Early Elementary (K-2) Life Skills
Before we begin, I would like to start with this disclaimer:
There is some debate about what skills a kiddo needs to know by what age. As the parent, you know your child best and can make the judgement about whether or not the following ideas are feasible for your child. This is, by no means, neither a complete list nor a check list. The aim is to introduce your child to what suits them, your family, and your shared capabilities at this time. - With love, Dr. Mom |
Safety
Book Suggestions* - Safety:
Meiners, Cheri J. (2006). Be Careful and Stay Safe. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing. Greathouse, Lisa. (2011). Emergency! Be Prepared. Huntington Beach: Shell Education. Helping Others Ring, Susan. (2005). Helping Hands. Minneapolis: Capstone Publishing. Sundem, Garth. (2010). Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change: Courageous Actions Around the World. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing. Exploring Your Neighborhood Smith, David J. Illus. by Shelagh Armstrong (2011). If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People. Toronto: Kids Can Press. Sweeney, Joan. (1998). Me on the Map. New York City: Random House. |
Cleaning
Clean Mama has a nice list (divided into different times to tackle chores, as well as a free chore chart)
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has a nice "What to expect" list for ages and abilities Web M.D. has a great age-appropriate list of chores |
Cooking
Here are some book suggestions:
Healthy Eating* Sohn, Emily and Diane Bair. (2012). Food and Nutrition: Eating to Win. Chicago: Norwood House Press. Rockwell, Lizzy. (2009). Good Enough to Eat. New York City: HarperCollins Publishers. |
Kids Cooking Camp from Home (This resource includes recipes, videos, infographics, and information that may be helpful).
Cooking with Kids Open Source Cook |
Sewing, Knitting, & Crochet
Good Housekeeping has a great entry-level article for sewing kits to get kids interested and engaged in sewing.
We All Sew is a blog with some great ideas, suggestions, and tutorials.
Sewing.com has a nice entry-level list similar to the one from Good Housekeeping that has instructions and pictures to help.
UW-Extension has a 4-H Program for sewing your own clothing.
UW-Extension also has a 4-H program that has a lot of nice knitting resources.
Imagination Soup has some great beginning knitting tutorials and projects.
Yarnspirations has some great crochet tutorials and instructions.
Bella Coco Crochet is another good place for crochet instructions.
We All Sew is a blog with some great ideas, suggestions, and tutorials.
Sewing.com has a nice entry-level list similar to the one from Good Housekeeping that has instructions and pictures to help.
UW-Extension has a 4-H Program for sewing your own clothing.
UW-Extension also has a 4-H program that has a lot of nice knitting resources.
Imagination Soup has some great beginning knitting tutorials and projects.
Yarnspirations has some great crochet tutorials and instructions.
Bella Coco Crochet is another good place for crochet instructions.
Gardening
The MicroGardener - Gardening for Kids
Kids Gardening - Includes lesson plans, activities, and information "Got Dirt?" Gardening Initiative, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Here is the PDF Guidebook for the "Got Dirt" initiative UW-Extension has some great guides for local invasive species, best crops to grow in a garden, and other helpful articles and resources. |
Caring for our Earth
Here are some book suggestions*:
Water Use Frost, Helen. (2000). Keeping Water Clean. Minneapolis, MN: Capstone Press. Strauss, Rochelle. (2007). One Well: The Story of Water on Earth. Toronto: Kids Can Press. Environment Williams, Rozanne Laczak. (1998). Let’s Take Care of the Earth. Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press. Sturm, Jeanne. (2009). Our Footprint on Earth. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing. Recycling Barnham, Kay. (2007). Recycle. New York: Crabtree Press. Green, Jen. (2005). Why Should I Recycle? Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. |
A note from Dr. Mom
*Many of the book suggestions were inspired by Oczkus, L. (2014, November 04). Super practical project-based learning ideas. Retrieved from www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2014/11/04/super-practical-project-based-learning-ideas