Category: Learning at Home

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Winter Break Blues

The holidays are over, the excitement has died down, and you still have several days left of winter break. Routines are out of whack, kids are riding on a post-holiday sugar rush, the days are all blending together, and parents are completely and utterly exhausted. Maybe that’s just happening at my house? Just my kids? Hmmm. Well, at any rate, I’m sure there are at least a couple of you out there that understand the winter break blues. 

When the days are cold, there’s not any snow to play in, but the backyard is muddy from the rain storm a few days ago, what do you even do with your kids? Here’s a few ideas to try that will hopefully let you regain some of your sanity and provide your kids with something fun to do. Oh, and as a bonus, your kids just might learn something while they play, too!

Color Scavenger Hunt

This activity is great for kids of any age, and can be done while you sit and catch up on laundry, clean the bathroom, cook dinner, or even sit and read a book. Pick a color, then send your kids on a mission to find something in the house that is that color and bring it to show you. The catch? They can’t make a mess, can’t bring you something that is breakable, and must put the object away where it belongs before moving on to the next color. This game is simple, requires no set up, and is easy for all ages. A win-win all around!

Picture Hide and Seek

This does take a little bit of prep work, but I promise it’s worth it and your kids will love it. Print off or draw several small pictures and cut them out individually. Next, create a paper that has the same pictures, or, if your kids can read, write the names of the objects you have printed or drawn. Then, hide the individual pictures around the house. Depending on the ages and abilities of your kids, you can choose how difficult it will be to find the pictures. Give each of your children a copy of the paper that has all of the pictures on it and send them on their way! To make it more challenging, give them a time limit. To make it easier, have them work in teams to find the pictures. There are many ways you can adapt this activity to fit the needs and ages of your children. You can do all themed pictures— sea animals, foods, sports, cartoon characters, etc. Another way to do this activity is to put your older children in charge of drawing and hiding the pictures for their younger siblings. So many fun ways to play!

Click the button below to download and print a copy of the Hide and Seek I created. Print one page to cut up and hide, and one copy for each child that will be participating. If you want to repeat this activity another day, I suggest putting your children’s copies in a sheet protector so that they can be reused. (Please only print and use for personal or classroom use.)

Picture Hide and SeekDownload

Letter Scavenger Hunt

This is similar to the color scavenger hunt, but instead of assigning your kids a color to go find, have them find an object that begins with a letter of your choice. The same rules apply— no messes, no finding something breakable, and everything must be put away before moving on. This is a great activity for older preschoolers or younger elementary aged kids who are learning beginning sounds and letters.

Rhyming Game

Another twist on the color or letter scavenger hunt, this game requires your kids to find something that rhymes with a word that they are given. Say you give them the word “cat”. They must then search the house to try find an object that rhymes with that word— perhaps a hat, a bat, or a mat. This variation is great for younger elementary kids and up who are able to rhyme.

Fortunately, Unfortunately

I wish I could take credit for this game, but I can’t. I saw this idea on Instagram @playfulheartparenting. This is another game that requires absolutely no prep work and can be done while you do just about anything. You start the game by saying, “Unfortunately, …” and fill in the blank with some sort of ridiculously silly situation. Your child then counters back with, “Fortunately, …” and fills in the blank with another silly situation that “fixes” the situation you presented them with. You continue this, countering back and forth, building a silly story together. This gets kids thinking outside the box and gets them to think about how to respond to a funny situation. It might look something like this:

“Unfortunately, I got a flat tire on my way to the dentist.”

“Fortunately, I was almost there and my dentist used his tooth fixing tools to fix my tire.”

“Unfortunately, he didn’t clean his tools after he fixed the tire, and then used them to fix my tooth.”

“Fortunately, I have a super strong immune system and the dirt and germs didn’t make me sick.”

“Unfortunately, though, the tools were black from fixing my tire, so now my teeth are black.”

And so on. You can continue this game for as long as you wish. You can establish ground rules such as no making fun of other people, no naughty or potty words, and nothing about hurting other people or yourself. It is a game that is totally customizable for your family and your needs. It’s fun and gets everyone laughing. 

Hopefully these ideas give you something to do over the next few days of winter break. If anything, hopefully they will allow you to slow down and enjoy some time with your kids before you send them back to their teachers!

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I Spy: Thanksgiving

Can you believe that Thanksgiving Day is less than two weeks away?! It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already upon us. I’ve created a free printable activity for you to use in your classrooms or homes. Simply have your children or students write on the lines at the bottom of the page the amount of each item they find. Click on the “download” button below to save and print a copy (or two!) for the kids in your life. You can print one off and laminate it, then have your kids use dry erase markers to write the number of items they find. You can also print off several copies and use them as a counting activity in your classrooms. Whatever way you choose to use it, have fun! Please only use for personal or classroom use, and do not sell the file. Happy I-Spying!

Thanksgiving I SpyDownload
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Deciding to Homeschool: Marianne’s Story

Teaching full time can be a demanding job. Rewarding for sure, but definitely demanding. So what happens when the demands are too much and a teacher’s health is taking a toll? For one teacher, Marianne, it meant taking a step back and stepping out of the role of classroom teacher and into the role of homeschool teacher for her own children. I had a chance to ask Marianne a few questions about her experiences in both public and home school. Here’s what she had to say!

When you were teaching in the public school system, what grade(s) did you teach?

I taught a mild/moderate special ed class with kids from kindergarten to 6th grade on my caseload. 

What is something you miss about teaching in a public school?

Hmm …. I miss many of my students. There were a lot of really special kiddos that I got to work very closely with. It was so fun and rewarding to see them struggle and work so hard with something and then having it click. That lightbulb moment is super amazing! 

I made a lot of good friends with many of the other teachers. I miss those friendships that helped me through those years teaching in public school. I looked up to, admired and valued many of their opinions and thoughts. 

What influenced your decision to leave teaching in a public school full time?

The stress, the hours, and not feeling supported by some administrators was taking a huge toll on my health. I needed to decrease my stress so that I could be healthy. 

What influenced your decision to teach your children at home rather than send them to a public school?

My oldest was getting ready to enter kindergarten when we were in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic. My husband and I didn’t want her first introduction to school to be under such stressful and unknown circumstances. I have a sister who had mentioned homeschooling years before and so that thought was already there. We decided that we would try it for kindergarten and see how it went. Homeschooling ended up being a great fit for my daughter and our whole family. I loved getting to have that time with her and that I got to experience those amazing lightbulb moments with her. All the stress, hard work, and sacrifice was worth it for us. Every year we evaluate if homeschooling is still the right fit for our family and so far it’s been a yes every year. 

What are some of your favorite things about homeschooling? 

I have so many favorite things! I love the researching, the planning, the time spent with my kids, the crafts, the books, the lightbulb moments. It has truly been a positive experience for us. Now that isn’t to say it’s been easy or we haven’t had whining and complaining… we have oodles of that. Some days the school bus looks kind of tempting, but really when I look at the last 5 years I wouldn’t change the decision to homeschool. 

There has been a recent increase in the number of students being home taught. What do you think are the reasons for this increase?

I think there are a lot of reasons. Some reasons may be because of the increase of school violence and shootings. Some people don’t agree on topics and curriculums being used. Those reasons feel more fear based, but they are reasons. 

Some other reasons that there could be an increase could be just that homeschool is talked about much more and is becoming much more “normal.” I think that during the pandemic a lot of people realized that there were a lot more options available for their children’s education than they ever knew about. I think there are more resources, more coops, more groups, more options available and it is letting parents customize the education that fits best for their child. 

Some people have some misconceptions about homeschool. What would you tell someone who is feeling negatively toward homeschooling? 

I think I would ask the person if they genuinely want to know more about homeschooling to change those feelings. If so, find a homeschool family and ask them about it. I don’t know a single homeschool parent who isn’t willing to talk about to people. What things are specifically bothering you about homeschooling? Get answers to those questions. If you don’t really want to change those negative feelings, just leave homeschool families alone.

Lastly, what advice would you give to someone who is considering homeschooling their children?

Do it! It’s going to feel overwhelming, but there are so many people and resources out there to help if you want to. Also write down the reasons why you are homeschooling and refer back to those in the hard days that bound to come. 

Thanks, Marianne! What a neat experience for her and her family to get to share those learning moments together. How cool is it that she gets to do what she loves with those she loves the most? A rewarding experience, for sure!

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Combating a Clock Moving in Reverse

Any parent of young children knows the struggle it sometimes is to keep them entertained and busy. While play really is the work of childhood, some days, kids need more than just play time. So what do you do when the clock seems to be going backwards, the kids just don’t want to play anymore, and you have just about spent every ounce of energy that you have? 

Three of my children are in full day school now, and my younger two are in preschool a few days a week, but there was a time not too long ago when I spent my days trying to think of ways to pass the time without screens. I had all five of my children within five and a half years, and in those early years, often found myself scouring the internet for ideas to keep them all busy. 

During that time, I learned a thing or two about what works, what doesn’t, and everything in between. Since sharing is caring, I’d like to share a few ideas that worked really well for my kids: ideas that promoted learning through experience, through sensory play, and through social interaction.

Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are my favorite way for children to learn through play. They are simple to create, easy to store, and last a long time. Our favorite sensory bin was made with beans as the base. I added some cups, spoons, little shovels, funnels, and small toys, and the stage was set for hours of fun. I learned early on that it worked best to put a large sheet under the bin to make for easy clean up. The bean bin would entertain my kids for hours on end, and would entertain all five of my kids at once. Their imaginations would soar, and they would have fun learning together. 

Keepy-Uppy with Paddles

Another favorite activity was making our own paddles with small paper plates and popsicle sticks or paint stirring sticks. The goal was to keep a balloon in the air, using only the paddles to keep it up. This activity promoted learning through movement and coordination. 

Matching Games

Matching is an excellent way for children to learn. It requires their brain to really look at things and find similarities and differences. It lets them notice the details of something. Versatility is another benefit of learning through matching. I’ve used matching games for color practice, learning letters and numbers, and much more. It is easy to add objects to matching games to make it go along with a theme or holiday. For instance, if the pieces are small enough, I will sometimes put the pieces to be matched inside an Easter egg. This also allows for practice of fine motor skills to open the egg, then matching skills to find the proper match. 

Water Activities

Kids love playing with water. While this can be a bit messier than other activities, it allows kids to experiment with the properties of water and volume. Throw some objects into a bin of water, and it suddenly becomes a game of sink of float, inviting kids to make hypotheses about each object. If it’s warm enough outside, a bin of soapy water, some old tooth brushes, and some rocks make for a fun “rock bath” activity. Freeze some small objects (animals, pom-poms, marbles, etc.) in ice cubes, give each child a cup of water and a medicine dropper and let them squirt water on the ice to rescue the object. It has been my experience that the common phrase, “just add water” works with kids too!

There are so many ways to learn and gather information. For kids who are kinesthetic learners (and even those who aren’t!), the activities listed above can help tremendously. So the next time you feel like time has stopped and you can’t make it to bed time, try one of these easy, low prep activities. Your kids (and your sanity) will thank you!