I have to admit that we have gone a little Olympic crazy at my house.  Not only has every free moment been given over to watching the Olympics, but all available space on our Tivo has been filled with winter Olympic sports.  So yes, we are in the spirit.  In keeping with Olympic fun, my daughter and I created a mini,indoor luge.

With a tape measure, a few marbles, and some scotch tape, we created a home luge that can be set up anywhere.  The tape measure acts as the track -- a marble fits perfectly inside -- and the scotch tape holds everything in place.  With the littlest push, the race is on.  We installed our luge from the top to the bottom of the stairs.  At the bottom of the stairs, we put a small blanket to catch the racers.  Once the track is built, let the fun -- and your kids' imaginations run wild!

(If we had two tape measures, I imagine we could have set up a marble vs. marble race, but the single track was still a lot of fun.)

Did you do this activity? Please leave a comment and let us know!

 

Please forgive a few seconds' horn-tooting here, but today's activity is what this website is all about:  it's fun, free, easy, and educational!  Really, what more could you ask for? 

 

(Well, you could ask for  less horn-tooting.  In which case, here we go . . . )

 

Today we are classifying and organizing.  This is a great activity for children because it's what human brains do naturally.  Give a person a few minutes and an assorted mishmash of stuff . . . and a little while later you'll have a classified, organized bunch of stuff.

 

The human brain is great at applying order to disorder.  This is true for kids' brains, too.  And . . . making sense of a mess can be fun, too.  (My wife, upon seeing all the kids' toys strewn helter skelter all over our playroom, might disagree with that last sentence.). . .

 

 

This one is very simple.  Well, at first glance it's simple.  But some thinking needs to occur here, too.

 

Grab a paper and pencil.  Ask your kid or kids to say anything.  Just tell them it's got to be a thing.

 

My kids liked doing this.  They had many things to suggest: . . .

 

We've all seen those oversized maps  in malls and amusement parks.  These helpful maps  always include a small way of letting you know where you're standing:  "You are here."  That designation is the inspiration behind today's family activity.

 

Sometimes kids have strong feelings. Very often, something makes kids feel angry, sad, or anxious (even though that last is probably not a word they use).

 

One effective way of dealing with strong emotions is to focus the child's attention in the present moment.  Encourage them to concentrate on where they are now -- not elsewhere in time or place.. . .