As a mother, sometimes I worry if my son is learning enough on a daily basis. He has lots of toys and I play with him and show him new things, but is he really learning as much as he can? Are his toys really benefiting his mind? This is something that I’m sure you’ve worried about with your children as well. The good news is that there are many DIY activities that you can teach your child at home in fun ways. They can learn about shapes, letters, colors, math, nature and so much more by enjoying some of these great activities. Here are 12 wonderfully creative ways to teach your child at home while still being entertained and having fun.
Source: wecandoallthings.blogspot.com
1. Letter Tray
This DIY letter tray is a great way for kids to learn letters. All you need in order to make this activity is a cookie sheet, a permanent marker, and some letter magnets, all of which can most likely be purchased at a dollar store. Even better! Once made, let your child match the magnetic letters to the written letters on the tray. For even more learning, you can encourage your child to sound out the letters as they find them or say a word that starts with that specific letter. It’s great that there are multiple ways for them to learn with this activity. You can also do this with numbers, shapes, or any magnet you find that you think would work.
(The We Can Do All Things Blog is a wonderful resource for kids crafts as well as lots of developmental activities that will benefit your children’s learning and playing).
Source: momto2poshlildivas.com
2. Word Egg Hunt
3. Shoe Tying Board
If you’re trying to teach your child how to tie their shoes, make a practice shoe tying board out of cardboard and shoe strings. All you need to do is trace the outline of their shoes on a piece of cardboard, color or paint the shoes, then poke holes in the shoe for the strings. Once you have the holes, string the laces through and let your child practice tying knots. This is a great activity to take in the car as well as play with at home. Chances are your child will be tying their shoes on their own in no time.
(PBS Parents is a great website for parenting tips and advice as well as having lots of kid craft ideas and learning tools).
Source: hippohoorayforsecondgrade.blogspot.com
4. Relative Weight Comparisons
Sometimes kids have a hard time understanding weight. It’s hard for them to know the difference between a pound, a gram, an ounce, etc. In order to help them visualize and feel this difference, place rice or beans into a plastic bag and measure it out until you get the desired weight. Write on the bag so you and your child knows the weight then let them feel and play with the bags. They’ll soon begin to understand how heavy things can be and how different they not only look, but feel as well.
(If you’re looking for more great teaching tools for your kids, check out Hippo Hooray For Second Grade, a blog made by a teacher that posts lots of great teaching ideas).
5. Word Eggs
Another great learning activity you can do with plastic eggs are these fun word family eggs. Write 3 or 4 words that all end with the same last 2 or 3 letters on one side of the egg, then write the beginning letter on the other side of the egg. Let your child swivel the egg pieces back and forth so the words match up and have them pronounce and read each word. If you want to make it more difficult, you can take the eggs apart and let your child match the words together. This is definitely a great learning tool for your child to learn simple words.
(For great homeschooling ideas that will be fun for your kids as well as teach them important lessons head over to Nurture Creek).
6. Learn Emotions
To help your child learn about our emotions , make this DIY toy with changing face pieces. It’s only made from cardboard and a few fasteners, but you can create hundreds of facial expressions with it! You’ll need fasteners, cardboard, a knife, glue, needle and thread to make it. Once the face is made, let your child have fun creating the emotions. Explain each emotion as they make it and what it means to feel sad, happy, angry, etc.
(For more easy craft ideas fun activities for your kids using all printables from one website, head over to Mr. Printables).
7. Letter Matching
For a great letter matching activity, make this easy DIY activity with only wooden clothespins and alphabet cards, both of which can be bought at the dollar store! Let your child match the letter on the pins to the letters on the cards. Not only is this a great letter teaching activity, but a fine motor skills activity as well. They’ll have to learn how to open the clothespin, then close it on the card. It may be difficult at first, but once they practice enough they’ll get the hang of it.
(Craftulate is a wonderful website dedicated to fun learning activities that will keep your kids entertained).
Source: momto2poshlildivas.com
8. Egg Addition
Source: craftulate.com
9. Color And Shape Matching
To help your child learn their colors and shapes, create a mat with corresponding colored shapes that match the blocks your child already has. All you have to do is trace the shapes from the blocks, then color them in. Encourage your child to match the blocks to the picture on the paper. You can encourage them to say the shape as they match it as well as the color for even more learning. What a great way to keep your child entertained while teaching them important lessons.
(Craftulate is a wonderful website dedicated to fun learning activities that will keep your kids entertained).
10. Color Matching Bins
If your child needs more help learning their colors, gather up some cups or bins of different colors. Then round up some objects and toys that match the bins. Give your child all the bins and then put all the objects you’ve gathered on the floor. Show them how the colors match and tell them to put each object in the bin that matches it’s color. Each time they put something in the bin, have them say the color. They’ll have their colors down in no time.
(Craftulate is a wonderful website dedicated to fun learning activities that will keep your kids entertained).
Source: momto2poshlildivas.com
11. Time Matching Activity
Learning how to tell time is a difficult task for children. You can help them do this by making this simple plastic egg activity. On one side of the egg write the digital time and on the other half draw a hand clock reading the same time on it. Mix up the colors so the eggs don’t match so they can’t easily figure it out with matching the colors. It’s a great way for your child to review digital time reading as well as hand clock reading.
(For lots of other fun learning activities for your kids, head over to the Mom To 2 Posh Lil Divas blog and check out some of her ideas).
Source: blissfullydomestic.com
12. Weather Chart
You can easily teach your child the different types of weather with this simple paper plate weather chart. Every day when your child wakes up, as well as throughout the day, have your child look outside to see what the weather is. If it’s cloudy, have them move the arrow to the cloud, and if it’s sunny have them move it to the sun. It’ll be something that your child looks forward to doing every day and they’ll get excited to change it every time the weather changes.
(For decor ideas, party inspiration, craft projects, and yummy recipes head over to Blissfully Domestic).