Kindergarten education through genre media
Purpose
As you may be aware, we have chosen to keep our Dragon home from Jr Kindergarten (Maternelle) this September. This is entirely due to Covid-19. We have nothing but the highest respect for the teachers who are working very hard to keep themselves and the children in their care safe.
We have yet to talk to Dragon’s Kindergarten teacher about the virtual learning that we have signed up for. We hope to hear from them late this week.
I have looked at the Ontario curriculum for Kindergarten and its overall expectations. You can see them here.
To this end, in order to supplement what the teachers will be providing, we will be following a home-based curriculum around a different movie each week. Dragon helped me come up with the movies and ideas for the activities, and is super excited to do these.
I will be posting the weekly lessons here the week before, including any worksheets I plan on printing out.
How I Taught My Dragon Lessons Fall 2020
Week 1 – Tangled
Week 1 – Tangled Results
Activities: baking, painting, make paper lanterns
Week 2 – Cinderella
Week 2 – Cinderella Results
Activities: sewing a button, learn about mice, make paper dolls
Week 3 – Moana
Week 3 – Moana Results
Activities: star gazing, bake with coconut, floating vs sinking objects
Week 4 – Tinker Bell
Week 4 – Tinker Bell Results
Activities: nature walk, build LEGO set, do a puzzle
Week 5 – Halloweentown
Week 5 – Halloweentown Results
Activities: draw a monster mask, make a movie (part 1)
Week 6 – ParaNorman
Week 6 – ParaNorman Results
Activities: make a stop-motion movie (part 2), make a shoebox diorama
Week 7 – Curious George Halloween
Week 7 – Curious George Halloween Results
Activities: draw pumpkin face, finger painting, learn about monkeys
Week 8 – Hocus Pocus
Week 8 – Hocus Pocus Results
Activities: chemistry (elephant toothpaste), carve a pumpkin, learn about Samhein
Week 9 – Coco
Week 9 – Coco Results
Activities: remember the dead, bake Mexican traditional food, learn about Dia de Los Meurtos
Week 10 – Abominable
Week 10 – Abominable Results
Activities: make pork buns, make paper flowers, learn about endangered species
Week 11 – Onward
Week 11 – Onward Results
Activities: pop-up diorama, make dungeon maze, plan a menu for Cora’s
Week 12 – Frozen 1
Week 12 – Frozen 1 Results
Activities: paper snowflakes, states of matter, make rock candy
Week 13 – Arthur Christmas
Week 13 – Arthur Christmas Results
Activities: write letter to Santa, geography, bake cookies
Week 14 – A Very Merry Pooh Year
Week 14 – A Very Merry Pooh Year Results
Activities: make Christmas gifts, write gift tags
Week 15 – A Muppet Christmas Carol
Week 15 – A Muppet Christmas Carol Results
Activities: toilet paper roll art, bake cookies, learn about other winter holidays (Hannukah and Lucia)
Thoughts on the first semester of homeschool
How I Taught My Dragon Lessons Winter 2021
Week 16 – Balto
Week 16 – Balto Results
Activities: learn about viruses and play Pandemic, learn about sled dogs, make a book about shapes
Week 17 – Meet the Robinsons
Week 17 – Meet the Robinsons Results
Activities: draw a new invention, Lava Lamp experiment, make marshmallow robots
Week 18 – Kung Fu Panda
Week 18 – Kung Fu Panda Results
Activities: zhezhi, make noodle soup, learn about Kung Fu
Week 19 – Over the Moon
Week 19 – Over the Moon Results
Activities: Nebula Jar experiment, make spring rolls, learn about Chinese New Year
Week 20 – A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Week 20 – A Wrinkle in Time (2018) Results
Activities: Static electricity experiment, read Quelle tête by Robert Munsch, Magnet experiment
Week 21 – The Princess and the Frog
Week 21 – The Princess and the Frog Results
Activities: cooking rice bowl, baking beignets, learn about frogs
Week 22 – Soul
Week 22 – Soul Results
Activities: learn about blues and jazz music, learn to meditate, make a personality mood board
Week 23 – Zootopia
Week 23 – Zootopia Results
Activities: “blue eye” experiment with shapes, learn about elephant rescues, shapes activity
Week 24 – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Week 24 – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Results
Activities: cook meatballs, learn about the weather, design an island
Week 25 – Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest
Week 25 – Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest Results
Activities: the 3Rs, learn about rainforests, plant seedlings in plastic bags
Week 26 – Inside Out
Week 26 – Inside Out Results
Activities: write and put touch and feel board book together (missed activity: paper mache emotion balls)
Week 27 – Rise of the Guardians
Week 27 – Rise of the Guardians Results
Activities: draw Easter eggs, design Dreamland, learn about the moon
Thoughts on the second semester of homeschool
How I Taught My Dragon Lessons Spring 2021
Week 28 – Springtime with Roo
Week 28 – Springtime with Roo Results
Activities: painting eggs, make a daffodil, paint a flowerpot
Week 29 – The Secret World of Arrietty
Week 29 – The Secret World of Arrietty Results
Activities: make a fairy door, make a hair clip, make a miniature room
Week 30 – Totoro
Week 30 – Totoro Results
Activities: make a movie (part 1), make a soot sprite
Week 31 – Boxtrolls
Week 31 – Boxtrolls Results
Activities: make a stop-motion movie (part 2), learn how to draw a box
Week 32 – The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Week 32 – The Odd Life of Timothy Green Results
Activities: build a house mood board, plant, write personality characteristics
Week 33 – Brave
Week 33 – Brave Results
Activities: elements of a fairy tale, bake spell cake, learn about bears
Week 34 – Matilda
Week 34 – Matilda Results
Activities: write a book, learn about telekinesis
Week 35 – Mulan
Week 35 – Mulan Results
Activities: learn about and play with make-up, fireworks with paint, make a puzzle
Week 36 – How to Train Your Dragon
Week 36 – How to Train Your Dragon Results
Activities: make a paper boat, learn about prosthetics, design a dragon
Week 37 – Finding Nemo
Week 37 – Finding Nemo Results
Activities: make fish and chips, learn about sustainability in fishing, learn about shipwrecks
Week 38 – Curious George
Week 38 – Curious George Results
Activities: painting, make a crown, bake with bananas
Week 39 – Beauty and the Beast
Week 39 – Beauty and the Beast Results
Activities: make bookmarks, make “the grey stuff”, learn about table settings
Thoughts on a year of homeschooling
A Year of Homeschooling in Picture Form
Special Editions
Stop-Motion Movie: Halloween 2021
Stop-Motion Movie: Christmas 2022 (Dragon) – English