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Learning Activities for Kids

Alphabet Bead Spelling Words

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Have you seen those bags of alphabet beads in the craft store?

It’s fun to use them to make jewelry, but there are so many fun educational things you can use them for as well. Like today, we’re going to use them as a fun spelling activity.

So, grab your word list and let’s make some alphabet bead spelling words.

Alphabet Bead Spelling Words is such a fun activity to help your child master any spelling list. It's easy to set up and promotes fine motor skills too.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Once you’re done with your alphabet bead spelling, check out these other fun ways to practice spelling words.

Set Up Your Alphabet Bead Spelling Activity

This activity doesn’t need any set-up beyond grabbing a couple of supplies.

All you need in a bag of letter beads and a printed list of your child’s spelling words. That’s it. Gather everything and have it ready for homework time.

Where to Buy Alphabet Beads

Purchasing your letter beads is the most time-consuming part of this process. But, one you have them, you can do this spelling activity over and over again.

You can usually find them in any craft store or in the craft department at a store like Target and Wal-Mart.

If you don’t want to go out shopping, you can also find the on Amazon. Here are a few options to check out.

Colorful Alphabet Beads

Use Letter Beads for Spelling Practice

Once you have the supplies, simply have you child use the beads to spell each of their words.

They can just pick out the letters to form the words. Or, they can thread them onto a pipe cleaner for some additional fine motor practice.

Keep the alphabet beads in a small bag or container, like a cute pencil bag, near your homework station. That way, they’ll always be ready for after school spelling practice.

Grab some beads and start practicing spelling words with this fun Alphabet Bead Spelling Words activity. It's a fun way to learn.

Fun variations to this Alphabet Bead Spelling Words activity

For an added challenge, call out the words to your child so they have to spell by memory. This adds a fun twist to a practice spelling test.

Give your child the letters of one of their words and mix up the bead. Have them unscramble the letters to make their spelling word.

String your beads on jewelry cord to make a spelling word bracelet. They could even wear the bracelets for some instant word practice. (But make sure to leave the bracelets at home for spelling test day!)

Shop our list of spelling homework station supplies here.

Looking for fun ways to practice spelling words? Try this alphabet bead spelling idea.

You May Also Like One of These Spelling Activities

Do you want an excuse to play with Post-Its? Then try this spelling activity with sticky notes.

Use these tips to turn your spelling list into a fun Spelling Word Scramble.

Disappearing Spelling Words is a fun activity that adds a little science to your spelling practice.

Keep your spelling words seen when you create a simple Spelling Words Wall like this from Rainy Day Mum

Snow Numbers Activity for Toddlers

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Do you have snow outside? Are you looking for a winter activity for toddlers or preschoolers?

Bring some snow indoors and try our Snow Numbers activity. It’s a fun way to practice number recognition and work on fine motor skills. If you don’t have any snow, you can make your own.

Practice writing and identifying numbers this winter with this fun snow numbers activity for toddlers that you can do indoors.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Materials Needed for this Snow Numbers Activity

Snow

Washable liquid watercolors

Droppers

Water

Containers and tray for watercolors

Large storage bin or baking dish

Tablecloth or towels

Tip: While big, a flat plastic underbed storage container is perfect for this activity. You can write the number big and there is plenty of room for more than one child to work together.

How to Set Up the Numbers in Snow Activity

We had lots of snow on the ground so I filled a large underbed storage container with snow. You can use any size container really. I would recommend at least the size of a 9×13 baking dish to give you enough room to play.

Set your container up in an area that’s okay to get a wet. I like to place towels down on top of my kitchen floor.

Draw numbers in the snow. Use your finger or a butter knife.

Add a few drops of washable liquid watercolor to each container of water. I chose red, yellow, and blue. We can explore coloring mixing in the snow as well.

Place a dropper in each of the watercolor and water mixtures. I like to use the jumbo eye droppers from Learning Resources. Squeezing the droppers works on fine motor skills. You could also use smaller medicine droppers, spoons, or even a spray bottle.

Fun snow numbers activity for toddlers

Ways to Play With This Snow Numbers Activity

Encourage your child to color the numbers. If the numbers are difficult to see, you can color them first. Show your child what to do with the first few numbers and then have him follow behind you.

As your child is coloring a number, talk about the numbers and colors. What number do you see? Which color are you using? What happens when you add yellow to the red?

Allow your child to add color onto the numbers, around the numbers, or anywhere in the snow.

You could even work on positional words. Can you add red water under the number 7? Let’s drop blue water on top of the number 5.

Learn your numbers with this fun sensory snow numbers activity that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Challenge your child to add colored dots next to a number. Where is the number 4? Can you add 4 yellow dots below the number 4?

You could extend this snow numbers activity for older children as well. My kindergartener couldn’t resist playing. Practice addition by counting colored dots.

Practice writing and identifying numbers this winter with this fun snow numbers activity for toddlers that you can do indoors.

More Snow Inspired Winter Actvities

While there’s snow on the ground, try these snow science explorations.

Get the whole family outside to play with these fun snow fort building toys.

Play this snowball toss alphabet game with pretend snowballs.

Do some art outside when you use these simple 2-ingredient snow paints from Ruffles and Rain Boots on your yard.

Do More Activities With Your Family

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Christmas Tree Alphabet Matching Game for Toddlers

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Are you looking for a festive, Christmas themed alphabet activity for toddlers or preschoolers? You’ll love our Christmas Tree Alphabet Matching Game.

Use it to practice uppercase and lowercase letter recognition and letter sounds.

Practice your ABCs with this fun and simple Christmas tree alphabet matching game. This easy-to-make game is fun for toddlers and preschoolers.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed for Christmas Tree Letter Game

Felt (you could also use paper)
Scissors
Marker

How to Set Up the Christmas Alphabet Matching Game

Cut out 26 triangles to represent your Christmas trees. I was able to get 26 trees out of 2 pieces of green felt. Feel free to make your Christmas trees whatever color you like. If you don’t have felt, you can use paper instead. You could even have your toddler help you color or decorate the paper trees before playing the game.

Cut out stars. I only had one piece of yellow felt, so I cut out 13 stars and used both sides of each star for the game. 2 pieces of yellow felt should allow you to cut out 26 stars. I drew a star on a piece of paper, cut it out, and then traced it onto the felt.

Use a marker to write uppercase letters on your trees – one letter for each tree. You might want to have something underneath the felt as you’re writing. My permanent marker seeped through the felt onto my table.

Draw lowercase letters on each of your felt stars. Since I only had 13 stars, I drew the letters a-m on one side and n-z on the second side.

We played this game on a table. If you have a large felt board, it would great to play on there as well.

How to Play the Christmas Tree Alphabet Matching Game

Set out the Christmas trees with the capital letters. (I set up half since I only had 13 stars).

Place the stars below the trees. If you are using 13 stars, make sure the correct letters are facing up.

Have your child match the stars to the Christmas trees.

You might show him an example of where to place the stars. Stars on a Christmas tree usually go on top, so that’s where we put ours. Sometimes my 3-year-old placed the stars right in the middle of the tree. That’s totally fine, too.

The goal is to match the lowercase letter on the star with the uppercase letter on the tree.

Talk about the letters as your child plays. “What letter do you see?” “That’s a capital (big) A. Can you find a lowercase (little) A?” “What letter is on the tree?” “What letter is on the star in your hand?”

Practice your ABCs with this fun and simple Christmas tree alphabet matching game. This easy-to-make game is fun for toddlers and preschoolers.

Play a Find the Letter Game

You can use the trees to practice finding letters, too. Can you find the letter R?

Christmas alphabet matching game

Work on letter sounds as you play this game. What sound does the letter R make? Can you find the letter that makes the /b/ sound?

You can even practice beginning letter sounds. What letter does tree start with?

Use the Christmas trees and stars to spell your child’s name. Ask your child to find the letters in her name, or call out the letters for her.

More Christmas Tree Themed Activities for Kids

Christmas Tree Number Hunt

Baking Soda Painted Christmas Trees

Christmas Tree Crafts for Kids

Fun Christmas Math Activities for Kids

Do More Activities With Your Family

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Fun STEM Building Toys for Kids

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One of the foundations of STEM education is engineering. I love this part because it is so creative.

If you want to encourage your kids to experiment with engineering, here are some fun STEM building toys you can have at home.

They’re great open-ended toys that will encourage creativity and STEM learning.

Encourage STEM learning at home with these fun open-ended STEM building toys for kids that will encourage creativity and engineering projects.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

What Does STEM Toys Mean?

What exactly is a STEM toy?

It’s one that encourages kids to learn a combination of science, technology, engineering, and math in a hands-on way.

There are a ton of STEM toys to choose from, but this list focuses only on engineering toys, specifically STEM building toys.

These toys are so much fun and are great investments. Your kids will have hours of fun!

Is LEGO a STEM Toy?

Absolutely!

LEGO Bricks encourage building and engineering skills both by designing and building your own structures or by learning to read instruction when you put together a fun set.

Or, use your Bricks to do one of these fun LEGO STEM Challenges!

I’ve included some great basic sets in this list as well as a fun add-on to use your LEGO Bricks to build basic machines.

STEM Building Toys for Kids

Encourage your kids to learn and have fun with this collection of open-ended STEM building toys. They're perfect for your little engineers!

LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box (790 Pieces)

Photo Credit: amazon.com

LEGO is the classic STEM toy. While there are a ton of fun themed sets, a classic set like this will encourage kids to be create and come up with their own designs.

Klutz LEGO Gadgets Science & Activity Kit

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Combine your LEGO bricks with this fun LEGO Gadgets set so you can build fun and simple machines.

LEGO DUPLO All-In-One Box of Fun (65 Pieces)

Photo Credit: amazon.com

If your kids are still too little for the classic LEGO bricks, get a fun bin of Duplo blocks which are perfect for preschoolers and toddlers.

Tinkertoy 30 Model Super Building Set

Photo Credit: amazon.com

I love LEGOs as a kid, but I also loved my set of Tinkertoys. Here is a fun updated version of this classic building toy.

Jumbo Cardboard Blocks

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Build big structures with this set of cardboard blocks. They're lightweight, safe, and easy to use.

Crazy Forts Building Set

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Use this fort building set to build giant structures that you can actually play in.

Marble Run Set

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Marble runs are a great STEM engineering project and you can make them over and over again with this fun marble run set.

Brain Flakes Interlocking Plastic Disc Set (500 Pieces)

Photo Credit: amazon.com

You can build anything you can imagine with this fun interlocking discs building set.

Magna-Tiles Clear Colors 100 Piece Set

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Magnetic tiles are an extremely popular STEM building toy. These are so many fun options, but this 100-piece set is a great starting point.

Magnetic Rods and Balls Building Blocks

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Or, you can try a different sort of magnet building set with this fun magnetic rods and balls building set.

Learning Resources Gears! Gizmos Building Set

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Strengthen your problem-solving and engineering skills by building with this fun Gears and Gizmos building set.

Roller Coaster Challenge STEM Toy

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Design and build roller coasters with this fun Roller Coaster Challenge set.

Which of these STEM building toys to you think would be fun to have at home?

Encourage STEM learning at home with these fun open-ended STEM building toys for kids that will encourage creativity and engineering projects.

You may also like one of these fun STEM activities:

Paper Plate STEM Projects

Easy Sun Prints STEM Activity

Marshmallow Engineering STEAM Building Challenge

Egg Carton Building Blogs at The Pinterested Parent

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Thanksgiving Addition Game: Add & Fill Turkey

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking for some fun Thanksgiving math games, specifically a Thanksgiving addition game.

Luckily, I’ve got a great idea for you!

It’s time to grab some supplies and get creative. This Add and Fill Turkey game takes some prep time in the beginning, but it can be used over and over again.

Use addition to fill the turkey with this fun Thanksgiving Addition Game for kids. Roll the dice, add the numbers, and fill the turkey.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

I’ve always love this Race to Fill the Cup activity from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls. It’s simple and tons of fun. I’ve enjoyed it with my own girls when they were younger and it popped into my head when I was thinking of a Thanksgiving addition game to play.

That’s how this Add and Fill Turkey activity came about. I was inspired, added a few twists, made it more advanced, threw in a turkey, and voila – a fun new game.

Use addition to fill the turkey with this fun Thanksgiving Addition Game for kids. Roll the dice, add the numbers, and fill the turkey.

Supplies Needed for Your Turkey Addition Game

Brown, yellow, red, and orange construction paper
Small bathroom cup
Tape
Scissors
Glue
Black marker

Additional supplies needed to play the game

Pony beads, tribeads, mini erasers, or other small filler – enough to fill your bathroom cup
Pair of dice

Use addition to fill the turkey with this fun Thanksgiving Addition Game for kids. Roll the dice, add the numbers, and fill the turkey.

How to Make Your Thanksgiving Addition Game

Cut the pieces for your turkey from your construction paper.

Make a brown circle for the turkey head, a tiny yellow triangle for the beak, and a small red piece for the wattle. Also cut three feathers, one from each of the colors (except the brown) of construction paper. Make the feathers long enough to stick up over the top of your cup.

Glue your beak and the wattle to the middle of your brown circle. Use your marker to make a couple of eyes.

Use addition to fill the turkey with this fun Thanksgiving Addition Game for kids. Roll the dice, add the numbers, and fill the turkey.

Use the tape to attach the turkey feathers and the turkey head to your small bathroom cup.

Your turkey cup is ready to go. It’s time to play!

Use addition to fill the turkey with this fun Thanksgiving Addition Game for kids. Roll the dice, add the numbers, and fill the turkey.

How to play this Thanksgiving Math Game

This game is very easy to play. Throw the dice. Add the two numbers together and then put that many beads in your cup.

Keep throwing the dice, adding the numbers, and putting beads in your cup until your turkey up is full

How many dice will your turkey hold?

It can take awhile to fill your turkey cup. We had to throw the dice 30 times! If you want a shorter game, use a larger filler or aim to only fill the cup 1/2 way.

Fun Variations of This Addition Game

Make this a two person game. Make two turkey cups. The players can either take turns or race each other to find out who will fill their turkey cup first.

Find the total. After you add your two dice together, write down your answer before add your beads to the cup. Keep track of all the amounts and add them all together at the end to find out how many total beads are in your cup.

Use more dice. Throw three, four, or even five dice each time. Add them all together and put your beads in your cup.

What variation of this game would you try?

Use addition to fill the turkey with this fun Thanksgiving Addition Game for kids. Roll the dice, add the numbers, and fill the turkey.

More Math Games to Try

Pumpkin Pie Fractions Game

Telling Time With a Turkey Clock

Paper Plate Addition Game

Fun Addition Fact Games for Kids

My Must-Have Math Resources

My number one activity for helping my kids with math is to play a fun math game. There are so many fun ideas to make, but sometimes you just don’t have the time. In that case, here are some great games you can buy to keep on hand any time you want to have fun and practice math.

Do More Activities With Your Kids!

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.