Play Activities

Play Activities

Adventures and Edventures for Fun and Learning

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To finish off Valentine month, here are some posts about activities that families love for children’s fun and learning. How about some adventures, or as Jacquie Fisher calls it, edventures? Jacquie has a popular blog named KC Edventures, the KC being Kansas City but many of these ideas travel around the world! Here is our email/interview, or maybe that could be “enterview”?

Jacquie Fisher
Jacquie Fisher

1. Jacqui,  you have a passion for learning, discovery, and going places. Was there someone in your family who encouraged that for you?

My mother was a teacher so we were always learning fun things when we were young.  I think it’s just part of a teacher’s nature to encourage an interest in learning.  And as kids, we were always given ‘free reign’ to go out and explore our rural neighborhood.  Being able to set out on an adventure with your siblings and friends is an amazing opportunity for any child!

My family was also very big on travel — we took a vacation every summer to someplace new.  We would visit family members all over the East Coast of the US.  We spent time at amusement parks, natural attractions, historic sites and many other places.  By the time I graduated from high school, I had already visited 9 different states plus experienced two trips to Canada.

2. Do you remember an adventure that was a highlight for you?

The summer I was twelve, my sister & I took a plane all by ourselves to visit our Aunt in ‘the big city’ of Milwaukee!  The idea of traveling by ourselves, staying in an apartment (we had only lived in a house), not having our parents with us — it was all so exciting!

3. For young children, what do you think are some of the benefits for sharing adventures?

Each time you travel or set out to explore a new place, children are introduced to new words, new sights, new smells — all this ‘newness’ allows them to build their vocabulary, ask questions and stay curious about what the world holds for them.  Adventures are what keep us excited to learn, explore and discover.  And that type of curiosity will carry over to a child’s every day life.

early learning adventuresThanks, Jacquie. An adventure play-of-the-day might include a winter picnic outside, or putting on shorts and t-shirts and having a picnic inside the house. It might be trying a new recipe or going to a specialty grocery store. Simple science experiments can turn into unexpected experiences. Is there a museum in your area with special exhibits and play activities for kids? Fire stations sometimes let small groups of kids and families come for a visit and tour. At our house, cleaning the garage can be quite an adventure! What ‘ed’venture can you and your child have today?

Play Activities

Valentine Fun and Learning with Slime or Playdough

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valentine slimeSometimes the toys kids ask for most are the homemade ones, like playdough and slime; while these are inexpensive to make they are valuable in fun and learning. Big Sister asked for some this week. Unfortunately, we’d used up the red food coloring at Christmas but we had some lovely cinnamon hearts.

To make slime, first mix 1/2 cup of warm water and 1/2 cup of white glue. We popped several of the candy hearts into the warm water and waited for them to turn the water a lovely red. Most of the hearts melted leaving only a little bit of the candy center to take out. When we added the glue, the red water became light pink.

In a second bowl,  mix 1 teaspoon of borax and 1 whole cup of warm water. Get ready for the next part, which changes very fast! Now, pour the gluey stuff into the clear water/borax and stir. Right away, the two solutions combine to make a polymer. There will likely be some extra water in the bowl which you can just pour off, leaving the wonderful goo.

As kids play with slime and playdough, they are developing:

  • fine motor dexterity and strength, and hand-eye coordination,
  • the ability to visualize, that is making pictures or images in the mind,
  • language skills, such as vocabulary and descriptive language to talk about what’s happening,
  • some basic math strategies like measuring and counting,
  • their senses, especially the sense of touch as they learn to discriminate texture, temperature, and size,
  • higher level thinking skills, such as planning, problem-solving, imagining and creating.

playdough learning and funChildren are using more than their hands to play. They are also expressing themselves and how they feel. Playdough or slime can help children release pent-up emotions and tensions. The world isn’t always a friendly place for kids, and with these materials, they can feel more in control. Slime adds an unexpected element, because it’s so much more flexible. Even though this can be a little bit frustrating, it’s also exciting. Kids soon learn that cookie cutters will not work with slime, like they do with playdough.

Using either one, can you and your child squeeze some fun and learning into your day?

Play Activities

Build Early Learning & Kindergarten Readiness with LEGO

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This month, Lego celebrated the anniversary of its patent, granted in 1958. The name Lego comes from the Danish ‘leg godt’ which means ‘play well’. That’s certainly what kids do, and not just kids.  Kids and adults all over the world play and learn with Lego.

Lego Club - First Time
Lego Club – First Time

Tremendous fun, Lego can help kids develop critical thinking and kindergarten readiness skills. For instance:

  • manipulating, connecting, stacking, balancing, etc. This strengthens the small muscles in hands and fingers and gives children the opportunity to develop eye-hand coordination.
  • visualizing, that is making pictures in the mind. As an adult, have you ever had to look at an object and then had to choose from 3 or 4 pictures what it would look like from the other side? This is quite a challenge and this skill develops from lots of experiences and play.
  • Lego at the Fair
    Lego at the Fair

    exploring space and measuring. Blocks of some sizes might fit in a space but some will be too big or too small. That’s also spatial manipulation.

  • counting and making groups, matching sizes and shapes. These are early math skills.
  • creating and imagining. These are powerful skills, at the very heart of innovation, that begin when kids play.
  • solving-problems, organizing and planning. We often consider these as “work” skills but, to kids, they are fun and part of play.

When children play with these Legos or Duplos, they practice negotiating, cooperating and other social skills. Kids are using language to express themselves, explain, and ask questions. Both boys AND girls enjoy playing with these toys!!  For a play-of-the-day fun activity can your child make some learning and kindergarten readiness connections with Lego?

Play Activities

Even Mending Helps with Kindergarten Readiness

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Looking for a button turned into some fun and learning for all kinds of thinking, another way that ordinary tasks can help support early development and kindergarten readiness. While I looked thru the buttons for one that matched, Big Sister found 3 big buttons that were the same color as “dirty snow’. She lined them … Continue reading Even Mending Helps with Kindergarten Readiness →

Play Activities

Sequence Snowman for Kindergarten Readiness Fun & Learning

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Not everywhere has snow, but even without it here is an activity from last year that supports both fun and the kindergarten readiness skill of sequencing. It can be done while warm and toasty inside with playdough, or outside in the real kind. Before starting, talk about making snowmen. Ask your child or students about … Continue reading Sequence Snowman for Kindergarten Readiness Fun & Learning →

Play Activities

Universal Children’s Day: For Learning, Play, & Connecting

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Each year, November 20th, is Universal Children’s Day as established by the United Nations. Started in 1954, Universal Children’s Day promotes the welfare of children and children’s connection to each other all over the world. One of the rights of children, is the right to play. Since the purpose of this website is to support … Continue reading Universal Children’s Day: For Learning, Play, & Connecting →