Imaginative play has wonderful benefits for children’s development. Experts find that children who engage in pretending are more creative, perform better in school, and develop a strong problem-solving approach to learning. In this dinosaur themed activity, most of the fun comes from using our imagination to build the world of dinosaurs. You can use anything... Read more »
These super simple frozen dinosaur ice eggs are perfect for playing paleontologist! They are easy to make, and children will love helping the ice melt by dripping warm water onto the ice egg, and watching the dinosaur inside slowly reveal itself. Real paleontologists have also made dinosaur discoveries that have been trapped in ice and... Read more »
Dinosaurs and play dough. The perfect combination for a whole lot of play! Sometimes getting the play dough out with your normal tools is enough to keep your children occupied… and sometimes it’s not! Children without a doubt require some sort of sensory play on a week to week basis. It allows them to switch... Read more »
Our five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch – are the way we sense the world. But many animals have senses with very different abilities from ours, so they perceive the world differently than we do. You could say that we live in different worlds. Bees can see colours that people can’t, a... Read more »
Keeping our environment clean is important. Watch as Caitie cleans up her community, not just so that she can play with her friends, but to help the animals too! Let’s do our part to keep our yards and communities clean of garbage.
The alphabet rocks! And these rocks rock the alphabet. This is a simple craft that is even more fun to play with once they are done. It starts off by going on a rock hunt, filling a bucket with similar sized rocks, and ends with fun adventures with the alphabet! You can practice the alphabet... Read more »
By studying rocks, scientists have figured out how long the Earth has been around. And the answer is: a long, long time. The earth is four billion, five hundred and forty million years old, and in that time, it’s been through a lot of changes. By contrast, people have only been around for two or... Read more »
Can you imagine just for one moment, if instead of all those apocalyptic films of humanity trying to survive a zombie contagion, that instead the future held a worldwide kindness contagion? Kindness and love spreading over the Earth in a beautiful ripple effect. Think back to a time when you were feeling low, down in... Read more »
Family. Ancestry. Genealogy. Descendants. Generations. Relationships. These are all words that one will come across when tracing back their relations to create a family tree. A family tree is a diagram (that can look a little like a tree), that shows all of a families relatives through several generations from the present, backwards. This study... Read more »
Mother’s Day. I can almost hear the blood draining from Father’s faces around the globe as they scramble to get something together ‘from’ the kids because it’s been forgotten. Fear not men and women of the world, we have you covered! While Mother’s Day is one of the highest grossing holidays for people buying flowers,... Read more »
For children, and many adults, learning is most solidified when we can physically watch a demonstration or be able to do it ourselves. It is why when children learn to read and write, teachers use songs, actions and repetition for learning. The same is true for understanding words and concepts, in this case the notion... Read more »
Did you know that you can make it rain in your own kitchen? Here’s what you need: Plate Refrigerator Water Kettle First, put the plate in the refrigerator overnight. It needs to be nice and cold for this activity. With an adult’s help, fill the kettle with water and turn it on. When it starts... Read more »
Springtime has arrived for the Northern hemisphere, here on planet Earth. The flowers are blooming and it is almost Easter! You may have your own Easter family traditions, things you may decorate your house with, food that you buy or bake at this time of year and probably, no matter where you are in the... Read more »
Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue. – Plato Music and movement. You can’t have one without the other. They are one and the same. Musicians move to create the music they are creating. Have you ever watched a violinist on stage? Their whole body moves,... Read more »
By Lorraine Akemann, marketing and outreach, Khan Academy Kids One of my favorite parts of early parenting was storytime at the local library. As a mother of two—now teenage—daughters, some of my fondest memories involve spending time reading to them from the library’s bountiful selection of children’s books. I’m happy to report that although my... Read more »
Oh Arrrr me hearties! Today we have a fantastically sensory based treasure chest for your little pirates. Using items you have lying around the house, in your dress up boxes or toy cupboards, anything that could be used to fill up your very own personalized chest of loot for your children! Simply gather them together... Read more »
Hurray for magnets! Magnets can seem like magic to little ones, and are wonderful learning tools. Go around your house with your little one and find things that are magnetic. Use your magnet wand to test the objects and gather them together to use in this art activity! The magnets will create an interesting design... Read more »
Ahoy! Welcome to pirate month you landlubbers! We will soon make pirate me hearties out of the lot of yer! Pirates aren’t so bad laddies. Why I bet you’d love what we love to do. Any guesses? Ai! When we’re not looting other ships we be treasure hunting! But to get on our way we... Read more »
This craft may look like your favourite whimsical sugary treat, but don’t try a bite! These clay donuts are fun and easy to make, and when you’re done you can decorate your fridge with them. Donuts come in so many different varieties; we’ve made some traditional flavours as well as some very unusual ones. Can... Read more »
These super fun dinosaur scratch cards are so much fun to make and play with! Get the instructions and your own printable skeletons here.
How I Got Started Getting into storytime yoga was a fairly easy transition for me, as I wanted to be able to teach classes that I was also able to bring my toddler to. I am very lucky to teach yoga in a massage therapy clinic whose owner is very supportive of offering activities for... Read more »
A few months ago I wrote about Circle Time, a great way to keep a group of kids entertained and/or focused. I gave you three Circle Time games to try the next time you find yourself with a group of kids and now I have three more to share! Counting Circle This game is great... Read more »
Sometimes the moon looks like a circle, sometimes it looks like a crescent, and sometimes you can’t see it at all. What’s going on? The moon never actually changes shape: it’s always a sphere, like a ball or an orange. But it looks different at different times because of the relationship between the moon, the... Read more »