Explore Discover Learn - Activities by Category

Memory Match Games in the Sensory Table

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:13:05 -0800

We have received many flash card and memory games form friends. Although we have used them, some are better than others. I decided to put all the memory games together and "dump" them into the sensory table. Then I added clothespins. When they found a match they put the two cards into the clothespins and set the match on the table.

They liked finding matching and had to work hard with their fine motor skills to get the matches into the clothespins. This was an added bonus to me! They liked seeing how many matches they could get.

Soccer Aim Game AKA Get The Little People

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 11:42:26 -0800

Ok, the little people does not refer to your kids. It means actual Fisher Price Little People. (see pictures)

You need:
Soccer Ball (America) every one else in the world -football
Four Cones
Little People and/or Little Animals

Place one cone for where your little one needs to stand.

Place three cones in front of the first cone in a scattered pattern (see picture). These are for your child to practice their aim and try to knock it over. This game went over only ok until I added the Little People.

Then we cheered, "Get the Hamburgler (McDonald's Toy), get the elephant, get the dragon, etc." It took a lot of effort on the kids part to figure out how to get the ball to go where it should and how to use the inside of their feet compared to their toes! This is the most requested game I made up (adapted). The coach said last night, "Ok, I think yours gets the most improved award today!" I am sure it is because we practiced at home in a FUN and non-threatening way.

Sidenote:
We cheer like crazy when a Little Person falls off and then we like to fall over in peels of laughter. This is an absolute must in our game!!

Red Light Green Light with a Soccer Ball (Football)

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:51:27 -0800

So, we started soccer. We live in America, the rest of the world calls this football. Anyway, we don't do (excuse me, didn't do) competitive games at our house. Then we throw the poor kid on a soccer field with with a bunch of other boys...

I called my brother, who is a coach, for advice and he said, "You sent him to kindergarten with out ever reading him a book." Yep, that is exactly what I did! Soooo, we have been playing soccer games at home a lot now. It's hard to keep up with the kids who have been attached to a ball since birth... but we're having fun while learning a few skills and that is all that matters.

Red light, Green light

Each player has a ball, except the one player that is designated as the "light". Lines from start to finish should be approximately 20 - 30 yards. Players start from the line opposite the "light". The "light" then turns away from the group shouting out "GREEN LIGHT". At this signal, the players start to dribble towards the "light". When the "light" turns round, calling "RED LIGHT", players must freeze and stop their ball. If the "light" catches players or a ball still moving that player must take 5 steps back. The first player to cross the line where the "light" is standing is the winner and becomes the new "light". You can start the game without using balls for younger players, then have them roll the ball with their hands, then use their feet.

This game can be played with just you and your child or a group.

Hundred Hands or Skip Counting

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:26:04 -0800

I have been wanting to do this one all summer. I don't know why I waited so long. I thought of this after I read that kindergartners need to be able to count by ten. Truthfully my son can count by ten but I thought this would be a cool visual and that we could put our hands physically on the wall while counting and make it "more real" and a great visual representation of one hundred.

This project was more my work than the kids. While I normally do more hands on projects I think the benefit of this one is, that it enhances their environment. We actually "use" this poster. It is made on a huge piece of butcher paper. You could just hang the hands on the wall. I wish it was laminated! If you had a school it would be fun to have the kids each do a hand. I traced my sons hands and cut out 20 hand prints. I added the numbers by one to the fingers and by fives to the whole hand. (see picture) We can also use it to count by five's. My son loves skip counting. He thinks it is funny to hear my count and will ask me to count by random numbers.

Shells in the Sensory Table

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:50:37 -0800

This activity needed "preteaching", to show them how to play with shells without breaking them. I showed them how to be careful and handle the shells gently.

The kids discovered on their own how a big shell can be filled with small shells and "poured". We discussed the different textures. I love to incorporate vocabulary; rough, smooth, shiny, bumpy, spiky, etc. We also talked about which were the same and which were different. I thought the shells were great for language and discovery. I was impressed that they knew some of the names of different types of shells from a Blue's Clue's video. ( I didn't remember.) We ended up watching it later in the day, and I paid more attention!

Waiting Room Activity

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Here is an idea for play while you are waiting for the doctor or other waiting room experiences.

Use an old wallet and fill it with different things that your child can find as they search through it.
*Keep the fake credit cards that come in the mail.
*Write your child a small letter and stick it in a compartment.
*Use old wallet size photos or cut photos to the size that will fit.
*Find flat objects, medals, coin chips.
*Put in fake money.
*Cut out and laminate pictures of their favorite characters.

While I do not believe in flashcards, they worked well in the wallet. They used them for other games and not as rote memory drills...

Keep this away from your regular toys so that it is new to them in the waiting room. Give them the wallet and let them open, close, and take out everything. You can talk about the things they find or just let them explore it. It will be a large challenge for toddler to put things back into the right places because it requires good fine motor skills. Be prepared to help with this.

Fairy Houses

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Create Fairy Houses

True Fact:
There is an island off of Maine called Monhegan Island where visitors build fairy houses and leave them for others to find. This is a link with pictures of some of the houses. You and your child can look at the houses before you go and build your own.

http://www.spokaneoutdoors.com/fairy.htm
http://www.fairyhouses.com/feature1.html

Toddler or Preschooler:
Take your child out for a walk to a woodsy area or look for a spot in your own garden, under a tree, or in some special secret spot. Gather up materials. Build. Make a simple house or spend hours on it, your choice! While you are out in the woods, see if you can find other fairy houses.

You need:
What ever you can find! Creativity is key in this activity!
Leaves, twigs, grass, acorns, rocks, stones, pinecones, etc.

You can also try to find other fairy houses or places that look like they might have been fairy houses before.
This is an activity that has no age limit!

See above for our hous. We built it under a large tree in the backyard

Construction Site in Sensory Table

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:20:09 -0800

Idea from:
PinkandGreenMama

Construction Sensory Table

After seeing this on a blog, I had to do it! See link above. It was as fun as it looked!

I went to the store to get actual gravel but it only came in huge bags and was expensive. I decided to try aquarium gravel. The kids picked out the colorful stuff. I thought it was pretty. We could've used another bag...

They played with this forever. They pushed the rocks into one pile. They did repeatedly tell each other "no hands, use the trucks" because I had said that in the beginning. Then we switched to, "Play however you like as long as it stays in the sensory table!"

I thoroughly enjoyed Bob the Builder giving every one directions and the construction workers sitting down in a row to have lunch. We saw "lunch time" one day while driving and it must have left an impression! :-)

Ice Shapes and Bathtime

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0800

You need:
Water
Food Coloring
Containers of different sizes
Space in your freezer!

I started by adding food coloring to plastic cups and freezing them. I wanted them to have different layers of color this time. In the past I have just used the ice cube tray and made multiple colored ice cubes. I figured they have seen that so many times that we needed a change.

After the first layer froze I added a second layer of color. This was easy. I just added water over the frozen cube and food coloring, mixed it up and froze it again.

Next I took larger bowls and made colored water first. Then I took out the already frozen cup cube and placed it in the bowl. This added a different shape and three colors. I only did the larger bowls with twoof the cups.

The larger cubes and shapes also took much longer to melt than the small ice cubes had from the tray.

I was pleased with the activity. I think there must be a science concept in here as well with the melting, right?

Yes, of course, temperature! (thanks for helping me out! lol) Other ideas to discuss: solid and liquid. You could do something with steam and show your child that water can be in three forms. Temperature of the water before and after the ice. Lastly, how do the colors mix?

Talk Observe Talk

Stop and Smell the Spices

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0800

This is our spice bin but we use the spice rack as well!

Take down your spice rack and sit on your kitchen floor. Smell the spices one by one. They may want to help take the caps on and off or hold the spices. This can be messy! They will be amazed and surprised at all the different smells. Discuss your senses and how you smell through your nose and taste with your mouth. You can tell them this is only smelling time or open it up to the sense of taste as well.

This became a favorite activity for my kids. I started saving all my old spice jars and put them in a large plastic bin with a top. I also asked friends to give me their empty spice containers. Then I can take out the bin and let them open and close the containers and smell them on their own. They love the smelling of the spices and the challenge of trying to open and close the containers.

Lastly, I was surprised at how much my daughter like finding which jar went with which container. This was a bonus I hadn't thought of. Then I purposely added different sizes to the bin with tops.

Hope you enjoy this activity!
Leave comments when you try it!