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Feature Articles for March 2003
What To Do While You’re Waiting It’s happening again! You’re running errands with your children and suddenly you’re stuck - in traffic, at the clinic, in the checkout line. Homemade learning activity kits can engage a child who hates to wait. All of these kits slip easily into a purse, glove compartment, backpack or diaper bag. The kits are for ages three and up. Cost depends on what parents include. Every kit needs: •A zipper pouch or re-sealable plastic bag big enough to hold everything •Smaller bags to organize the parts of the kit • Pencils or pens •A memo tablet for notes, counting, games, lists, drawings (NOTE: To make your own tablets: Cut pieces of blank scrap paper the same size. Staple them together across the top. Add a piece of stiff cardboard to the kit to support the tablet while in use.) A math kit lets your child play with numbers and problem solving. You might include: • A lightweight tape measure • An assortment of items to count and sort—coins, beans, buttons, coupons, checkers, game pieces, playing cards, dice, dreidels, etc. • A list of favorite fingerplays and action rhymes that involve numbers • Puzzles made from cut-up postcards or magazine photos glued to thin cardboard An art and literacy kit encourages creative expression. A child can practice making letters, write and illustrate a book, cut out paper dolls or play games like tic-tac-toe. You might include: • Gel pens, washable fine-point markers or crayons • Transparent tape • Stickers, stencils or stamps • Colorful paper (such as bright magazine pages) for folding or cutting • Scissors—safe but not frustrating to use A science kit encourages children to look at the wider world. You might include: • A small, inexpensive magnifier • Magnets • Pipe cleaners • Sandwich bags for collecting specimens • An assortment of items to study—keys, pebbles, seeds, etc. (NOTE: You can change the assortment from time to time.) A music and sound kit helps you and your child investigate sound. You might include: • Small plastic containers with seeds or buttons inside for shaking • A variety of rubber bands •Small scarves or 24-inch ribbons to wave • A paper towel roll (for a mini-drum or a “voice changer”) • A list of favorite songs and poems Find hints on making inexpensive activity kits for your child at these Web sites: • Family Adventures with Mathematics and Science (FAMES) http://www.odl.state.ok.us/fames/kits.htm •Minnesota Ideals: Bell Minikits http://www.bellmuseum.org/mnideals/minikits2.html • Beans, Balls and a Barrel of Fun: How to Make Waiting Time Learning Time http://9news.com/educare/developmental-10-01.htm Courtesy of the Illinois Early Learning Project |
