We've been homeschooling for a while now, and have a new found respect for all of the wonderful educators around the world. We didn't realise until challenged with the task of homeschooling, just how challenging it can be to keep a child's attention for more then 2 minutes, especially those of a
pre-schoool age.
Billy is 3 and a very energetic little boy, he needs fun and active tasks to keep him stimulated and focused, so I have had to think of creative ways in which to keep him focused on his educational journey at home.
We've found so many wonderful ways to educate that are fun and easy to achieve, using simple things that most of you will have lying around the house. So during the current lock-down, we thought it would be useful to share some of these ideas with you all too, incase you're in need of some inspiration.
1: Colour Sorting
This activity was easy to create and kept Billy entertained for at least half an hour. He wanted to rearrange his colours over and over again, using different toys and even pieces of fruit. I was really impressed with the way in which it kept his mind focused and his contagious giggle rolling.
What you'll need;
Coloured Paper (we used felt as we had some lying around, if you do not have coloured paper you could just as easily use a plain sheet of paper and roughly colour them in).
A selection of toys in a variety of colours.
Method;
Have fun with your little ones, searching around the house for a selection of coloured toys.
Lay out your coloured paper on a flat surface like a table or floor.
Start the fun and have your little ones match their toys to the correct colour mat.
2: Magic Colours
This was Billys favourite activity by far. He let out a stream of excited giggles as he saw the magic unfold once we added the paper towel into the water. It was great fun for him drawing the coloured flowers onto the paper towel, colouring them in and then waiting excitedly as we filled a bowl with "magic" water.
What you'll need;
Paper Towel
Coloured Pens
Bowl of water
Method;
Take a paper towel and fold it in half to create a halfway line guide.
Using a selection of colours, draw your chosen design onto one the top half of the paper towel, ensuring you leave the bottom half bare. Billy is obsessed with dinosaurs at the moment, so we went with a dinosaur theme, but you can draw whatever you like; shapes, circles, flowers, etc. Make sure you colour in your designs so the colours are solid, this way the colours will really come to life when placed in the water.
Fold the bottom half of the paper towel so it cover's your design. Take a dark pen and over every section of the picture you have coloured, write the colour used (e.g. red flower, red in black text).
Fill a large flat bowl with a small amount of water (just enough to immerse your paper towel)
Let the magic come to life! Insert your paper towel into the water, and watch your little ones faces light up in amazement as the colours come to life in front of their eyes.
Billy enjoyed this activity so much that we've had to create new pictures everyday now :0)
3: Colour Sorting Sensory Bag
This activity was so much fun and super simple to create. We love sensory bags, they can be tailored to any educational need and are great for all ages.
What you'll need;
Zip lock or cellophane bag
Computer and printer (optional)
Plain paper and coloured pens
Colourful pom pom crafts (or any small objects like buttons or small lego pieces)
Gel (any kind of gel will work, such as aloe vera gel, hair gel etc. We decided to use hand sanitising gel as we have A LOT of this lying around the house at the moment
Sellotape
Method;
Open your zip lock bag and insert your gel (we used about 10 pumps of sanitising gel).
Insert your coloured objects into the bag, remove any air and seal.
On a piece of plain paper, draw a fun design. Sticking with the theme of dinosaurs, I decided to create and print a design on the computer as I did not fancy attempting to draw all the dinosaurs he was asking for! If you'd like to use this design you can download and print here.
Lay your design out flat on a flat hard surface and tape it down to ensure it stays in place.
Place your zip lock bag over the design and let the learning commence as your little ones move the coloured buttons onto the correct coloured image.
Billy had so much fun with this sensory activity, so much so, each week we are creating a new sensory bag using a variety of different materials and textures. Stay tuned as we'll be sharing some ideas with you soon.
5: Colour Posting
We had great fun creating this interactive game and it kept Billy occupied for over an hour. With each of these educational interactions, I tried to include a variety of different colours, so I could determine which colours Billy needed more support on and which he had stored away in his little but largely fascinating brain.
What you'll need;
Computer and printer (optional)
Empty cardboard box
Coloured pens (if not using computer)
Sellotape
Knife / scissors
Coloured objects (e.g. lego, craft pom pom's)
Method;
Download our colour posting template and print here (if you don't have a computer, simply draw circles on a sheet of plain paper or even directly onto you box, and using coloured pens, colour each one in.
Take your empty assembled box and sellotape your colour template to it.
Take a knife or scissors, and make a small T cut into the box on each of the circular colours.
Add a variety of small coloured objects to a bowl, we used some of Billy's lego but you could use crayons, craft pom pom's or even clothes pegs. Just make sure whatever you use are small enough to fit into the slots you've just cut in your box.
Begin the interactive learning by letting your little one select the coloured objects and post them into the correct coloured circle.
I loved how this felt like a game as opposed to learning so it was easy to keep Billy engaged.
6: Coloured Tunnels
It's amazing how you can buy your children all the toys in the world and most of the time it is the simplest things that truly bring that magical light to their precious faces. This was one of the easiest of the 6 activities and one that kept Billy entertained and educated for a good few days! He kept going back to play with his new "car tunnels" over and over again.
What you'll need;
Coloured card / paper
Scissors
Tape
Toy cars / animals
Method;
Select the coloured card or paper you'd like to use.
Cut some of the card in half so you have a variety of different sized tunnels.
On each side of your card/paper, create two tabs by folding the edges, then stick these to any flat surface with sellotape. Repeat this on all of your paper/card - this will create your tunnels.
Let your little ones have fun driving their coloured cards into the correct coloured tunnels.
Billy adores car's so for us this was the perfect activity. If your little ones prefers animals or even lego, why not use the same method but instead of "car tunnels" the card can be "animal stables" or even simply just "coloured bridges" for any fun coloured object to be placed underneath.
We hope that these 6 fun, easy and interactive activities help give you some inspiration into ways in which you make homeschooling fun. If you're struggling to homeschool, work, maintain a house and generally keep on top of life, we feel your pain, and want to tell you that each and every one of you is doing an amazing job. It's practically an impossible task to uphold but one that you have taken on and are smashing!
"The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless parent, is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly - indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection."
Until next time Raindropz, stay safe and keep smiling.
Nikki and Claire xxx
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