Homeschool Looping
Interested in homeschool looping, but haven’t added it to your line up just yet? Check out Homeschool Looping & Looping Activities for Your Homeschool Schedule to get started on your new homeschool schedule today!
10 Kindergarten Supplies
for Looping Time…
If you have already incorporated looping into your homeschool schedule, but are stuck on how to keep your younger homeschoolers engaged… This simple list of kindergarten supplies can help!
#1 Lacing Cards
Lacing cards not only encourage your kindergartner to sit still for a period of time, but they can also help build motor skills and hand-eye coordination! While these are great for young homeschoolers that thrive with hands on learning, they may not be easy for the kindergartner that gets frustrated quickly while doing independent tasks.
With that said, looping cards are such a great tool when homeschooling preschool or kindergarten! If encouraging your young learner to use them independently is out of the question at first, try adding them into your homeschool schedule slowly. Simply work beside your kindergartner with the cards in small increments.
Tips For Adding Lacing Cards
to Your Homeschool…
- Start out using the lacing cards for around 5 minutes, working with your child the entire time.
- Gradually take that 5 minutes and turn it into 7 or 8 over the course of a few weeks, working with your child for the first 5 minutes and encouraging independent play the rest of the time.
- Eventually grow this time to 10 minutes.
- Then, slowly lesson the amount of minutes you work with your child, adding more independent learning each time.
- End result should be 10 wonderful minutes of independent play with lacing cards during your homeschool looping time.
How to Pick Lacing Cards
for Your Homeschool…
If you’re looking to add lacing activities to your homeschool looping time, the Janod Lacing Game is great for kindergarten! It’s more advanced than typical lacing cards, which makes them perfect for 5 or 6 year olds!
Homeschooling Preschool?
Check out 3 of our favorite lacing cards for preschool!
Looking for more preschool helps?
Check out Homeschooling Your Preschooler
#2 Play-Doh
While it may sound extremely simple, modeling clay or Play-Doh can make a wonderful addition to your homeschool looping schedule! This type of activity can encourage creativity and independent play for your kindergartner. You can simply set up your looping table with a few colors of Play-Doh and tools, or you can take it one step further by creating exciting challenges for your young homeschooler!
Not sure which set of Play-Doh to buy for your homeschool looping time? Try this simple Play-Doh Starter Set or consider the deluxe version by purchasing the Play-Doh Play Date Set for your kindergartner! Both sets come with tubs of dough as a well as some great starter tools!
Don’t need tools? Check out these options for just the modeling dough. Play-Doh Rainbow Starter Pack & Play-Doh Super Color Pack!
How to Create Play-Doh Challenges
for Your Homeschooler…
- Set your looping table up with multiple colors of Play-Doh, tools, and a dry erase or boogie board.
- Write out 4-6 different challenges on the dry-erase board
If you have older homeschoolers, this is the perfect type of activity for them to head up! My older boys love it when I put them in charge of a simple project like this, plus it gives me a little breather! Win-win, you guys!
Play-Doh Challenge Ideas
- Rainbow Play – Set out each color of the rainbow & challenge your kindergartner to build a creation with each color! Give instructions to create something that is red, something that is orange, something that is yellow, etc..
- Pattern Building – Give your child 2-4 different colors or Play-Doh & 2-4 different shape cutters. Set up your table by having 3 patterns already started, allowing your kindergartner to finish them on their own. Then, instruct them to create their very own pattern from start to finish!
- Family Portrait – Challenge your child to create a family portrait by making everyone in the Play-Doh of their favorite color! This one is super simple, but I must admit, it’s my daughter’s absolute favorite!
Looking for Play-Doh Ideas
for Preschool?
Check out this Shapes and Colors play set, perfect for preschool quiet time or looping!
#3 Osmo
Haven’t heard of Osmo yet? You’re definitely missing out on something super fun for your homeschool! Osmo makes such a great addition to any homeschool looping schedule!
Osmo is a hands-on accessory kit that can be used with your iPad. This amazing learning tool keeps the fun in learning through technology, but also helps encourage your children to work with their hands instead of just zoning out!
Our Top Two Osmo Must Haves
Want to know even more about Osmo? Check back regularly over the next few months for some upcoming reviews on all our Osmo favorites!
#4 Legos
Legos! These things are so awesome for kindergarten looping, you guys!! If you’re homeschooling kindergarten and preschool at the same time, Lego Duplos might be an easy go to option for your homeschool. However, kindergarten really is the perfect age to start introducing the smaller Legos as well!
My daughter just recently started playing with the small Legos this past year and she absolutely loves them! There is just something about transitioning to the small Legos that make a kindergartner feel sooooo big.
Tips for Making Lego Play More Fun
During Homeschool Looping…
- If your child already loves Legos and plays with them often, buy specific sets that are only pulled out during looping time to make it even more special!
- If you have a child that doesn’t particularly pick Legos as their go to toy during free time, set aside all Lego sets for looping time only!
- Create Lego challenges! This can be similar to the play-dough challenges mentioned above.
- Have an older child that loves Legos? Encourage them to build with your kindergartner for an added level of fun!
Looking for Legos for your homeschool?
Consider skipping character sets and using one of these classic Lego collections instead!
#5 Kinetic Sand
Um, yes! This stuff is so much fun! I’m not even joking when I say all, and I mean ALL my kids love to play with kinetic sand! My oldest son is 14 and he still plays with it during his free time.
Unfortunately kinetic sand was a huge fad a few years ago, so it’s a little harder to find nowadays. However, when I do happen to find it, I’m all over it! I have 3 kids, so naturally, we have 3 tubs of this sand and so many accessories! Kinetic sand is a great addition for kindergarten homeschool looping, quiet time, or free time!
Not sure where to get your kinetic sand? Check out our favorites!
Creatology is my go-to brand for kinetic sand, however, finding it in a colored variety is sadly no longer an option. If you want different colors and tools, you can check out some of these amazing finds!
We’ve personally purchased the sandbox and molds. Our kids thoroughly enjoy using this set and still use the molds for their personal sand bins, but the amount of sand it comes with is small. I highly suggest purchasing a color or set that you can add to over time when the budget allows.
#6 Sticker Books
Seriously though, what young child doesn’t like stickers?? If your kindergartner can be trusted with something like this on their own, do it! Sticker books are so much fun, you guys! They are great for working on those pesky motor skills and encourage creativity!
Usborne is our absolute favorite go-to place for sticker books! My 6-year-old daughter loves the sticker dolly dressing books, but you can find many other amazing titles for every interest! Check out these top 10!
Animal Sticker Book- Build Your Own Dinosaurs
- Build Your Own Robots
- Mosaic Sticker Book
- Unicorn Sticker Book
- Picture Atlas of the World
- Fashion Designer Pad
- Around the World
- Home Designer
- Weddings
#7 Tangrams
Tangrams make a wonderful addition to any kindergarten curriculum and they are absolutely perfect for kindergarten looping time! Our favorite set is the Pattern Blocks and Boards from Melissa & Doug. These are amazing, you guys! This set comes with wooden pattern cards and all the pieces you need to complete your masterpiece tucked inside a small wooden crate.
Tangrams like these also work wonders for preschool!
Not sure your preschooler is quite ready for a looping schedule just yet? Check out how I created a Quiet Time routine for my preschool daughter before transitioning her over to a looping schedule for kindergarten this year!
Like the tangrams we use?
Check them out below!
Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks & Boards
Love the idea of incorporating tangrams into your kindergarten homeschool routine, but don’t want to purchase a large set? The Osmo Creative Kit (#3 above) also includes tangram learning fun.
#8 Magformers
Magnetic tiles are essential when homeschooling preschool or kindergarten! We’ve tried a couple different brands and our go to is Magformers 100%! These things are wonderful. We use them as a part of our homeschool looping schedule quite often.
Magformers encourage imagination and creativity, but they are also incredibly durable and will last for years to come! Also, their use won’t start and stop at kindergarten, you guys! Even my 11 (almost 12) year old son enjoys playing with our Magformers! Actually, if I’m being completely honest… he plays with them more than anyone else in the house!
When adding Magformers to your homeschool schedule, you can simply go basic and get some fun shapes and let your children build to their hearts content. Or you can get some of the fun STEM sets listed below.
Top 5 Magformers
STEM Sets…
#9 Boogie Board
Seriously one of the best purchases I have ever made for our homeschool! My original reasoning for buying this little gadget was not for looping. We sometimes take our homeschool lessons to the library and I simply got tired of carrying dry erase boards, markers and wipes around for things like sentence dictation and spelling practice.
Want to know more about how to homeschool at the library?
Check out Homeschool Ideas & Schooling at the Library for all my best tips!
While the original purpose for our boogie boards was travel, they quickly became a huge part of our homeschool! My daughter uses her boogie board for homeschool looping time quite often! She can draw, write, or doodle whatever she wants then erase with the click of a button! So amazing, you guys!!
No messy dry erase markers or broken crayons. Boogie board for the win!
Not even sure what a boogie board is?
Check it out here —> Boogie Board Jot Pocket
Boogie Board also has some great options for older homeschoolers, like their new Drawing Pad with interchangeable templates!
#10 Puzzles
Puzzles are perfect for using in your kindergarten looping time! For my kindergartner I typically stick to 48 piece puzzles, simply because she can complete those on her own. However, when I set up our looping table for all my children to work on a puzzle together, we typically go for the 200 piece puzzles!
Crocodile creek is my only go to for homeschool puzzles. Not only are they fun, but they are super educational and crazy durable for rough handling! Check out some of our favorite crocodile creek puzzles for homeschool looping time!
Kindergarten Fun Puzzles
Educational 200 Piece Puzzles
Why Your Kindergartner Needs
a Looping Schedule or Quiet Time…
Our looping schedule & quiet time is an essential part of our homeschool routine. Why? Simply because mom needs a moment! The main point of scheduling this hands on time is for mom to be able to walk away if need be. So if your child is the type that might feed their kinetic sand to the dog, maybe swap that out for a different option.
I learned what not to use with my 5 year old daughter pretty quick. I left her alone with watercolors for maybe 5 minutes and came back to a child with an entire purple arm, not even joking you guys! Needless to say, paints are totally out of the question for our homeschool looping time (unless someone is physically sitting with her of course).
Looking for More Kindergarten Homeschool Helps?
Check out these top articles!
- Homeschool Pen Pal Pack for Kindergarten (printable)
- 19 Kindergarten Writing Prompts (printable)
- The Kindergarten Spelling Box
- Hands on Ways to Practice Kindergarten Spelling Words
- The Good and the Beautiful Level K Hacks
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Great ideas thank you! We’re going to implement these this year especially with a new baby due in 4 days Moms going to need some breaks!!
So glad I could help!! Yes, mom breaks are essential! Congrats on the new addition 🙂