Are you tired of being stuck in isolation and running out of fun things to keep your little ones engaged (and keep your sanity!) ?
We recently did a live chat on our instagram page, highlighting various activities and resources to keep kids of all ages occupied. The post is up on IGTV if you want to check it out. We will be posting links to the resources as well as activities we mentioned below.
Online Resources
1. Epic! - a book reading website and app that allows users to have a story read to them or read on their own. Parents can explore this site for 30 days for free! Educators can create an account and have free access until June 30, 2020
2. Vooks - a streaming library of animated children's storybooks. Parents can tryout Vooks with their 1 month free trial. Educators can use Vooks for free for a year!
3. Amazon Free Time - an all-in-one subscription that gives kids access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, Audible books, and game. They offer a free month, then subscription is $2.99 per month after the trial.
4. Khan Academy Kids - an app focusing on subjects like math, science, and reading. This app is FREE and geared towards children 2-5 years of age.
5. Starfall - a website and app that helps children work on phonics, reading, math, etc. We love it because many of the games on Starfall are FREE!
6. YouTube is chock full of activities, and great ideas for movement breaks! We particularly like yoga videos by Cosmic Kids Yoga. You can also type in "brain breaks for kids" in YouTube for lots of fun movement songs and activities.
7. Storytimes via authors, libraries, and organizations. We are really digging the daily storytime and drawings provided by the author of Pete The Cat found everyday at 12pm E.S.T. on weekdays on his instagram page.
Independent Play
1. Ice Escape - This is a fun, sensory science based activity that will keep children engaged for extended periods of time. Freeze your child's toy and let them smash the ice to get them out! Instead of toys you can also freeze coins.
2. Pouch Lid and Pom-Pom Scoop - fill a container with water and throw in pom-poms and pouch lids! Toddlers and preschoolers alike will love scooping out and transferring these items into other containers.
3 . Water Play- This is one of the most fun and versatile activities for any age. Children love to pour and splash, fill empty containers, engage in pretend play activities (hair salon, washing animals, car wash etc)
Parent - Child Activities
1. Routines - We always highlight the importance of involving children in everyday routines, especially when working on building and expanding language skills. Staying at home provides a great opportunity to involve your children in tasks around the house. Simple chores such as doing laundry, can be a fun sorting and vocabulary building activity. Next time you are putting the clothes away, give your child a sock and have him help find the matching pair! Gardening is another activity that doesn't require much or any setup for your child to participate - hand them a shovel and comment on how your child is digging a hole. Involving little ones in simple meal prep and clean up is also a great way to build language, fine motor skills, and social skills.
2. Supervised Messy Play- Gloop, Goop, Glob and Flubber are definitely as messy as they sound (think slime), but (for some reason) provide endless fun for little ones. The great part is that you can make it together and then play with it together, adding lots of language ("yuck" is a common word) in the process. Making various types of play dough is also a great sensory experience. A simple search on Pinterest will start your adventure into the weird and wonderful world of messy play.
3. Sensory Bins - this a fun way to use what you have lying around in an unconventional way, while targeting a multitude of skills. We like filling our bins with everyday items such as dried beans, pasta, and rice. Add utensils such as spoons and measuring cups and you're all set! Vocabulary such as "scoop," "pour", "in," "out," "full," "empty," "wet," "dry," and "more" can all be targeted!
