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STEM

The Magic of Matter Experiment!

Welcome to STEMuaryHelp us celebrate STEM-uary with a hands-on STEM experiment designed for you to do with your preschoolers at home! It's so much fun… your little ones might not even realize that they’re learning.Preschoolers are natural observers. Plus, they love scooping, pouring, mixing, and blending. In other words, they love science! You can encourage your child’s scientific curiosity and introduce some early scientific concepts with simple science experiments, like the concept...

Solids, Liquids, and Gas

Understanding the various states of matter is a key scientific concept. There are actually five states of matter, but we’ll leave the other two, plasma and Bose-Einstein condensates, for another time. Say, college.

Materials:

  • Ice cube
  • Measuring cup
  • Stove-safe pot

Step One – Solids

To share this concept with your kiddo, start with an ice cube. Show them how hard (solid) the ice cube is by having her tap it on the side of the measuring cup. Then have her rub her hands together to generate some heat, place the ice cube in her hands and have her roll the cube around, catching the dripping water in the measuring cup as the cube melts. (Note – if the cube is too cold for little hands, set it in the cup and put the cup in the sun for 15 minutes.)STEM science experiments

Step Two – Liquids

Check the measuring cup. It was empty when she started, but now there’s water in it! Explain to your child that heating the solid ice cube with her hands (or the sun) caused it to melt and change into its liquid form—water. Look at the markings on the side of the cup to see how much water is there, then pour the water into a pot.at home science experiments that teach STEM

Step Three – Gasses

Place the pot of water on the stove and turn the heat on low. Explain to your mini-scientist that the third state of matter is gas. The ice cube that started out as a solid and then melted into a liquid is now going to magically disappear, evaporating into a gas form. Let the water boil, then evaporate, and show your little one that the pot is empty. What happened to the ice cube?Science projects you can do at homeNow that your pint-sized smarty understands the concepts of solids, liquids, and gasses, take a lunchtime challenge!Point to her cup of milk and ask if what’s inside is a solid or a liquid. Now point to the PB & J (crusts cut off) on her plate and ask if that’s a solid or a gas. Finally, have her breathe out into a cupped hand and ask what’s there. She can’t see it, but her breath is a gas!If your little one loved this STEM-uary science experiment, let us know about it by emailing us at blog@learningresources.com.
The Magic of Matter Experiment! Welcome to STEMuaryHelp us celebrate STEM-uary with a hands-on STEM experiment designed for you to do with your preschoolers at home! It's so much fun… your little ones might not even realize that they’re learning.Preschoolers are natural observers. Plus, they love scooping, pouring, mixing, and blending. In other words, they love science! You can encourage your child’s scientific curiosity and introduce some early scientific concepts with simple science experiments, like the concept...

Solids, Liquids, and Gas

Understanding the various states of matter is a key scientific concept. There are actually five states of matter, but we’ll leave the other two, plasma and Bose-Einstein condensates, for another time. Say, college.

Materials:

  • Ice cube
  • Measuring cup
  • Stove-safe pot

Step One – Solids

To share this concept with your kiddo, start with an ice cube. Show them how hard (solid) the ice cube is by having her tap it on the side of the measuring cup. Then have her rub her hands together to generate some heat, place the ice cube in her hands and have her roll the cube around, catching the dripping water in the measuring cup as the cube melts. (Note – if the cube is too cold for little hands, set it in the cup and put the cup in the sun for 15 minutes.)STEM science experiments

Step Two – Liquids

Check the measuring cup. It was empty when she started, but now there’s water in it! Explain to your child that heating the solid ice cube with her hands (or the sun) caused it to melt and change into its liquid form—water. Look at the markings on the side of the cup to see how much water is there, then pour the water into a pot.at home science experiments that teach STEM

Step Three – Gasses

Place the pot of water on the stove and turn the heat on low. Explain to your mini-scientist that the third state of matter is gas. The ice cube that started out as a solid and then melted into a liquid is now going to magically disappear, evaporating into a gas form. Let the water boil, then evaporate, and show your little one that the pot is empty. What happened to the ice cube?Science projects you can do at homeNow that your pint-sized smarty understands the concepts of solids, liquids, and gasses, take a lunchtime challenge!Point to her cup of milk and ask if what’s inside is a solid or a liquid. Now point to the PB & J (crusts cut off) on her plate and ask if that’s a solid or a gas. Finally, have her breathe out into a cupped hand and ask what’s there. She can’t see it, but her breath is a gas!If your little one loved this STEM-uary science experiment, let us know about it by emailing us at blog@learningresources.com. READ MORE
6 Steps To A STEM-Friendly Classroom
READ MORE

What You Can Do with a Shoe Box: 4 Fun, DIY Play Props for Toddlers

Like peanut butter and jelly or Bert and Ernie, toddlers and cardboard boxes just seem to go together. From the perfect hiding spot to a fabulous fort, boxes have endless play potential.But it’s not just big boxes that inspire all the fun! With a little creativity, you can transform shoe boxes, cardboard toilet paper and paper towel tubes, and even pizza boxes into toys your little one will love. At the same time, you’ll be modeling and encouraging creative thinking and imaginative play.Our DIY Toddler Play Props series features dozens of ideas for all kinds of two-in-one, make-and-play activities. Let’s get started with shoe boxes!Shoe box arts and craft projects

Aquarium

Create and decorate a colorful, no-cleaning-required, cardboard aquarium with your kiddo!
  • Cut five or six fish-shaped figures and three or four kelp shapes out of the top of a shoe box and discard any scrap (heavy construction paper or tagboard works fine if your box lid isn’t big enough).
  • Let your toddler paint the fish and kelp with whatever colors they like using a large brush, sponge, or even their fingers.
  • While they’re painting, cut a piece of blue construction paper to fit the bottom of your box. This will be the back wall of your aquarium.
  • While the pieces are drying, draw a few shells and sea stars on the bottom of your “tank” (an inside long wall, since the box is on its side) and let them color them in with crayons or markers.
  • Glue the kelp strips and a few of the fish to the blue background; punch a small hole in the remaining fish, string them with yarn, and staple the yarn to the top inside panel of the open shoe box to complete your aquarium.
 

Sensory Box

Kids use their senses to learn about the world, including their sense of touch. You can create a simple, at-home, sensory station using a cardboard box!Cut a hand-sized hole in the center of the lid of an old shoe box and fill it with objects that are tactically satisfying, like cotton balls, sandpaper, nail brushes, and bean bags. Tape the lid in place and have your child to reach inside and describe what they’re feeling, using vocabulary like soft, hard, rough, and smooth. Ask your child to remove the object they’re holding, name it, and talk a bit about it. Consider including pairs of things to see if your child can find the match to the one in her hand using only her sense of touch.Swap out the contents of your box often to keep your child engaged.

Car Wash

Kids can take their own toy cars through their very own cardboard car wash! Simply place the bottom of a shoe box upside down and cut a toy-car sized entrance and exit out of each end and a rectangular window on one side. Cut and glue dangling strips of construction paper to the exit end for an extra-realistic touch.

Stuffed Animal Bus

Get ready for the ultimate ride with this creative shoe box craft!
  • Start by cutting two small holes in the short end of the bottom part of a shoe box, placing the lid on the box, and taping around the edges of to ensure it won’t come off.
  • Let your little one paint the entire box yellow using a large brush or sponge and washable tempera paint.
  • When the paint is dry, use a black marker to add windows, doors, and wheels.
  • Loop some yarn or a shoelace through the holes in the front of the box, cut a few holes in the top for your little one’s plush passengers, and let the driver drag his bus around the room.
If your toddler loves this idea, you may want to try making a train to accommodate more passengers by tying several open shoe boxes together or laying masking tape “roads” around the room for a bit of extra fun.Watch for the next post in our DIY Toddler Play Props series – What You Can Make With a… Shipping Box! In the meantime, keep getting creative with those shoe boxes and don’t forget that you can also combine materials to create even cooler things, like an elevated toy car parking lot (shoe box lid with cardboard ramp and TP roll columns) or a crazy crocodile (cardboard mouth and tail with egg carton body and TP tube legs, painted green, of course). With a little imagination you can reuse lots of materials and remember... the creating is half the fun!
What You Can Do with a Shoe Box: 4 Fun, DIY Play Props for Toddlers Like peanut butter and jelly or Bert and Ernie, toddlers and cardboard boxes just seem to go together. From the perfect hiding spot to a fabulous fort, boxes have endless play potential.But it’s not just big boxes that inspire all the fun! With a little creativity, you can transform shoe boxes, cardboard toilet paper and paper towel tubes, and even pizza boxes into toys your little one will love. At the same time, you’ll be modeling and encouraging creative thinking and imaginative play.Our DIY Toddler Play Props series features dozens of ideas for all kinds of two-in-one, make-and-play activities. Let’s get started with shoe boxes!Shoe box arts and craft projects

Aquarium

Create and decorate a colorful, no-cleaning-required, cardboard aquarium with your kiddo!
  • Cut five or six fish-shaped figures and three or four kelp shapes out of the top of a shoe box and discard any scrap (heavy construction paper or tagboard works fine if your box lid isn’t big enough).
  • Let your toddler paint the fish and kelp with whatever colors they like using a large brush, sponge, or even their fingers.
  • While they’re painting, cut a piece of blue construction paper to fit the bottom of your box. This will be the back wall of your aquarium.
  • While the pieces are drying, draw a few shells and sea stars on the bottom of your “tank” (an inside long wall, since the box is on its side) and let them color them in with crayons or markers.
  • Glue the kelp strips and a few of the fish to the blue background; punch a small hole in the remaining fish, string them with yarn, and staple the yarn to the top inside panel of the open shoe box to complete your aquarium.
 

Sensory Box

Kids use their senses to learn about the world, including their sense of touch. You can create a simple, at-home, sensory station using a cardboard box!Cut a hand-sized hole in the center of the lid of an old shoe box and fill it with objects that are tactically satisfying, like cotton balls, sandpaper, nail brushes, and bean bags. Tape the lid in place and have your child to reach inside and describe what they’re feeling, using vocabulary like soft, hard, rough, and smooth. Ask your child to remove the object they’re holding, name it, and talk a bit about it. Consider including pairs of things to see if your child can find the match to the one in her hand using only her sense of touch.Swap out the contents of your box often to keep your child engaged.

Car Wash

Kids can take their own toy cars through their very own cardboard car wash! Simply place the bottom of a shoe box upside down and cut a toy-car sized entrance and exit out of each end and a rectangular window on one side. Cut and glue dangling strips of construction paper to the exit end for an extra-realistic touch.

Stuffed Animal Bus

Get ready for the ultimate ride with this creative shoe box craft!
  • Start by cutting two small holes in the short end of the bottom part of a shoe box, placing the lid on the box, and taping around the edges of to ensure it won’t come off.
  • Let your little one paint the entire box yellow using a large brush or sponge and washable tempera paint.
  • When the paint is dry, use a black marker to add windows, doors, and wheels.
  • Loop some yarn or a shoelace through the holes in the front of the box, cut a few holes in the top for your little one’s plush passengers, and let the driver drag his bus around the room.
If your toddler loves this idea, you may want to try making a train to accommodate more passengers by tying several open shoe boxes together or laying masking tape “roads” around the room for a bit of extra fun.Watch for the next post in our DIY Toddler Play Props series – What You Can Make With a… Shipping Box! In the meantime, keep getting creative with those shoe boxes and don’t forget that you can also combine materials to create even cooler things, like an elevated toy car parking lot (shoe box lid with cardboard ramp and TP roll columns) or a crazy crocodile (cardboard mouth and tail with egg carton body and TP tube legs, painted green, of course). With a little imagination you can reuse lots of materials and remember... the creating is half the fun! READ MORE

A Crafty Way To Develop Color Recognition

Painting is one of those activities that teaches children all kinds of skills at a young age. Whenever a child runs a brush over a piece of paper or canvas, they are exploring their creativity, fine tuning their motor skills, and even expressing their emotions.
But even more so, painting opens the opportunity for children to learn color recognition while having fun. Luckily, there are endless painting games and exercises you can do with your children to help them learn all about colors. Below a few of my favorite painting activities.

Connecting the wheel

For the first activity you will need:
  • a paper plate
  • red, blue, and yellow paint.
I used acrylic for this demonstration, but any washable paint will work as well. Start by drawing six circles on the plate. Make sure to leave enough space between each circle so that you have enough room later. Then fill three of the circles with your primary colors (red, blue, and yellow). They should form a triangle as seen in the picture.
 
 
Now it's time for the fun part. Let your child pick two adjacent colors and let them start pulling paint into the unfilled circles. Once enough paint is transferred, have them mix the rest until a new color forms. Clean off the brush when you are done and repeat the process with the remaining colors. Soon they will have created a complete color wheel!
 
 
One reason I enjoy this exercise so much is that the child gets to see the process of making new colors. Trying to explain that red and blue make purple is much harder to comprehend than watching the colors mix right in front of them. Plus, the child has a full color palette after the activity is complete, which is a great transition into another painting project.

All about hues

While this activity is more advanced than the color wheel, it is a good way to teach how paint affects colors differently. Here is what you will need:
  • Three small paper cups. (If you don’t have any, you can always use a plastic paint tray like the one used in my example.)
  • Any paint mixture from the previous activity. (I used purple.)
  • A piece of painting paper or a canvas.
  • A few paper towels and an old water cup to clean off the brush between mixes.
Choose a paint mixture and add a little to all three cups. After each cup is filled, take one cup and pour a little bit of red into it. Next, let the child slowly mix the colors with a brush.
 
 
Once you notice the color changing, start to ask questions. What happened to the purple? Do you like this new color more than the original? What happens if we add even more red? These questions get your child engaged, while also making sure they see the process.
 
 
Repeat the first few steps with the second cup, but add blue instead and go through the same questions. Look at the colors now. See how all are different but remain like the starting color.
 
 
After the child is done, let them have some fun by allowing them paint a picture using the new colors they made. Using colors created from scratch is incredibly rewarding and provides a sense of uniqueness with their painting.I hope these activities inspired you to grab some painting supplies and start painting with your family. They're an excellent foundation for any little artist so what they learn now will help in the future.
 
  
 
Learning is Where We Play:
 

The Magic of Matter Experiment!

 
 
A Crafty Way To Develop Color Recognition
Painting is one of those activities that teaches children all kinds of skills at a young age. Whenever a child runs a brush over a piece of paper or canvas, they are exploring their creativity, fine tuning their motor skills, and even expressing their emotions.
But even more so, painting opens the opportunity for children to learn color recognition while having fun. Luckily, there are endless painting games and exercises you can do with your children to help them learn all about colors. Below a few of my favorite painting activities.

Connecting the wheel

For the first activity you will need:
  • a paper plate
  • red, blue, and yellow paint.
I used acrylic for this demonstration, but any washable paint will work as well. Start by drawing six circles on the plate. Make sure to leave enough space between each circle so that you have enough room later. Then fill three of the circles with your primary colors (red, blue, and yellow). They should form a triangle as seen in the picture.
 
 
Now it's time for the fun part. Let your child pick two adjacent colors and let them start pulling paint into the unfilled circles. Once enough paint is transferred, have them mix the rest until a new color forms. Clean off the brush when you are done and repeat the process with the remaining colors. Soon they will have created a complete color wheel!
 
 
One reason I enjoy this exercise so much is that the child gets to see the process of making new colors. Trying to explain that red and blue make purple is much harder to comprehend than watching the colors mix right in front of them. Plus, the child has a full color palette after the activity is complete, which is a great transition into another painting project.

All about hues

While this activity is more advanced than the color wheel, it is a good way to teach how paint affects colors differently. Here is what you will need:
  • Three small paper cups. (If you don’t have any, you can always use a plastic paint tray like the one used in my example.)
  • Any paint mixture from the previous activity. (I used purple.)
  • A piece of painting paper or a canvas.
  • A few paper towels and an old water cup to clean off the brush between mixes.
Choose a paint mixture and add a little to all three cups. After each cup is filled, take one cup and pour a little bit of red into it. Next, let the child slowly mix the colors with a brush.
 
 
Once you notice the color changing, start to ask questions. What happened to the purple? Do you like this new color more than the original? What happens if we add even more red? These questions get your child engaged, while also making sure they see the process.
 
 
Repeat the first few steps with the second cup, but add blue instead and go through the same questions. Look at the colors now. See how all are different but remain like the starting color.
 
 
After the child is done, let them have some fun by allowing them paint a picture using the new colors they made. Using colors created from scratch is incredibly rewarding and provides a sense of uniqueness with their painting.I hope these activities inspired you to grab some painting supplies and start painting with your family. They're an excellent foundation for any little artist so what they learn now will help in the future.
 
  
 
Learning is Where We Play:
 

The Magic of Matter Experiment!

 
 
 READ MORE
5 Classroom Projects with a Digital Microscope

5 Classroom Projects with a Digital Microscope

Sometimes a fresh perspective is all that’s needed to make a familiar school subject seem new and exciting. That’s what makes a digital microscope so cool! It magnifies objects so students can see details missed by the naked eye.Sound like a new way to get your classroom engaged? Check out these project ideas for Science and Math to get you started.digital microscope

Explore Melting Ice (Grades 2-3)

  • Place two ice cubes on a plate. Ask students to predict what will happen when salt is placed on one of the ice cubes.
  • Sprinkle some salt on one ice cube. Place the digital microscope above the salted ice cube and have students observe for one minute.
  • If possible, take pictures of both ice cubes and label them. Have students discuss and write what they see.
  • Then, after four minutes and eight minutes, have them take pictures. They can again discuss and write what they see.
  • Have students generate conclusions about the effects of salt on ice.

The Skinny on Skin (Grades 2-4)

  • Have a volunteer come to the front of the class.
  • Use a digital microscope to get a close look and picture of the child’s skin on the back of their hand. Discuss what is observed.
  • Ask students if they think the skin will look different on the palms of the child’s hand.
  • Discuss possible reasons why they are different.

Counting Change (Grades 2-3)

  • Hold several coins in your hand under the digital microscope. Adjust the focus then slowly move your hand so the students see  part of each coin.
  • Have the students write an estimate of the total value of the coins.
  • Show the students the coins and calculate the actual amount as a group. Students write actual amounts next to their estimates.
  • Have students whose estimates were closest to the amount explain how they determined their answers.
  • Repeat the process with varying amounts and types of coins.

Micro Measures (Grades 2-3)

  • Place a ruler under the digital microscope so the students can see a full centimeter. .
  • Place a paper clip under the Twist and ask students to predict if the paper clip will measure a full centimeter, more than a centimeter, or less than a centimeter.
  • Place the ruler beside the paper clip and focus the microscope so the students can read the measurement.
  • Repeat with other small objects found in the room.

5 Classroom Projects with a Digital Microscope
5 Classroom Projects with a Digital Microscope
Sometimes a fresh perspective is all that’s needed to make a familiar school subject seem new and exciting. That’s what makes a digital microscope so cool! It magnifies objects so students can see details missed by the naked eye.Sound like a new way to get your classroom engaged? Check out these project ideas for Science and Math to get you started.digital microscope

Explore Melting Ice (Grades 2-3)

  • Place two ice cubes on a plate. Ask students to predict what will happen when salt is placed on one of the ice cubes.
  • Sprinkle some salt on one ice cube. Place the digital microscope above the salted ice cube and have students observe for one minute.
  • If possible, take pictures of both ice cubes and label them. Have students discuss and write what they see.
  • Then, after four minutes and eight minutes, have them take pictures. They can again discuss and write what they see.
  • Have students generate conclusions about the effects of salt on ice.

The Skinny on Skin (Grades 2-4)

  • Have a volunteer come to the front of the class.
  • Use a digital microscope to get a close look and picture of the child’s skin on the back of their hand. Discuss what is observed.
  • Ask students if they think the skin will look different on the palms of the child’s hand.
  • Discuss possible reasons why they are different.

Counting Change (Grades 2-3)

  • Hold several coins in your hand under the digital microscope. Adjust the focus then slowly move your hand so the students see  part of each coin.
  • Have the students write an estimate of the total value of the coins.
  • Show the students the coins and calculate the actual amount as a group. Students write actual amounts next to their estimates.
  • Have students whose estimates were closest to the amount explain how they determined their answers.
  • Repeat the process with varying amounts and types of coins.

Micro Measures (Grades 2-3)

  • Place a ruler under the digital microscope so the students can see a full centimeter. .
  • Place a paper clip under the Twist and ask students to predict if the paper clip will measure a full centimeter, more than a centimeter, or less than a centimeter.
  • Place the ruler beside the paper clip and focus the microscope so the students can read the measurement.
  • Repeat with other small objects found in the room.

 READ MORE

It's the 100th Day of School! Time To Shake Things Up...

100 day of school

The 100th day of school is fast approaching!

Here are some activities that you may or may not have thought of already.

 

  • You’ve heard of The Indy 500…now get ready for The Classroom 100! Let students design model cars using recyclables, like cardboard tubes, rubber bands, sticks, milk jug caps, etc. The challenge is for them to engineer their cars so that they can be propelled 100 inches. It’s a great STEM activity for cooperative learning while allowing them to use their creativity! Whomever comes closest to 100 inches, wins!
  • Do you work with younger students? Encourage them to draw a picture of what they will look like when they are 100 and then write or tell a story based on their drawing.
  • Get the whole body moving with 100 jumping jacks or 100 giant steps around the classroom or down the hall.
  • Ask parents if each student can bring in 100 pennies to donate. Students can place their pennies in one of three jars you set up, each labeled for a different charity. Students can put all of their pennies in one jar or divide them up. Have each student keep track of how much money they put in each jar and have the class tally the 3 reported amounts. Pool your pennies with other classes for more sizeable donations.
  • Have kids draw pictures and/or write answers to questions like, "What would you do with $100?" "How could you take care of 100 puppies?" "What if you were 100 feet tall? or "What will the world be like when you’re 100 years old?" Let each student choose which question to answer.
  • Send students home with a quart size plastic bag and ask them to fill it with 10 pieces of 10 items. Ideas include pasta, beans, candies, paper clips, hair ties, etc. Staple the bags to a poster board or glue on the individual items under the heading: “This is What 100 Looks Like!”
  • Weigh-in on 100. Use a classroom scale to determine the weight of 100 dried beans, 100 counters, 100 pennies, or anything else.
  • Keep tally. Divide students into groups and give each group 2 dice. Have them roll the dice and keep a tally. The first team that reaches 100 tallies wins. Or roll the dice 100 times and create a bar graph with how many times each number came up.
   Learning is Where We Play:
Get Your Students Moving!
Dress Up, Dolls, and...Dinosaurs!
 
 
It's the 100th Day of School! Time To Shake Things Up...

100 day of school

The 100th day of school is fast approaching!

Here are some activities that you may or may not have thought of already.

 

  • You’ve heard of The Indy 500…now get ready for The Classroom 100! Let students design model cars using recyclables, like cardboard tubes, rubber bands, sticks, milk jug caps, etc. The challenge is for them to engineer their cars so that they can be propelled 100 inches. It’s a great STEM activity for cooperative learning while allowing them to use their creativity! Whomever comes closest to 100 inches, wins!
  • Do you work with younger students? Encourage them to draw a picture of what they will look like when they are 100 and then write or tell a story based on their drawing.
  • Get the whole body moving with 100 jumping jacks or 100 giant steps around the classroom or down the hall.
  • Ask parents if each student can bring in 100 pennies to donate. Students can place their pennies in one of three jars you set up, each labeled for a different charity. Students can put all of their pennies in one jar or divide them up. Have each student keep track of how much money they put in each jar and have the class tally the 3 reported amounts. Pool your pennies with other classes for more sizeable donations.
  • Have kids draw pictures and/or write answers to questions like, "What would you do with $100?" "How could you take care of 100 puppies?" "What if you were 100 feet tall? or "What will the world be like when you’re 100 years old?" Let each student choose which question to answer.
  • Send students home with a quart size plastic bag and ask them to fill it with 10 pieces of 10 items. Ideas include pasta, beans, candies, paper clips, hair ties, etc. Staple the bags to a poster board or glue on the individual items under the heading: “This is What 100 Looks Like!”
  • Weigh-in on 100. Use a classroom scale to determine the weight of 100 dried beans, 100 counters, 100 pennies, or anything else.
  • Keep tally. Divide students into groups and give each group 2 dice. Have them roll the dice and keep a tally. The first team that reaches 100 tallies wins. Or roll the dice 100 times and create a bar graph with how many times each number came up.
   Learning is Where We Play:
Get Your Students Moving!
Dress Up, Dolls, and...Dinosaurs!
 
 
 READ MORE

Toddler Treasure Hunts

Tired of turning around only to find that your toddler has emptied the Tupperware cabinet, or worse, your underwear drawer? Turn your toddler’s curiosity into a totally teachable moment with our scavenger hunt-style toddler treasure hunts!

Color Clues

A treasure hunt is a great way to help your toddler learn his or her colors. First, spend some time reviewing a specific color–red for example, read a board book about the color red, talk about things you see each day that are red, sound out the word red. Then set off on an adventure–together–to find things around your house that are red. Collect them if you can and then review your bounty, repeating the word red as you identify each object you’ve found. Weather permitting, you might follow this activity up with a walk around the block, looking for outdoor objects that are red, like cars, stop signs, flowers, berries, or even a kite flying in the sky.

toddler treasure hunt

 Shape Spotting

The activity above also works well with shapes. Start by reviewing the basic shapes with your little one. Draw a circle, square, rectangle, and triangle on a sheet of paper and have your child color each one in with crayons. Then take a tour of your home and point out the shape of the objects you see. The oven door is square. Books are rectangular. So is your child’s pillow. The bottom of a sippy cup is round. So is a ball. After you’ve pointed out several objects, try pointing to one and asking your child what shape it is.

toddler treasure hunt

Counting Cuties

Your home is also a great place to help your child learn to count. Start by counting from one to five as you hold up the appropriate number of fingers. Next, take out several of the same object – books, bananas, socks, or spoons will do. Place the objects in a pile and move one object over to an empty space as you count its number aloud: one for the first object, two for the second, etc. Once all objects are in the second pile, count them up again. Now challenge your child to bring you one toy from his room. Then two, then three, holding up your fingers as a reminder.

toddler treasure hunt

Size It Up

You’ll probably be tempted to put away the piles of objects your child has collected, but don’t! It’s the perfect way to introduce your child to the concept of size. Sitting near the pile, point out to your little one that the sock he found is small, but the bookcase is big! Stretch your legs on another walk through the house, pointing out things that are big and small and asking your child to do the same.toddler treasure hunt 

 Get Descriptive

It’s almost time to put everything back (we strongly encourage you to learn, live, and love the “Clean Up” song), but before you do, take this opportunity to introduce some new words. Describing the attributes of the things you’ve collected on your treasure hunts is a wonderful way to enhance your child’s vocabulary. As you pick up each item to put away, remind your child of its color and size, and describe it, using words like “fuzzy”, “soft”, “hard”, “smooth”, “rough”, etc.
Toddler Treasure Hunts Tired of turning around only to find that your toddler has emptied the Tupperware cabinet, or worse, your underwear drawer? Turn your toddler’s curiosity into a totally teachable moment with our scavenger hunt-style toddler treasure hunts!

Color Clues

A treasure hunt is a great way to help your toddler learn his or her colors. First, spend some time reviewing a specific color–red for example, read a board book about the color red, talk about things you see each day that are red, sound out the word red. Then set off on an adventure–together–to find things around your house that are red. Collect them if you can and then review your bounty, repeating the word red as you identify each object you’ve found. Weather permitting, you might follow this activity up with a walk around the block, looking for outdoor objects that are red, like cars, stop signs, flowers, berries, or even a kite flying in the sky.

toddler treasure hunt

 Shape Spotting

The activity above also works well with shapes. Start by reviewing the basic shapes with your little one. Draw a circle, square, rectangle, and triangle on a sheet of paper and have your child color each one in with crayons. Then take a tour of your home and point out the shape of the objects you see. The oven door is square. Books are rectangular. So is your child’s pillow. The bottom of a sippy cup is round. So is a ball. After you’ve pointed out several objects, try pointing to one and asking your child what shape it is.

toddler treasure hunt

Counting Cuties

Your home is also a great place to help your child learn to count. Start by counting from one to five as you hold up the appropriate number of fingers. Next, take out several of the same object – books, bananas, socks, or spoons will do. Place the objects in a pile and move one object over to an empty space as you count its number aloud: one for the first object, two for the second, etc. Once all objects are in the second pile, count them up again. Now challenge your child to bring you one toy from his room. Then two, then three, holding up your fingers as a reminder.

toddler treasure hunt

Size It Up

You’ll probably be tempted to put away the piles of objects your child has collected, but don’t! It’s the perfect way to introduce your child to the concept of size. Sitting near the pile, point out to your little one that the sock he found is small, but the bookcase is big! Stretch your legs on another walk through the house, pointing out things that are big and small and asking your child to do the same.toddler treasure hunt 

 Get Descriptive

It’s almost time to put everything back (we strongly encourage you to learn, live, and love the “Clean Up” song), but before you do, take this opportunity to introduce some new words. Describing the attributes of the things you’ve collected on your treasure hunts is a wonderful way to enhance your child’s vocabulary. As you pick up each item to put away, remind your child of its color and size, and describe it, using words like “fuzzy”, “soft”, “hard”, “smooth”, “rough”, etc. READ MORE

Bright Ideas About Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills are necessary in order to be able to solve problems.
In large national surveys, teachers tell it like it is: “Critical thinking is one of the most difficult skills to teach students. “ Critical thinking requires students to ask questions and respond to information, not just accept it.
Most teachers say textbooks are very weak on teaching critical thinking. So, where can they turn? High quality supplemental tools, combined with inventive teaching, can help fill that gap!
 
Teaching critical thinking skills

Collaborate & communicate

  • Provide opportunities for students to work cooperatively. In these situations, they can share ideas and learn from each other.

Be creative!

  • Get "little engineers" constructing with a building set. They'll need to think critically as they experience key math and science concepts, especially cause and effect.
  • Practice 21st Century skills with a class newspaper or blog that the students help to format, produce, and publish.
  • Check out Learning Resources critical thinking games for kids.

Ask why!

  • Instill in children that "Why?" is a powerful question. An awareness of personal bias along with a little skepticism is crucial when it comes to evaluating and authenticating information.
  • Encourage students to ask why as they are reading: Why is the character doing what they’re doing? Why did the author have the character do what they did?
  • When a student gives an answer to something, ask them why they think that. Have them defend or prove their response. Discuss the difference between fact, opinion, and judgment.

Analyze and interpret!

  • Use graphic organizers to give students opportunities to organize, outline and structure information first, and then have them present their ideas.
  • Reinforce the notion that children should experiment, examine, compare and contrast everything. Conduct mini-experiments in a sensory way or allow kids to investigate their world up close with a digital microscope.

Try project-based learning

  • Have the class plan a mock trip to a country of their choice. Spend a semester on the project, and then wrap up with a dramatization. They can explore how to book their travel online, apply for their passports, plan each day's itinerary and much more.
  • Hand over a REAL problem to your students that your school or community would like to solve. Maybe your school lunches need a healthy overhaul, or your town library wants to redesign its children's area. Let your students investigate, plan and own the solution...and even participate in implementing it if possible!
No matter which way you decide to teach critical thinking skills, have fun with it! 
 
 
Bright Ideas About Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills are necessary in order to be able to solve problems.
In large national surveys, teachers tell it like it is: “Critical thinking is one of the most difficult skills to teach students. “ Critical thinking requires students to ask questions and respond to information, not just accept it.
Most teachers say textbooks are very weak on teaching critical thinking. So, where can they turn? High quality supplemental tools, combined with inventive teaching, can help fill that gap!
 
Teaching critical thinking skills

Collaborate & communicate

  • Provide opportunities for students to work cooperatively. In these situations, they can share ideas and learn from each other.

Be creative!

  • Get "little engineers" constructing with a building set. They'll need to think critically as they experience key math and science concepts, especially cause and effect.
  • Practice 21st Century skills with a class newspaper or blog that the students help to format, produce, and publish.
  • Check out Learning Resources critical thinking games for kids.

Ask why!

  • Instill in children that "Why?" is a powerful question. An awareness of personal bias along with a little skepticism is crucial when it comes to evaluating and authenticating information.
  • Encourage students to ask why as they are reading: Why is the character doing what they’re doing? Why did the author have the character do what they did?
  • When a student gives an answer to something, ask them why they think that. Have them defend or prove their response. Discuss the difference between fact, opinion, and judgment.

Analyze and interpret!

  • Use graphic organizers to give students opportunities to organize, outline and structure information first, and then have them present their ideas.
  • Reinforce the notion that children should experiment, examine, compare and contrast everything. Conduct mini-experiments in a sensory way or allow kids to investigate their world up close with a digital microscope.

Try project-based learning

  • Have the class plan a mock trip to a country of their choice. Spend a semester on the project, and then wrap up with a dramatization. They can explore how to book their travel online, apply for their passports, plan each day's itinerary and much more.
  • Hand over a REAL problem to your students that your school or community would like to solve. Maybe your school lunches need a healthy overhaul, or your town library wants to redesign its children's area. Let your students investigate, plan and own the solution...and even participate in implementing it if possible!
No matter which way you decide to teach critical thinking skills, have fun with it! 
 
 
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