Creative Family Fun

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Learning Activities for Kids

Outdoor Shape Hunt

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We’ve been having a lot of outdoor shape fun lately (at least when the weather has been nice enough to enjoy).

In addition to some fun games of Shape Hopscotch, we also went on a shape scavenger hunt.

I didn’t write up a list or come up with clues, although you certainly can if you would like.

Instead, I challenged the girls to find as many shapes as they could around our yard.

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They looked around aimlessly at first. Then, I got them started.

I pointed at our bricks. “What shape are they?” It clicked and they were off!

They found squares in our windows and outdoor lights.

Our chain length fence has hundreds of diamonds, too many to count.

We found a rock shaped as a triangle and more circles than I even imagined.

We found shapes in everything!

I think the game could have gone on for a long time… except for the lure of their bicycles.

There are endless ways to have a shape scavenger hunt.

  • Set up challenges. Find 3 squares, 5 circles, 2 triangles, etc.
  • Find three-dimensional shapes: spheres, cubes, pyramids, etc.
  • Bring a notebook and sketch each of the different shapes you find.
  • For younger kids, you can concentrate on just one shape. Have them find as many circles as they can.
  • Use cameras to capture pictures of the shapes like we did in this post.

Have you ever gone on a shape scavenger hunt? How did you play?

Subway Acrostic Poetry

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As part of our exploration of New York City, we learned a little bit about the subway.

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We used the books, A Subway for New York by David Weitzman and Down in the Subway by Melanie Hope Greenberg, as inspiration.

A Subway for New York told the history of the subway system. It was a little advanced for the girls and I knew they wouldn’t have the patience for it, so I paraphrased and we looked at the pictures.

Down in the Subway was a fun story about the different types of people you can meet while riding the subway. After reading, we used our inspiration for a fun writing project.

An acrostic poem is one in which the first letter in each line spells out a word or phrase. It’s a fun type poetry for kids that are just beginning to write.

Our poem was going to be about the subway, so I wrote the word lengthwise down our paper.

Lizzie (age 5) helped me think of words that began with each letter. We started with “S” and came up with stations, stairs, subway, signs, etc. We looked through the books for inspiration.

Once we had a few words, she chose the one she liked best, stairs. We went on down the line. Some letters were easier than others.

When we couldn’t come up with a single word that worked, we used a phrase instead. Now that she’s over halfway through Kindergarten, the concept of an acrostic poem was easy for Lizzie to grasp and she enjoyed helping me think of words.

Once we were done, we had a poem we were quite proud of.

Subway
Stairs
Underground
Busy
Waiting
All over
You are riding a train.

We had so much fun with this project that I know we’re going to write many more acrostic poems in the future!

Have you ever written an acrostic poem with your children? Tell me about your experience.

Statue of Liberty Math and Measurement

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No trip to New York City is complete without a trip to see the Statue of Liberty.

So, as part of our virtual trip, we let the Statue of Liberty inspire a fun math experiment.

The question we tried to answer: how many Lizzies (or AJs) would it take to be as tall as Lady Liberty? To find out, we had to do some Statue of Liberty math.

Play with measurement and nonstandard units with this fun Statue of Liberty math activity. It's a fun addition to an American symbols unit.

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Learn about the Statue of Liberty

We began with a simple book, Statue of Liberty by Lynda Sorensen, to learn all about this famous American symbol. (Note: this book is unfortunately out of print. The Statue of Liberty by Lloyd G. Douglas would be a good substitute.)

We learned about when it was built and how it was shipped to America. We learned about what it represents.

But, most importantly to this experiment, we also learned how tall it is: 305 feet. I got out the calculator and translated it into inches: 3660 inches tall. Then I measured each girl in inches.

Play with measurement and nonstandard units with this fun Statue of Liberty math activity. It's a fun addition to an American symbols unit.

Statue of Liberty Math Activity

Next, using a roll of brown wrapping paper, we made a scale model of the Statue of Liberty at 36.6 inches.

Now it was time to measure.

We talked a bit about nonstandard units of measurement, because we weren’t going to use a ruler to measure. We were going to use ourselves. I made tiny squares to stand for each of the girls. (And when I say tiny, they were less than 1/2/”!)

Play with measurement and nonstandard units with this fun Statue of Liberty math activity. It's a fun addition to an American symbols unit.

I showed the girls how to measure with their squares. We laid it down, drew a line along the top, and then placed the square on top of that line. They moved up and up and up until they reached the top.

When we were done, we counted our spaces. Lizzie topped off at 62, and AJ at 64. They were wowed!

Play with measurement and nonstandard units with this fun Statue of Liberty math activity. It's a fun addition to an American symbols unit.

But were we correct?

Well, I’ll admit I expected we were not. The girls at 3 and 5 weren’t exactly precise. But, they did their best and definitely learned a lot. They were able to better visualize just how tall the Statue of Liberty is and they learned a fun lesson in nonstandard units of measurement.

How far off were we? About 10 units for each girl. Not bad for a preschooler and a Kindergartner using tiny pieces of paper! I think the next time we use nonstandard units, we’ll try measuring with our full bodies!

Have you ever measured with nonstandard units? Give it a try with this Statue of Liberty math activity.

You may also enjoy one of these New York City inspired activities:

Cityscape Printmaking

Statue of Liberty Dress-Up Kit

Subway Acrostic Poetry

New York City Books and Resources

Practice Addition with a Princess Math Game

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My Kindergartner has just started learning about addition and subtraction.

I wanted to do something at home that would be fun and would also reinforce what she is learning in school.

So, I took one of her favorite things and turned it into a math activity so we could practice addition, Princess math game.

Practice addition by adding jewels to a tiara with this fun princess math game. It's a fun way to add a little magic to math.

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How to create your princess math game

To create the game, I took a piece of pink paper and a black marker.

I drew two tiaras with a plus sign in between.

Underneath, I drew boxes for writing the numbers.

Practice addition by adding jewels to a tiara with this fun princess math game. It's a fun way to add a little magic to math.

I then laminated the paper so that we could use a dry-erase marker. (This is the laminator I use.)

It was a very simple set up for a game that has been played with again and again.

Practice addition by adding jewels to a tiara with this fun princess math game. It's a fun way to add a little magic to math.

How to play

To play, I write an addition problem below the tiaras.

My daughter then used the correct number of beads to decorate her tiara.

Then, she counted the jewels to find her correct answer. Easy and fun!

Practice addition by adding jewels to a tiara with this fun princess math game. It's a fun way to add a little magic to math.

So far our simple princess math game has gotten high marks from my kindergartner.

It’s fun, she’s learning, and enjoying the challenge.

In fact, she told me that I was giving her too easy of problems and she wanted harder ones. Score! I love that my girl likes to be challenged!

What are your kids learning in school now? What do you do at home to try and reinforce their learning?

You may also enjoy one of these fun math activities:

Plus 1 Minus 1: An Easy Math Game

Outdoor Number Stories at the Park

Apple Counting Rocks

Paper Plate Addition Game at Better Than Homework

Make Ten with Sticky Notes at Life Over C’s

10 Science Experiments for Preschoolers

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Science experiments for preschool

Science is a big deal at our house.

My girls love it and my oldest even considers herself a scientist. It’s easily her favorite subject in school and she’s only in Kindergarten.

I’ve compiled a list of 10 fabulous science experiments for preschoolers, which are also appropriate for early elementary-aged kids.

They’re great choices for kids who love science already or for showing them that science can be a whole lot of fun.

We have already tried some of these and others are on my list of experiments I want to try. I know you’ll want to try these out with your kids too!

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1. Baking Soda & Vinegar: This classic and safe chemical reaction is always a hit with preschoolers. We’ve created a volcanic reaction and had a blast. Stop by Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas for instructions on how to make a big bubbly volcano.

2. Tornado in a Bottle: If you’re looking for a fun weather-related experiment, this should fit the bill. We haven’t done this one yet, but I want to! Weather Wiz Kids has all the instructions you need to make a tornado in a bottle.

3. Plant a Seed: Is there anything more fascinating that watching a seed grow? Teach Preschool shows you how to make a simple greenhouse to hang in your window. It’s the perfect way to watch the stages a seed goes through before it pops out of the ground.

4. Will it Sink or Will it Float?: You can do this with a variety of household items and a sink full of water. Which ones will sink and which ones will float? Ask your kids this question and help them think critically through the scientific process. Tinkerlab has a great version of this experiment with an egg using fresh water and salt water. Looks like fun!

5. Learn About the Stages of Matter with Ice: We did this experiment and the girls were completely fascinated by watching ice melt. Have them figure out if they can turn the water back into ice.

6. Make a Cloud: I love this colorful experiment shared on Reading Confetti. It’s a great introduction to clouds and rain and I’m sure every kid would be fascinated by the results.

7. Siphon Water: How does water move? Not Just Cute shares an easy experiment you can do to help your kids start to understand a complicated science term. We’re going to try this one soon!

8. Ivory Soap Explosion: Do you know what happens when you put Ivory Soap in the microwave? The results are amazing! Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas shows you how do this fun experiment. We’ve done it before and loved the results. And the added bonus is that you’ll end up with a fun sensory element to play with!

9. Learn How Sound is Made: Your kids know what sound is and I bet they are good at making loud noises, but do they know how sound is made? Kids Activities Blog shows you how to do a fun experiment to learn all about sound.

10. Diet Coke & Mentos: You may have seen this on Myth Busters and may have wanted to do this experiment yourself. Guess what? We have and it’s fun. For this experiment, you’ll need plenty of adult supervision, but it’s very easy to do. You can find all the details at Steve Spangler Science. You should also watch their video to see just how much fun this is.

Bonus Activity ~ See How Water Travels Through a Plant: All if takes is a couple of stalks of celery, some colored water, and time, and you can see yourself how a plant absorbs water. Rainy Day Mum shows you how to do this fascinating experiment.

Preschool science experiments

Make this a family adventure: 

Science experiments are always a fun choice for family time. For a successful family adventure, make sure you have gathered all the supplies ahead of time. Read and become familiar with the instructions, so you can lead the kids through the process with ease. Also, plan which steps the adults will be in charge of and which the kids can do. All the projects listed above would be perfect for a science family adventure.