With winter beginning to bear down on us, and the holiday season just around the corner, there have been some interesting blog posts lately involving creative play and activities. In particular, the highly entertaining blog No Time for Flash Cards features great activities and craft projects for young children to promote play and learning. Along with most activities, there is often a suggested book that offers another way of talking about the activity with your child!
With so many families finding they need to fly during the holidays playing air travel can be a wonderful way to role play expectations for traveling and prepare children for this experience. ”Air travel” requires little as far as supplies – just a couple of chairs, some construction paper and markers. It can really be as simple or as complex as you want to make it!
Another fun activity is Weatherman. This one requires a little more preparation and a few more materials, but is likely to be a huge hit in your home. Out of foam board (or really any material that can stand up to a young child playing with it often) create some simple props, such as clouds, a sun, snow, etc. and attach them to magnets. Grabbing the nearest magnetic surface (anything from a cookie sheet to a good-sized area on your refrigerator will do), you’ll be well on your way to teaching kids about the weather! And what better time of year for engaging indoor activities like this than when winter storms (and potentially snow days!) could start popping up at any moment?