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Fun Hockey Activities for Kids

January 29, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Do you kids love hockey? Are they on the edge of their seats, cheering loudly, and begging to stay up until the end of the game?

If so, they’ll love this fun collection of hockey activities with everything from crafts, games, and learning activities.

These ideas make great boredom busters. Save these ideas for those days when you’re stuck inside because of bad weather.

Grab a few supplies, gather the fan club, and get ready to have some fun!

Are your kids crazy about hockey? Here are some great hockey activities that will get them moving, learning, and creating.

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Hockey Games:

Play Tabletop Hockey. Find out how to make this simple tabletop game at Little Bins for Little Hands.

Play Marshmallow Hockey. Your kids will love this fun boredom buster from Lovely Commotion. You’ll love how easy it is to set it up.

CD Air Hockey. Finally, something fun to do with all your old cd’s! Set up this fun game from Busy Toddler to keep you little toddler busy.

Create a Mini Hockey Rink. You can use this tiny ice rink from Playtivities for all sorts of fun games.

Play Balloon Hockey. This game from Creative Connections for Kids is a fun thing to play when the kids are stuck inside.

Play Pompom Hockey. This game from Learning 4 Kids is a great way to get your kids moving inside.

Hockey Science Projects:

Do Hockey Science. Find out what will slide the best on ice and expore friction with our hockey science project here.

Table Hockey With Eggs. Experiment with friction with this fun STEM activity from A Little Pinch of Perfect.

Hockey Crafts:

Make a Cardboard Hockey Stick. Use recycled cardboard and a few other simple supplies to make our fun Cardboard Hockey Stick craft.

Make a Tabletop Hockey Rink. Your kids will have fun making and playing with this fun hockey rink from Handmade Charlotte.

Make Mini Hockey Sticks. Today’s Parent shows you how to take simple craft sticks and turn them into mini hockey sticks.

Hockey Learning Activities:

Gross Motor Phonics Hockey Game. Learn with movement with this fun driveway hockey game from Learn Play Imagine.

Print out the Hockey Printable Pack. Every Star is Different has created a fun printable pack for tots and preschoolers. Plus, she shows you so many fun ways to use them.

Play Name Hockey. Help you kids learn their name (or work on the alphabet) with this fun indoor hockey game from How Wee Learn.

Learn and have fun with Color Ice Hockey. This fun game from Teach Preschool is a great way to help your kids learn their colors.

Play Number Hockey. Learn your numbers with this fun set-up from Toddler Approved. SCORE!

Are you as in love with all these hockey activities for kids as I am? I’m not sure which ones I love the best.

Which of these hockey activities for kids are you going to try?

Hockey resources I love:

In addition to these fun hockey activities, you little hockey fans would have fun with one of these great toys:

Are you looking for more kids activities?

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.

Backyard Color Match Game for Toddlers

August 17, 2018 By Trisha

Looking for a fun toddler activity to get them moving and learning?

Head to the backyard for an active color match game for toddlers. It’s a great way to learn colors while practicing gross motor skills.

Backyard Color Match Game for Toddlers

This toddler game is all about running around and having fun, so you’ll need quite a bit of space. We played the game in our backyard. It will also work inside as long as you have enough room to move around safely.

Supplies Needed

Colored place markers (one for each color you want to practice). We used large balls, buckets, and a cone.

Objects/toys of different colors. Make sure the color of these objects match the place markers. We had 2 of each color (one for each child). We used small balls, toy ducks, cups, etc.

How to this color matching game for toddlers

Spread the colored place markers (balls, buckets, cones, etc) around your playing area. The farther they are away from each other, the more running your kids will do.

Start by practicing the names of the colors.

Call out a color and have your child run to it.

Can you find the orange cone?

If more than one child is playing be sure to talk to them about how to touch the place markers. (My toddler wanted to pick everything up.)

Say: “Run to the green bucket and touch it with your hand.”

Once you have named all of the colors, it’s time to introduce the color matching.

Ask your child to choose a small toy. Then, ask him its color. “What color is the duck?”

Have your child take the toy to the matching colored place marker. “Can you take the yellow duck to the yellow ball?”

Get your little ones moving with this fun Backyard Color Match Movement Game for Toddlers. They'll run, have fun, and learn a lot!

Continue matching the small objects to the place markers.

Be sure to say the colors each time.

Backyard Match Game for Toddlers #2

Ready to mix it up a little? Our second game practices colors and following directions. Once you’ve finished the color match game, try this one. Leave all of the toys matched up.

The goal of game 2 is to move the toys around.

Call out a color and a toy. Then name a colored place marker. “Can you place the green frog on the pink bucket?”

The game practices colors and following directions.

You can also use it to practice positional words like on, in, next to, etc. “Can you place the blue duck next to the orange cone?” “Put the pink ball inside the green bucket.”

My recommended toddler activity resource

t’s so beneficial to have fun activities to do with your toddler. My friend Jamie from Hands On As We Grow has got a great free 7-Day Toddler Activity Challenge. You’ll have fun and make memories with these age-appropriate and simple activities. They’re the best! You can follow this link to sign up for the FREE 7-Day Toddler Challenge.

Join our community for fun family activities

Outdoor ABC Game on the Driveway

July 2, 2018 By Terri Thompson

With a preschooler, sometimes you just need to get them moving.

So, I decided to sneak a little learning in with our moving and created a simple outdoor abc game.

This Driveway ABC Game is easy. It’s fun. And, it’s a great way to review the alphabet.

Supplies Needed:

Sidewalk chalk

Large dice (can be played with small dice if that’s all you have)

Large stretch of concrete. You can use a driveway or a sidewalk.

Set-up and play your outdoor ABC game

I drew a long, winding path on our driveway and divided it up into sections.

I then wrote one letter in each section.

When it was time to play, my preschooler threw our giant die and moved that many spaces.

When she stopped, she had to say each letter she stepped on out loud.

The concept was easy and she had a blast. We played it again and again. Not only was she reviewing her letter, but she was running all over the place chasing the die.

When I drew our game, I wrote the letters in alphabetical order ending at “k”. I didn’t make a very long game board. Feel free to mix up the letters and add additional letters if you want to make a more challenging game.

Other variations of this outdoor alphabet game:

Use lower case letters instead of upper case

Use the letters in your child’s name for an easy name recognition game

Write the entire alphabet or only the ones that are challenging to your child

Use sight words instead of letters for kids who are already alphabet experts

Grab your sidewalk chalk, go outside, and have some fun learning your ABCs with this fun outdoor alphabet game you can play on your driveway.

Our outdoor abc game got rained away after only playing it once, but I know we’ll do this again. After all, it’s so much fun to learn while playing a gross motor game!

My recommended alphabet resources

It’s so much fun to learn your ABC’s with a game. If you don’t want to head outside, here are some fun game you might want to try.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Outdoor Shape Activities for Kids

June 2, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Whenever the weather is nice, it’s always so much fun to take your learning outside.

You can play, explore, and learn all at the same time.

These fun outdoor shape activities for kids are great ways to play and learn with your toddlers and preschoolers.

Your ides will be having so much fun, they won’t even realize how much they are learning.

Toddlers and preschoolers will love learning outside with these simple and fun Outdoor Shape Activities for Kids. Learning can be so much fun!

Get moving, explore nature, and get creative with all of these fun ideas.

They’re perfect for anytime of the year and a great excuse to get outside and learn with play.

Fun Outdoor Shape Activities

Learn shapes with a fun sidewalk game when you play our version of Shape Hopscotch.

Find your way through our Driveway Shape Maze and learn all about shapes as you go.

Grab a camera and hunt for shapes when you go on our fun Outdoor Shape Hunt.

Get your wiggles out by Running Circles and other shapes with our fun driveway game.

Explore big shapes by measuring, walking, and creating them with your body with this geometry game from Simple Play Ideas.

Create shapes with rocks with this fun idea from Mrs. Plemons’ Kindergarten. (You’ll find several other cool rock ideas in this post too!)

Play in bubbles with this bubbly water shape sorting game from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Find and erase shapes with water with this fun activity from Hands On As We Grow.

Build shapes with acorns with this simple idea from Creative Little Explorers.

Use nature treasures to create shapes with this fun activity from NurtureStore.

I don’t know about you, but I’d love to do all of these outdoor shape activities! Which ones do you think you’re going to try with your kids?

You may also enjoy one of these other fun outdoor activities:

10 Fun Walk Ideas for Families

Driveway ABC Game

Silly Races

You can find all of our toddler activities at this link.

My recommended shape resources

It’s so much fun to learn shapes through play. You can play these fun outside games or try one of these great shape toys for toddlers. Here are a few more playful ways to learn shapes:

Do more fun activities with your kids

Tips for Hiking With Young Children

May 2, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Does the thought of hiking with young children send shivers down your spine? Where can you go? Will I end up having to carry my kids half-way through? How can I keep them safe? All. The. Worries.

I’m here to tell you to stop worrying. You’ve got this.

Hiking can be such a fun family activity. It gets everyone moving. You can explore a new place. And, it’s a fun way to learn and explore in nature.

Yes, you can go hiking with young children. It's a fun and rewarding family activity. Find all the best tips for a successful hike with your toddlers and preschoolers here so you can plan a successful family hike.

How to have a fun hike with your kids

I took my kids hiking by myself all the time when they were younger. But, here’s the thing, our hikes looked a lot different than they would if it was just me and my husband.

But, no matter how they looked, they were fun and they were valuable. My kids loved a family hike.

The key: keep it simple and keep it on your kid’s level.

You don’t need to hike up a mountain or go deep in the woods to experience all the fun of a hike. For our hikes we often stayed local and would choose a paved path in a wooded area.

We also kept it short, stopping and turning around when the girls requested it. After all, there was no way I could carry both of my kids back to the car if we went too far.

A long hike for a young child may not necessarily seem long to you and that’s okay.

Let your kids lead the way

Another thing that worked well for me when hiking with young children was to let my girls lead the way. I would stop when they stopped. I would look at what they looked at.

We would examine anything and everything that they wanted to look at. I saw so many nature treasures that I would have missed if I didn’t have the kids along.

We’d look at a cool rock or feel the texture of the bark on a tree. My daughter had an eagle eye when it came to spotting wildflowers.

We picked up sticks and laid them all out to examine and figure out which were the best ones. Apparently there is special 4-year-old criteria when it comes to finding the best stick.

If you look high and look low, you’re sure to find something interesting, like this bird’s nest already abandoned for the winter.We also found bright yellow leaves, a big curvy tree, a small batch of berries (which we learned not to touch since we don’t know what they are), a secret path leading to a dock on a small lake and lots of nature treasures.

We found all of these on small, simple hikes.

Tips for Hiking With Young Children

Keep it short.
Bring along water and small healthy snacks for energy. (And be prepared to carry your waste until you find a trashcan.)
Keep it slow. Let your kids explore and examine as much as they want.
Go someplace familiar. You will feel more comfortable if you know the area well.
Turn back if the kids start getting tired. You don’t want to push them and end up having to carry an exhausted child!
Use your eyes, ears, and nose to learn a little about the natural world around you. Experience the hike, don’t just walk it.
And the most important… Keep it simple! You will all enjoy yourself more.

Let’s Go on a Family Hike!

Are you ready? Let’s do this.

Pick a location, get the kids ready, and just go. I guarantee you’ll have fun and want to go hiking over and over again.

Hiking is such a great family activity that you can do with kids of all ages. Keep it simple while hiking with young children and then as your kids grow older, you can go on longer and longer hikes.

Get out, explore, and have fun.

Kids to Parks Day

I wrote this post to help celebrate Kids to Parks Day from the National Park Trust which is coming up on Saturday, May 19, 2018. It’s a fun day to get out and have fun with the family. You can attend an official event or do something on your own, like a fun family hike! You can check here to find a local event.

No matter what you do, take the opportunity to celebrate the outdoors and to celebrate your family. Have fun! Share your adventures with the #KidstoParks hashtag on social media.

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