My kids learn best when they are active. Getting up and moving motivates kids to practice new skills and helps them to better retain the information. Plus, it's also lots of fun! Hands on : as we grow and The Pleasantest Thing and I are teaming up to bring Move and Learn! activities each week as part of a new series. To kick things off we are sharing move and learn activities from all over the web for each age group and I am focusing on active … [Read more...]
Math Activities for Kindergarten: Snack Time Practice
Getting your preschooler ready for kindergarten math doesn't have to be time consuming or involve a lot of preparation. Adding some math practice into everyday activities, like snack time, is the best way to get kids learning and having fun! Kids enter kindergarten with a variety of math skills such as: 1. Being able to count 2. Understanding how many objects are in a group 3. Recognizing and writing numbers 4. Following simple math … [Read more...]
Busy Bag Activities for Preschoolers: Ladybug Math Game
Preschoolers love hands on math activities and need many opportunities to try out and practice new skills. That's why busy bag activities for preschoolers are so effective, they give kids a chance to play and have fun with math concepts. This ladybug math busy bag lets kids work on number identification, counting and more. Ladybug Math Busy Bag Supplies 10 oval rocks red and black acrylic paint black Sharpie marker Mod Podge … [Read more...]
Frog Jump: Measurement and Gross Motor Activity
We have have been having fun learning about frogs and the frog life cycle. On a recent day I decided to extend the frog learning with a measurement and gross motor activity...Frog Jump! To play I marked a starting line with painter's tape on the floor and gathered a frog cut out and a measuring tape. The kids took turns standing at the line and jumping forward as far as they could. I had my oldest demonstrate how to bend her legs and jump and … [Read more...]
Math Fact Practice: Flashcard Passport Game
My first grader has to learn all sorts of math facts this year and so far this fall has been working on addition. The kids study their flashcards throughout the month and their parents are supposed to quiz them periodically and sign whether or not they can answer them quickly and accurately on their homework sheet. Holding up flashcards got boring very quickly so last month we played a fire hose game to "put out" the correct answers. It was a hit … [Read more...]
Fire Hose Fact Practice Game
My first grader needs to work on her addition fact speed as part of her homework this month. We also have been talking about fire safety and today it occurred to me to combine the two--after all what better reason to go quickly than a fire? I wrote some of the sums the 6 year old was working on the fence with sidewalk chalk and drew flames around them. I also wrote letters and sight words in "flames" so my 2 and 4 year olds could play too. My … [Read more...]
Pumpkin Themed Play Date and a Blog Hop
We invited some friends over on Saturday for a pumpkin play date! It was a great way to celebrate the first day of fall and definitely got us in the mood for fall. The best part? It was fun for the kids and super easy to put together! Pumpkin Books: We started the play date with a pumpkin story, the book Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell. The story follows a little girl and her family as they enjoy many fun fall activities. This is one of … [Read more...]
Busy Bag Swap Ideas for Kids
A couple weeks ago I invited some friends to kick off the summer with a busy bag swap! What better way to get ready for summer travel than to stock up on new activities? If you've never heard that term before a busy bag is a self-contained activity or project for kids. For this swap the activity did not have to be reusable, it just had to have all the pieces and instructions needed for kids to complete. There were 6 moms who could make it so … [Read more...]
