Balderdata

Play your own version of Balderdash!
On 3- 4 small pieces of paper write a different word that your children have most likely never heard before.

Choose one of the words and read it aloud. Have your children think about what that word might mean, and write it down (so nobody else can see)
If your child is too young to write words, ask them to whisper their answer in your ear, then write it down for them.

Write down a made up answer yourself, and on a separate piece of paper write the correct answer.

Read all of the answers aloud and have each child vote on the definition that they think is the real one.

Give them a point if they guess the one that is actually correct. Also give them a point if somebody else voted for their definition!

When the game is over, review the words and definitions so that they remember their meanings!



Collect some data...






Then have your child graph it!

Any topic will do. Movies, toys, food.....family dynamics...


Try different kinds of graphs and have fun with them.


Read 2 stories about different characters. When you're done with the stories, have your child compare the two main characters, using a 'bubble graph' (which is not it's real name...it's just what I call it. ) How were they alike? How were they different?

(Our book was about two sisters the 'big' sister and the 'little' sister.)

Make a different bubble graph and have your child compare him/herself to a sibling or other relative. How are they similar to their relative, and how are they different?

Shiny Art and Daddy Traps

Use markers to create a colorful picture on a piece of Aluminum foil.

Explain what the words 'True' and 'False' mean, then create a list of True and False Statements. Read each statement aloud and have your child circle the 'T' if they think it is True, and the 'F' if they think it is false. Share the correct answers at the end!

Set up a room full of booby traps for when Daddy comes home !

(This one spilled water on Daddy's shoes when he picked up the bag of cookies )

These Stuffed Animals (which were tied to the bed) were waiting to be swung at Daddy when he walked by.

The possibilities are endless....


But if you find that you need a little inspiration, just watch Home Alone. :)

Reading, writing, and soap

Write several words on the back of fun paper cut outs (I got these at the dollar store, but you could easily cut some out yourself)
Have your child choose a cutout and sound out the word on the back.
There's something about the shapes that makes reading really exciting.






With tape, attach several different letters to different food containers and display them around the room. Place all of the vowels on one side of the room, and the consonants on the other.


Have your child crumble a piece of tin foil into a shape of a ball and throw it at a box with consonant attached to it.




Next, have the same child throw the foil ball at a vowel, then again at a consonant. Have them go collect each box they hit, and place them together to spell a word. Allow the child a few seconds to look at the word, and sound it out on their own. After they have read the word correctly, have them put the boxes back in their places, and hand the foil off to the next person.





Hand your child a bar of soap, a vegetable peeler and a spoon, and see what they can make with it!


(Mom did help with this one ;)


Have your kids practice writing capital and lower-case letters in ways they've never tried before. Have them attempt to write a capital G with their left hand....a lower case y with the marker in their mouth, or between their toes. Have them try it backward or with their eyes closed.


They'll love the challenge.

Have fun!

Theme Park

Pull out those old wooden blocks and create a theme park together. Ask your child what kind of rides and attractions they would like to include in the theme park, and start building!

The theme of our park was movies, and our biggest attractions included:
a delicious chocolate river (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Elephant rides (Jungle book)
Flying ride (Peter Pan)
the Truck roll (Goofy movie)
Alice's house (Alice in Wonderland)
The Racer (Cars)
and a Twisty Tornado ride (Wizard of Oz)












See what your child comes up with!

Don't tell Daddy....

that we borrowed a little bit of his shaving cream today :)

Mush

Fill a couple of spray bottles with water, and add a few drops of food coloring to each one (different colors)

Choose 2-3 ingredients that are white in color, and place them each in a small bowl.
Have your child spray the ingredients with the colored water and see what happens.



Saltines will swell and grow soggy....flour and water will form dough, sugar will soak it right up...and rice gets sticky.
It's like magic. ;)


Miss Tia wasn't satisfied with the results. She wanted to mix all of the ingredients together and make her own version of a cake.



and one hour later (after a few more trips to the spice cupboard) she was still mixing.
Try it out!

Ice Cake

Before bed, fill a mixing bowl (any size) with water and put it in the freezer for the night. In the morning it should be completely frozen. Turn the bowl over and let the ice slide out into another bowl or deep pan.

Place the 'ice cake' in front of your child, as well as a spray bottle filled with hot water, a small bowl of salt and some food coloring (if you trust them with it).
Have them experiment with different methods of melting/decorating the ice cake. It's fun to watch the colors spread, and the cake slowly shrink






I was just as entertained by this as she was.