Activities @ Home With K & A Week 1

Activities @ Home With K & A

5 Activities for the week Color Bath Clothing Obstacle Course Muffin Tin Color Mixing Unwrap the Alphabet Tape Roads

Color Bath Tape Roads Bonus!

1&2

Clothing Obstacle Course Muffin Tin Color Mixing Unwrap the Alphabet BONUS! Uncover the Shapes

Color Bath

What Materials are Needed?

Purple Plastic Toys, Cups & Bowls, Food Dye (optional)

How much time do i need to prepare?

None!

What are the Steps?

-

Make a collection of purple plastic things.

Dye the bathtub purple with a few drops of food dye (totally optional, but fun!).

Play, explore, pour and more!

Be active in clean up.

What Learning is Happening?

Sorting, Categorizing, Color Mixing, Independent Play, Sensory Explorations

Inspired by Busy Toddler

Steps For Color Bath 1. Make a collection of purple plastic things.

To get this activity started you might hear me say: “I need your help making a collection. First, I need you to pick a color for this collection. OK, purple will work great.

For this purple collection I need to find things that are BOTH purple and made of plastic.�

Avery collected all the plastic purple toys, bowls and cups she could find and placed them on the tray (have a landing spot to help organize the collection).

2. Dye the bathtub purple!

We dyed the water purple with: 7 drops of red food coloring 4 drops of blue food coloring

If you don't have food dye, do you have liquid water color or some washable paint that you can heavily dilute? If not, don't fret. Avery was excited to bring her collection into the bathtub, dying the water was a total bonus.

Steps For Color Bath 3. Play, explore, pour and more!

Trying to work that dramatic play muscle? If you are looking to engage your child, try asking them to pour you a cup of coffee and see where the play take you. To get things started you might hear me say: “Can I have a cup of coffee? Thank you. How much money do I owe you?

(Take a pretend sip) Ohhh, this is too bitter for me.

Can I have a different drink? What else do you have here?”

OR “I wonder how we could use our imaginations to play something that would involve pouring or scooping?”

OR “What’s happening with this purple collection?”

4. Clean up.

“This purple bath is almost over. In two minutes it’s time for you to clean up.“ 2 minutes later: ”Ok, two minutes are up. Which of the toys are you going to clean up first?”

If your child is having a difficult time transitioning out of this activity name it: “It can be hard to stop something that is fun. We have to move on with our day. If you would like to do another color bath tomorrow, I can make that plan with you, but I need to see that you can stop and clean up now.”

If your child doesn’t clean up, talk about how clean up felt bumpy out of the moment. These conversations can be impactful and insightful for all parties involved.

Tape Road

What Materials are Needed?

BONUS!

Cars, Painters Tape

How much time do i need to prepare?

5 minutes

What are the Steps?

-

Tape out the road.

Ready? Set? Go! Leave the tape road for a few days.

What Learning is Happening?

Language Skills, Cause & Effect, Dramatic Play SKills, Spatial Awareness, Strengthens Hand-Eye Coordination, Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills (reaching, pushing, pulling), Coordination, Balance, Scientific Concepts (trajectory)

Steps for Tape Road 1. Tape out the road.

2. REadyt? Set? Go!

The prep for this activity took under five minutes. I made some long, straight, connecting roads using painters tape.

First, I started on the table and then made my way to the floor and couch. I knew the tape on the couch would only last the day, but the novelty of it would make it worth my time. I anchored the dead ends with parking spots so the road didn’t get too overcrowded.

At 2.5 y.o. the tape gave Avery some boundaries of where to drive the car. I did this type of track activity when Avery was about 1 y.o. and that transformed into peeling the tape off. At first I was frustrated that I had taken time to put down the tape and that young Avery was destroying my setup.

Then I stepped back and looked at her eyes giving me that “Look at what I discovered Mom! Tape is sticky and I am strong” Look. Choose your battles, follow their interest, push when they need to be pushed, give space when they want to explore.

Steps for Tape Road 3. Leave the Tape Road Up for a few days. BONUS 1 As your child explores the open (green taped) road, listen for story lines that are developing. It can be as simple as you child saying: “It broke” OR “Vroom” I happen to have some yellow tape (you could use paper or playdough) to add to the scene that is beginning to unfold.

I might say “Hmmm I wonder if that fast car needs to see the mechanic?”

As Avery created a park for a car picnic, a mechanic to fix a squeaky wheel and a doctor’s office (for cars only), I decided to sprinkle in a little initial sounds work. I labeled each of the newly taped areas, writing the first letter in red and the others in black. I also drew a visual (a stethoscope for the doctor’s office) to strengthen the connection between symbols.

4. Keep that tape for just an extra day. BONUS 2 DO THIS! If your child has lost interest in the taped road, revive it! If your child is loving the tape road, add to excitement. For whatever reason, tapping small plastic cups to race car so they could deliver wooden beads to an empty ice cube tray was a HUGE hit for us. Help children see how to extend play by giving an example to follow.

Clothing Obstacle COurse

What Materials are Needed?

Laundry Basket, Clean Laundry

How much time do i need to prepare?

None

What are the Steps?

-

Grab some clean, but UNFOLDED laundry.

Make an obstacle course.

Do a practise run, then be a cheerleader.

How Do I begin to get my child to take part in housework?

Make clean up fun by deconstructing the obstacle course together. Grown-ups fold the clothes and the child puts them in the laundry basket. Finally get that laundry in a drawer.

What Learning is Happening?

Locomotor Skills, Increasing Stability, Balancing, Improving Spatial Awareness, Bilateral Coordination, Sequencing, Following Directions, Motor Planning, Self Esteem, Confidence, Builds Muscle Strength, Thinking/Problem Solving Skills, Sensory Processing

Steps for Clothing obstacle course 1. GRab some clean, but unfolded laundry.

Don’t we all have that basket of clean clothes just waiting to be put away? Is this just me? No shame here, I give myself a metaphorical gold star for each time I do laundry.

Putting it away is just bonus points. To feel like a superstar I decided to make my lack of folding seem intentional by making it into an activity for Avery.

2. Make an obstacle course.

For this obstacle course I incorporated 4 elements: 1. Balance Beam - This is simply a towel rolled up.

2. River Jumps - We needed something to jump over so we layed out a few of Avery’s pants.

3. Stepping Stones - The idea is that Avery would step on each of the stones (aka socks) with one foot at a time.

4. Spiral Walk - This is similar to the balance beam, but narrower. We used any and all left over clothing here.

Steps for Clothing obstacle course 3. Do a practice Run, then be a cheerleader.

After Avery and I set up the obstacle course, we did a practice run together. We practiced watching each other.

To verbally cue Avery, I pretended to be an announcer enthusiastically narriating: “Now we have Avery on the balance beam. Look at her go!

One foot then the other. My goodness she did it! On to the jumps. Woah, that was biggest jump of the day! Now we have the slowest and steadest part of the course, the tip toe stepping stones. One foot, then the other, one foot and she’s got it. We transition to the final part of the obstacle course, the spiral walk. She’s done it!”

Sometimes Avery would drag her feet and the spiral was no longer a spiral or she would jump over one and a half pants, instead of each one individually. This is all ok.

We could tidy up and keep going.

4. Beginning to take part in housework.

I don’t like doing housework. Build a table, sure! Fold a fitted sheet, no thank you. Even for myself I try to make housework fun by putting on music or tossing matched socks into a pile, so why not make it fun for Avery also?

For clean up Avery did the obstacle course backwards, essentially deconstructing it. I would fold a piece of the course, hand it to Avery and she would step, jump and balance to do her delivery the now folded laundry to the laundry basket. Once she delivered all the clothes that made up the spiral, we moved onto the socks that made up the stepping stones and so on.

Muffin Tin Color Mixing

What Materials are Needed?

Bin (to collect excess water), Muffin Tray, Food Dye, Pipette (or medicine dropper), Ice Cube Tray (optional)

How much time do i need to prepare?

2 Minutes

What are the Steps?

-

-

Prepare by filling the muffin tins 1/2 with water, dying 1/3 of the water filled muffin cups with food coloring.

Explain the activity to your child. Be clear about no dumping.

Let the exploring and experimenting begin!

What Learning is Happening?

Color Mixing, Experimenting with Cause and Effect, Concepts of More Than/Less Than, Fine Motor Skills (squeezing, pouring), Independent Play, Using Descriptive Language, Sensory Exploration

Steps For Muffin Tin Color Mixing 1. Prepare the activity.

Prep Time is 2 Mins. Simply: Bring your muffin tin to the sink.

Fill each of the muffin tin cups halfway with tap water.

Pick 2 -3 colors of food dye and fill 4 of the 12 muffin cups with color.

Place the muffin tin in a low plastic bin to collect excess water.

To move the water we use a pipette, or dropper. As you suck up the blue water and squeeze it out in the yellow water, your child will have created their very own shade of green.

The idea with this activity is controlled water transfer.

2. Explain the activity and new tool.

When introducing this set up to Avery you would hear me say: “Today I have a new tool for you to use. It’s called a pipette. It helps suck up a little water, like this, and move it to a new place.

Moving the muffin tray to dump out the water is closed. If you are interested in doing some pouring or dumping we can make a plan to do that this afternoon. Right now is all about using this new tool, a pipette, to transfer or move the colored water. I wonder what you will discover and notice along the way.”

Steps For Muffin Tin Color Mixing 3. Let the exploring and experimenting begin.

Over time we added more places to experiment with like: Ice cube trays Second muffin tray Small containers Recycled applesauce cups Plastic egg cartons Gems Measuring cups We worked our way up to these additions. 4 colors and 1 muffin tray really sustained play for a solid amount of time. It’s nice to have some tricks in your back pocket for when you revisit activities and materials. Revisiting activities allows children to build upon their previous experiences.

Unwrap the Alphabet

What Materials are Needed?

Puzzle, Wrapping Paper, Tape

BONUS No Prep Option

How much time do i need to prepare?

5 minutes

What are the Steps?

-

Wrap the puzzle pieces.

Unwrap the puzzle pieces.

How Do I weave in literacy skills?

Make noticings and connections to lines and sounds of letters. Also, increase your child’s spatial vocabulary.

What Learning Is Happening?

Hand-Eye Coordination, Letter Recognition, Playing with Sounds, Increasing Spatial Vocabulary, Fine Motor Skills, Problem Solving Skills, Increasing Frustration Tolerance, Perseverance, Sense of Pride in Completing a Task

Steps for unwrap the puzzle 3. Wrap the Puzzle Pieces.

Got a puzzle? Got some wrapping paper? Then you are set.

Prep time is 5 minutes. I did my prep the night before by wrapping each puzzle piece individually while watching T.V. I also use the word “wrap” lightly. It was more like crumple the paper around a puzzle piece and use one piece of tape around the whole thing. No need for creased edges and invisible tape, making it pretty doesn’t make it more fun.

2. Unwrap the Puzzle.

This activity made it feel like it was Avery’s birthday, the thrill of opening little packages is just flat out fun.

It’s hard work to unwrap and get all 26 puzzle pieces in the correct spots. This work builds up muscles in children’s hands that will be used when gripping a pencil or tying their shoes down the road.

Steps For UNwrap the alphabet 1. Weave in Literacy Skills.

If using an alphabet puzzle, point out the lines used to make letters. You might overhear me name: “Oh, you unwrapped a C. Where does that curvy letter go on the alphabet puzzle? Right next to that D that also has a curve.”

Find your own rhythm for drawing attention to the line quality or sounds of the letters - doing this for each puzzle piece could be overwhelming. Take it slow, let your child enjoy the excitement of the unwrapping puzzle reveal, sprinkle in your noticings, leave space for the silence and their own ideas.

This is also a natural way to increase your child’s spatial vocabulary with infusing words like: Rotate - Turn - Flip - Below - Above - Next to

BONUS - UNCOVER THE SHAPES

Simply hide the puzzle pieces under bowls and let your child uncover the puzzle pieces. This version of peek-a-boo is a big hit with a wide range of ages.