A Round Up of Resources for Back to School

There is still a good chunk of summer left! It’s perfect to ease the kids back into school mode.

Here is a round-up of my posts for Back to School! If you need resources for starting kindergarten or preschool, want some ideas for math review, or would like to do some cool STEM stuff with kids, I have you covered. I also have lots and lots of children’s book lists if you need ideas to keep kids reading.

Starting Kindergarten or Preschool

If your kiddo is having starting school anxiety (or not), try these picture books.

22 Diverse Starting School Picture Books

24 Starting School Picture Books

26 Perfect Read Alouds for Kindergarten

Rising Kindergarten Summer Reading List

30 Books for Kindergarten & 1st Grade

Getting Kids Ready for Kindergarten

I created this free printable book as both a keepsake and for an academic review for starting Kindergarten.

Kindergarten Readiness FREE Printable Book: My Book About Me

Connecting Reading with Writing in Kindergarten

Activities with Fine Motor Manipulatives

Pre-kindergartners benefit from experiences that support the development of fine motor skills in the hands and fingers. Children should have strength and dexterity in their hands and fingers before being asked to manipulate a pencil on paper. Working on dexterity and strength first can eliminate the development of an inappropriate pencil grasp, which is becoming more commonplace as young children are engaged in writing experiences before their hands are ready. The following activities involve the use of manipulatives which will support young children’s fine motor development and will help to build the strength and dexterity necessary to hold a pencil appropriately.

Fine Motor Activities

If you want to make your own playdough, I have a recipe here: Make Your Own Playdough Recipe.

Molding and rolling play dough into balls – using the palms of the hands facing each other and with fingers curled slightly towards the palm.

Rolling play dough into tiny balls (peas) using only the fingertips.

Using pegs or toothpicks to make designs in play dough.

Cutting play dough with a plastic knife or with a pizza wheel by holding the implement in a diagonal volar grasp. (see attached diagram)

Tearing newspaper into strips and then crumpling them into balls. Use to stuff scarecrows or other art creations.

Scrunching up 1 sheet of newspaper in one hand. This is a super strength builder.

Using a plant sprayer to spray plants, (indoors, outdoors) to spray snow (mix food coloring with water so that the snow can be painted), or melt “monsters”. (Draw monster pictures with markers and the colors will run when sprayed.)

Picking up objects using large tweezers such as those found in the “Bedbugs” game. This can be adapted by picking up Cheerios, small cubes, small marshmallows, pennies, etc., in counting games.

Shaking dice by cupping the hands together, forming an empty air space between the palms.

Using small-sized screwdrivers like those found in an erector set.

Lacing and sewing activities such as stringing beads, Cheerios, macaroni, etc.

Using eye droppers to “pick up” colored water for color mixing or to make artistic designs on paper.

Rolling small balls out of tissue paper, then gluing the balls onto construction paper to form pictures or designs.

Turning over cards, coins, checkers, or buttons, without bringing them to the edge of the table.

Making pictures using stickers or self-sticking paper reinforcements.

Playing games with the “puppet fingers” -the thumb, index, and middle fingers. At circle time have each child’s puppet fingers tell about what happened over the weekend, or use them in songs and fingerplays.

Summer Math Supplementation

Best Summer Math Supplementation Work Books and More

Summer Math Ideas for Elementary and Middle School

36 Great Math Picture Books

29 Picture Books That Teach Math Concepts

Math Fun for Kids: Math in Spirals

Free & DIY Math Games

70+ Free Educational Games

25 Math Skills Games for Kids

Adding to Ten Math Games

Best Math Games to Add to 10

Subtraction and Adding to Ten Math Facts Games

Skip Counting Songs for Multiplication and Division Facts

Mastering Multiplication Math Facts

More Multiplication Tricks: Strategies from Kids and Teacher That Work!

DIY Multiplication Math Game: Busted

Numbers 1 to 11 Drawing Game

DIY Math Games Invented by Kids (2nd-5th grade)

STEM Activities

Newton’s Laws and Grammar Rules Set to Rock

STEM Bridge Skewer Challenge

Great STEM Picture Books paired with Fun Activities

Fun Activities to Teach Kids About Weather

DIY Bee House STEM Project for Kids

Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion for Kids Using Soccer

Newton’s Laws and Grammar Rules Set to Rock

Pollination: Video and Ideas for Summer Learning

Best Science Apps for Kids (ages 4-21)

STEM Videos

R eally Fun Videos of STEM Experiments for Kids

More Really Cool Science and Art Videos for Kids

Really Cool Science Videos for Your Kids Curated by My Son

Amazing Time Lapse Nature Videos

Cool Inspirational Videos to Watch With Your Kids

Very Short Science Videos for Kids

Astounding Videos for Kids with a Science Twist

More Fun and Educational Videos for Kids

My Son’s Educational Video Picks

Best Fun and Educational Videos for Kids

The Kid Should Really See This Part II

The Kid Really Should See This Videos!

DIY STEM Maker Activities

DIY Lush Bath Bombs and the Science Behind the Fizz

Brush Bots: DIY Toothbrush Robots

DIY STEM Paper Circuits: Light Up Cards

Fun STEM Project: Make an Easy Pop-Up Card

7th Grade Model of Cell Science Project

One Cut STEM Shape Fun

Homopolar Motor: Clean Energy Science Project for 5th Grade

Create a Protective Device for an Egg Experiment for Kids

My Book List of Lists by Category

Each booklist below is a list of lists. There are 300+ book lists for kids and teens that I’ve made, cross-categorized. Click on the blue text to see the list.

Please let me know if you are having trouble finding a book or topic. I will either email you the list you are seeking or create a list for you. Email me at pragmaticmomblog gmail. Let’s get kids reading!

Summer Reading Lists

78+ Summer Reading Book Lists

20 Great Books For Kids of All Ages Set During the Summer

Best Middle School Books for Summer Reading

Read Aloud Book Lists By Grade

Find the Right Level of Book

Book Lists for Reluctant Readers

Book Lists for Advanced Young Readers

36+ Book Lists by Grade

By Genre

Picture Book Lists

Bilingual Book Lists