These great educational activities are used at innovative preschools around the country. Now you can bring the fun -- and lessons (shh!) -- to your house.
From Zoo School at the Tampa Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL
Bat tag (To play with a bunch of kids)
Blindfold one child - she's the bat. The rest of the children are insects.
Every time the bat says "beep, beep," the insects call back "buzz, buzz" while moving all around her.
When the bat tags an insect, the insect has to go to the bat cave (say, the couch).
The last insect standing becomes the next bat.
The hidden lessons: Any chance kids get to work on their social skills, such as following directions and taking turns, pays off in school. Turn the game into Zoology 101 by telling them that they're mimicking echolocation, the complex way bats use sound to detect prey when hunting in the dark.
So big!
Check an encyclopedia or go online to worldalmanacforkids.com and find out with your child how tall his toy animals would grow in the wild.
Draw a line outside with chalk.
Take a stuffed animal (say, a giraffe), remind your child how tall it can grow (19 feet), and have him walk that many steps while you count together.
Mark where he stops and leave the animal there. Repeat with the others.
Study your homegrown zoo together: Which is tallest? Smallest? The hidden lessons: Measuring in this way makes numbers more tangible. Plus, he's counting, comparing, and even graphing.
Bat tag (To play with a bunch of kids)
Blindfold one child - she's the bat. The rest of the children are insects.
Every time the bat says "beep, beep," the insects call back "buzz, buzz" while moving all around her.
When the bat tags an insect, the insect has to go to the bat cave (say, the couch).
The last insect standing becomes the next bat.
The hidden lessons: Any chance kids get to work on their social skills, such as following directions and taking turns, pays off in school. Turn the game into Zoology 101 by telling them that they're mimicking echolocation, the complex way bats use sound to detect prey when hunting in the dark.
So big!
Check an encyclopedia or go online to worldalmanacforkids.com and find out with your child how tall his toy animals would grow in the wild.
Draw a line outside with chalk.
Take a stuffed animal (say, a giraffe), remind your child how tall it can grow (19 feet), and have him walk that many steps while you count together.
Mark where he stops and leave the animal there. Repeat with the others.
Study your homegrown zoo together: Which is tallest? Smallest? The hidden lessons: Measuring in this way makes numbers more tangible. Plus, he's counting, comparing, and even graphing.
Outdoor play
From Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool, Bayside, WI
Family trees
Hike through the woods or around a park with your child to find baby trees (short, with thin trunks) and grandpa trees (tall, with fat trunks).
Find sizes in between for sisters, brothers, moms, dads, and grandmas.
Greet each new family member, and compare their sizes by giving them hugs around their trunks.
The hidden lessons: Transforming the trees into something that's the center of a toddler's or preschooler's world - family - helps them relate to nature. Wrapping their arms around trees helps them feel what small, medium, and big means.
Nature's treasure chest
When you're out: Have your child fill each compartment of an egg carton with two of the same object, like rocks, acorns, or leaves.
Back home: Look at, touch, smell, and talk about her finds.
Then dump them out and mix them up. Two- and 3-year-olds will have fun trying to re-match the pairs. Give your 4-year-old different ways to sort, such as hard vs. soft, rough vs. smooth, and living vs. nonliving.
The hidden lessons: Digging around outside gives kids a chance to explore and take small risks ("What will happen if I touch this ant?"); plus, matching and sorting are precursors of algebra and geometry.
Can you hear it?
Find a quiet spot outside where you can sit together. Close your eyes.
Use your fingers to count all the sounds that you hear in a minute.
Ask your toddler to tell you how many sounds he heard.
An older child can show you how deer and rabbits use their ears by cupping both of his hands in front of his ears to hear sounds behind him, or at the back of his ears to hear sounds in front.
The hidden lessons: Hones concentration skills and helps kids learn to pay attention.
Advertisements:
If you are interested in baby blankets and want to decorate your bedroom, baby accessories Online Store can satisfy you. You bed will be really fabulous in our baby products.From Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool, Bayside, WI
Family trees
Hike through the woods or around a park with your child to find baby trees (short, with thin trunks) and grandpa trees (tall, with fat trunks).
Find sizes in between for sisters, brothers, moms, dads, and grandmas.
Greet each new family member, and compare their sizes by giving them hugs around their trunks.
The hidden lessons: Transforming the trees into something that's the center of a toddler's or preschooler's world - family - helps them relate to nature. Wrapping their arms around trees helps them feel what small, medium, and big means.
Nature's treasure chest
When you're out: Have your child fill each compartment of an egg carton with two of the same object, like rocks, acorns, or leaves.
Back home: Look at, touch, smell, and talk about her finds.
Then dump them out and mix them up. Two- and 3-year-olds will have fun trying to re-match the pairs. Give your 4-year-old different ways to sort, such as hard vs. soft, rough vs. smooth, and living vs. nonliving.
The hidden lessons: Digging around outside gives kids a chance to explore and take small risks ("What will happen if I touch this ant?"); plus, matching and sorting are precursors of algebra and geometry.
Can you hear it?
Find a quiet spot outside where you can sit together. Close your eyes.
Use your fingers to count all the sounds that you hear in a minute.
Ask your toddler to tell you how many sounds he heard.
An older child can show you how deer and rabbits use their ears by cupping both of his hands in front of his ears to hear sounds behind him, or at the back of his ears to hear sounds in front.
The hidden lessons: Hones concentration skills and helps kids learn to pay attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment