Bouncy Ball Basics

I don't have too many pictures of this because my 18 Month old help me set it up.  

What is needed:

Paint Palette

Balls that will fit in the slots (we used bouncy balls)

However, you could use:  Ping Pong balls, golf balls, etc.

Dry erase markers

You can set this up many different ways depending on the interests of your child.

Matching...Counting...Color Recognition... Patterns

Here are a few we tried.  

Here is my 18 Month old just randomly placing the balls in the slots as I counted for her.

Color Recognition... Yellow

"Look, they are all yellow."  

"You made a yellow circle!"

Color Match

Make a colored circle with the dry erase marker on the paint palette and present the coordinating balls.  

Number Match/Counting

I used a permanent marker on the balls for the numbers so it didn't come off as they held them in their hands.  If you scrub hard enough it will eventually come all the way off... at least mine did.  

For a short video of my youngest enjoying this activity click on the link below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbZDeq_-mLA

RL

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Duck River

"Embrace their childhood."

What does that mean?

Does it mean let them run wild with no boundaries?  

No.  

Does it mean take them to the beach to play while you read?  

Well, we all need some down time, but no.  

It probably means different things to different people and on different levels.  

For us here at Play at Home Mom, LLC it means following their lead, saying "yes", and rediscovering our own childhood with our children.  It means doing the best we can to take advantage of every playful opportunity - every day.  It means never having to look back and say "I wish I had played more with my children".

So today, when the thunderstorm cleared, we did just that.

All you need for this activity is a drainage ditch, a good heavy rain, and some rubber ducks.  

Okay, so there may be other ways to improvise and recreate this activity, but our hopes are that after a hard rain we all think outside the box a little and take advantage of mother natures gifts. 

RL brought out some rubber ducks to send down the "river".
FUN!!

Catching the rubber ducks and enjoying splashing in the water.

I caught two rubber ducks!

Running down the "river" was just as fun as sending the ducks down.

Woo-hoo!!

Crawling through the tunnel after the ducks.

So the next time life feels like a thunderstorm...
think outside the box...
find your inner child...
and play!

- AK & RL

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The Unblogged

We post a lot of impromptu pictures that have potential to be blog worthy, but then we never end up blogging about them.  So, here is a quick picture list of some of our quality cell phone picture activities.

THE UNBLOGGED....

Visual bed time routine.  

Create a table in microsoft word, print, and laminate.  We attached ours to a clip board to keep on my daughters night stand.  She checks things off as she goes with a dry erase marker.  

Tape off a track on the floor for car play.

use rope lights and fabric to create a wonderful reading nook in small spaces.  This space is a built in for a TV.

Dollar Tree find.....colored containers and plastic ice cubes for sorting.

Mini DROP BOX.....color recognition.

Create your own tree blocks....all you need is a thick branch or thin tree trunk and a saw.

Tracing.....use sidewalk chalk to trace letters....names....shapes....etc.

Upper/lower case letter match.....use a Sharpie marker to write letters on shot glasses  and have the child match them up by nesting them on top of one another on the light panel - of course.

Bean bag toss....tape colored construction paper to the floor as well as challenge lines where the child is to stand and have them toss the bean bags onto the corresponding colors.

Oral Motor control.....tape colored paper to a table and have the children blow pom-poms through a straw onto its corresponding color.

Bath tub paint....shaving cream colored with liquid watercolors.

Imaginative play....fishing in the bath tub.

Wire play - similar to our WIRED POST.....using floral wire to create.

Use magnetic beads on the magnet board.  Make various sized strands of magnetic beads, create letters and print them, then use them on the magnet board......the child uses the templates and bead strands to build the letters.

Ball ramp - simple fun with a bowl of balls and a gutter!

Colored design tape and overhead transparencies on the light panel.

Painting lanterns

Similar to our MAGNETIC PUMPKIN, we created a magnetic snowman.  Tape white circles to the magnet board and allow child to use DIY MAGNETS to build a snowman.

Use play doh number stampers to stamp numbers into sand on the light panel

A spin off of our ILLUMINATED EASTER EGG HUNT.....letter find and building words.  Use a sharpie to write letters on the eggs.

Building with sugar cubes.  Use powdered sugar and water mixed together as a "glue" to build towers, houses, and more!!

Im sure we will add to this list as we come across pictures we have posted and never really blogged about.....and as the questions start rolling in.

- PAHM

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Backyard Games

My girls are very interested in letters lately... especially my 3 year old.  We did an INDOOR LETTER HUNT a few months back that we play often.  Since the weather has been warmer I thought we would take the hunt outside!  

To make the letters I purchased Marking Chalk from Amazon.

I created an alphabet checklist they could use to mark off the letters they found.  

"I found letter P!  Let me see here.... where is it?"

"I found it!"

Letter P in the grass

Letter S in the mulch.

The girls searching for letters. 

"I found letter V under the trampoline.  That was a tricky one."

We also made some fun games.  

Backyard Hopscotch

I also buried a few letters in our garden.  

X marks the spot!

My oldest loved digging for "treasures".  We plan to do a treasure hunt dig next.  :-)  Stay tuned!  

RL 

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Frogs - Taking Advantage of Real Life, Hands On Learning

"If it's not in the hand, then it's not in the head or the heart!"

~ Bev Bos

Strolling along a nature trail, throwing rocks into a lake, or playing on a playground is where you will find us on most days.  We typically get out to a park or playground every day, and allow our children to take us on all kinds of adventures.  What a gift it is to see the wonder of the world through their eyes.  On one such trip recently, we came upon a lake brimming with tadpoles.

YES – We can bring out our nets and catch some for you all to explore.  

YES – You may walk into the water with your shoes on (or off).

YES – We can catch more than one.  

YES – We can take them home for further exploration and learning.

YES - You may hold them.

This type of hands-on learning is ideal - 

to spark interest

for better retention

and because its fun.

Thus it begins – the life cycle of a frog adventures.

Catching tadpoles

Watching tadpoles

Scoop 'em up!

Got some!

The wonder!!

YES - You may hold them.

Growth of a Tadpole

"Look, this one is the smallest."

"This one has hind limbs!!!  He must be the oldest.  Will he be a frog soon?  Let me pick him up for a better look."

We watched a short video about the Life Cycle of the Frog

An invitation to explore the tadpoles.

He put one in a petri dish for a better look.

Using a magnifying glass.

"I'm drawing the whole tadpole family."

Our hopes are that the tadpoles continue to grow and our children get to watch the metamorphosis   Once they are frogs (fingers crossed), we will take them back to their lake and set them free.

How rewarding!

Tell me and I'll forget;

Show me and I may remember;

Involve me and I'll understand.

- Chinese Proverb

- AK/RL

You have read this article Child-Guided Play / INVITATIONS / Outdoor Play / Science with the title May 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/05/frogs-taking-advantage-of-real-life.html. Thanks!