Home Kinder: Daily Routines for 3 Year Olds to 5 Year Olds

Children thrive on a structured routine, where parents set the boundaries for the day's schedule. By creating a structured routine and calling your day "Home Kinder" your child will learn to occupy their own time and allow you the time needed to balance part of your work routine.

Each day, I will be updating this page with a new daily schedule for families who are staying at home with kindergarten-aged children during COVID-19. These routines have been designed specifically by a kindergarten teacher for 3 year olds, 4 year olds and 5 year olds who are now learning at home.

If your kindergarten or ELC has provided you with a specific routine for your children we recommend that you continue to follow their schedule. We have included some general home school scheduling tips for these families to help with the transition to learning at home.

Day 1: Learning about colours

Good morning everyone! Today we are learning about colours.

Can you notice the colours around your house? What colours can you see outside? Can you find the colours of a rainbow in and outside your homes?

Music & Movement: Rock Your Body To Colours

Watch Jack Hartman's 'Rock Your Body to Colours' - this colour song has rhyming movements for each colour. Your children can sing the colour and move to the rhyming movement for building brain and body connections while learning colours.

Colour Hunt

Start the colour hunt:

1. Can you collect different coloured items around your house?
2. Can you sort these into groups i.e. red group, yellow group
3. Create a picture using these colours
4. Take a photo and share your findings with #oioikinder

Nutrition & Hygiene

Keep up hygiene practices with help from our friends 'The Wiggles':

Active Play

Watch this 'GoNoodle' clip as a fun way to get your body active, before engaging in your outdoor environment for some physical activity:

Rest and Relax

Try engage your body in some yoga before putting on some quiet music and having a 45-minute relaxation. 

We love Cosmic Kids! This Frozen themed yoga especially is fantastic for kids at the moment - as Anna said "All one can do is the next right thing."

Day 2: Learning about changes in nature

Seasonal change is a great way to explore scientific concepts through the study of our natural world.

What do you notice when you look at the trees and leaves? Are they changing colour? Are they falling off the branches? What do the leaves feel like? Are they smooth, bumpy, rough, prickly? Can you see the leaves' veins? Why do leaves have veins?

Music & Movement: The Seasons Song

Watch 'The Seasons Song' and discuss the four seasons and their differences. Talk about the term 'fall' and 'autumn'.

Nature play: Create a Leaf Rubbing Picture

Leaves are made up of many different shapes and textures. Can you find 5 different leaves in your garden & create a leaf rubbing picture using crayons?

After creating the picture, discuss: 'Did you notice anything different about the 5 leaves?'

Sensory Play: Make a leaf sensory play bag

For this activity you will need:

• Ziplock bag
• Water
• Oil
• Food dye
• Leaves

Nutrition & Health: Wash Your Hands Song for Kids

Keep up hygiene practices and sing along to the beat of 'wash your hands'.

Social & Emotional: Group Imaginative Play

At kindergarten, children are learning how to be part of a group and how to co-operate with each other. To continue this at home, it is important to engage in collaborative learning in order to promote teamwork and togetherness.

Siblings or you and your child can work on cooperative construction with blocks or lego, imaginative play with dress-ups/cooking, 'follow the leader' turn-taking games and co-operative ball games outside.

Active Play: Music

Do you have any musical instruments at home? Can you make a musical instrument?

Use a 'shaker' or 'tapper' and play along to the beat, before heading outdoors for fresh air and physical activity.

Rest & Relax: Story Time

Listen to an online library story before putting on some quiet, calm music for 45 minutes of relaxation.

Day 3: Learning about Maths in Nature

Children are naturally curious and keen to learn about their world, including mathematics. Maths is all around us.

Incorporate as many number rhymes, songs, puppets and stories that you can throughout the day.

Sesame Street: Sort & Order

Watch this clip from Seasame Street to explore sort & order:

Now, think about what you can sort into groups and create an activity. For example, types of leaves...

Can you go outside and see how many leaves you can find and count? Can you sort & order different natural materials into sizes from smallest to largest? Can you make a pattern using leaves and rocks?

Collect some sticks. Which stick is the shortest? Which stick is the longest? Take a photo and share with #oioikinder

Daily Schedule for Home School or Home Kinder: 

1. Continue an early bedtime routine for both your child and yourself - early to bed for your child means well being time for you!
2. Continue your morning routine - wake up time, breakfast, get dressed routine and getting everything ready for the day
3. Start the day with some exercise & fresh air - walk the local streets or play ball outdoors
4. Set up a learning/work table for both yourself and your child. Provide drawing paper, pencils, craft collage materials, puzzles, a board game for older siblings to play with and explain to your child this is our "learning" space
5. Watch Playschool - this is an interaction screen time full of music, literature, and real life dramatic and imaginative play 
6. Set up a learning/work table for both yourself and your child. Provide drawing paper, pencils, craft collage materials, puzzles, a board game for older siblings to play with and explain to your child this is our "learning" time 
7. Mid-morning all stop for morning tea, followed by more active play outdoors. Kick the footy, soccer ball in the backyard
8. Indoors set up a space in your house for role play, a time for your child to use their own imagination. Provide a basket of old sheets, a picnic basket and their favourite teddies & dolls and let your child explore making their own cubby and picnic play area. 
9. Lunchtime - sit down together and enjoy the social skills of eating and talking about the morning playtime. Ask your child an open-ended question. "What did you make with the sheets?" Give them further ideas. "Could it be a pirate ship next time?" 
10. After lunch read your child a storybook
11. Provide a meditation/quiet time for your child in their bedroom. Play quiet music, turn off the lights & provide a few books and explain this is 40 minute "rest time".
12. Provide some more Active time in the backyard 
13. Open ended construction time with lego/mobilo or train set
14. Afternoon tea 
15. Take a nature walk in the local streets to collect Autumn leaves 
16. Provide a piece of paper to paste or string to thread the autumn leaves collected 
17. Watch Playschool or allow 30. minutes of screen time 
18. Play a board game together
19. Dinner and bed time routine 

Also, don't forget to shop online with OiOi for your younger baby or toddler from the comfort and convenience of home. You can order and get our high quality products such as clothing, nappy bags, stroller organisers, change mat clutches, pram liners delivered to your door step.