Homework: Tip of the Week - HangMan HomeWork

Homework and I do not get along, not because I don't want my children to spend time learning, but because I want them to be able to do other things too.  I have to find my happy place when the kids, after being gone to school for 7 1/2 hours, get home with hours worth of homework to do.  Whatever happened to play time, chores and piano lessons. 

So sometimes we don't do it (shhh... don't tell;) but most of the time I try to find ways to make homework double as playtime with my kids.  This week we have been playing hangman.  I never realized what a versatile game hangman was until this week, but it works for much more than just words.  We used it for math, science, spelling and sight words, and instead of just doing problem after problem of long, boring homework after a full day of sitting at a desk, you are in the middle of a game trying not to be hung.

I love that the kids can either be the hanger or the hung, because either way they have to solve the problem for the answer or know how to properly spell the word.  We switch back and forth and have a grand time, and before you know it, words are memorized, the math is done and the kiddos and I had some quality time together.  So pull out some paper, grab an extra pencil and find out just how much you remember from your elementary math.

Play Smart - Game of the Week: Candyland Colors and in Spanish

During the holiday break my kids broke out the board games en mass, which I was totally cool with other than the fact that they never seem to get all of the pieces back in the right containers.  I hate having to hunt for dice and raid Yatzee every time the kids ask to play Monopoly, and then there is the using a button as a place marker for the lost pieces of Sorry.  So annoying!!

...But I digress.  I love board games because they so often facilitate learning opportunities, and the kids are having so much fun that they don't even notice.  The game idea we are featuring this week is that classic game you play a million times with the littles,

Candyland!

This is a sweet game (pun intended;) for teaching your youngest children colors and counting, but this week we are switching it up to make it a little more educational for the older kids as well.  Here's what you do... for the kids who have mastered their colors, play Candyland in Spanish, no English allowed (at least for the color and counting words.)  The visual of seeing the colors and saying the Spanish word for the color is a great combination to help them quickly memorize a bit of foreign vocabulary and may even spark their excitement to explore the language more.

Here is a list of some the the words that you might need for this game:

Red: Rojo (ro ho)

Blue: Azul (azool)

Orange: Naranja (naran ha)

Green: Verde

Yellow: Amarillo (amari yo)

Purple: Pupura (pu pura)

Good luck and ...  Divertirse!!

30 Minute Playtime Ideas - Week 5

It's time to play again:)  This week I included several singing games, but if you can't stand singing just sub out those activities for some of your favorites from past weeks.  Either way, play and have some fun with your kids this week.

YouTube Karaoke - My girls love finding their favorite disney songs or other silly songs on YouTube.  Often you can find them with the words so your readers can follow along.  We click full screen, turn up the volume and have a fabulous few moments of Karaoke in the kitchen.  For best results have something to use for a microphone.  We often use the whisk.  It works great:)

Charades - My children love to act, and if I let them dress up for the activity that is a complete bonus.  They choose a favorite story to act out, plan it upstairs and then come down and act it out for me not using any words.  I have to guess what it is that they are acting out.  This is a great activity if I do not have a lot of time because they spend most of the time on their own planning while I do dishes or make dinner.  Then I only have to spend 1-2 minutes watching and guessing before I get another break.  If you have lots of time that day then take turns guessing so you can act out too.

Mother May I - I always love this game, and it works indoors or out.  One person is it and the rest line up at a distance from that person.  The Mother (it person) takes turns telling each player to take so many steps, jumps, mini steps, backwards steps or leaps forward.  The player must remember to say, "Mother may I," before taking the steps.  If they remember to say it the Mother says, "Yes you may," and they can take the assigned steps.  If they forget they have to go back to the beginning.  The first person to reach the Mother is it.

Sing Off - One person starts by calling out a common work, usually a noun.  The other players have to quickly think of a song that has that word in it.  Whoever starts singing their song first gets to choose the next word.  My girls favorite words were Jingle and Pumpkin.  I like that we can play this one in the car or waiting in line somewhere if we aren't too loud:)

I'm Going on a Trip... - The first person starts by saying, "I'm going on a trip, and I'm bringing ______."  We often follow the alphabet so the first item would start with the letter A like "an apple."  The next person then says, "I'm going on a trip, and I'm bringing an apple and a ______."  Their item must begin with the letter B.  The game continues with each player having to remember all of the previous items on the list and adding a new one of their own.  This is also a great traveling game for the car or airplane.

Kidknows Thermometer Giveaway Winners

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Kidknows Thermometer Giveaway!  Our 3 lucky winners are:

Tammy Brunn
Sue Schmidt &
Karlene Hamm.

Congratulations!!  If you did not win and would like to purchase this thermometer for a child or teacher in your life you can go to http://kidknows.net.

Duck, Duck Goose - Learning about Bugs and Insects Variation

Does anyone else become bored at the thought of playing Duck, Duck, Goose?  I’ll sit down with excellent intentions of a fun half-hour of the game only to find my interest is gone at about 1 turn per person.  At that point I try to point out who hasn’t had a turn so that I can stay under the radar, and in my seat.  Don’t get me wrong!  I love games, and I love playing with my kids.  I've just played this one too many times.   So I thought, why not change it up a bit?  The world is filled with animals besides ducks and geese, and maybe we can learn something while we are at it.

My kids love bugs, and they always want to know who eats who.  So I've compiled a list of some of our favorite bugs and their hunters for our Duck, Duck Goose games.  You call out the first animal until you are ready to be chased and then you call out the predator.  It is different, you learn something while you play and it is fun.  I love it!

I Spy Colors - A game to pass the time

A couple of years ago we were taking our 1 and 3-year-olds on a trip to Disneyland with my husband’s family.  His family loves to go in January when the park isn’t as busy which works beautifully except that we have to get there and back in winter weather.  We got stuck in our smallish airport for hours waiting for a storm to pass, and the batteries started to run out on their movie player.  We walked up and down the terminal several times, we ate, we looked out the window at the snowflakes and airplanes, but we still couldn’t leave.
 
Finally, we were sent to a large, circular, crowded boarding area where hundreds of people were sitting on every part the floor waiting to get on their flights.  Then we waited another 1-2 hours, and this time there was no space to walk.  So we played ‘I Spy.’  It was a bit tricky at first for my 3-year-old.  She had a hard time guessing and I wasn’t sure she was really thinking of something while I was guessing.  I decided to tell her what color the item was that I was spying.  “I spy something Red.”  Instantly she would look around the room for anything red.  If she happened to guess something that was not red, I would teasingly remind her that the item was not red and encourage her to guess again.

It was a fabulous game.  She was searching for colors, choosing colors, and getting an instant response on whether she was correct on her color guess and she was enjoying it.  Before long I noticed the a little girl from the family sitting next to us watching us.  I could see that she wanted to play so I invited her to spy along with us.  Her mother told me later when we were leaving to board our plane that her daughter had whispered to her, ” I wish I had a mom like that.”  Of course I was flattered, but it also deepened my appreciation of ‘I Spy.’  Any game that could make me look like an enviable mother, after getting up way too early in the morning and spending 4+ hours in the airport trying to keep 2 little children happy, was a good game!
A couple of other variations we play: Big or Small and Tall or Short.

Free Printable: Learning Shapes and Colors Game for Preschoolers

I started this game with my first daughter when she was about 18-months-old.  It worked so quickly that I was shocked, but hey when you do something right, be excited.  We got complements constantly for what a smart child we had, and of course we could only agree.  I will share my secret with you so that your small child can impress too with their knowledge of shapes and colors.

Print your game pieces here:  Color or Black & White


Shapes and Colors Game Instructions

SET UP:

First, print out the 6 sets of shapes for this game.  If you are printing the black and white you will need to make sure that you color the shapes so that both copies of each shape are the same color.  I typically print them out on card stock or cut them out of construction paper.

HOW TO PLAY:

Then, set your child down and put one of each of the shapes on the floor in front of them.  You will keep the other set.  Sit in front of your child, pull out a shape from your set (for our example the green circle,) show it to the child and then say find me the green circle.  Their job is to look at their shapes, find the one that looks like yours and hand it to you.  At first, particularly if they are very young, they may choose the wrong one.  If they pick up the blue square you say, "Not that one.  That is the blue square.  Can you find the green circle?"  Then show them the green circle again and continue until they figure out what you are asking them to do.  Praise them when they do it correctly so they will want to continue.  I also let them keep the matched set in a pile next to them so that they feel like they are earning something by doing it correctly.

VARIATIONS:
Once they have this basic step down make it harder by not showing them your set.  Just ask them to find the shape you want them to find.

To make it easier, start out by just asking them to find the shape.  "Can you find the heart?"  They love the heart.  Then when you feel that they are getting the shapes down, add the color into the question.  "Can you find the red heart?"  At some point you can change the cards so that the colors are different if you want to make it harder.  You can also just ask for the color and not the shape.

I typically can play this game through 2-3 times in a sitting before they start to get a little bored.