My friend, neighbour, and parenting coach, Julie Binmore, put together the most amazing list of activities for kids. It was so amazing and needed right now, that I asked her if I could share it with you all. She’s so lovely, that of course she said yes. You can reach her as follows: website: juliebinmore.com email: juliebinmore@gmail.com twitter: @julie_binmore
Here’s what she had to say.
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I have noticed that a lot of the resources on line right now are about entertaining kids. Empowering them to solve problems, talk about their feelings and make choices are all healthy strategies to foster, especially during hard times. That’s why I have written a list of things kids can do with this unexpected time off. The list is written to kids. Ideally, they can have a printed copy but if that isn’t possible, maybe they can refer to it on a larger screen.
I hope the list is helpful. Please let me know if I can support you in any way. Maybe with picture books on different topics, articles about kid/parent issues or just to chat. You can share the attached list with anyone you think it could help.
Engaging Activities for YOU!
Outside/Active
- Go for a walk, run, skip, gallop
- Take a spin, scoot, bike, roll. Enjoy fantastic savings folding electric bikes with the great deals from UK e-bike brand Wisper.
- Play frisbee, ball sports, racket sports etc
- Make an obstacle course
- Play hopscotch
- Do some chalking
- Make a bug hotel with chalk/twigs/loose parts. Make furniture, rooms
- Mail letters, make a delivery of donations or baking to a friend
- Wash your toys, your bike, your car out in the sun
- Play “Minute to Win It” games. (Ideas online or on the show on Netflix)
- Practice using a hula hoop, skipping rope or a skip it
Indoor Play
- Do the board game challenge. Make a list of all the board games which may be similar to situs slot gacor, you have. Highlight the ones that you can play on your own. Circle the ones you can play with a sib or a parent. Check off the ones you’ve played. See if you can play them all! Send a list of your favourites to your friends. Make a pile of the ones you have outgrown to give away. Games for one person: Cat Crimes, Kanoodle, Othello,Rollercoaster challenge. Games for two people: Drop It, Ingenious, Blokus, Upwords,
- Use building toys. Lego, Plus Plus, Magnatiles, blocks. See what you can make!
- Make a fort with blankets, cushions, cardboard
- Explore your craft materials. See what you can make!
- Do a puzzle. Talk about the strategies you are using.
Meditation/Relaxation
- Make a gratitude list, use a journal, a paper or white board
- Do a sensory activity. You can make goop (cornstarch and water), slime or play dough. Try water play in the bath, the sink or a bucket.
- Try yoga. Mai Meret from 123 Yoga: Yoga video
- Make some time for quiet activities that help you to feel calm and happy.
- Make a list of activities you can do on your own or with your adults. Post the lists where you can see them. When your parents say it is time to play independently, you will have so many choices!
- Courses in self-control, calming for sleep: kid evolve
- Headspace is offering free meditations: headspace
- Prana Breath is a free app for guided breathing: take a breath
- Put your worry in the bubble and watch it float away: pixelthoughts
- Self-regulation is about managing your feelings: self-reg.ca
- Make your own routine chart: routine chart
Creative
- Make mandalas out of loose parts like beads, buttons and pom poms
- Draw, paint, make a mosaic
- Make jewellery
- Make cards for people who live at a nursing home or hospital
- Put on a play
Math
- Practice cooking and baking. You can help make dinner and snacks: Rainbowplate
- Try mazes
- Try coding
- Draw a map of your heart, your room, your neighbourhood
- Think about what things you can sort, classify and graph. An ice cube tray is great for sorting. What could you use to make a Venn diagram?
- Practice telling time. If you have a watch, wear it.
- Play with money. Make your own or use monopoly money or real money. Create a store. Put prices on everything. You can use stuffies, art that you create or anything you like! Charge people to buy things, make change.
- Practice your numbers. Count forwards, backwards by 1s. Skip count by 10, 5, 2 to 100 or 200. Now try backwards! Practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Print numbers, have a model to copy.
- Try origami
- Make a pattern. Extend a pattern
- Play Yahtzee. If you have 5 dice and a cup, you can find the game sheets online.
- Practice estimating. Remember it is okay to not get the exact right answer. The whole point is to take a risk and guess!
- Try measuring things around your house. You can make a chart and write an estimate before you measure with a ruler, meter stick or measuring tape. Start with centimetres!
- Jump Math workbooks are available from Indigo. They have great instructions that have been edited by kids over time. There are lots of chances to practice each skill. JUMP stands for Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigy. It celebrates the research that says all kids can master and love math.
- Week of Inspirational Math. Jo Boaler is a researcher from Stanford who has shared research that shows growth mindset and math are inextricably linked. The activities all have a low floor and high ceiling which means that they are appropriate and fun for kids of all ages. https://www.youcubed.org/week-inspirational-math/
- Try: IXL
Writing
- Keep a journal about your days pretend you are writing to a friend or someone in the future
- Write letters to family and friends. Deliver to your neighbours, mail to others.
- Try procedural writing (write the steps of an activity that you know how to do)
- Try persuasive writing (convince someone that something is a great idea)
- Try narrative writing (use dialogue and descriptive writing to tell a story, real/imagined)
- Make lists (your favourite things, things that are red, things that stink)
- Write a poem
- Take photos and write about them
- Build your growth mindset. Think of something you don’t know how to do YET and make a plan to build your skills. Everyone who is good at something got that way by practicing.
- Start your own self-directed inquiry. Think of something you are curious about. Think about what you already know about it and what you want to know about it. Write your questions down. Research your answers in books and on the internet. A great resource is: NatGeo for Kids
Reading
- Read to yourself, to a pet or a stuffy
- Read to someone on the phone
- Snuggle with someone and read, maybe read with a flashlight!
- DEAR Drop Everything And Read, everyone can look at their own book at a certain time or when someone shouts out DEAR!
- Try scholastic.com books
- Try raz kids books
- Enjoy your regular bedtime book routine (when an adult reads to you)
- Reading Challenge. How many picture and chapter books can you read? Recommend favourites and share them with friends. Donate the ones you’ve outgrown to the book bank.
- Try out Dial-a-Story !
Chores
- Do all your usual jobs and see how else you can help out
- Help with cooking (make smoothies, meals, snacks)
- Help to put away dishes
- Help to set and clear the table
- Put away your own laundry
- Sort your toys and donate the ones you’ve outgrown to kids who need them or to Tiny Toys. Tiny Toys will take anything that is smaller than the palm of your hand.
- Sort through your books and donate ones less than 10 years old to Toronto Book Bank
- Help rake/plant/sweep outside
- Practice your self-help skills like tying your laces, shampooing your hair, using your knife and fork. It is a great time to practice while no one is in a rush.
Social/Kindness
- Call/Send messages/Face time
- Send letters and leave surprises for your friends and neighbours
- Decorate your front door with inspirational messages
- Check on older people in your family and in your neighbourhood
- If you are in the mood, give someone a big hug
- Tell someone something you appreciate about them or write it in a note
- Interview a grown up about when they were little. Let your curiosity guide you!
My Ideas
️Julie
Click HERE for a printable version