Author: Beth (Page 6 of 7)

During play it is important to let your child lead while you are an active participant.

 But it is equally important to provide opportunities for our children to experience new things.

One way to respectfully play with your child but expand their play is by asking I wonder questions.

 I wonder why….. I wonder how many letters we can find in the house? (indoor scavenger hunt)

I wonder how many times we can hit the balloon without it hitting the ground? (balloon volleyball)

I wonder if worms like the rain? (worm hunt)

A colleague told me about a site called Kids Out and About.com.

I checked it out today and  below are the games and activities that jumped out at me as they are age appropriate, active and use common things you have in your home!

Please take a look at the link there are plenty more ideas!

d://seattle.kidsoutandabout.com/content/250-creative-ways-keep-your-family-sane-during-covid-19-crisis#games

Indoor

Jump the river: An easy game, using just a ruler and a couple of pieces of string: Spread the strings just one inch apart (using the ruler to measure). Encourage each kid to “jump over the river.” Now widen the river by an inch each time. Explain the concepts of narrow and wide. See how far each kid can jump.

Have an indoor campout: Pitch a sheet tent in the living room, plan a picnic on the rug.

Indoor Scavenger Hunt: submitted by Pam DeVos. Our scavenger hunt uses the letters of the alphabet. I made 3 columns on a board starting with the letter A-Z and we go around the house looking for the letters or words that start with these letter

Build an indoor fort: Blankets will work, or if you’ve recently stocked up on toilet paper and paper towels, those work great as building materials!

Balloon Volleyball: (If volleyball is to hard see what games you can come up with using a balloon! ie. Can you sing the ABC’s while hitting it back and forth. Each time it is hit that person says the letter. OR Count each time the balloon is hit without touching the ground. Try and beat that score…  Please do not leave children unattended with balloons as balloon pieces are a chocking hazard for little ones.)

Outdoor

Measure the rain: Set out a cup in an unsheltered location and monitor how much rain has fallen, and next thing you know you’ll be cheering for more rain.

Hunt for worms: When the ground is soaked, the worms need to surface to get air. Kids love examining these creatures and transporting them out of harm’s way.

Play Alligator: Your front walkway or sidewalk is the river and one person is the Alligator that lives in it. Everybody else has to try to cross the river without getting caught. When caught, they become Alligators until only one person is left. This is the new Alligator.