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Teach Kids to be Self-Sufficient and Responsible

Teach Kids to be Self-Sufficient and Responsible

by Melissa Droegemueller | Jul 8, 2020 | Child Development

How do we teach kids to be self-sufficient and responsible? I asked Tricia Davidson, productivity coach, to share some of her top tips for families. Do you ever find yourself swamped with things to do, rushing from activity to activity, and realizing that your...
6 Ways to Savor a Simple Summer

6 Ways to Savor a Simple Summer

by Melissa Droegemueller | Jun 15, 2020 | Parenting Encouragement

This blog post was written in 2015, but seems especially relevant in 2020, during a global pandemic. We celebrated our daughter’s birthday yesterday. The original plan was to grill hot dogs outdoors at the community pool…and then we woke up to rainy weather. Storms...
Ignite Wonder with Curiosity-Driven History

Ignite Wonder with Curiosity-Driven History

by Melissa Droegemueller | May 22, 2020 | Learning At Home

Ever since our children were little, our history and geography lessons have revolved around our travels and literature studies. Whenever we read a new book, we pull out our maps and timeline cards to dive deeper into the real-life details about the characters’ lives....
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Melissa Droegemueller | Rolling Prairie Readers

About Melissa

I am an elementary school teacher–turned–homeschooling mom with over 13 years experience working with babies through 4th graders. I believe in making learning FUN for ALL kids.

At Rolling Prairie Readers, we are passionate about learning through play, chasing adventures, and good books!

Our mission is to create a community of lifelong learners where parents inspire and empower their children to follow their passions and use their unique gifts to make the world a better place.

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Greatest Hits

  • 10 Simple Learning Activities: Straw Pieces
    10 Simple Learning Activities: Straw Pieces
  • 10 Ways to Keep Hands and Minds Busy During Read-Aloud
    10 Ways to Keep Hands and Minds Busy During Read-Aloud
  • Toy Rotation Categories (+ Our FAVORITE Toys!)
    Toy Rotation Categories (+ Our FAVORITE Toys!)
  • 100 Hands-On Activities for Tactile Learners
    100 Hands-On Activities for Tactile Learners
  • Tot School Must-Haves
    Tot School Must-Haves
  • Classical Conversations Review Game
    Classical Conversations Review Game
  • 5 Benefits of Sensory Play
    5 Benefits of Sensory Play

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Helping your kids learn & grow through playful lessons at home. 💕 Specializing in early childhood education.
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Melissa D || preschool at home
My younger daughter has been a tactile learner fro My younger daughter has been a tactile learner from the very beginning. We started with a water table in the backyard, which led to a variety of sensory bins through her toddler years. As many of her peers outgrew the constant need for hands-on learning, Katie continued to seek new sensory experiences and stockpile small toys in her pockets. . Even as I write this post, she is spinning around and around and around in my desk chair while reading a book. (My head is spinning just watching her!) . At least one-fourth of children have either a tactile or kinesthetic learning style. Instead of isolating these children or constantly correcting them for being disruptive, we can empower them to take charge of their own learning with these materials! . (Tactile learners tend to focus on fine-motor work, always having some small object in their hands. Kinesthetic children are whole body learners, constantly moving, jumping, shaking, dancing, rolling, etc.) . Click on the blog button at the link in my profile (@theplayschoolclub) to see all 100 recommendations!
J is for JUNGLE this week! There are so many fun t J is for JUNGLE this week! There are so many fun topics to explore in this theme: discover the plants and animals found in jungle + rain forest habitats explore the letter J and the color green learn more about the life cycle of a frog make an origami jumping frog create your own DIY rain stick and much, much more!  . You can download our Jungle + Rain Forest Family Activity Guide to get lesson plans for 40 hands-on activities -- click on the link in my profile (@theplayschoolclub) for all the details! 🐸
Both of my girls L♥️VE biographies! What a gif Both of my girls L♥️VE biographies! What a gift to have so many extraordinary women to inspire us.
We are a family full of adventurers. While I am mo We are a family full of adventurers. While I am more content than most to stay home for long periods of time (introvert 🙋), my soul starts to cry out when I go too long without a dose of nature. . Every weekend without fail, my husband has a new little day trip picked out. We pack a picnic, stay relatively close to home, and find a deserted nature trail to hike. . We missed celebrating my in-laws' 50th anniversary last month with the whole extended family. We haven't seen any family members since the middle of June, when we all sat in a big circle outside and didn't touch. Next month, we were supposed to vacation west...but all of that is being postponed. . We know how fortunate we are to be home and safe. We know many others have it much worse than us. But still, it's okay to grieve what we are missing. I don't think I'll ever take traveling for granted again. ♥️
I posted a few "back to {home}school" tips over on I posted a few "back to {home}school" tips over on our FB page last week, and it sort of went viral. 😉 . One of the tips I'd like to emphasize is that you don't have to create a classroom for your home! . In our 8 years of homeschooling, we have tried quite a few configurations around the house, but we are extremely flexible. . We have desks upstairs, a table in the living room, a table in the dining room, a desk in my room, and personal-size whiteboards for when we feel like doing school on the couch. You can also do school outside! . Personally, I like having the freedom to move around the house. I like being able to sit all together at the table or sending one kiddo to her desk in the adjacent room when she needs to concentrate. . Can you buy a bunch of "back to school" posters and pledge allegiance to the flag every morning. Sure! . Do you have to? Nope! Your homeschool doesn't have to look like anyone else's!
Kick off your RAIN FOREST unit study with this col Kick off your RAIN FOREST unit study with this color-mixing/water play activity! 💦 . Swipe to see our simple set-up or click on the link in my profile to grab the entire Jungle + Rain Forest Family Activity Guide: @theplayschoolclub . I'm really excited for August to get started. 🌴🐸🐵🦋
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