I love you because...

FOR AGES: 1-7 years
This is the kind of game that would make a lovely bedtime ritual or a sweet moment during a car ride or a bath. It’s hard to get tired of hearing in just what ways one is wonderful.

I LOVE YOU BECAUSE

MATERIALS:
None

DIRECTIONS:
Say these words or something similar to the child of your heart:
"Do you know why I love you? I love you because_______" Fill in the blank with anything about the child that you especially appreciate. In this game you can be general such as "You’re a kind person" or specific such as "You shared your chocolate ice cream with your little brother today" or "You hugged your classmate when you saw that she was upset".

It’s nice to end the ritual by saying:
"I love you because you are _______(fill in with child’s name)."
The ending lets them also know that just being them is enough to merit love.

Tube Game

For Ages: Babies

Here’s a funway to teach babies that things out of sight still exist. This knowledge helps her not worry when you’re not in view.

Tube Game

Materials:
Mailing tube or the tube from a paper towel roll.

Directions:
Place a small object like a toy car in one end and tilt it so it reappears on the other end. Let baby experiment with putting the car and other objects in the tube, tilting it and making it reappear.

Tape two tubes together for added suspense. When will it reappear?

Postcard Diaries

For Ages: 7-15 years
Next time you take a trip with your older child, buy her postcards that she can use to make a memorable diary.

Postcard Diaries

Materials:
Postcards
Pen
Ribbon

Directions:
Let your child select a few postcards each day or at each destination. As she writes entries on the back of each postcard, she is making a diary for that period of her life.

She can make a hole in one corner of each postcard and string them together with a ribbon or make her own puzzles (and keep her words very private) by cutting up a postcard into smaller pieces that she can put together later.

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!