Kids Learning Activities To Try at Home

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~Maya Angelou

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ~ Dalai Lama

You've always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself. ~Glinda the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. ~Wayne Gretzky

Make homemade play dough! In a large pot, combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup salt, and 2 tablespoons cream of tartar. Mix together and add 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon oil, and food coloring until you reach your desired color. Cook over medium heat and stir for about 5 minutes until the mixture forms into a ball. Remove from the pot and knead on a floured surface until the play dough is nice and smooth. Store in a container with a lid.

Squishing sensory toys like Play Doh, kinetic sand or aqua beads are all satisfying sensory activities for toddlers!

Use cushions and other household objects to create an obstacle course with things that kids can go over, under, through and around. Time them and see if they can beat their own times!

Take a bubble bath.

Placing letters on a letter board. I discovered this one by accident, but I love how it keeps my 4-year-old sitting quietly for long stretches of time while he tries to get the plastic letters to stay in my felt letter board.

Dressing dolls, especially barbies. When my kids were really little this usually involved me sitting and playing/dressing dolls with them and then they gradually learned to do more and more on their own.

Peeling and placing stickers. Sticker books are great for this - we like the "paint by sticker" series, though it may be a little challenging for some little ones. My 4-year-old is awesome at it, but my 6-year-old (whose fine motor skills definitely need work) struggles a bit. I also really like the Phidal line of reusable sticker books - the quality is such that they truly are reusable!

Pick up things with kitchen tongs. Our kids have so much fun using tongs to pick up socks on the floor, toys, or anything else that needs tidying up!

Picking weeds outside, watering flowers/plants/herbs and raking leaves is a chore that my kids find fun. (Added bonus if you buy their own gloves/watering can).

I started showing my children by having them wipe the tables and taking the dishes to the sink. They then moved to washing the cups and bowls until they could do them all. Then they moved to taking out the trash until they were cooking and dying it all. My grandchildren started the same way they know how to clean and take out the trash, they know how to do their laundry and clean their designated areas. I'm currently teaching them how to cook and how to do the dishes.

Disinfecting door handles is a good one, especially around cold and flu season. Once they're old enough to safely use disinfecting wipes, kids can walk around the house wiping down door handles and other high-touch spots like drawer pulls, light switches and faucets.

Taking out the trash and recycling to the curb, and bringing the empty bins back in after pickup. This is my teen's chore, as the bins are pretty big and harder for a smaller kid to handle. A good add-on to this is collecting the trash from the various cans around the house before it all goes to the curb.

The Chinese soft-shelled turtle pees from its mouth.

The average person blinks about 10,000 times per day

Lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This is 5 times hotter than the sun's surface.

Honey is the only food that never spoils.

First day of school photos on our front steps, and couple more in front of the school too.

My husband and I will usually take the day off work (when we can) so we can be there for drop off and pick up on the first day, which makes it feel extra special for all of us.

We have taken first day of school and last day of school pics on the front step with each kid holding their own sign. It's the same every year. My high schooler isn't too thrilled with the idea of doing it this year but will have to suffer through it. I plan to make them each a printed photo book of each year's pics when they graduate high school as a keepsake.

We have our daughter do a quick video of how her first day of school went and what she is most excited about for the year. Also, of course the first day of school sign.

Axolotls are an incredible species of salamander that can regrow their limbs, spines, even their hearts and other organs!

Frogs eat their skin after they shed it.

The world's deadliest animal is the mosquito.

The horned lizard can shoot blood out of its eyes to defend itself! Check out this crazy video from Nat Geo Wild, https://youtu.be/xodVcgJ8bc0?si=xm1f_9ElTs3DRzFP

My boys pick out their clothes the night before, and always check what the weather will be like to plan for it, as well as if they have gym or not. It makes getting dressed in the morning much easier!

The kids are responsible for getting their backpacks ready before going to bed, and making sure they have all their homework, books, permission slips, etc in there, and that it is zipped up and ready to just grab and go in the morning. We sometimes need to remind them to do this, but as it becomes part of the nighttime routine it gets easier and easier!

Prepare lunches the night before. I have a fruit bowl and baskets with healthy snacks, so the kids can help prepare their lunches, too. If they help with preparation, they're more likely to eat it, too.

I have my son put out his clothes for the next day the night before it makes it quicker in the morning to get ready for school.