge

Each week we'll be giving a new challenge to take on with your very own Paper Percy. The first week in May is Teacher Appreciation Week! Get on your best celebration clothing, decorate a message for your favorite teachers and help Percy give a big shout out to ALL teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week! Share your appreciation message by tagging @PrimroseSchools with #PaperPercyChallenge on Instagram. 

Pledge of Allegiance

Each morning, we start our day with the Pledge of Allegiance. Say the Pledge with Percy^®! 

Stories of Courage

Percy represents courage. Talk about the meaning of courage with your child. Do they know anyone who is courageous? What makes them courageous? Ask them to think about a time when they had to show courage. After they tell their story, encourage them to write their story and draw a picture that matches their story or role play scenarios with puppets and act out ways to be courageous in each scenario. For a fun courage game, read more.   

Level Up Village: Global Webinar Series (Ages 5-9)

Families with children ages 5-9 may register for a free global cultural exchange sponsored by Level Up Village taking place Tuesday, May 5th. This week, children will hear a story and learn about the history and culture of Kenya as they meet children their own age. For more information, or to register, click here.  

These additional resources provide even more activities to continue the learning for this week's theme!