Fine Motor Activity: Cotton Cupcakes
Supplies: A Variety of Tongs, Cotton Balls & A Cupcake Tin or Various Bowls
Directions: Have your child move the cotton balls from a bowl into the different sections of the cupcake tin or various bowls. Have them try using different sizes and styles of tongs. Have them also count as they are moving the cotton balls back and forth!
Skills Learned: Develops motor skills which are necessary for early writing. Counting and recognition of quantities which prepares children to understand mathematical equations and scientific reasoning. For an older toddler who needs more challenge, they can had cut strips of yarn and use the tongs to add the “Sauce and Sprinkles”.
Gross Motor Activity: Let’s Get Hopping
Supplies: Felt or Construction Paper & Scissors
Directions: Cut out lily pad shapes from the felt or construction paper. Place the pads on the floor and have your child hop across while picking them all up. To take it one step further, have your child pick up the lily pad behind them and place it in front of them and continue this to see how long your child can keep hopping.
Skills Learned: Develops gross motor skills by using movement and balance. This also builds on their ability to follow one-three step instruction.
Language Learning Activity: Baking Up Some Writing Skills
Supplies: Cookie Sheet & Salt, Sugar or Flour
Directions: Fill the cookie sheet with salt, sugar or flour and help your child to write numbers, letters or shapes with their fingers while sounding out the number, letter or shape. To take it one step further have your child draw from top to bottom and left to right.
Skills Learned: Handwriting and identifying letter shapes and sounds which prepares children for early reading. Drawing simple lines and shapes which supports children’s pre-writing skills and self-expression.
Math & Manipulative Activity: Sorting the Outdoors
Supplies: Shoes & The Outdoors
Directions: Take a walk outside and see what you can find in nature. Bring back the items that you and your kiddo found and sort them from smallest to biggest, shortest to longest or just count what you found!
Skills Learned: Math and quantity recognition. Stimulates your child’s appreciation of the natural world. Allows them to explore textures, sights and smells.
Science & Sensory Activity: Sink or Float?
Supplies: 3 Plastic Bins & A Variety of Household Items
Directions: Fill one of the plastic bins with water and set the two other containers to each side, these will be used to sort the sink or float items. Have your child put each item in the water to determine whether it sinks or floats. Once your child recognizes if the items sinks or floats have them put it in the applicable bin that you set off to the side. Your child can also sort items by big and little, then go back and see if those items sink or float!
Skills Learned: Language development, using descriptive words to express their ideas and opinions. Promotes scientific thinking including predictions, observations, comparison, reasoning, data gathering and experimentation. Hand-eye coordination and control.