Activity ideas - The Mommy Teacher

Imaginative Play Gift Idea

This weekend we went to a birthday party for a big boy 4 year old! Now, since I have 5 and 3 year old boys, I am all too familiar with the likes and interests for little boys this age. It can be pretty frustrating, actually. You buy a gift that is say, $20, and they are more interested in playing with the plastic parts, twist ties and cardboard packaging that it came in.

Two Christmases ago, we hit the idea jackpot for least expensive Santa gift ever… a spy kit! I bought cheap canvas backpacks from Hobby Lobby for $10 a piece and ironed on letters that spelled Agent J and Agent L. Then I filled them with all sorts of random junk from the Dollar Store! $30 per child… not bad at all! So before I went to the store, I was searching the house, trying to decide what my boys’ FAVORITE toys are, and what did I see littered all over my messy house? The contents of their spy kits! I think a Mini-Spy Kit is PERFECT for Austin, the birthday boy!

And BONUS: the idea of a spy kit encourages imaginative or pretend play which is really important for your child’s Physical, Linguistic, Emotional, Academic and Social Education (PLEASE) and development. Here is a great article on the importance of Imaginative Play in Early Childhood.

Agent A is now an official member of SKIP (Spy Kit Imaginative Play)!

All secret agents need to have sole access to their kits via a thumb scan and number code.

Contents: bungee cords, tape measure, shoe laces, combination lock, glow sticks, flashlight, ear phones, watch, calculator, slingshot, mustaches (to maintain their secret identities), key clamps, safety glasses. You can add as many or as few items as you wish!

I taped this letter to the top and copied the text below. Feel free to copy and paste this into a word document, add your own agent names and print for your own use! You’re welcome!

Free for your own use to copy and paste in a word document. Remember to replace the bold words to meet your needs:

Agent A:

Congratulations! Now that you are 4 years old you are officially a spy for SKIP (Spy Kids Imaginative Play)! This spy kit will equip you with anything you may need to carry out your secret spy missions. Beware! Do not blow your cover! Inside your kit you will find mustaches so you can maintain your secret identity at all times.

Only you will be able to access the materials inside of your kit. You must first put your left thumb on the thumb scan on top of your box. Then you must press the access code. We will tell you this code once, and only once. Please memorize it and tell no one! The secret access code is 1 2 3 4.

Welcome to the club, Agent. We know that you will be a good spy and will have many successful missions.

Happy Birthday,

Agents of the SKIP Academy

Agent J, Agent Capital L, and Agent-in-Training lowercase l

May 19, 2013 by Casey | 0 comments

Cheap and Easy, Easter Bunny Gift Baggie

I found this idea in my teacher stash of Easter activities. I almost always have paper bags, glue, markers, contruction paper, and scissors in my playroom cubbies. So, for me, this was just a “sweep-the-playroom” kind of activity.

I wanted to put a little Easter picture inside of a little gift bag for Sean Patrick’s grandma and great-grandma.

Way better than a gift bag was this little craft idea I found in my teacher shed (the one on the left is my “example” and the one on the right is the one Sean Patrick made):

I just Cut a dip in the top of a brown bag (the side that opens) to so it left a shape that resembles a bunny. You could cut a rectangle out of the middle of the top of the bag if you don’t want them to be as rounded. (A white paper bag would be super cute too, but I was out).

I used pink, blue, & black construction paper to make the eyes, inner ears, nose, & whiskers.

Sean Patrick wanted to color it first of course (red is his favorite color if you haven’t guessed by now).

I always include my little bed-head one year old too. (they are both shirt-less because I wanted to keep their cute shirts clean).

I then helped him cut/tear and glue little pieces of pink paper to a gluey oval in the inner ear. Then he glued the eyes and nose (“just a dot, not a lot”)…. I glued the whiskers because I couldn’t find my glue stick which would be easier for him.

After we finished glueing, I grabbed a black marker, took his hand and guided him to make the pupil of the bunny’s eyes, the eyelashes, the little dots around the nose, and the mouth.

That was it!

We wrote a note from “Sean Patrick” on the back.

We put some Easter grass, starburst candies in some eggs, and the pictures inside & he will give them out when he sees them for Easter!

You can always add to it and share your ideas on facebook (like a cotton ball on the backside):

March 29, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Impromptu, Getting-Ready-For-Easter Activity

Simple Easter Bunny Art Using Bulletin Border

Being a teacher with a “teacher shed” and tubs full of bulletin borders, di-cuts, and other materials definitely pays off when making crafts. But I think that this is something that you can just as easily re-create without the exact same materials that I used to create this simple but fun Easter activity for the kids.

I grabbed a large piece of cardstock, a strip of grass border (any teacher supply store has this, but you could also cut contruction paper to look like this), a strip of rainbow/sky border, a bunny template (simple), markers, modge podge (any glue will due), and Easter stickers from the Dollar Tree.

We glued the borders and bunny and let the kids decorate from there.
They drew the face for the bunny, drew eggs, drew a sun in the sky, and some dots and lines too. 🙂

We included the one years old too.

If I were doing this with older kids I would talk about “signs of spring” and encourage them to label or write about their picture on a sheet of paper that I would tape to the back.
But I loved this because it was super simple, but festive and fun. Creating a little scene for the Easter Bunny was really exciting for the kids.

Other thoughts… Have a scratch sheet of paper or take your child’s hand to teach them how they might make new shapes or pictures.

Give the little ones ideas like :

1.”I’m wondering if the bunny might want a carrot to eat?”

2. “Does the bunny need a basket of eggs to deliver for Easter?”

3. “What kind of flowers do you think we could draw for the bunny to pick on the way?”

4. “I’m thinking that the bunny might have circle-shaped eyes, a triangle-shaped nose, and whiskers that look like lines. I might draw the same amount of whiskers on each side so that it matches.”

March 24, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

An Activity A Day Can Go Such A Long Way

Ya know, I need to just start off by saying that I am just like any other mom. I go a little crazy when the chores pile up and my house is messy. I don’t always have my meals thought out. I can’t compare myself to other moms…. Because then I’ll just feel like a hot mess. I am not perfect, and I am actually relieved that I am not expected to be. But, like any other mom, I want the best for my kids, and I am always trying to figure out what more I can do to be the best mom that I can be for them.

I give myself lots of grace because I believe there is a huge learning curve when it comes to raising these little impressionable people.

But, when I am not feeling like a very intentional, efficient, or productive mom, I am not completely satisfied in my role. So that is why, both when I was a SAHM and now as a working mom, I get those motivational moments to sit down and plan out something to make the most of my time at home with my kiddos.

Sometimes just ONE thing can make your day feel like a HUGE success. You might sweep one floor, exercise for one small chunk of time, cook one meal, check off one thing from the to-do list, etc.

Well, even though I aim to purpose learning as a mindset and not just in a compartmentalized way my ACTUAL GOAL is to purpose one quality activity a day.

Most of the time, I sit down & think of a daily activity that I think my son would enjoy and one that I know can be used to teach important skills.

In these times, I can get inspiration from:

1) Pinterest… depending on my children’s age or what I am working with on them. Follow me Follow Casey
2) Friends…which is why I have teamed up with an AWESOME mommy teacher, Casey, to share ideas.
3) Teaching experiences… Which Casey and I both share with you here 🙂
4) Connecting with other moms, whether in my mom peer groups, or moms around the world who share what works for them.

But lots of times, I just get inspiration from what I know would be meaningful to my kids.

The other night, my son was missing his Texas cousins…. So, writing a letter to them was naturally the most meaningful activity for us to make the most of.

1) We pulled out some card stock cut into cutesy shapes (Stationary Template Printable here!), as well as some markers, crafty stamps (his idea), pens, envelopes, and mailing stamps. (Stickers would have been fun too.)

2) I asked Sean Patrick what color he wanted for Kaylee, what color he wanted for Presley, and then I let him decorate.

3) Then I asked him what he wanted to say and I re-vamped it a little and read it to him as I wrote it. He also stamped the bottom with his fingerprints and I drew a heart around it.

4) He carefully placed the stamp in the right-hand corner so the mailman knew we paid for it.

5) He helped me say the numbers in the address so he the mail carrier would know where to bring the letter.
6) He stuffed & licked the letter.

7) I let him put it in the mailbox and lift the flag.

Here is the vocabulary he used to tell daddy about our activity: mail, letter, address, deliver (he said “liver it”), mailman, and mailbox.

And as you can see…. just this ONE, SIMPLE activity made our day an unforgettable and meaningful one.

Share your simple, yet meaningful activities with us & other mommy teachers around the world…comment here or post pictures on our Facebook page 😉

March 15, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Picture This…

A friend of mine is about to start mapping out plans for her new house they are going to have built. When she was telling me about it, her five year old ran to the next room to grab his precious simple sketch of his master plan for their new house with his big ideas in mind.

I loved everything about this moment….

I loved that he wanted to share his thoughts with me.

I loved that he had an idea of his dream house.

I loved that he wanted to be a part of the process.

I loved that I could picture a little architect in the making.

I couldn’t help but text his mom the other day and tell her that if she wanted to extend on this interest… one idea I use with my little ones in the classroom is simply:

1) To give the kiddos a basket of shapes (cut out on cardstock paper for sturdy-ness).

2. Have them trace their shapes on a big sheet of paper or poster.

3) Label their ideas for the items that could make up the room.

How adorable is the "roob" or "door" in the corner? — How adorable is the “roob” or “door” in the corner?

This idea can be used if you and your little one want to re-arrange the furniture in their room then they can be a part of the process for coming up with why a dresser might work best under the window, rather than by the door.

Or, this might be a great idea if you want to help them make a map of your neighborhood to display and they can label their friend’s house.

This could even be a great idea if you want to map out what equipment is in your backyard, and they can include new things that might fit, or include something to save for in the next year.

If you have another idea for this, geared to your child’s interest, then please COMMENT and share with us!

March 13, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments