Overwhelmed with the idea of teaching the kids on your own? Or maybe you just want to make sure they’re learning, even though they’re at home! Don’t worry, you can’t most definitely do it. In fact, you may already be doing it, even unintentionally!
Learning happens naturally with kids; all you have to do is provide the right environment. So for all you parents with little kids, wondering how to even begin, here are 10 easy learning activities your kids can enjoy at home (they probably won’t even know they’re learning already!) 😉
1. Read lots of good books!
The most basic and easiest way to start teaching your kids is by reading them books: lots and lots of books! Make read alouds a part of your everyday schedule. You’ve probably heard that tip countless of times BUT did you know that it’s also important to make sure you give your kids good books?
Just as we want to give our kids healthy food and not junk, we should also be careful with feeding our kids’ brains with great material that can nourish their minds and hearts. Give them a wide variety of books from classics to fables, both fiction and non-fiction.
Here are related blog posts that could help:
- Why I Decided to Curate My Children’s Books
- 30 Must-Have Read Aloud Books for Ages 3-6
- 8 Favorite Devotionals for Young Kids
- Science Book Sets for Kids That are Worth Investing In
2. Encourage pretend play
There are many benefits to pretend play and this includes improved language, social and problem-solving skills. Not to mention it helps enhance their creativity and imagination.
My eldest loves pretending to be a superhero and could play this for days on end! So lately, I tried offering new pretend play toys to encourage him to explore other worlds. This Doctor’s Kit (as seen on the photo,) paired with their child-sized PPE’s (haha) had him proclaiming that he was a “doctor for animals!” Not to mention, his baby brother has been enjoying vaccinating all the animals as well. Haha.
Provide your children with different props and toys. They don’t always have to be expensive (your old unused items could be of use!) but it would also be a good idea to invest in a few great quality ones that you can use for multiple kids, and maybe even for generations to come!
Other suggestions for pretend play:
- Get a play kitchen or a set of wooden fruits and vegetable toys for aspiring little chefs!
- Give them your retired electronics so they can pretend to work in an office (my son LOVES our broken laptops and phones)
- Provide a dress-up box with different costumes, hats and props
3. Make music
Listening to music isn’t just for fun; it actually helps in the cognitive and sensory development of babies. But let’s take it a step further and encourage the kids to make their own music!
Getting a set of musical instruments would be a good investment. It’s also a great way to observe your children and see if they find a special affinity to a particular instrument and later on, perhaps decide if they would like to pursue learning it.
You could also try giving them unique instruments for fun. I’m currently enjoying hearing my boys use our Confetti Accordion because the sound makes me feel like I’m in a Parisian cafe! For some reason, the music always sounds good even though they have no clue how to play. Haha.
4. Explore Nature
Okay, I know the article says activities you can do at home. But I can’t NOT include nature in a list of learning activities because kids just thrive outdoors (and if you have a tree or a few plants in your backyard, that counts!)
Nature helps kids in so many ways (here’s a list of 40 benefits of nature!) but one of my favorites is how it greatly affects their mental health positively. Now, that’s something you can’t just get easily from workbooks and lectures.
5. Allow them to tinker, build, create!
Tinkering helps improve a child’s creativity and understanding of how things work (art and science in one!) You can give them various materials to tinker with, just make sure they are age-appropriate. That means, no small parts for kids below 3!
I don’t buy a lot of toys for my kids but when I do, I make sure to get those that are versatile and allow for a lot of open-ended play. One of our new favorites is this Brico’Kids Workbench from Janod. Both of my boys love tinkering with the screws, pegs and bolts as they try to create pieces and little makeshift vehicles.
But one of my surprising favorite things about it was how my 5 year old was able to help assemble the table from the box. The screws were very easy to put together and he did it with minimal assistance from me. Talk about being able to participate in actual purposeful work!
6. Involve them in house work
So many life skills are learned just by letting your kids help around the house. Yes, I know sometimes they will not really be “helping” (and chores may take twice as long, ha!) but it is a very good opportunity for your kids to learn how to be independent.
Here are some ideas on ways that little kids could start getting involved:
- Let them put the clothes inside the washing machine
- Teach them how to wash their toys
- Teach them to clean up their messes and pack their toys away after use
- Make it a habit to put their finished plates on the sink
- Give them cooking tasks such as cutting food (when age appropriate,) pouring liquids and mixing
7. Play lots of games
Aside from the obvious benefits such as learning about sportsmanship and strategy, playing games with others also improves their social skills, memory, attention and even multi-tasking skills. Choose games that are age-appropriate, meaning challenging but not to the point of frustrating the child.
Some of our favorite games for two or more players include Sequence for Kids, Jenga, Monopoly Junior and Dominos Rigoloo (as seen on photo above!)
If you want games that your child can play with on their own, you can try Camelot Jr. or these Magneti’Book sets.
8. Give them puzzles to solve
Puzzles help in the cognitive development of kids, not to mention their hand-eye coordination, memory and problem solving skills. If my son had his way, he’d be piecing Avengers puzzles through and through! 😀 So I try to make sure to get him puzzles that also double up as educational materials.
Two recent purchases that are getting great mileage in our home are the Wooden Magnetic World Map Puzzle (as seen on the cover photo) and the Body Magnet Puzzle (photo above,) both from Janod. I cannot tell you how delighted this nerdy mom gets whenever I hear my son make comments like “Oh, I didn’t know Europe is above Africa. That’s cool…” 😀 YAY for learning while playing!
9. Make a mess!
I love art, but I’d be the first to admit that painting time with the kids is one of my least favorite activities because of the mess!! But we still do it A LOT because I know it greatly benefits them! (But I hear ya, Momma! I also tremble at the thought of clean-up! Haha!)
So put on a brave face and make a mess! It helps improve their cognitive development, creativity and motor skills.
10. Create Stories Together
My eldest used to dislike playing on his own. Until I noticed that it was because he struggled with making up his own stories. So, using his toys as props, I tried to make up my own stories with him. He started to copy the way I did it and eventually, progressed into weaving his own stories!
Storytelling is such an important part of their learning and so is being able to tell their own stories. It inspires purposeful talking and it helps them improve their language skills, among many other benefits.
To encourage this, I provide my kids with toys that don’t tell them exactly what to do (for example, unlike a sound toy with push buttons,) but instead, allow for open ended play. You can achieve this by giving them toys like blocks (which they can use to build towers, castles, spaceships,) or little Story Boxes (as seen on the photo above,) where they can create little scenarios to their liking.
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