This has been a very confusing and anxious time for so many of us. Its been very hard to not be able to go to school and see all of my kindergarten friends. But there are many ways that you can still have fun at home with your families. Here are some of my favorites:
Play a game! Board games are great, but if you don’t have any games at home, you can learn and play a game with just cards or dice. If you have a deck of cards or some dice, there are lots of games you can play that are fun to play, and a great way to practice so many math skills. Here are some links that will teach many different games:
Make up your own game! Send me a picture or a video of the game.
Read LOTS of books! I have my stack of books ready to go! You can also find many books online to read to you! Many authors are also reading their books online right now.
Here are a few of my favorite stories:
And check out this list below. How many have you read or heard?
Paint, draw, create some art! Inside or outside! I would love to see what you make! You can also go on a virtual field trip to many museums all around the world and see some famous pieces of art. The Musee D’Orsay in Paris houses many pieces by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet. You can go on a tour with the link below:
You can tour the Louvre, the British Museum, Van Gogh Museum, and many others if you have the Google Arts and Culture app.
Or just do some doodling with a favorite author/illustrator, Mo Willems on YouTube. Be sure to show me your doodles.
Go outside! Go on a nature scavenger hunt. Oftentimes in a scavenger hunt, objects are hidden throughout the search area and the children then search out these items. However, instead of looking for pre-hidden objects, children can look for plants, animals, and objects found in nature. Find a spider web, a piece of bark, signs of spring. Write or draw what you find.
Collect art supplies! Not only could children look around their surroundings for artistic inspiration, they could collect objects to be included in a piece of art. There are a lot of approaches to this and it depends on what is available in your area. You could collect pieces of bark, dried leaves or flowers to make a sculpture, or even collect sticks to build something with, such as a birdhouse.
Identify plants and animals. One of the best things to do on a nature walk is to simply observe what nature has to offer. But with the growing prevalence of devices and interactive science apps, there’s a lot more you can do. For example, with an app such as iNaturalist, kids can record, catalog and share what they have found. The app also facilitates connection with thousands of scientists to help users identify the species they have observed.
Collect seeds. Get kids to gather a collection of seeds from a wooded area. They can drag an old blanket or fuzzy cloth behind them on the ground. They can place a large, old, wool sock over hands or shoes to see what they can pick up. Or they can wear bracelets made of masking tape (sticky side out), to hold the seeds they find. Have children examine their seed collections and invent a system for sorting or classifying them. Explain that plants have developed many different methods of seed dispersal, to ensure the success of their species.
Have a picnic. Having a snack or meal is a great way to take a break while you’re exploring the outdoors. Use the opportunity to enjoy some bird watching or talk with your children about what they have seen and learned. Or if they have taken photos, be sure to share them with me.
Do some gardening. As the weather warms up, you can clean out some flower beds and get ready for planting. Look for worms. Plant and grow your own vegetables. Plant a tree. Plant a rainbow!
Get some exercise! Dance! Here are some favorite songs to move to:
Do some yoga:
Cosmic Kids has some great and kid friendly yoga and mindfulness sessions on YouTube.
And, most of all, know that we miss seeing all of you! Wash your hands and stay healthy!