stem camp

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 53 – Five Senses Mindfulness Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Five Senses Mindfulness Activity

Mindfulness is about noticing what’s going on around you and inside you in the present moment. This ability to focus attention on the present moment is a important skill that supports our overall health, well-being, and connection with others. Today’s exercise helps to build mindfulness skills by focusing attention on the five senses. Engaging our senses helps us focus on the present moment. Notice how you and your child are feeling as you begin. Then, together with your child:

• Notice five things that you can see. Look around you. Notice and name five things that you can see.
• Notice four things that you can feel. Tune in to your sense of touch. Notice and describe the texture of four things you can touch.
• Notice three things you can hear. Listen carefully. Notice and name three sounds you hear in your environment.
• Notice two things you can smell. Notice and name two smells you recognize.
• Notice one thing you can taste. Focus and name one thing that you can taste right now. You can take a sip or bite of something, or simply notice the current taste in your mouth.
• How are you and/or your child feeling now? Do you feel more connected to your surroundings and the present moment?

This exercise is great to do if you or your child is feeling anxious. It helps to distract the mind from anxious thoughts and focuses in on what’s happening in the moment.

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: mindfulness.

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 52 – Water Play Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Water Play Activity

If you have a little one under 5 years old at home, then you’ve experienced what it’s like to try to keep up with an energetic toddler or preschooler. But did you know that kids this age need three hours of physical activity a day?

Children between 2-4 years old don’t only need a lot of movement, they also need a lot of variety of movement. So while it’s essential to make time for unstructured, active playtime, it’s also important to have access to plenty of fun, simple activities that you know will help them get active and develop skills in a variety of ways.

With the summer heat this week, it’s a great time to engage in water play outdoors. Water play keeps them cool in the heat and also keeps them active – and it’s FUN!

Here’s some options for easy water play that doesn’t involve a swimming pool. It may be awhile before the pools and splash pads are open.

• Car wash: Gather up lots of sponges, provide a tub of soapy water and wash the bikes and riding toys.
• Little people washing station: Gather small face towels and a bucket of soapy water and wash all the baby dolls or action figures.
• Wall painting: Gather sponges and brushes and have your kids throw their sponges on a wall or on a cement surface to make designs. Sponges and brushes can also be used to “paint” walls with water.
• Setup a water sensory table: All you need is a big bin of water and add their favourite toys as well as pail, shovels, strainers and things they can use to scoop and pour.
• Sponge toss: Gather a sponge and a bucket of water and toss the sponge back and forth to each other.

Depending on your child, you may want to put them in a swimsuit or clothes you don’t mind getting wet. And don’t forget the sunscreen!

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: physical activity.

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 51 – Marshmallow Engineering Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Marshmallow Engineering Activity

Summer is almost here and it’s almost time for bonfires and roasting marshmallows. But what do you do with all those leftover marshmallows? Marshmallows are a great building material and today’s activity uses marshmallows to build creative structures to develop engineering skills.

Step 1: Gather the following items: marshmallows (various sizes), Toothpicks, craft sticks

Step 2: Put out the materials and ask your child to build a structure with the materials. The child can choose whatever they want to make. You can make suggestions on how to stick the marshmallows together with the sticks, if they need some guidance. I recommend you also build a structure beside them. You can also extend the activity to add more challenge such as asking them to make a bridge or make the tallest structure they can without falling down.

Step 3: Talk about the structure they make and take a photo of it.

This activity is great for any age group. Even teens and adults like it!  

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (engineering).

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 50 – Button Sorting Art Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Button Sorting Art Activity

Art and math seem like two very different subjects that don’t naturally combine. In this activity, we have combined art and math in a creative way. A simple and fun way to introduce counting and sorting through art is to use buttons.

Step 1: Gather the following items: buttons, paper and glue. Provide your child with a variety of buttons of different shapes and sizes (or other similar objects like beads, etc).

Step 2: Ask the child to sort the buttons by size and/or colour into different containers.

Step 3: Once your child has sorted their buttons, have them add drops of glue where they are going to put them on their paper.

Step 4: Take any button to cover up each dot of glue.

Step 5: The child can count how many of each they had or the can count how many in total.

For older kids, you can create math equations with the buttons to add them together or subtract them. Using buttons is a great way to teach math in a visual way. Combining the art with the math makes it more interesting as well.

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (math, art).

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 49 – Fireworks Science Activity 

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids –  Fireworks Science Activity

We love this science activity that looks like crackling fireworks. This is a great summer science activity.  

Step 1: gather the following: food colouring, glitter, baking soda, vinegar, dropper, clear container 

Step 2: in the bottom of the container,  drop several drops of food colouring in different colours. Do not mix colours.

Step 3: Cover the bottom with a layer of glitter.

Step 4: Cover all the glitter with a layer of baking soda.

Step 5: Use dropper to add vinegar in drops until you see a reaction. You will see splashes of glitter explosions. 

This activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (science).

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 48 – Rainbow Cupcake Baking Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Rainbow Cupcake Baking Activity

Baking is a great way to introduce science and math. You can talk to your child about cause and effect, measurements, mix ingredients and hav  cvcasasbe them predict results.

You don’t have to be a baker to make cupcakes – they are one of the easiest things to make! This version of rainbow cupcakes is fun, easy to follow and your child will love to eat them.

All you need is packaged vanilla cake mix, eggs, oil, cupcake wrappers, frosting of your choice and food colouring. Follow the instructions on the cake mix to ensure the batter is prepared correctly.

Then portion out the batter evenly into 4 separate bowls. Add a few drops of food coloring into one bowl of batter and stir; add more food coloring, if necessary, to reach the desired shade. Repeat with the remaining colors and bowls of batter to create four bowls of different coloured batter. I like to use blue, green, yellow and red.

Using a different spoon for each color batter, spoon a small spoonful of each color into the cupcake liners, until 3/4 full. Do not mix the batter once it is in the cupcake liner. Bake in the oven according to the instructions. When it is done, let them cool before adding the frosting on top. You can add rainbow candy on top for decoration.

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (science, math).

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 47 – Explore your Cultural Background Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Explore your Cultural Background Activity

Technology is a great way to bring us closer in the world. Technology helps us to learn and travel to new places without ever leaving our home. Many families have various cultural backgrounds. Today’s activity involves exploring your own cultural background using technology.

Choose a country or countries that represent your cultural background. Search that country online and show your children where that is on a map. You can use the Google Earth app www.google.com/earth/ to show them the country online and how far it is from our country. You can also look up other information about the country to find out what it is like to live there. Look up famous artists that are there, what are popular foods, what the country is famous for, what are temperatures there at this time of year. Look through pictures online, listen to the language they speak, if it is different from ours. This is a great opportunity to share your cultural heritage using technology.

Depending on the age of your child, you could expand this by having them create a story based on what they have found.

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (technology) and language and literacy.

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 46 – Fish for Letters Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Fish for Letters Activity

Learning letters can be fun! This is a fun and interactive way to learn letter recognition. Here are the easy steps to create this game that can be used over and over again.

Step 1: Gather the following items; construction paper, markers, paper clips, scissors, yarn, a wood dowel stick and a magnet.

Step 2: Using the construction paper, cut out 10 fish shapes and draw on a mouth and eye with the markers. Label each fish with a letter of the alphabet. Start with 10 letters and increase the number of fish to add more letters when your child is able to recognize these ones. You don’t have to go in order of the alphabet. You can choose to use the letters in the child’s name or just random letters. If your child is able, they can also help you draw the letters on the fish. Make sure you put it on both sides of the paper.

Step 3: Attach a paper clip to the tail of the fish

Step 3: Attach the string around the magnet at one end and the stick at the other to create the fishing pole.

Step 4: Call out various letters and have your child fish them out. You can put the fish in a bowl or simply place them on a table.

You can expand this game to include words, numbers and colours by changing what is on the fish. For older children, they can complete all the step by themselves to create this fun game.

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: language and literacy.

Daily Activity for Kids – Day 45 – Balloon Breath Mindfulness Activity

During this COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are home with their children and looking for things to do. This is a daily post to give you ideas of fun things to do. It comes from activities that we implement at our daycare centre using our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!

Daily Activity for Kids – Balloon Breath Mindfulness Activity

Mindfulness is growing in popularity just about everywhere. Parenting and early childhood settings are no exception. There is good reason for this enthusiasm. Mindfulness has been used with adults to reduce stress, bolster overall health and psychological functioning, and assist a return to wellness following adversity. We are learning that mindfulness may also support healthy adult-child relationships.

Mindfulness is noticing what’s going on outside—and inside—of us with acceptance and kindness. As mindful parents, we can be curious and open to understanding what our children are feeling and experiencing. This mindfulness exercise is designed to help both parent and child experience a sense of calm connection.

Balloon Breath: In this practice, use deep breathing and movement together to calm your mind and body. Show how to do it and have your child copy you.

• You can sit or stand up.
• Place both hands on top of your head.
• Begin to breathe in and out slowly. As you inhale, raise your arms above your head, like you are blowing up a balloon. When your lungs are full of air, your arms should look like a big, round balloon on top of your head.
• As you exhale, slowly bring your hands toward your head. Do your best to match the timing of your inhale with raising your arms up and the timing of your exhale with bringing your arms back down.
• Try to deepen your breath with each inhale as you’re able.
• Continue with this breath and arm movement 2-4 more times.
• On the last breath, press your lips together and blow the air out, making a silly sound.

For more information about mindfulness in the early years, visit the website: www.zerotothree.org/resources/series/mindfulness-in-early-childhood

This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: physical activity and mindfulness.