Educational Ideas for Young Children

Educational Activity Ideas for young kids

I compiled this list of things to do with my kids to make my time with them more productive and to make "no screen time" not so miserable for them--and just to reiterate that learning can be lots of fun!  Feel free to add your ideas too!

When in the car:

Count:

To 1000

To 200 by 10’s, 2’s and 5’s

Count backwards from 100

Backwards from 100 by 10’s, 5’s, and 2’s

Recite the Articles of Faith or learn the names of the 12 Apostles

Sing Primary songs really loud with all the windows rolled down

Memorize a classic poem

Play the “I spy” Alphabet game to learn letters.

Count how many American flags you see while driving down the freeway in a city

At Home or in the backyard: 

Have a fashion show

Learn fractions by following a recipe for chocolate chip cookies

Build a fort

Learn the value of coins and dollars by playing “store”

Learn about liquid, gases, and solids by freezing, steaming and playing with water

Build an ant farm

Learn to crochet   (Thanks, YouTube!)

Write a 5-minute speech or talk on any subject of your choice

Do yoga for half an hour together

Design the floor plan of a dream house or dollhouse

Build a dollhouse or a birdhouse/feeder

Build a castle or fort using cardboard boxes duct-taped together

Make paper dolls

Choreograph a new dance and perform it for Daddy. 

Have a spelling bee

Learn to count to 20 in another language

Interview an elderly person

Carve something out of a bar of soap

Write and illustrate a poem or children’s story

Invent a silly product, then film a commercial for it

Paint an outdoor or indoor mural together.

Learn and chart your family history.

Do each other’s hair, makeup, nails, etc. and hold a beauty pageant

In the spring time, make a fairy garden, or with boys, a dinosaur land using small planters or newspaper-lined baskets and real plants.

Build a mini city or neighborhood or farm with sidewalk chalk and toy cars

Jason Wynn

Welcome #65

Jason Wynn Stout was born May 6th, 2011 2:46 pm. An early birthday present for Adam.

He weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. At first he looked like Tyson, and has Tyson's shape but a few minutes later he was all Lincoln.

Delivery went well and LaRae said it was her easiest. He also is latching on well which is a miracle to LaRae. He is so strong, and the nurses said he has amazingly developed muscles. He also had a huge head which is a common theme for LaRae's children. 

Anyways everyone is healthy and coming home today.

Speaking of Motherhood...

While taking a finance class at BYU, our professor, "Dr. I" as we all called him, liked to occasionally entertain us with funny, off-topic humor. Here is a little something he shared with us one class period on Mothers:

Enjoy the answers given by elementary school age children to the following questions:

Why did God make Mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of they're when we were getting born.

How did God make Mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are Mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer? Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he sy NO to drugs and YES to chores.

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spagetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be the boss, but she has to because Dad's such a goofball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She see stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just got to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this wierd thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

Petroleum Jelly/Windex

For when you need it:   Windex will get Petroleum jelly ( or vaseline or whatever) out of you or your child's hair.  Dish soap and Shampoo will not. It works, even if half a tub of Jelly is in the childs hair.

Polite kids

I have been in Vernal this week helping my bed-rested sister in law.  On Monday I took the kids down stairs to play "red light green light", and, as usual, there were sad little kids that weren't as fast as the bigger kids.  My seven year old nephew suggested we play " Mother may I?" instead.  I had completely forgotten about this game.  The kids LOVED it ( we played for over an hour).  It didn't take long for the kids to "make" it possible for each kid to have a turn being it, and they always laughed  and shrugged their shoulders when they were caught moving before saying "Mother may I?".  So, for anyone who's tired of kids fighting in the house because it's too darn cold to go outside...may I suggest "Mother may I?" ?   ( And as a funny side note, the kids basically used "giant steps" and " baby steps", but for some reason when it was my turn to go, they would ask my to do " 11 cartwheels " or "15 cartwheels" almost everytime.   My nephew says I do "oompa-loompa cartwheels" :) )