Terri Thompson

Sidewalk Chalk Outdoor Clock Game

June 7, 2017 By Terri Thompson

I never did discover just how much fun math can be until I had kids of my own. It’s not just a pile of worksheets after all!

I try to support my girls’ math learning at home all the time. And, when it comes to math practice at home, I’ve got one criteria – it has to be fun!

So we grabbed out sidewalk chalk and went outside to practice math with a fun outdoor clock game.

This outdoor clock game is a fun way to get outside, get moving, and practice telling time with a giant sidewalk chalk clock.

This Sidewalk Chalk Clock Game is a fun way to get outside, get moving, and practice math. Can math practice be anymore fun?

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Set up your outdoor clock game

Before we began the game, we drew a big clock on our driveway with sidewalk chalk.

Your kids will need to move around the clock and use their bodies as the clock hands, so you need to make a large clock.

I drew the circle and the marks for each hour. I had the girls fill in the numbers for the hours and the extra lines in between each. It truly was a collaborative effort.

How to play this clock game

The game works best with two people. One person is the hour hand and the other person is the minute hand.

Since my girls are at two different levels in math, I had my youngest daughter (1st grade) be the hour hand and my older daughter (3rd grade) be the minute hand.

Once we were ready, I called out a time. The girls had to stand on the correct location.

For instance, If I said “1:30,” one child would stand on the 1 and the other child would stand on the 6. In order to challenge my oldest, I would call out harder times like 3:56, 5:18, and 12:23. Keep with whatever level your child is at.

Easy game variation for one child

If you are playing with only one child, get in and play the game with them!

Or, use rocks for one or both of the hands. One rock for the hour hand and one rock for the minute hand. Instead of standing in the correct locations, place the rocks in the correct location.

This outdoor clock game is tons of fun and can be easily adapted for any level.

My girls always love to take their learning outside – and who can blame them?

Draw a clock on the driveway and you’ll have tons of learning fun, at least until the next time it rains!

Australia Activities for Kids: Crafts, Books, and Fun

May 30, 2017 By Terri Thompson

Let’s take a trip down under with some fun Australia activities for kids. We’ll explore through crafts, books, recipes, and other learning activities.

It’s always so much fun to another country and since we can’t always travel to all the places in the world, doing a geography and cultural exploration at home is the next best thing.

We loved learning about Australia so much for Project Around the World, that we did a few extra projects we found on other blogs. One project just wasn’t enough.

Luckily, there are a ton of great crafts, activities, and recipes that you can do with your kids for your at-home exploration of Australia. Check out all the great ideas I found below.

Take a virtual trip with these Australia activities for kids:

Create an Australian flag. Danya Banya has a fun version for your kids to make.

Make the Sydney Opera House out of paper plates using this simple tutorial from Danya Banya.

Explore Australia through smell with some Calming Eucalyptus Play Dough from The Imagination Tree.

You can also explore the scent of eucalyptus with this colorful and scented sensory rice play idea from Laughing Kids Learn.

Build the Sydney Harbour Bridge with this simple craft from Danya Banya.

Make a torn paper collage picture of Uluru (Ayers Rock). Find out how to make your own at Kid World Citizen.

Use a fun printmaking technique to create fun bottlebrush flowers artwork. Danya Banya has the instructions for this fun technique.

Learn about the animals of Australia:

Make a felt kookaburra finger puppet. Red Ted Art shows you how to make this simple sewing project.

Make an adorable paper bag platypus like these from Cook Clean Craft.

Use a cardboard tube to make this cute frilled neck lizard from The Craft Train.

Make an echidna grass head. Mother Natured shows you how to make this fun project.

Create a simple koala bookmark for your favorite books. You can find our koala drawing tutorial for this cute bookmark here.

Use newspaper to make this fun koala craft from I Heart Crafty Things.

Find some paper plates to make this koala and joey craft from Danya Banya.

Explore the Aboriginal culture:

Make Aboriginal clapping sticks with Laughing Kids Learn.

We explored Aboriginal dot art with this fun art project.

Explore Aboriginal symbols with these beautiful Aboriginal Dreamtime Story Stones from A Moment in Our World.

Decorate a boomerang with dot art with this fun project from Kidz Activities.

Explore Australia through food:

Make Australian Damper Bread with Laughing Kids Learn.

Anzac Biscuits are a popular treat. Danya Banya shows you how to make them.

Lamingtons are another popular sweet treat. Create-Celebrate-Explore has an easy recipe for you to try.

Enjoy a fun Australian recipe for lunch when you make these Vegemite and Cheese Scrolls from Laughing Kids Learn.

Try fairy bread, a fun (and colorful) Australian kids’ treat. A Simple Pantry shows you how to make this simple treat.

Read a book about Australia:

Grab a fun picture book written by an Australian author. Childhood 101 has a massive book list you should check out.

Mem Fox is one of the most famous children’s book authors from Australia. Try one of her classics like Koala Lou or Possum Magic.

Inspired by Over in the Meadow, Over in Australia by Marianne Berkes will take preschoolers on a fun exploration of Australian animals.

I love to grab a book from the Discover the World series whenever we do a country exploration. D is for Down Under by Devin Scillian is full of facts and images of Australia.

Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia by Sarah Heiman is another great book full of facts and images of Australia.

Have fun playing and learning with these fun Australia activities for kids!

Stop Summer Slide with Summer Reading Challenges

May 25, 2017 By Terri Thompson

My number one tool for combating summer slide is reading. Thank goodness for summer reading challenges to encourage this! We usually enroll every year in our library’s summer reading program. It’s a great place to start. And honestly, if this is the only thing you’re doing to beat summer slide, then you’re in great shape.

Reading every day is so important. Your kids will keep their reading level steady – and they may even improve! They’ll learn some new facts and increase their vocabulary. And best of all, they’ll have fun.

I’ve rounded up some fun summer reading challenges for kids. I know you’ll find some ideas that work for your family.

One way to stop summer slide is by encouraging your child to read. These summer reading challenges are perfect to do over break.

Have fun with one of these summer reading challenges

If you’re looking for something simple, you’ll find a fun reading log your kids can color at This Reading Mom. Each time they read a book, they can color in one of the books on the shelf.

Get a line across, down, or vertical. Or go for the ultimate challenge with a black out! The Chirping Moms has three different BINGO cards you can print for summer reading fun.

Challenge your kids to think outside of the box. Clare’s Contemplations has a fun summer reading challenge for kids that will get your kids reading all kinds of different things.

Try a punch card for a fun reading incentive. Print out these printable punchcard bookmarks at Over the Big Moon. Your kids can earn a punch for ever book they read, or every time they read for 30 minutes, or whatever you decide.

Challenge your kids to read around the world. Print out the reading challenge map at Stuffed Suitcase. You can read the books suggested in the post or challenge your kids to find their own books that take place in the selected areas around the world.

Can you read 100 books this summer? That’s a HUGE challenge isn’t it? If your kids are up for the challenge, they can read a book in each of the 100 places in this challenge from The Measured Mom.

Don’t forget to make some fun new bookmarks to help you keep track of your reading.

Get creative with a hole-punch and make these fun and colorful Hole-Punched Bookmarks.

Magic Wand Reading Pointers can work as both a bookmark and a reading pointer. You’ll definitely want a supply of these. Or, your sports fans may love one of these All-Star Sports Reading Pointers from Better Than Homework.

Make some fun corner bookmarks. Red Ted Art has so many great ideas. You can make Minions, pandas, emoji, butterflies, and more.

Keep reading this summer and beat summer slide with one (or a few) of these summer reading challenges!

You can find more great ideas for stopping summer slide on one of these posts:

Ideas for integrating science and literacy from Share it! Science News
Having fun to prevent the Summer Slide from 3 Dinosaurs
Fun activities that are also educational from Mama Smiles
Why boredom is good for kids from Room to Play
Why I am not worried about the Summer Slide from Planet Smarty Pants
How to stop the summer slide with books from Thriving STEM

Stop Summer Slide While Learning in the Garden

Stop Summer Slide with Outdoor Math Games

Color Mixing Lab STEAM Activity

May 24, 2017 By Terri Thompson

What do you get when you combine science and art into a fun STEAM project?

A color mixing lab!

We continued our study of color by performing some experiments to find out what happens when you mix color.

Combine art and science into a fun STEAM project where you can learn about color mixing. This color mixing lab is a fun hands-on sensory activity.

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Set up your color mixing lab

We used two basic forms of color: colored water and colored ice cubes.

I prepped the ice a few hours earlier by adding a couple of drops of food coloring to the water in an ice cube tray. I only made the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue.

When it was time to experiment, I also made three cups of primary colored water using food coloring again.

I set up the lab with the ice cubes, water, and a pile of white coffee filters.

I showed the girls how they could dip the filters into the water to dye them.

Experiment with color

The experiments began in earnest.

We’d dip in blue and then use a yellow ice cube to color over it. Suddenly we had green!

We tried red and blue and got purple.

It wasn’t long before we had a pile of colorful coffee filters and a couple of girls wondering what would happen if they dipped a coffee filter in all of the colors? The result, a “beautiful” brown coffee filter!

When we ran out of coffee filters, we took our experiments one step further. It was time to mix the water and the ice cubes.

We dropped the yellow cubes into the blue water and watched as the water quickly turned from blue to green. Drop, drop, drop, and suddenly our primary colors turned into secondary colors.

So much fun!

Experimenting with color is a fun and vibrant way to mix a little art and science together.

Set up your own color mixing lab; it’s fun for preschoolers and school-aged kids!

What is your favorite way to experiment with color?

More colorful activities you may enjoy:

Rainbow Writing

Rainbow Color Hunt

Color Wheel Painting

Indoor Color Scavenger Hunt

Cardboard Tube Cheetah Craft

May 23, 2017 By Terri Thompson

In our continuing quest to build a cardboard tube zoo, we decided that we needed to represent the fastest mammal in the world, the cheetah.

So, we grabbed some paints and some empty cardboard tubes and started creating our cardboard tube cheetah craft.

They’re not as fast as the real ones, but they are a whole lot of fun!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed

Empty cardboard tube
Yellow construction paper
Yellow craft paint
Black craft paint
Glue
Googly eyes
Black marker

How to make your cardboard tube cheetah craft

Begin by painting your cardboard tube with the yellow craft paint. Since yellow is a lighter color, you may need a couple of coats to completely cover your cardboard tube.

While your paint is drying, cut two triangle shapes from your yellow construction paper for your cheetah’s ears.

Use your black marker to add triangle middles on each of your ears.

Glue your googly eyes to your yellow tube and glue the ears to the inside of the top of your tubes directly above your eyes.

Use your black craft paint to add your cheetah’s spots.

Put spots all around your tube, saving room for your cheetah’s face.

Use either your craft paint or your black marker to make your cheetah’s face.

Add a small nose and your mouth.

Also, add two wavy lines from your eyes to just above your mouth. Use the picture above for reference.

Once all your spots have dried, your cheetah craft is done and ready to join your zoo.

It’s time to play!

If you enjoyed this cardboard tube cheetah craft, the above image is perfect for sharing on Facebook or you can share the photo below on Pinterest.