Fun Learning Activities Kids
One of our kids learned to read fairly easily, and our other child has struggled. I was so thankful to find these activities linked up in our weekly It’s Playtime, our Kids Meme that runs every Wednesday afternoon. They have been a huge help with making Phonics fun for kids! How to Read: Word family [...]
How to draw cartoons is something that artsy kids often want to learn. How to draw cartoon faces can be challenging even when broken down into a grid or segments. Kids Activities Blog loves when a simple solution to answer kids’ questions is available {even if mom and dad aren’t great artists}! Drawing cartoons looks [...]
When I was pregnant for my third baby I was always looking around for things that would help my other two children share in the excitement of a new baby in the house. Having activities for our kids lined up seems to help ease the transition and forestall feelings of jealousy a bit when older [...]
What happens when you let a pumpkin rot? That was the question proposed by my son last year…so we decided to find out. Rotting Pumpkin: We carved our pumpkin & put it on the porch to greet visitors. After a few weeks, our pumpkin, who Reese named Jack Rotty, began to get a little mushy. [...]
Our kids love to draw and have literally hundreds and hundreds of crayons over here, many of them mere shards. We’ve melted the crayons to create “new” crayons, but today I had a new “plan” for our leftovers. Several months ago I saw a post by Suzy’s Sitcom where she melted crayons and then painted [...]
For my daughter and I, coloring is a calming activity to spend quality time together, but there are more ways to have fun with coloring books than just coloring. I will share five ways we get creative with coloring pages. Coloring Activities Outline picture with colored glue Add some tempera paint to a liquid glue [...]
An alphabet activity that is hands-on allowing young children to move and wiggle aids in early learning…and is a lot of fun. Throwing away the pencil and using bendable household items for abc formation is a great alphabet activity for little ones! Alphabet Activity Noodle and pipe cleaner letters are so easy to put together [...]
Another fun hand print project! The past few months, Rory has been very into birds. She loves all kinds of birds; ducks, flamingos, roosters, eagles, and owls. Owls are one of Rory’s new favorite animals, she has a book called; “Say Hello to the Snowy Animals,” that she loves. One of the pages has [...]
Our summer has been filled with trips to coastal locations- Hawaii, North Carolina, Virginia, and Big Sur. My toddler and preschooler have spent a lot of time in the water and have been really excited by all of the boats they’ve seen. Today I wanted to share a simple paper boat craft we created based [...]
Monster trucks are all the rage at our house and have been for quite a while. Recently, my son Bear {4 yrs} and I created a fun new game called Monster Truck Bowling. It was a huge hit! So I expanded on this success with math and messy art activities. Prior to beginning the main [...]
I love shopping the clearance section when major holidays pass – you never know what you’re going to find or when you might use it, but it’s nice to stock up on random inexpensive things. For example, when all of the Easter items were 75% off, I grabbed a bag of plastic eggs, but had [...]
Homemade Peanut Butter Cups I love to cook and bake as much as possible, and I love that Rory enjoys doing it with me! The only problem… is that it’s hard to bake with a toddler. I have quickly learned that Rory is just like her mom and her aunts; she loves to pick at [...]
Last week I gave you my vacation essentials that I take with me when I’m packing for a playful holiday with the kids. Today I’ve got an idea that keeps that holiday spirit going long after you get back home: a seaside sensory tub. Make a seaside sensory tub We used some of our beach-combing [...]
We love cool math games, especially for our kids who don’t like “school” – you know the sit and learn from a book “organized” school? We homeschool so I am constantly looking for ways to bring the learning to life – especially for my son. Flyswatter math is a huge hit! I think it has [...]
Outdoor Adventures: Animal Hunt Sometimes my children need some imaginative prompts to set them off in their outdoor adventures. This simple animal hunt outdoor adventure is sure to have your little ones happily running, jumping and searching through your garden. You’ll need an assortment of toy animals for your animal hunt. Have your [...]
Whenever we go out to the mall or playground Rory and I see little girls wearing cute little tutu skirts. They are completely adorable and, in my opinion, completely overpriced! I have looked at buying some for Rory, and have seen them on sale for about $20- $30. I have a hard time spending that [...]
What are your vacation essentials when you’re packing for a trip with the kids? Space is always limited in our suitcases but I always like to make sure I have something to keep the children entertained wherever we are, and whatever the weather. Packing for a Playful Trip My number one item I always make [...]
Sense of Touch This summer, my son and I went to a nature center. Besides some live fish and turtles to look at, there were a few hands on activities for kids. One of our favorites was a group of boxes designed to reach your hand inside, feel around, and try to figure out what [...]
Dinosaur Pasta Craft My boys adore dinosaurs. They love they way dinosaurs look. They love dinosaur names. They love playing with their dinosaur toys. They love pretending to be dinosaurs. As I do our weekly grocery shopping, I spot dinosaur pasta. How could I resist? With so many varieties of pasta, the pasta craft possibilities seem endless. Make [...]
Early Learning for Toddlers and Preschoolers Toddlers and Preschoolers have so much to learn about the world around them. Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling – their five senses are in overdrive all the time as they take it all in. One fun way to get a little child to focus on their sense of [...]
When the sun is shining and the children are feeling creative my girls love nothing more than heading out into the garden and creating some big, messy, joyful art. The extra space the garden offers, and the fact that tidying up is that much easier when you can just get out the garden hose to wash [...]
Digging around in a forgotten cupboard drawer, I found a dusty old box of dominoes. My preschooler had never seen dominoes before and I realized that even though she wasn’t ready to play the actual game, that didn’t mean she couldn’t use the tiles as a fun math learning tool. Just taking each one out [...]
Learning how to measure is an important science skill. Measuring is used in science data collection. Measuring is also a necessary life skill. Think about how often you measure something. You employ measuring cups in the kitchen for recipes. You use tape measures and rulers to build something or when decorating a room. Measuring may [...]
Trash to Treasure I love to browse garage sales for objects that I can turn from trash to treasure. It’s a fun way to recycle items and put them to good use again. My most recent find was for my little girl and she helped to personalize it and make it like new with stickers. [...]
The Olympics start today and we are getting excited! We’ve been learning about the Olympics Mascots- Wenlock and Mandeville and thought it would be fun to create our own Lego mascots! This activity was very simple and open ended and my son and I had a great time building together. Materials Needed to Make an [...]
We were walking outside in our backyard and Rory noticed all of the pinecones and sticks that had accumulated on the ground. She immediately begin picking them up, throwing them, and kicking them. I tried to think of craft things to make with these great items from nature. I decided to combine Rory’s two favorite [...]
Play dough can be an amazing doorway into imaginary lands. Take a batch of home-made dough – we always use this no-cook play dough recipe - and add in some food coloring to set the scene. Today we went with blue for the ocean. Provide some props. I like to offer open-ended items – materials [...]
You can encourage creative learning in your child by giving them unusual materials to work with. How about giving them some edible ink the next time they are completing a worksheet? What is edible ink? It is super easy to make and it tastes great too. There are only 2 ingredients: yogurt and food coloring! [...]
On Father’s Day Weekend, my preschooler and I were busy filling up ice cube trays with food coloring and water and made a few spills. After mopping up our mess with some paper towels, we realized that we accidentally had come upon a beautiful Paper Towel Tie Dye art activity. Materials paper towels water food [...]
The foundation for math learning begins much earlier than we adults realize. Our children and their developing minds are capable of understanding and taking in abstract thinking early in their lives. We (and they) may not know it fully until they hit a point in life when they just “get it”. This idea hit home [...]
