We’re telling our story!
Each month offers activities families can do together in a variety of settings. The activities within the Learning is Everywhere Calendar and on the website are aligned with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards (ELS).
These guidelines can be used to determine what infants, toddlers, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten children may know or be able to do within specific age ranges.
Print the book list! 10 Books about growing up.
- Community Helpers From A to Z by Bobbie Kalman & Niki Walker
- Pretend You’re a Community Helper by Karen Bryant-Mole
- Hello Benny!: What It’s Like to Be a Baby by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley
- When I Grow Up by P. K. Hallinan
- Jobs People Do by DK
- The Berenstain Bears: When I Grow Up by Jan and Stan Berenstain
- When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic
- When I Grow Up (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer
- Grow Up! by Nina Laden
- Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling, Deborah Hembrook, Andy Robert Davies
Hold your baby and look into the mirror. Point out the different parts of their body (toes, head, fingers, etc.) and then point them out on yourself. Use words to describe the different parts. Tell them what each part does. Give butterfly kisses for eyes, kisses on their nose, naming each body part. Sing head, shoulders knees and toes, and change the words for other parts. Move their hands to the body part or lightly touch each part with your hands. (Social and Emotional Development)
Use a book to discover things in a neighborhood, and then take a walk around the neighborhood. Help your toddler find objects such as a mail box, fire hydrant, spring flowers, squirrels or birds. Talk about what each item does, or what purpose it serves in the community. (Social Studies Thinking)
Ask a relative or family friend to make an audio or video recording reading their favorite children’s story, or telling a favorite story of when they were a child. Listen or watch this recording with your toddler and talk about who recorded the story. Follow along in a book which uses pictures, braille, or sign to tell the story. If none are available, create your own computer or paper book together using personal photos, words, and illustrations. (Social and Emotional Development)
Using a paper plate, encourage your preschooler or kindergartner to draw different faces, or use face parts cut from magazines, then glue to paper plate. Let each paper plate represent a different emotion (happy, sad, angry, etc.). Take turns with your child identifying which face would be used in different situations, such as if they got to eat an ice-cream cone, or if the ice-cream cone fell on the ground. (Social and Emotional Development)
Provide your preschooler or kindergartner with a magnifying glass to look at their hair, nails and skin. What do they see? Have them also look at your hair, nails and skin as well. What is the same? What is different? Is each part the same color, texture, or size? What makes each part different? Using the magnification tool on your tablet or computer, demonstrate how the size changes. Create personal dictionaries with pictures and icons as you introduce new descriptive words. Find items in the home for them to feel and explore to extend the sensory experience. (Scientific Thinking)
With your preschooler or kindergartner, create a family tree book. Use photos, stories, recipes, etc. to represent family members. Share stories about when you were a child, or family stories handed down over time. Talk about aunts, uncles and cousins, and how the family will continue to grow when they get bigger and have families of their own. If you have family who lives far away, talk about where they live, and find the location on a map. Include an individual or family time line— write down moments to remember. For a child, this may be a more detailed timeline. For a family time line, it may be more general. (Social & Emotional Development)
Have your preschooler or kindergartner tell you where items of clothing are worn and help them figure out what the purpose is of each item. Ask why we wear boots while in the snow, for example. Don’t forget items like aprons, belts and mittens! If your kindergartner is having difficulty with this, playing with paper dolls, Colorforms, or cut out pictures from magazines provide an opportunity to practice dressing. (Approaches to Learning through Play)