Activity ideas

Mommy’s Inside Scoop on Hopscotch

I know most of us grew up playing hopscotch and didnt think twice about what math skills we might be learning. But when your little one is playing hopscotch, he or she is interacting with a lifesize number line. And children learn so naturally through movement.

So, on this pretty day, I propose that you get outside with your little one, chalk up a hopscotch grid OR go to your local park or school that has a hopscotch painted on the concrete and keep these skills in mind:

1. Counting practice – draw the hopscotch with numbers up to twenty! I know that is a long hopscotch but children need more practice with numbers 10-20.

Start off just asking your little one to help you count the number spaces out in order.

2. Identifying numbers

Try to hop on one foot from 1 to 20 so that your little one has to identify the numbers in one- to- one correspondance. If you toss a rock to a number, have them call out the number they are hopping to and then call out the numbers they hop on to get there.

3. Identify the numbers coming before or after a given number

After playing the game regularly at first, tell your little one that it’s time to play a new version of the game. “This time we are going to play ‘hop to the number that comes BEFORE the number that the rock lands on.'” Play this again but then hopping to the number that comes AFTER the number the rock lands on.

4. Identifying a number coming between two numbers.

Play “Can You hop to the number that comes between _ and __.”

5. Count forward or backward from a given number.

Have your little one count out loud as he/she hops forward or backward from the number they land on. You want your little one to have the skill of knowing how to “count on” or “count back” from any given number because this will help your little one solve math problems in the future.

6. You can even use the hopscotch grid to practice simple addition and subtraction:

-examples of addition: if you hop one space and then two more what number will you land on? (three) or if you are on the number five and hop two spaces what number will you land on? (seven)

-examples of subtraction: if you are on the number 8 and you hop back three spaces what number will you land on? (five). Or, if you are on the number three and hop back two spaces which number would you land on? (one)

Did you have any idea there could be six plus versions of hopscotch teaching all those skills? Have fun!

June 3, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

Map It Out

Today’s activity is a combination of kindergarten grade level expectations in social studies, math, writing, and reading! And it happens to be one your little one will love.

You are going to create a simple map of your child’s room with your little one (this is the social studies skill). And you are going to use shapes to draw items like the bed, rug, dresser, desk, lamp, etc. (math skill). Then you are going to ask your little one to help you sound out the words to write on each space (reading skill), and then have your little one write the letters as you name them (writing skill). You are going to bury a “treasure” like a candy or other treat in the room and write a small “x” in the place where you have hidden it. Then your little one will use the map to figure out where the hidden treasure is.

A very simple, yet educational, and extremely fun activity for your little one to do! Share about your experience on the Mommy Teacher Facebook Page!

April 26, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

Stay Tuned….

I hope all you Mommy Teachers have had a fabulous weekend! Ours was crazy + busy and soooo much fun but now I am crazy tired.

And a not-so-fabulous thing happened this weekend – I have come across a bummer of a computer problem – so I will not be posting until Tuesday, but I am writing to encourage you to STAY TUNED because there will be a giveaway this week and an Easter-themed “Design for Development” that is going to be so fun!

Until then, look through some old posts….click around to see if there are any activities, tips, or insights that you might have missed 🙂

April 17, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

Freehand Drawing

One of my favorite things when I was a little girl was to look at an object while attempting to draw it. My art teacher said to pretend that an ant was crawling along the outside of the object and as it crawled my pencil should move with it. This was a great visual for me and it helped me to replicate objects the best that I could.

My goal today is an open-ended “writing” activity, okay okay so it is actually a drawing activity, BUT don’t forget that drawing builds fine motor skills which makes for efficient writers!

First, you are going to assemble your sketchbook… That’s right, make a custom sketchbook that is even more meaningful to your little one because ya’ll made it together. Grab two stacks of computer paper (as thick or thin as you’d like), hole-punch the top of both stacks, slip ribbon (yarn or whatever you have) through them, tie double-knots and then make curls or bows. Why two stacks?… Because it means so much to your little one to do activities TOGETHER, and you are modeling “how to” draw. Write your name on your cover and your little one’s name on theirs (or let them do it if he/she can).

I aligned the 3 hole-punch so that only two holes would be punched in the center of my stack of paper.

I then tied ribbon into a tight double knot, and held the bottom of the ribbon between my thumb and the scissors and pulled out toward the end to make the curls.

Next, ask your little artist to pick something around the house (or in the backyard) to draw, and you will BOTH draw in your own book. Talk about it: what shapes you see, what part you are going to draw first, if it has a word on it (like Tonka) what letters you are going to write on the Truck and where.

This can be such an open-ended experience where your child’s creativity and imagination has the chance to shine.

April 14, 2011 by Jessica | 0 comments

An Activity For Active Children

I love how little kiddos get so excited to participate in activities that include moving around. So many kids learn through movement; in fact, kids with this learning style are called kinesthetic learners. For this reason, I used to come up with a lot of little activities that I could pull out at any moment that would get the kids moving and that would reinforce some of the things that I was teaching (numbers, letters, shapes, colors, etc.)

SO today’s activity is to roll two dice. One that reads a number and the other that reads an action clue. This way, your little one will have to move the way the dice tells them to, and move however many times the dice tells them to.

To make these dice, you simply cover an empty, square-shaped tissue box with paper, and write numbers on each side. This does not have to be fancy! If you have a small mailing box or present box, use it!

If your child is already REALLY familiar with their numbers 1-10 and you have started teaching the numbers 10-20 you can reinforce those numbers by writing them on the cube (make sure you use the language “cube” with your little one when referring to the dice because it is great to introduce 3-D geometry terms early).

Then make another dice and choose the theme of the game that you might want to play, and make clip art to represent the motions or cut the pictures out of a magazine and tape them on the sides of the cube.

My action cube is pictures of animals so when playing the game you might have to hop like a frog 10 times, or flap your wings like a bird 7 times, etc.

You might want to make one with exercise motions on it and do jumping jacks, push-ups, or sit-ups for each number.

You could even do colors and find that many items of that color around the house.