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

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

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

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

Give your toddler an old house painting brush you're ready to retire and set them up in the driveway with a container of water. They can dip the brush and "paint" designs all over the driveway, the sidewalk, or the outside of the house.

Read together. I love how it gives us a chance to cuddle up and be together without having to chase anyone around. Even my very active boys enjoy it.

Save a cardboard box or two from the recycling bin for your toddler to transform into a rocket ship, a playhouse, a sword and shield, a doll's crib...whatever they can imagine! I highly recommend getting cardboard scissors (to be used by an adult!) if you think this might become a regular thing, as they make it SO much easier to cut shapes out of your cardboard.

Play dress-up. Few things delight a child more than seeing grown-ups wearing a ridiculous variety of wigs, masks and accessories, so join in on the fun!

This probably depends on the kid, but when my kids were little I would give them a task/goal such as "we can go to the park as soon as your shoes are on and I finish one quick chore" and then walk away to do my own chore somewhere close by, like emptying the dishwasher. I found that they would figure out how to do things for themselves when I wasn't standing over them and tempted to help or looking at the clock. Be sure to do this a looong time before you have to be out the door.

An OT told me this one: use small writing utensils such as golf pencils and broken crayons. This helps prevent children from grabbing the utensil with a fist and encourages the correct pencil grasp.

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!

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.

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).

Laundry is a wonderfully adaptable chore that kids of all ages can help with in some capacity. Toddlers and preschoolers can help put laundry into the washer and dryer and take it out again when it’s done, while elementary-school-aged kids can wash, dry and put away their clean clothes with varying degrees of help from you. Tweens and teens can probably handle everything on their own as long as you’ve shown them what to do beforehand.

Putting away groceries is one chore that my teen and tween don't mind, because they like to check out the grocery haul when I bring it home.

Lots of yard work options for chores! Older kids can mow the lawn, and all ages can help with sweeping, pulling weeds and other gardening tasks.

The Chinese soft-shelled turtle pees from its mouth.

Tigers have stripes on their skin, too.

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

The average person blinks about 10,000 times per day

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.

First day of school traditions in my house include a pancake breakfast and upbeat music. I usually include a special treat in their lunch boxes, too. When the kids return, a large after-school snack awaits them at the table to help unwind the exciting day.

Pizza for dinner! (Kids choice actually, it’s just almost always pizza!)

A mantis shrimp can throw a punch with the same acceleration of a .22 caliber bullet.

The world's deadliest animal is the mosquito.

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

A group of pandas is called an embarrassment.

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!

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.

My kids also charge up their chromebooks after school/after homework so they are packed up fully charged for the next day.