From Where Do You Know?

A fun and simple quizzing game about your kids' favorite characters

ADDED July 11, 2008

Your kids know the characters from a number of different books and TV shows. This activity -- perfect for the car or when you're waiting somewhere -- involves reviewing all the characters and stories that your kids know.

For example, in our house we watch shows and read books from Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse, the Little Einsteins, Word World, Richard Scarry, and Winnie the Pooh.  These shows and books have become the kids' favorites, and they watch the shows and read the books over and over again.

When we need to pass some time, I quiz the kids on all the characters and shows.  I ask, "From where do you know Annie?"  (Answer:  Little Einsteins.)  "From where do you know Tigger?"  (From Winnie the Pooh, of course.)

The kids like to have their knowledge tested, and they like to review all their favorites.  Sometimes, just to get their goat, you can make a preposterous statement ("Oscar the Grouch is a character on Bob the Builder") to see how your children respond.

When the kids are older and in high school, quizzes won't be quite this enjoyable for them.  But for now, quiz away and have fun while it lasts!

ages 3-12, good any time, good for the car, no 'props' needed, verbal activity,

The big show

Fun behind the couch, or around the corner

ADDED July 10, 2008

Okay, the whole point of this site is to help you entertain the kids -- without being "on" all day.  We want you to get the kids going on an entertaining activity, and then get five or ten minutes to do something else yourself during that time, if you want.

At first, today's idea might sound like it would have the opposite effect.  It might sound as if you are going to be in for a lot of creative and physical effort.  Well, you might be at first.  But really try to let the kids take over.  You'll see what we mean in a minute ...

You're going to do a show for the kids.  (Or, if it helps, think of this as telling them a story and using some of their stuffed animals to help you.)

Find a place to have the kids sit down (it can be on the floor, of course) and a place where you can get out of sight and yet show them the animals.  Behind a sofa works great, or you could even do this just outside a room, hiding yourself a bit around the corner.  

If you find it's a lot of work to come up with a story, don't worry.  First, many stories for kids can be quite simple.  You could tell a story about an animal who lost something very special, who looked here, there and everywhere to find it, and who then did find it!  If you're not in the mental place to invent a story, you can re-tell or read one of the kids' books to them.  Don't kill yourself--try to make it easy for yourself.

We've found this is an amazing way to settle the kids down, especially when they've got a lot of rambunctious energy before bed.  And for those of you who feel guilty occasionally turning on the TV for the kids, notice that this isn't TV!

 

And now the payoff:  once the kids see how fun and funny the show is . . . they'll want to present you with a show of their own!  So get a drink, put your feet up, and enjoy the show. 

ages 2-8, good at home, good for a group,

Machine Assembly

Put together some fun for the kids

ADDED July 09, 2008

For this one, you will assemble a machine using the materials you have on hand:  the kids.  Machine assembly is great to do during playdates at your house, because it's more fun with more kids to be the parts.

Tell the kids that they're going to be parts of a machine.  In a machine, each part does one specific action, over and over.  That's how machines work -- a machine part never changes its action.

Ask each child, or machine part, to show everybody what action they make.  (You  may want to demonstrate with an example, using your hands, arms, legs.) After each child has had a turn to invent an action, you "assemble" the machine.  That is, tell the kids stand close together, so that they're almost interacting, kind of like the workings of a real machine.  You can turn the machine on and off with your voice, or by tapping the buttons on top of the heads.

During the summer, it's fun to make a water machine outside in the yard or wading pool.  Each kid uses a water toy as part of a specific action:  squirting, pouring, dumping, etc.

At our house, we have one rule with the water machine.  You can really do whatever you want as part of the water machine . . . as long as you don't get me wet!

ages 3-12, good for a group, may rile them up, summer activity,

Lk, M! N vwls!

that is...Look, Ma! No vowels!

ADDED July 08, 2008

If your child doesn't know what vowels are, tell them: A, E, I, O, U, and (that's right), sometimes Y. For "phase 1" of this activity, you guys just might want to talk about the vowels each day for a week.

Once your child gets the concept . . . it's time to get rid of those special letters. No more vowels for you!

In our house, we like to imagine a world with no vowels. We start with simple words, such as dog and cat. First, I ask my boys where the vowels are in each of those words, and once each has been identified, we spell the words *without* vowels: dog and cat become dg and ct. The most fun part of this exercise is trying to pronounce the words without vowels. (I think dog and cat sound like dug and kit, both sounding kind of clipped and pronounced with a lot of emphasis. I also find that I clench my teeth when uttering these vowel-less words.)

Then we start talking about family members, and what would happen to their names without vowels. Daddy and Mommy's names are especially difficult to pronounce without vowels, but we try anyway. (Three impassioned D sounds and three long Mmmm's, respectively.) We talk about our friend Paul, whose name is manageable and still sounds relatively Paul-like, but then we discuss Alicia and Ana, whose names sound nothing like they do with all of their vowels.

In our house, things generally break down from there, and the kids want to talk about every word without its proper allotment of vowels. It really is dctnl and fn, but sometimes a bit xhstng! (educational, fun, exhausting!)

ages 4-12, educational, good any time, good at home, good for a group, good for a restaurant or public place, verbal activity,

Use Every Piece

Some fun new ways to play with old toys

ADDED July 07, 2008

One big goal of this site is to breathe new life into existing "stuff." That is, we don't want you to buy new toys to keep the kids occupied. Rather, we want you to find new fun ways to use and enjoy the stuff you already have!

This activity is meant to do just that, to help your kids have more fun with the stuff already in your house. It will work well with any toy that has a lot of different pieces: Legos, Tinker Toys, blocks, train tracks, etc.

There are three different things to do here: Sections, Use Every Piece, and How do you put them away?

First, don't just take the toys out of their container. Even that can be part of the fun and the learning. Instead, make sections. Group all the rectangular pieces together in a area, and then all the square ones, all the round ones, etc. Or make sections based on another characteristic, such as the pieces' colors. If you guys are so inclined, count how many pieces each section has. And sometimes you might suggest playing with one section only. ("What can we make today with just the red pieces?" for instance.)

Once the sections have been created and inspected, you're ready to move onto the second part, Use Every Piece. This one is pretty self explanatory (what you do is . . . use every piece.) However, it isn't as easy as it sounds -- it can in fact be quite challenging. The tower (or house or castle, or whatever) isn't finished until your kid has used every piece! So your kids really need to figure out what to do with each piece and how to fit it into the construction.

Finally, and this last one is quite popular with parents everywhere: How do you put them away? You can put the big pieces away, then the small ones. You can make a different animal noise for each different piece you put in. You can put toys away fast, or you can put them away slowly and carefully. There are a lot of options here -- and it will be a success, as long as the kids are the ones doing the putting away!

Have fun (with what you've already got)!

ages 3-12, educational, good at home, longer activity,