Age & stage guides
PreschoolFour-Year-Old Letter Hunts with a Familiar Name
Recognize a chosen letter across repeated meaningful examples. The first letter of a nickname can appear in another title.
9 min readFOR THE GROWN-UPS BEHIND THE LITTLE EXPLORERS
Early Learning Activities & Parent Guides · Page 10
Page 10. Practical activities for children ages 3–8: letters, counting, shapes, colors, science, and social learning, with examples and tips for parents.
All articlesLetters & readingNumbers & mathShapes & spatial thinkingColors & creativityScience & discoveryFeelings & social learningFamily learning routinesAge & stage guidesMaterials & format comparisonsActivity shortlists & rankings
300 guides to explore
Age & stage guides
PreschoolFour-Year-Old Counting Games That Include Movement
Connect a small quantity with a sequence of actions. Three gentle claps can represent the numeral 3.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
PreschoolFour-Year-Old Pattern Play with Two Materials
Notice a repeated arrangement through direct copying. Block, circle can repeat as a two-part pattern.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
PreschoolFour-Year-Old Story Retelling with Toys
Recount a short familiar event using concrete props. A toy goes out, finds a friend, and comes home.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
PreschoolFour-Year-Old Listening Games with One Clear Direction
Follow a manageable spoken instruction using familiar words. Put the bear in the box names one action and one location.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
PreschoolFour-Year-Old Drawing as Early Communication
Use a drawing to tell someone about an idea. A few marks can stand for a favorite playground.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
KindergartenFive-Year-Old Letter-and-Sound Connections
Connect selected printed letters with sounds in familiar words. M can connect with the first sound in map.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
KindergartenFive-Year-Old Addition through Joining Groups
See addition as a change that brings two small sets together. Two counters joining three counters make one group of five.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
KindergartenFive-Year-Old Shape Descriptions beyond Naming
Describe a shape with visible properties. A triangle has straight sides and corners.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
KindergartenFive-Year-Old Color Patterns with a Missing Piece
Reconstruct a short repeated pattern. Blue, red, blue, blank continues with red.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
KindergartenFive-Year-Old Turn-Taking during a Learning Game
Coordinate a simple rule with a predictable social exchange. The marker shows whose turn it is to choose a card.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
KindergartenFive-Year-Old Science Talk through Observation
Describe a visible feature before offering an explanation. The leaf has a long line through its middle is an observation.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
1st gradeSix-Year-Old Word Building with a Small Tile Set
Change one sound-spelling position while maintaining a meaningful word. Mat becomes map when the final tile changes.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
1st gradeSix-Year-Old Subtraction Stories with Visible Objects
Explain a taking-away situation using a concrete model. Eight counters with three moved away leaves five.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
1st gradeSix-Year-Old Place Value with Bundles
Connect ten grouped units with a two-digit representation. Two bundles and one loose strip represent twenty-one.
9 min readAge & stage guides
1st gradeSix-Year-Old Maps and Simple Routes
Translate between a small model and a drawn route. The route goes from the house past the tree to the pond.
9 min readAge & stage guides
1st gradeSix-Year-Old Reading Conversations about Why
Support an explanation with a story detail. A character may carry a bucket because the next scene shows watering.
9 min read
Age & stage guides
2nd gradeSeven-Year-Old Math Explanations with Two Models
Explain one calculation using different representations. Nine plus four can be shown as a joined set or four forward moves.
9 min readAge & stage guides
2nd gradeSeven-Year-Old Alphabetical Order beyond the First Letter
Compare later letters in words sharing an initial. The second letters n, p, and r determine this order.
9 min readAge & stage guides
2nd gradeSeven-Year-Old Geometry through Building and Explaining
Justify a construction using visible shape properties. Two matching triangles can combine along one edge.
9 min readAge & stage guides
2nd gradeSeven-Year-Old Data Questions with a Family Survey
Ask a consistent question and represent the responses. Each person chooses apples or bananas once.
9 min readAge & stage guides
2nd gradeEight-Year-Old Independent Practice with a Review Step
Check completed work before asking for adult evaluation. Rereading the question can reveal a missed direction.
9 min readAge & stage guides
2nd gradeEight-Year-Old Informational Reading from a Short Passage
Identify a main idea and a supporting detail in accessible text. A paragraph about leaves may include one detail about their veins.
9 min readAge & stage guides
2nd gradeEight-Year-Old Project Planning with Three Steps
Break a small creative project into a workable sequence. Making a mini book can involve planning, creating, and sharing.
9 min read