My Special Things

FOR AGES: TEENS

Teen-agers often have special objects that mean a lot to them. Here is an opportunity to make those objects immortal by making a book.

MY SPECIAL THINGS

MATERIALS:
Pen and paper or computer and word processor
Camera (optional)
Scrapbook

DIRECTIONS:
Suggest to your budding writer that she take photographs or draw pictures of the objects in her life that have meaning to her and paste them in a scrapbook. Under each picture, she could write a story about how that object came into her life and what it means to her.

Eye Dropper Fun

FOR AGES :3-5 YEARS
It takes a moment or so to learn how to make an eye dropper work and then the fun can begin.

EYE DROPPER FUN

MATERIALS:
Eye dropper
Two small containers
Water
Food coloring (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Teach your child how to squeeze the top of the eydropper, put it in water, release the squeeze and watch the dropper fill with water.

Let her experiment with removing the water from one container and putting it, drop by drop, into another container.
Add food coloring to the water if you’d like.

For silly fun, use the eyedroppers to squirt each other with water!

Yarn Pix

FOR AGES:1-7
If you are going on a long car or plane ride, here is a game you might want to tuck into a plastic bag and take along.

INSTANT YARN PICTURE

MATERIALS:
Piece of coarse sandpaper
Bits of colored yarn

DIRECTIONS:
Cut pieces of different color yarn in various lengths and show your child how the yarn sticks to the sandpaper and then can be pulled off.

Make an abstract design together taking turns laying down a piece until it feels complete. Make another picture of something real such as a house or the sun . First, she puts down a piece of yarn and then, inspired by that placement, you add your piece next to hers. She then adds another piece to the growing abstract design and you both continue on until all the yarn is used up or the design feels complete.

Take all the yarn off and do it again together. Maybe, this time doing a recognizable picture like a house or sun. Or let her experiment on her own.

No sandpaper and yarn handy? You can play a similar version of this game using cooked spaghetti and a cloth place mat!

Enchantment of Water

FOR AGES: TODDLERS

Although it may be simple, a sponge and a bowl of water can keep a toddler fascinated for a long time.

THE ENCHANTMENT OF WATER

MATERIALS:
Dishpan and water
optional objects:
clean dry sponges
plastic bottles
corks and straws
tennis ball
ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:
Cut the sponges into pieces that are too big to swallow.

Put a shallow amount of water in the pan and toss the sponges in.. Show your child how to soak up the water with the sponge and then squeeze it out.

Cut a plastic bottle in half to make a funnel and a cup. (Tape the edges if needed)

Put a tennis ball in the water to chase around as it moves freely in the dishpan.

Add corks to the water and blow them around with a straw.

Add ice cubes for another interesting variation.

Stone Painting

FOR: ALL AGES
Painting lines on a rock with water can make anything done look like elegant Japanese calligraphy.

STONE PAINTING

MATERIALS:
Smooth flat rocks
Paintbrush
Container with water

DIRECTIONS:
Experiment with making designs on a rock. Noone has to worry about making a "mistake" because when it dries it disappears! Have several rocks handy so a variety of designs can be tried.

Deck of Cards

FOR AGES: 2-5 years

Don’t underestimate the fascination of a deck of cards to a child just getting interested in recognizing numbers and sorting colors and shapes

Deck of Cards

MATERIALS:
Deck of cards.

DIRECTIONS:
Bring out a deck of cards and just show your child the different aspects of the cards. Name the suits, and point out how the written numbers correspond with the actual amount of objects. "5 of hearts is suppose to have 5 hearts on it--let’s count and see if that’s true 1-2-3-4-5. It is true!"

Offer to sort the cards with him according to suit or color or put them in order from ace to king..

If he’s ready, play some simple card games such as "War". Each player gets an equal part of the deck. Then, one by one, each person shows their top card . The one with the highest card wins that hand!

Batting Practice

For ages 3-7 years
Here’s a simple activity that can keep a child amused for long periods while increasing her focusing skills and eye-hand coordination

Batting Practice

Materials:
Ball or balloon
Rope
Pantyhose or net bag (optional)
Rolled up newspaper or bat

Directions:
Hang a ball or balloon from a low tree branch so that it's at the right height for your child to hit with a bat. A ball can be put inside a torn pair of pantyhose or net bag and hung.

Use a rolled up newspaper or stick for a bat and let your child whack away!

Back Writing

For ages 5-12 years
Writing invisible letters on a child’s back a fun way to write a secret message.

Back Writing

Materials:
Paper & Pencil

Directions:
One person sits with his back to another and a pad of paper and pencil in front of him.

The other person, using his finger, "draws" a letter on the person’s back. At the same time, that person draws on the paper what he thinks is being drawn on his back.

Keep writing letter by letter until a whole message is given. The message could be a clue to where a treat is hidden! Take turns so both the writer and the person written on get to experience what it feels like. Have an older child play this game with a younger sibling as a fun way to help him learn his letters.

Shadow Games

For ages 2-15
Shadows make instant fun. The next time you are outside with your darling child when the sun is low in the horizon, have good fun romping with these games.

Shadow Games

Materials:
None but a time of the day when your bodies cast a shadow on the ground

Directions:
Don’t step on my shadow:
Telling your child not to do something that she knows it’s really okay to do makes this game silly fun. You say, "Don’t step on my shadow" and keep scurrying away as she tries to put a foot on your shadow. Take turns with this one seeing if you can step on her shadow while she moves away and tries to prevent your stepping on her shadow.

Being a Radio

For ages 3-7

Here is a game to capture your child's attention if you are stuck waiting in a car and want some thing silly and fun to do.

Being a Radio

Materials:
Car radio and a fun mood

Directions:
When the motor is off so that the radio doesn’t work, pretend to be different stations. When she presses a button, you sing a different song, give the weather, say the news, etc.

When your child turns the knob up, your voice gets louder. When she turns it down, it gets softer.

Take turns being the radio and being the knob turner. You can play this at home with a radio that is not plugged in and turn it into a guessing game. Take turns pretending to turn on the radio and humming a tune and see if the others can guess the song.