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Spring has sprung, and we all know the saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” This means, while the excitement of spring is upon us, most areas of the United States will also be facing LOTS of rainy weather. NEVER FEAR: Whether you are reading this as a parent, teacher, or both; these ideas will keep your kiddos engaged in learning, even if they are cooped up inside the house until sunnier days appear!
Rainbow Round-Up
With spring showers often follow rainbows! Help your little ones pass the time during the storm by exploring the science of rainbows.. Set the stage and build background knowledge by exploring colors, light, and color mixing. These color paddles and color mixing lenses by Learning Resources are perfect for rainbow play and exploration. Let your students experiment with shining light through individual colors and also play with color mixing by overlapping primary color paddles to make secondary colors.
After that warm-up, transition from color mixing to into rainbow fun with one of my favorite, simple activities for this time of year. The best milk color changing experiment I have found is from Spangler Science (here). Watch the video and follow the simple instructions to have your littles mixing colors like rainbow experts. Ask your kiddos to record their materials, steps in the experiment, and observations using a blank paper or in a journal.
Weather Wonders Exploration
When you’re stuck inside due to rainy spring showers, use that time as a learning opportunity, whether at home or school! Using fun, visual, and engaging weather trackers like these (large & small) from Learning Resources, you can turn the rainy day blues into a meteorologist broadcast. Then, extend that experience with the fun spring craftivity below, and perhaps even pair it with some weather-themed poetry.
Cupcake Wrapper Umbrellas
This activity is simple, adorable, and perfect for home and school creation. I made these gems applicable to fourth grade by having students start by creating the umbrella visual and then writing poetry about rain to celebrate National Poetry Month in April. You can do the same at home/school to enhance this craftivity.
Materials needed:
Assorted cupcake wrappers/liners
Assorted colors of pipe cleaners
White construction paper
Blue tempera paint
Paintbrushes
Scissors
Glue
Instructions:
Fold 2-3 cupcake liners in half.
Arrange on white construction paper.
Glue back half of the liners to the paper.
Cut pipe cleaners in half (or smaller, if needed).
Curl the bottom end of the pipe cleaner to form the handle (J) of the umbrella
Glue the top of the handle inside the umbrella.
Secure bottom of the pipe cleaner handle to the construction paper by applying glue underneath.
Using blue paint and paintbrush, make raindrops falling all around the umbrellas.
Clean up any mess and display the beautiful finished products!
While you and your little ones might be thinking, “Rain, rain, go away,” you can make the most of your time inside with these hands-on spring themed activities. They will have a blast, and when the showers pass, they’ll be geared up and ready to explore outdoor spring weather!
Spring has sprung, and we all know the saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” This means, while the excitement of spring is upon us, most areas of the United States will also be facing LOTS of rainy weather. NEVER FEAR: Whether you are reading this as a parent, teacher, or both; these ideas will keep your kiddos engaged in learning, even if they are cooped up inside the house until sunnier days appear!
Rainbow Round-Up
With spring showers often follow rainbows! Help your little ones pass the time during the storm by exploring the science of rainbows.. Set the stage and build background knowledge by exploring colors, light, and color mixing. These color paddles and color mixing lenses by Learning Resources are perfect for rainbow play and exploration. Let your students experiment with shining light through individual colors and also play with color mixing by overlapping primary color paddles to make secondary colors.
After that warm-up, transition from color mixing to into rainbow fun with one of my favorite, simple activities for this time of year. The best milk color changing experiment I have found is from Spangler Science (here). Watch the video and follow the simple instructions to have your littles mixing colors like rainbow experts. Ask your kiddos to record their materials, steps in the experiment, and observations using a blank paper or in a journal.
Weather Wonders Exploration
When you’re stuck inside due to rainy spring showers, use that time as a learning opportunity, whether at home or school! Using fun, visual, and engaging weather trackers like these (large & small) from Learning Resources, you can turn the rainy day blues into a meteorologist broadcast. Then, extend that experience with the fun spring craftivity below, and perhaps even pair it with some weather-themed poetry.
Cupcake Wrapper Umbrellas
This activity is simple, adorable, and perfect for home and school creation. I made these gems applicable to fourth grade by having students start by creating the umbrella visual and then writing poetry about rain to celebrate National Poetry Month in April. You can do the same at home/school to enhance this craftivity.
Materials needed:
Assorted cupcake wrappers/liners
Assorted colors of pipe cleaners
White construction paper
Blue tempera paint
Paintbrushes
Scissors
Glue
Instructions:
Fold 2-3 cupcake liners in half.
Arrange on white construction paper.
Glue back half of the liners to the paper.
Cut pipe cleaners in half (or smaller, if needed).
Curl the bottom end of the pipe cleaner to form the handle (J) of the umbrella
Glue the top of the handle inside the umbrella.
Secure bottom of the pipe cleaner handle to the construction paper by applying glue underneath.
Using blue paint and paintbrush, make raindrops falling all around the umbrellas.
Clean up any mess and display the beautiful finished products!
While you and your little ones might be thinking, “Rain, rain, go away,” you can make the most of your time inside with these hands-on spring themed activities. They will have a blast, and when the showers pass, they’ll be geared up and ready to explore outdoor spring weather!
Think “outside the basket” with a new kind of Easter treat! Our spring-themed educational toys help your children learn while they play (and go great with chocolate eggs and jelly beans!)
This year they will discover their inner engineers with STEM-inspired building sets with endless creation possibilities, while also learning early color, number, and matching skills! Your kids will have fun learning something new while making lasting holiday memories that you can share for years to come.
These “out-of-the-basket” toys are sure to make your little bunny’s imagination soar!
Build & Spin: Farm Friends
NEW for 2018! A trip to the barnyard is just a few spins away with this adorable gear set. This portable playset’s sturdy base comes with spaces for eight chunky gears complete with friendly, farm-themed toppers. Make friends with a jumping sheep, prancing horse, newborn chick, and more! Each kid-sized piece snaps securely into place, therefore encouraging hands-on play that builds fine motor skills. Ages 2+
Counting Dino-Sorters Math Activity Set
These aren’t your average Easter eggs! This set of 10 crack-apart dinosaur eggs contain tiny dino counters, so get ready for some counting fun! Each numbered and colored egg holds a corresponding number of dinos inside, so children learn about matching, sorting, and number correspondence every time they play! Ages 3+
Gears! Gears! Gears! ® Build and Bloom
Spring is in the air! Mix, match and create your own beautiful, spinning flower garden while sharpening your STEM skills! Set of 117 includes: colorful gears, flowers, butterflies, bees, ladybugs, wiggly stems, and more! Since parts are all interchangeable, there are endless combinations and designs. Let your imagination blossom! Ages 4+
Lil’ Lemonade Stand Off™
Build memory skills with this fun interactive game! Two to four players compete to win by earning coins at their lemonade stand. Just draw a card, look at the order of the yellow and pink cups, and then re-create it from memory. The stand with the most coins wins! In addition to sharpening memory skills, this game is also great for counting and recognition skills! Your kids will love this warm weather game almost as much as real lemonade! Ages 5+
Jumbo Farm Animals
Moo! Oink! Baa! Your little one will have fun learning animal names while they play with this barnyard crew! Realistically detailed farm animals provide hours of imaginative play and are also perfect for vocabulary development. These durable animals are sized just right for small hands and can be wiped clean. Set includes a horse, pig, cow, goat, sheep, rooster, and goose. The gang’s all here! Ages 3+
Happy Easter from all of us at Learning Resources!
We hope you enjoy these choices, because learning is where we play!
Think “outside the basket” with a new kind of Easter treat! Our spring-themed educational toys help your children learn while they play (and go great with chocolate eggs and jelly beans!)
This year they will discover their inner engineers with STEM-inspired building sets with endless creation possibilities, while also learning early color, number, and matching skills! Your kids will have fun learning something new while making lasting holiday memories that you can share for years to come.
These “out-of-the-basket” toys are sure to make your little bunny’s imagination soar!
Build & Spin: Farm Friends
NEW for 2018! A trip to the barnyard is just a few spins away with this adorable gear set. This portable playset’s sturdy base comes with spaces for eight chunky gears complete with friendly, farm-themed toppers. Make friends with a jumping sheep, prancing horse, newborn chick, and more! Each kid-sized piece snaps securely into place, therefore encouraging hands-on play that builds fine motor skills. Ages 2+
Counting Dino-Sorters Math Activity Set
These aren’t your average Easter eggs! This set of 10 crack-apart dinosaur eggs contain tiny dino counters, so get ready for some counting fun! Each numbered and colored egg holds a corresponding number of dinos inside, so children learn about matching, sorting, and number correspondence every time they play! Ages 3+
Gears! Gears! Gears! ® Build and Bloom
Spring is in the air! Mix, match and create your own beautiful, spinning flower garden while sharpening your STEM skills! Set of 117 includes: colorful gears, flowers, butterflies, bees, ladybugs, wiggly stems, and more! Since parts are all interchangeable, there are endless combinations and designs. Let your imagination blossom! Ages 4+
Lil’ Lemonade Stand Off™
Build memory skills with this fun interactive game! Two to four players compete to win by earning coins at their lemonade stand. Just draw a card, look at the order of the yellow and pink cups, and then re-create it from memory. The stand with the most coins wins! In addition to sharpening memory skills, this game is also great for counting and recognition skills! Your kids will love this warm weather game almost as much as real lemonade! Ages 5+
Jumbo Farm Animals
Moo! Oink! Baa! Your little one will have fun learning animal names while they play with this barnyard crew! Realistically detailed farm animals provide hours of imaginative play and are also perfect for vocabulary development. These durable animals are sized just right for small hands and can be wiped clean. Set includes a horse, pig, cow, goat, sheep, rooster, and goose. The gang’s all here! Ages 3+
Happy Easter from all of us at Learning Resources!
We hope you enjoy these choices, because learning is where we play!
Right now it seems everyone is talking about the benefits of exposing kids to STEM and Coding. I hope to give my 6 girls every opportunity possible, and spark their curiosity and passion. I like teaching them to understand a path of thinking that will help them learn. And that’s what these fun activities will do!If you don’t know where to start, are your kids out of luck? Not at all! Here are some tips to start with easy activities around the house:
BEE-autiful Colors and Coding
One of the quints’ favorite activities is coloring. With a little tweak, coloring can become a terrific coding activity. The key is to get the kids to color by number. Remember the fun of that? There are lots of color-by-number activities online or you can just DIY with your childs’ favorite coloring book. When you assign a specific number to a color, and have your child color a picture based on the number sequence, they are actually learning early coding skills!
Coding in the Kitchen
Sequential thinking is key to coding. This may sound a bit intimidating, but it’s actually as simple as following the steps of a recipe for cupcakes. When I am in the kitchen cooking or baking, the quints are always interested in ‘What is Mommy doing’. Even though cooking with the quints always makes for a huge mess, I love seeing their little minds work. I get them thinking by asking silly questions. I might finish mixing the dough and while it’s still raw and in the bowl ask, “Should I put the frosting on now?” I get a lot of giggles and get the girls thinking about the right order for the task at hand.
Coding with Clothes
“Sorting and ordering” is a basic concept of coding, and in our house there’s always a pile of laundry to sort. The quints actually love to help with laundry, lets just hope this lasts till they are teenagers! Since they have a fair amount of matching outfits, I pick out one of the outfits, lay it down on the floor and have the girls add the matching outfit to the pile for me to fold. If items match, they go in one pile. Otherwise, the girls continue to search and sort. We also change things up and ask the girls to sort clothes by color or type, such as tops and bottoms. To the quints, sorting laundry is a fun game, they have no idea how much they are actually helping me!
Busby Queen Bee
One thing we try to do daily is let the kids burn some energy, in hope that they all take a good long nap. We’ll set up a little obstacle course using the couch, pillows and toys. Then we let Blayke navigate one of her sisters or me around the room with simple “commands” like “walk forward 2 steps” and “turn right.” The girls may not like to listen all the time, but when it is in a ‘game form’ they get a kick out of trying to follow the rules correctly.
If I say “Buzz,” Then You Say “Bee”!
When we want to get all the girls involved at once, we get up on our feet and play a little “If-Then” game. Again, this is a computer programming basic concept, brought into our own playroom. Our little Queen Bee will shout a statement and everyone else must listen, and then act. Blayke loves saying, “If I say Buzz, then you say Bee! Buzz!” and all the girls shout back “Bee!” The quints will often say, “If I jump, then you jump!” and that’s ok too, but when Adam and I get a turn we try to mix things up. “If I point up, then you jump.”
Busbys Meet Botley
The girls love animals and have asked for a pet for quite a while now. As a Mom of six, I’m sure you can guess that I don’t prefer to take care of pet right now. So I got the next best thing, Botley! Botley is a coding robot from Learning Resources. What better “pet” to have than a robot. He teaches coding in a really fun, friendly way the girls love. Blayke has been doing most of the coding with him, though all the girls love to see him in action, completing obstacle courses, and making funny sounds.The great thing about coding with small children is they learn to think like programmers naturally and easily, even without sitting in front of a screen.Check out more easy to do coding activities here!
The Busbys' 6 Simple and Fun Coding Activities for Kids!
Right now it seems everyone is talking about the benefits of exposing kids to STEM and Coding. I hope to give my 6 girls every opportunity possible, and spark their curiosity and passion. I like teaching them to understand a path of thinking that will help them learn. And that’s what these fun activities will do!If you don’t know where to start, are your kids out of luck? Not at all! Here are some tips to start with easy activities around the house:
BEE-autiful Colors and Coding
One of the quints’ favorite activities is coloring. With a little tweak, coloring can become a terrific coding activity. The key is to get the kids to color by number. Remember the fun of that? There are lots of color-by-number activities online or you can just DIY with your childs’ favorite coloring book. When you assign a specific number to a color, and have your child color a picture based on the number sequence, they are actually learning early coding skills!
Coding in the Kitchen
Sequential thinking is key to coding. This may sound a bit intimidating, but it’s actually as simple as following the steps of a recipe for cupcakes. When I am in the kitchen cooking or baking, the quints are always interested in ‘What is Mommy doing’. Even though cooking with the quints always makes for a huge mess, I love seeing their little minds work. I get them thinking by asking silly questions. I might finish mixing the dough and while it’s still raw and in the bowl ask, “Should I put the frosting on now?” I get a lot of giggles and get the girls thinking about the right order for the task at hand.
Coding with Clothes
“Sorting and ordering” is a basic concept of coding, and in our house there’s always a pile of laundry to sort. The quints actually love to help with laundry, lets just hope this lasts till they are teenagers! Since they have a fair amount of matching outfits, I pick out one of the outfits, lay it down on the floor and have the girls add the matching outfit to the pile for me to fold. If items match, they go in one pile. Otherwise, the girls continue to search and sort. We also change things up and ask the girls to sort clothes by color or type, such as tops and bottoms. To the quints, sorting laundry is a fun game, they have no idea how much they are actually helping me!
Busby Queen Bee
One thing we try to do daily is let the kids burn some energy, in hope that they all take a good long nap. We’ll set up a little obstacle course using the couch, pillows and toys. Then we let Blayke navigate one of her sisters or me around the room with simple “commands” like “walk forward 2 steps” and “turn right.” The girls may not like to listen all the time, but when it is in a ‘game form’ they get a kick out of trying to follow the rules correctly.
If I say “Buzz,” Then You Say “Bee”!
When we want to get all the girls involved at once, we get up on our feet and play a little “If-Then” game. Again, this is a computer programming basic concept, brought into our own playroom. Our little Queen Bee will shout a statement and everyone else must listen, and then act. Blayke loves saying, “If I say Buzz, then you say Bee! Buzz!” and all the girls shout back “Bee!” The quints will often say, “If I jump, then you jump!” and that’s ok too, but when Adam and I get a turn we try to mix things up. “If I point up, then you jump.”
Busbys Meet Botley
The girls love animals and have asked for a pet for quite a while now. As a Mom of six, I’m sure you can guess that I don’t prefer to take care of pet right now. So I got the next best thing, Botley! Botley is a coding robot from Learning Resources. What better “pet” to have than a robot. He teaches coding in a really fun, friendly way the girls love. Blayke has been doing most of the coding with him, though all the girls love to see him in action, completing obstacle courses, and making funny sounds.The great thing about coding with small children is they learn to think like programmers naturally and easily, even without sitting in front of a screen.Check out more easy to do coding activities here!
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Slide the stone, brush the ice, and try to hit the target! Curling is one of the most iconic winter sports in the world; it’s even on TV these days! Usually, a round of curling requires too much equipment to play at home, but you can play your own version of this famous sport with the help of Botley the Coding Robot!
Check out our step-by-step guide below:
1. Set up a starting line at one end of the room. At the other end, set up Botley’s orange goal piece.
2. Put Botley behind the starting line, making sure that he’s aimed straight at the goal piece.
3. Before you start coding, have each player estimate the number of FORWARD coding steps it will take Botley to reach the goal without going past it. (Here’s a hint: Botley moves 8 inches with each FORWARD step).
4. After everyone has their guesses, have the first player code Botley to move forward.
5. When Botley stops, place one of his flags at the spot on the floor where he stopped. If you have lots of players, you can even write each person’s name on their flag with some masking tape and a marker.
6. Repeat until everyone has gone. The person closest to the goal is the winner!
If you want to add an extra element of challenge, snap on Botley’s detachable robot arms and make this rule: on each turn, players can choose to code their way towards the goal, or knock a previous player’s flag off the course. In this version of the game, the first person to land Botley in the goal wins.
Slide the stone, brush the ice, and try to hit the target! Curling is one of the most iconic winter sports in the world; it’s even on TV these days! Usually, a round of curling requires too much equipment to play at home, but you can play your own version of this famous sport with the help of Botley the Coding Robot!
Check out our step-by-step guide below:
1. Set up a starting line at one end of the room. At the other end, set up Botley’s orange goal piece.
2. Put Botley behind the starting line, making sure that he’s aimed straight at the goal piece.
3. Before you start coding, have each player estimate the number of FORWARD coding steps it will take Botley to reach the goal without going past it. (Here’s a hint: Botley moves 8 inches with each FORWARD step).
4. After everyone has their guesses, have the first player code Botley to move forward.
5. When Botley stops, place one of his flags at the spot on the floor where he stopped. If you have lots of players, you can even write each person’s name on their flag with some masking tape and a marker.
6. Repeat until everyone has gone. The person closest to the goal is the winner!
If you want to add an extra element of challenge, snap on Botley’s detachable robot arms and make this rule: on each turn, players can choose to code their way towards the goal, or knock a previous player’s flag off the course. In this version of the game, the first person to land Botley in the goal wins.
Full of bright colors and loud noises, the Chinese New Year begins on February 1 this year (the date of the celebration changes year to year because Chinese New Year starts on the second new moon after the winter solstice). In ancient times the festival was an effort by villagers to scare away a mythical wild beast named Nien with bright lights and big noises. Nowadays, Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide with family dinners, thorough house cleaning, fireworks, and parades. Your family can enjoy the festivities with three cool crafts perfect for ringing in the Chinese New Year!
Paper Plate Chinese Dragon
The dragon is a symbol of China, thought to bring good luck. The dragon dance is a typical part of most Chinese New Year celebrations, and it is believed that the longer the dragon dances, the more luck he brings! Make a bit of your luck with this DIY Chinese Dragon project!
Materials
Paper plate
Red paint
Yellow construction paper
index cards or card stock paper
Markers
Scissors
Tape or glue craft sticks
1. Paint your paper plate red.
2. While drying, draw a dragon head on one index card and a tail on another. You can find many templates and inspiration online if you’re not a master artist. Color your dragon with vibrant-colored markers or crayons.
3. Cut the head and tail out and glue or tape each to the top of a craft stick. Packing tape works well.
4. Cut a piece of yellow construction paper, roughly 1” x 4”, accordion and fold it—tape one end to your dragon’s head and the other to its tail.
5. Use a knife to carefully slice the bottom of the center of the plate and insert your craft sticks into the opening.
Construction Paper Chinese Lantern
Chinese New Year lasts two weeks and culminates with The Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is celebrated near the beginning of springtime when it’s finally warm enough for people to go outside at night. People everywhere head out of doors, carrying lanterns, often red which symbolizes hope, to light their way. Follow the instructions below to create your Chinese Lanterns!
Materials
Red construction paper
Scissors
Stapler or tape
1. Fold your sheet of construction paper in half, longways, pressing to make a heavy crease at the fold.
2. Cut through the folded edge of the paper, stopping about a ½” from the other side. Continue cutting until you read the other side.
3. Unfold the paper and tape or staple the two edges together to form a tube.
4. Add a handle made of a strip of construction paper and embellish your lantern with fringe, ribbon, and stickers. Tape or staple a tube of paper in another color to the inside of your lantern to create a “hurricane” style, or add a bit of fringed paper to the bottom edge.
Full of bright colors and loud noises, the Chinese New Year begins on February 1 this year (the date of the celebration changes year to year because Chinese New Year starts on the second new moon after the winter solstice). In ancient times the festival was an effort by villagers to scare away a mythical wild beast named Nien with bright lights and big noises. Nowadays, Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide with family dinners, thorough house cleaning, fireworks, and parades. Your family can enjoy the festivities with three cool crafts perfect for ringing in the Chinese New Year!
Paper Plate Chinese Dragon
The dragon is a symbol of China, thought to bring good luck. The dragon dance is a typical part of most Chinese New Year celebrations, and it is believed that the longer the dragon dances, the more luck he brings! Make a bit of your luck with this DIY Chinese Dragon project!
Materials
Paper plate
Red paint
Yellow construction paper
index cards or card stock paper
Markers
Scissors
Tape or glue craft sticks
1. Paint your paper plate red.
2. While drying, draw a dragon head on one index card and a tail on another. You can find many templates and inspiration online if you’re not a master artist. Color your dragon with vibrant-colored markers or crayons.
3. Cut the head and tail out and glue or tape each to the top of a craft stick. Packing tape works well.
4. Cut a piece of yellow construction paper, roughly 1” x 4”, accordion and fold it—tape one end to your dragon’s head and the other to its tail.
5. Use a knife to carefully slice the bottom of the center of the plate and insert your craft sticks into the opening.
Construction Paper Chinese Lantern
Chinese New Year lasts two weeks and culminates with The Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is celebrated near the beginning of springtime when it’s finally warm enough for people to go outside at night. People everywhere head out of doors, carrying lanterns, often red which symbolizes hope, to light their way. Follow the instructions below to create your Chinese Lanterns!
Materials
Red construction paper
Scissors
Stapler or tape
1. Fold your sheet of construction paper in half, longways, pressing to make a heavy crease at the fold.
2. Cut through the folded edge of the paper, stopping about a ½” from the other side. Continue cutting until you read the other side.
3. Unfold the paper and tape or staple the two edges together to form a tube.
4. Add a handle made of a strip of construction paper and embellish your lantern with fringe, ribbon, and stickers. Tape or staple a tube of paper in another color to the inside of your lantern to create a “hurricane” style, or add a bit of fringed paper to the bottom edge.
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These aren’t your average Easter eggs! This set of 10 crack-apart dinosaur eggs contain tiny dino counters, so get ready for some counting fun! Each numbered and colored egg holds a corresponding number of dinos inside, so children learn about matching, sorting, and number correspondence every time they play! Ages 3+
Build memory skills with this fun interactive game! Two to four players compete to win by earning coins at their lemonade stand. Just draw a card, look at the order of the yellow and pink cups, and then re-create it from memory. The stand with the most coins wins! In addition to sharpening memory skills, this game is also great for counting and recognition skills! Your kids will love this warm weather game almost as much as real lemonade! Ages 5+
Moo! Oink! Baa! Your little one will have fun learning animal names while they play with this barnyard crew! Realistically detailed farm animals provide hours of imaginative play and are also perfect for vocabulary development. These durable animals are sized just right for small hands and can be wiped clean. Set includes a horse, pig, cow, goat, sheep, rooster, and goose. The gang’s all here! Ages 3+ 
The great thing about coding with small children is they learn to think like programmers naturally and easily, even without sitting in front of a screen.Check out more easy to do coding activities here! 
