We’re learning in the bedroom!
Each month offers activities families can do together in a variety of settings. The activities within the Learning is Everywhere Calendar and on the website are aligned with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards (ELS).
These guidelines can be used to determine what infants, toddlers, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten children may know or be able to do within specific age ranges.
Print the book list! 9 Bedtime Books
- In My Bedroom by Carol Thompson
- The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- There’s a Barnyard in my Bedroom by David Suzuki
- Good Night, Gorilla by Petty Rathmann
- Mr. Messy by Roger Hargreaves
- I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa Mccourt
- June B. Jones Has a Monster Under her Bed by Barbara Park
- What You Never Knew About Beds, Bedrooms & Pajamas by Patricia Lauber
- Who Will Tuck Me In Tonight? by Carol Roth
As you dress your baby, tell them about what you’re doing as you’re doing it. Tell her, “The shirt goes over the head, one arm in, another arm in, and then cover the belly!” (Social and Emotional Development)
Use songs and music in your baby’s bedroom for activities such as dressing, playing, or while cleaning up toys. Sing along with songs or create your own, and encourage them to participate! (Social and Emotional Development)
Let your toddler pick out their clothes. If it’s not possible to pick out an entire outfit, let them choose one item, like socks or shirt. Ask them to identify where different items of clothing belong on the body. Don’t forget things like mittens, scarves, shoes, and belts! (Social and Emotional Development)
Choose a song to play during bedroom clean up. When the music is playing, move around the room with your toddler. Can everything get picked up before the song ends? Can you each dance while cleaning up, or sing along while cleaning up? (Health, Wellness and Physical Development and Approaches to Learning through Play)
Use index cards or pieces of paper to create letters for items in your preschooler’s room. Have them help choose the name of items (such as bed, door, window, etc.) and tape the correct letter for each item. As you and your child move through the room, name the items and you can help with naming the letter. As you read a book, have them help match a letter in a book with one in the room. (Language and Literacy Development, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening)
Do a nighttime count down! Before turning out the light for the night, help your preschooler count the number of same or similar items in the bedroom, like two doors, one window, six dresser drawers, etc. Together, find pairs of items, then sets of three, etc. Encouraging your preschooler to sign songs like ‘One, Two, Buckle My Shoe’, sign finger plays, and play counting games together are playful modifications. (Mathematics Thinking and Expression)
Before bedtime, ask your kindergartner to draw a picture of what they think they will dream when asleep. Take the picture and post it in the room so they can see it before falling asleep. Ask if they think they will have the same dream again that night! What do they think will be in the dreams? Ask them to tell a bedtime story about the picture or the dream–be prepared for a creative story! (Language and Literacy)
Have your kindergartner tell you where items of clothing are worn and help them figure out what the purpose is of each item. Ask why we wear boots while in the snow, for example. Don’t forget items like aprons, belts and mittens! If your kindergartner is having difficulty with this, playing with paper dolls, Colorforms, or cut out pictures from magazines provide an opportunity to practice dressing. (Approaches to Learning through Play)