Our theme this month is education continuing at home. It can be hard, at times, to think of new ways to help expand your child’s learning opportunities in fun and exciting ways. That’s alright – there’s no need to re-invent the wheel. There are many great resources available to help you come up with some amazingly fun activities to keep your children learning at home.
Education.com has a great educational activities section, sortable in a number of different categories. You can sort by type (activities or games or more traditional worksheets), by grade (if your child is at Lullaboo, you’ll probably be best served by the preschool or kindergarten sections) and by subject (say, math or reading). Here are a few particularly popular ones we recommend to get you started!
Matching Numbers
This activity provides a fun way for your child to practice their counting and number recognition skills – and it’s simple to set up, too! You’ll just need 20 craft sticks or popsicle sticks. Ten of them should have the numbers from 1-10 written on them in big, bold letters. The other ten should have designs in different shapes and colours – with the number of shapes on each stick matching the numbers on the sticks. Mix them up, and they can then try to match the numbers to the shapes!
Phonics Scavenger Hunt
This phonics scavenger hunt that will keep your child hunting around any room for words that fit a given phonics skill, and it’s a great way to brush up on letter knowledge.
Choose a letter that your child knows the sound of. Call out the name of the letter and encourage your child to find as many objects around the room that start with that letter as they can. For example, if you pick the letter “B”, they might run around pointing out a bed, a broom, a blanket, a brush, and a bottle. As they find each object, you should respond, “Yes! ‘B’ is for ‘bed’!” Make a list of all of the “B” objects that your child has found. When your child finishes finding all of the objects, read the list back to them and congratulate them on finding so many objects that begin with the same letter. You can also turn this into a multiple-player game and competition, having kids compete to see who can find the most objects that start with a certain letter, or have them look through magazines or books to spot things that match, as well!
Treasure Hunt
This is a great game for special occasions – say, a birthday. It’s easy to turn your home or backyard into a far away land with secrets to unfold—set the stage, and your kid’s imagination will do the rest. You’ll hide some “hidden treasure” – anything from a birthday present to some snacks or a toy from the dollar store. It’s great to lean into the theme, and place it in a “treasure chest” (box) or a bag with a big “X” on it, for that real pirate feel. Pick a spot that’s well hidden, but not too hard for your child to discover!
Now it’s time to make the treasure map. This can be simple or complex – but don’t make it too hard, or your child will need help to follow it, and it’s more fun if they can do it themselves! Keep words to a minimum and use plenty of pictures. A simple sketch of the area where the treasure can be found is sufficient, with an X marking the spot of the booty.
