Daily Activity for Kids – Day 9 – All About Me Activity
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 9 – All About Me 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!
Today’s Activity: All About Me Activity
As parents, we know that you are concerned about limiting the use of technology for your kids or “screen time”. We believe that technology can be a great thing for families, if used wisely. We have found a great website which allows children to partake in fun activities while learning things like, math, numbers, strategy or skill. Our challenge activity today is to create your all about me page. Here are the steps below.
Step 1: Open up the website, www.abcya.com and click on the Pre-k option for children under 4. (there are options from Pre-k up to Grade 6) Once there, scroll down to the Preschool word games, you will see the “All About Me” option. Choose that one.
Step 2: Help your child to walk through each answer and don’t forget to let them draw themselves. (it was our favourite part!)
Step 3: When it is complete, save it to your computer and share with us either on our Facebook @alphaspreschool or our Instagram @Alphaskids pages. We can’t wait to learn all about you.
This website also offers other great games for children. Magic Molly’s Adventure is a great game where children get to choose the destination of a unicorn who is trying to find a rainbow. Alphabet Bubble is a great game to help children recognize letters. Once you have completed each game, it will tell the children what words start with the letter. You can even make your own pizza. It made us soooo hungry! Technology can be a great and wonderful tool. I hope you have as much fun as we did with this fun and educational website.
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 8 – Homemade Playdough
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 8 – Homemade Playdough
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!
Today’s Activity: Homemade Playdough
Working with play dough is a great stress reliever activity for both adults and children. Playdough is such a great way to let you imagination run wild. You can build shapes, faces and other various items. There are so many benefits to working with playdough as it enhances fine motor skills, improves pre-writing skills, helps develop hand eye co-ordination , creativity and imagination and has a calming effect. Instead of buying play dough, we recommend making your own as we do in all our centres – all ingredients are readily available at a grocery store. This is the recipe that we use.
Step 1: You will need to collect the following items
- 1 cup of flour
- ½ cup of table salt
- 2 tbsp of cream of tartar
- 1 tbsp of oil
- 1 cup of boiling water
- Food colouring
Step 2: In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and cream of tartar. Mix well. Add in the oil. Have children participate by measuring and pouring the ingredients. This is a great opportunity to develop math skills and coordination skills.
Step 3: Mix a few drops of food colouring into the boiling water and add to the bowl. You can also mix colours to create new colours.
Step 4: Mix everything together very well and massage with your hands until it is no longer sticky.
Step 5: Portion it out in small batches to use. We recommend both adults and children work with the play dough side by side. Gather all the tools you will use to manipulate the play dough. Here’s some suggestions: rollers, cookie cutters, plastic knives, spoons, popsicle sticks, and things that can make imprints in the dough such as animals, dinosaurs, cars etc. Have fun with it!
The great thing about playdough is that it lasts. Once you are finished playing with it you can wrap it in plastic and seal it in an airtight container and it can last for up to 6 months.
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (science, math) and physical activity.
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 7 – Cardboard Box Activity
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 7 – Cardboard Box 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!
Today’s Activity: Cardboard Box Activity
Have you ever noticed that kids love to play with boxes – and sometimes more so than what was inside the box? A cardboard box is a versatile toy that you can transform into anything you want. All you need for this activity is your imagination and an empty box from a recent delivery. In these days, you may have lots of empty boxes around from the deliveries you are getting. Here’s some ideas to transform your cardboard box into hours of fun!
Step 1: Find an empty cardboard box. This can be any size but bigger is better! Bigger boxes allow your child to get inside it which is always more fun. (make sure there is nothing in the box such as plastic wrap/foam and there are no staples or other hazards)
Step 2: Gather the materials you need to decorate your box. You can use crayons, markers, paint, glue, collage materials. Let it dry completely.
Step 3: Ask your child what they want the box to be. There are endless possibilities here. The box can be a boat, truck, train, rocket, garbage truck, garage, house etc. Try to go with your child’s ideas instead of your own. Remember, the box can be a boat one minute and a train in the next one. Follow your child’s lead.
Step 4: Add specific features to the box for more interest. Make holes for windows, add a chimney, wheels etc.
Step 5: Research more ideas of what you can with a cardboard box. This website has some great ideas!
www.herecomethegirlsblog.com/2013/12/26/100-ways-use-cardboard-box.html
We use cardboard boxes often in our daycare centre. We know that as soon as we bring out a box, the children are ready to climb inside it. Be sure to stay safe and supervise their play while using the boxes.
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (engineering, art).
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 6 – Make Slime
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 6 – Make Slime (taste safe)
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!
Today’s Activity: Make Slime (taste safe)
Today we are making slime that is safe for tasting. It probably won’t taste good but it won’t hurt to taste it. It also has a nice texture with the chia seeds.
Step 1: Collect the items you will need.
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 1 ¾ cup of water
- Food colouring
- 3-4 cups of cornstarch
Step 2: Mix the chia seeds, food colouring and water together.
Step 3: Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Step 4: Uncover and add the corn-starch a little at a time. About a cup at a time. Mix and then continue until your achieve the desired level of consistency. It should be like regular slime – slimy but can easily be taken off hands.
Step 5: Store slime covered in the refrigerator. You will need to add a little water each time you take it out to use it. It will reactivate the slime.
Did you know that slime resembles both a liquid and a solid? This is a great discussion to start with your children. You can look up other items that have similar properties, or you can compare and chart items that are liquid and items that are solid. See how many you can name. Did you know that slime can be destroyed by vinegar? When you are finished playing with your slime, add vinegar to it and watch it completely dissolve.
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (science an
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 5 – Online Kids Activity
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 5 – Online Kids 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!
Today’s Activity: Create a New Animal Species – Online Kids Activity
Have you ever wanted to create your own animal species? Maybe you thought a dog mixed with a cat would be a good idea and you invented the “Cog” or the “Dat”. We found an amazing free website that allows you to do just that. It is called “Switchzoo”. We have a challenge for you. Follow these five steps to complete our Switchzoo challenge.
Step 1: Go to the website www.switchzoo.com. Click on the link “Make and Play”. Then click on the Switch Zoo Habitats Map and pick your favourite animal. We picked the elephant to start with.
Step 2: Switch off various parts of your animal with the pictures provided and create your new animal. Don’t forget to name it. We created a Rabbiturtphant
Step 3: Then move around the habitats creating all kinds of unique and fun animals. You must name each animal you create.
Step 4: Pick your favourite animal creation and make up a short story about it. We want to know its name, where it lives, what it eats and if you would keep it as a pet. If your child can write, have them write the story. If not, you can ask them questions and record their answers in a story format.
Step 5: Share you creations with us by either sending us a picture and the story through Facebook or IG. We would love to hear about what animals you made. You can post it in the comments here!
Switchzoo is full of other ways to enjoy the website. You can listen and figure out which animal is making the music you are hearing or you could take an adventure and create a new biome as well. It is a great place to learn and have fun.
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (science, technology and language and literacy).
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 4 – Ice Painting
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 4 – Ice Painting
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!
Today’s Activity: Ice Painting
Today we wanted to provide you with a simple activity that not only involves colour and art but also involves a bit of science. We are going to show you how to make ice paints.
Step 1: Gather the following items
- Ice cube tray
- Water
- Food colouring
- Popsicle sticks
- White paper
Step 2: Fill the ice cube tray with water but be sure not to over fill them.
Step 3: Add a small drop of food colouring to each cube. If you want to mix colours, have your child add a drop of a different colour to see what happens. You can have them guess the result before doing it.
Step 4: Cut a popsicle stick in half and use the flat end to mix the water and food colouring together. Leave the popsicle stick in and freeze overnight.
Step 5: Once frozen, have your child paint on white paper to see the results. You can have them mix the ice paints and see what colours they can create.
There are so many learning opportunities with this activity. Children learn how to freeze water and what temperature water needs to get to freeze. You can discuss colour mixing with your children and have them test various colours. Before doing this have them make predictions of what could happen. As they are painting, you can discuss with them why the ice cube is leaving colour on their paper. You can also discuss why the ice cube is melting. Once they are done painting, you could put all of the ice cubes in a large bowl and watch what happens as the colours mix together. Opportunities are endless for learning and fun.
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM (science and art).
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 3 – Scavenger Hunt
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 3 – Scavenger Hunt
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!
Today’s Activity: Scavenger Hunt
With spring weather approaching, why not get outside for some fun, exercise and a break from the indoors and what better way to do that then with a scavenger hunt.
Step 1: Prepare your scavenger hunt list. It can include the following items.
- Something colourful (you can also name a certain favourite colour)
- A pine cone
- An acorn
- Something smooth
- Something rough
- Two kinds of leaves
- Two kinds of sticks
- Something bumpy
- A flat rock
- Something fuzzy
- Something pretty
- A chewed leaf
- A flower or petal
- A piece of litter
- Something you think is a treasure
Step 2: Plan where you will go. Will it be a local park, a hiking trail, or even your own backyard? You can decide to collect each item and bring it home or you can take pictures and make a collage of your journey to remember it.
Step 3: You can separate into teams to make it a fun challenge (make it competitive) or work together as a family to complete the list together.
Step 4: Once you have all the items (either collected or pictures), take them back home and create a fun story with the family using the items you have. E.g. There once was a beautiful (insert your something colourful) who became friends with a pine cone named (name your pine cone) and then keep going until you reach the end of your story. This builds language and literacy skills.
Step 5: Make a collage picture of all the items you collected. You can glue the actual items on the paper or pictures of them to your collage picture. This will be a lovely keepsake.
This is something that you can do daily or weekly. You can change your list each time. Every child loves a scavenger hunt!
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: language and literacy, science (nature), art and physical activity.
Daily Kids Activity – Day 2 – Travelling the World
Daily Kids Activity – Day 2 – Travelling the World
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!
Today’s Kids Activity-Travelling the world
Children and even adults of all ages love to imagine and pretend. Where would you go if money wasn’t an option? What would you see? What experiences would you have? In today’s activity, you get to travel anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home!
Step 1: Grab a computer, tablet or phone and sit down with your child to visit these sites together for great travel ideas. These kid-friendly websites are sure to give you some ideas for places you would like to visit.
www.kids.nationalgeographic.com
https://outdoorfamiliesonline.com/
https://www.familyadventureproject.org/
Step 2: Have a discussion with your child about the places you see online and have your child pick a place they want to visit. This is where you will go today.
Step 3: Find a space in your home to build a fort. Use sheets, blankets, furniture, pillows, anything that you have accessible to make your fort resemble where you are headed. Think about what you will need in your new place based on climate, such as blankets if it is a cold place.
Step 4: While sitting in your fort, use the laptop/tablet/phone to find out information about the place you are visiting. Talk about the animals who live there, food they eat, local temperatures etc. The websites listed above are a great start. You can even find videos that will give you visuals of the place you are visiting and have them playing in the background.
Step 5: Extend the learning by adding on more activities throughout the day. You could make a local food from the area (e.g. Pizza for Italy, Tacos for Mexico etc.) Take the music from the place you have visited and create a music video including all the family. Make it fun and get moving. Grab some paint or other creative materials and make a picture of something you saw on your visit. It could be the food, the village, the ocean, etc.
This is something that you can do daily. Plan a list of home vacations you will take over the next few days. This is a fun and creative way to educate your children and have fun in the process. Let your imagination go wild! Your kids will love it!
This daily kids activity incorporates many learning areas based on our Four Pillars of Learning curriculum including: STEAM science (cooking), technology (computers), engineering (building), art and language.
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 1 – Kindness Rocks
Daily Activity for Kids – Day 1 – Kindness Rocks
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. Since we are closed during this time, we are sharing the activity for you to implement in your own home. Enjoy!
Today’s Activity: Kindness Rocks
Step 1: Go for a walk in the neighborhood and collect rocks of all sizes. Try to find some as big as the size of a child’s hand.
Step 2: Put out some paint in various colours and paint the rocks. We encourage both adults and children to participate and paint their own rocks. You can use a paint brush or a toothbrush to make it easier to paint smaller rocks. Let them dry completely.
Step 3: Get a permanent marker and write a kind message on the rock. Ask your child what they would like to say to help someone have a great day. This helps children develop empathy.
Step 4: Go for another walk in the neighborhood and leave the rocks out for other people to find them.
Step 5: This can extend beyond Day 1. Go back to the places you left the rocks and see if they are gone. Make it like a scavenger hunt. If they are still there, you can move them to another spot.
This activity can be repeated and if enough people in the community are participating, you could also go out and find other people’s rocks. This could have a huge multiplier effect. Share this activity with a friend and you can also go out and find each other’s rocks. Most of all, have fun and know that you may brighten someone’s day!
Check out our boredom busters page for more ideas.
Boredom Busters for Kids of all Ages
Boredom Busters for Kids of all Ages
In light of the social distancing protocol and closure of schools and events due to the COVID pandemic, we thought we would provide you with some safe alternatives to prevent boredom and still allow families to have some outdoor fun as well. These are some safe activities to do with families during this time.
1. Go for a walk. On a walk you can admire everything that is still blooming and alive outside. Take a breath of fresh air, count the number of dogs you see, count any flowers you can see blooming, or just enjoy the sunshine. If it’s raining, take an umbrella and rubber boots and still get out there.
2. Go on a hike. Being out in the woods is a safe place to be and still follows the protocol of social distancing. Collect sticks, pinecones, other items that can be used for activities inside the house. Again you can look for squirrels, climb trees and just enjoy the outdoors. Be sure to stay away from flooded rivers and lakes that may be high in the early Spring.
3. Make spring cleaning a fun game. Have your child(ren) clean out old clothes, toys and other items they can donate to a local charity that collects these items. Research the charity online with your child so they can see where the donations will go. A visual helps them understand what they are doing and why.
4. This a great time for family board games and puzzles. Grab a board game you haven’t played for a while. Sit down, no tv on and enjoy the time together. Work on a puzzle together as a project or make a LEGO structure.
5. If you want to help your child with educational activities while they are off school, visit the page www.kidsactivitiesblog.com – they provide enough activities to keep the kids busy for the entire time they are off.
6. Have a lip sync battle at home. Turn on your favourite music and create fun memories by singing and dancing together.
7. Make a movie. Use a phone or tablet to record your movie. Put on costumes and make it up as you go. Have fun with it and involve the whole family in the movie. Let everyone take turns recording and performing in the movie. You will have a great keepsake to look back upon.
8. Make food together. Whether baking banana bread or preparing a special tea party snack, cooking can involve the whole family with everyone participating.
9. Make a family art project and get creative. Everyone can use their own special talents to contribute to it. Some may like making designs on a computer while another may love painting. Try to incorporate everyone’s contribution into one project and make it a family keepsake. Art is great for reducing stress when there are no expectations and everyone does what they like.
10. Make a bird feeder and watch the birds come to enjoy your creation. There are many bird feeder recipes online to choose from.
While these are only a few activities to keep you and your family busy, try remembering back to your childhood and the things that you loved doing. This is the time to shut off electronics and get back to the good things in life. Enjoy it!
There are still things that are not cancelled in this trying time so enjoy the good things: getting outdoors, music, family, reading, singing, laughing and of course, hope.