Muffin Liner Fish!

Have fun creating these muffin liner paper fish! You can decorate your fish with markers, crayons, stickers - whatever you have around your house! This is fun way to get creative.

Muffin Liner Tree

Check out this fun muffin liner tree! Don't have green paint? No problem, you can color them however you would like. You can add "fruit" by crumbling up different color paper and gluing it to the tree or draw on leaves! You just need muffin liners, glue, paper, and whatever you would like to help decorate your trees! Have fun as family making your own family forest of trees!

Make Your Own Muffin Liner Flowers

As the weather gets colder, it is nice to remember the spring when all the flowers bloomed in spring and summer! These fun and simple flowers are a great way to practice creativity and have fun as a family making lots of flowers to hang around your home!

Fall Leaf Tree

As the weather starts to get colder and the leaves start falling from the trees, there are so many fun fall activities you and your child can do with leaves!

Check out this fun Fall Leaf Tree craft! All you need is: paper, markers, glue stick or tape, and leaves! Your family can enjoy together getting outside and collecting leaves. It is a great way to get some fresh air, take a walk, and explore together!

Once you have your leaves, draw an outline of a tree and then let your child decorate their tree with markers, crayons, sticks, and with leaves! You can glue or tape the leaves to the tree with them. This fun sensory activity is great for helping children to build fine motor skills. Most importantly, have fun!

Fall Leaf Threading

This fun fall activity not only building young children to develop fine motor skills, but can be done over and over again! Take a walk as a family and talk about what you see. Are there other people? Animals? What colors do you see?

While you are out, collect as many leaves as you can! You can talk about colors and textures as you gather them. Then, find a stick and start threading! You can show your child how to do so or help them as needed.

This is a great activity for building hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, both of which help children learn to write later on!

Make Your Own Fall Tree

This is a great family friendly activity for children of all ages!

All you need is: paper or a paper plate, markers or crayons, tape or glue, and torn pieces of tissue paper.

Instructions: You and your child together can draw an outline of a three on a piece of paper or even a paper plate. Then, help your child as needed squish the tissue paper into little balls. Then tape or glue them to your tree.

This is a fun activity that helps children build fine motor skills and practice creativity!

Most importantly, have fun!

Architecture Scavenger Hunt

There are lots of ways to have fun with shapes! Check out this fun Architecture Scavenger Hunt from WGBH Family Fun website! Can you find these shapes around your school or in the buildings in your neighborhood? Draw a picture of the shape and where you found it.

Family Dance Party

Dancing is a great way for families to get exercise, express their creativity, communicate feelings and enjoy music together! Check out these great ideas for a family dance party! See more at: https://buildingstrongchildren.usu.edu/files/Curious_George_Dance_Party.pdf

Make a “Coupon Book” of Helpful Gifts

This is a great family friendly activity for children of all ages from WGBH Family Fun! Even young children have things they can do that are helpful in the family. We give help, and we receive help, no matter how old or young we are. Use this activity as an opportunity to talk about the many ways we each give and receive.

All you need is: paper or index cards, scissors, markers or crayons, tape, pictures from magazines/newspapers, etc.

Instructions: You and your child together can come up with ideas for ways they can help your family, such as: play quietly so a parent can have some peaceful time, give a hug, sort socks in the laundry, put out napkins for a meal, etc. You can then make your coupon books together. Every member of the family can make their own! Check out the activity and directions at: https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/make-a-coupon-book-of-helpful-gifts

Sound Hunt

Listening activities are a fun way to help children practice their listening skills. Listening skills help them follow directions at school, at home, and out in the community. Life is filled with opportunities for listening.

Materials Needed: paper, pencil/markers/crayon.

Making and Playing Instructions:

1. Go outside in your neighborhood or to a park/outdoor space.

2. Give each child paper and a marker/pencil.

3. Find a spot outside and just listen for what you can hear together. Older children may do this on their own and younger children can work together with an adult or big sibling. Adults can write while the toddler/preschooler tells them what they hear.

4. Write/draw the things you hear on your paper to create your own hunt page.

Gross Motor Fun

Have fun with these great gross motor ideas! Can you and your child come up with more ways to move like an animal?

Build the Alphabet

Materials Needed: paper, markers, scissors, magazines/newspapers, etc., tape.

Making and Playing Instructions: This activity was very simple and fun to do together. Children and adults together can look for their favorite pictures in the magazines and then cut them out. You can either stick all the letters of the alphabet on the wall or start with just a couple based on what pictures you cut out! Write the letters big on a piece of paper and tape them on the wall. Tape the pictures with the letter they go with and have fun!

Cloud in a Jar

This activity is a great way to have some fun inside at home on a rainy day! Children of all ages will love making a cloud in a jar!

All you need is: a jar with lid, about 1/3 cup hot water, ice, and hairspray.

Start by pouring the hot water into the jar. Swirl it around a bit to warm up the sides of the jar. Turn the lid upside down and place it on the top of the jar. Place several ice cubes onto the lid and allow it to rest on the top of the jar for about 20 seconds. Remove the lid, quickly spray a bit of hairspray into the jar, and then replace the lid with the ice still on top. Watch the cloud form. When you see a good amount of condensation form, remove the lid and watch the “cloud” escape into the air. Check out more information and other ways to make a “Cloud in a Jar” here: https://www.giftofcuriosity.com/weather-science-how-to-make-a-cloud-in-a-jar/

Build Your Own Balance Scale

This is an easy to make activity that will keep your little one engaged!

All you need is: a plastic hanger, two paper or plastic cups, string/yarn, and a way to make holes (scissors, hole punch).

At the top of each cup, punch two holes on opposite sides and string yarn through. Hang the cups on the hangar and let the fun begin! You can compare objects, such as toys or things around your home by size or quantity.

For example, you and your child can find out how many blocks it takes to balance a scale with a toy on the other end. Follow your child’s lead and this is an activity you can come back to again and again!

Stacking Cups

This is a fun and easy activity that can provide hours of fun! You will need: paper or plastic cups. There are so many ways to play stacking cups! For instance, you can do different Cup Challenges, such as:

• Who can build the highest tower in 1 minute

• Break a “world record” in time or height.

Sometimes kids come up with these ideas on their own too! Most importantly, have fun!

Kindness Bingo

Check out this fun Kindness Bingo game! Don't have a printer at home? No problem! Make your own Kindness Bingo squares.

Making Tracks!

Check out this fun family activity from WGBH Family Fun at Home!

Create Your Own Accidental Art!

Have fun as a family with this art activity! All you need is a paper and pencil, crayon, markers, etc.

Fun with Dice

Check out the two fun ways to use dice to get moving! It is important to move our bodies. Encouraging movement can give children space to develop self-awareness, learn non-verbal ways of communicating and to get to know themselves and their body. Children learn their range of motion, balance, muscle strength, coordination, and endurance, all while having fun!

Salt Fireworks

This is a fun at home activity! You will need salt, food coloring, paper (ideally black, but any color will do!), a straw, and a bottle of glue. Start by having kids draw fireworks on the paper with the glue bottle (see image below). Then shake some salt all over the glue making sure it covers all of it. Mix water with blue and red food coloring (or any colors you have) and grab a small straw. Pick up some water and drop it over the salt lines. Do not shake off the extra water. Be sure to let it dry overnight! Most importantly, have fun!

Creating a Family Summer 2020 Bucket List

This is a great way as a family to remember what we’ve enjoyed doing together in the past as well as think of some new fun summer ideas to try. Sit as a family and do a summer bucket list brainstorm! What are our favorite things to do in the summer? Which skills or subjects do we want to learn, such as playing soccer, science experiments, etc.? Where are your favorite places to go? What are things you can do outside together? Inside?

We write a draft of a summer list and review it as a family. You can decide together how many things to have on your list. There are so many things you can do as a family, many of which do not cost money – picnic in the park, family walks, playing outside, family game night, learn a new card game, watch certain movies, cook together, do crafts, read together, go to the beach etc.

Make the final list together and hang somewhere everyone can see. Be sure to cross off activities you do together as a family and make it fun!

The research is strong on the importance of family time and building a family culture. Children from families with a strong and positive family culture tend to do better on tests, feel more secure, and are more likely to come to their parents when they have a problem.

Sensory Bottles

There are so many ways to make a sensory bottle! We love this simple Wave Sensory Bottle. All you need is an empty water bottle, water, food coloring, and oil. You can have your child help you fill an empty water bottle about one-third full with water. Add a few drops of food coloring. Once the food coloring has spread throughout the water, fill the rest of the bottle with oil (baby oil or any kind of cooking oil works). Tape the cap closed or use superglue to prevent leaks. Your child can put the bottle on its side to see the waves or shake it to see the oil and water separate. There are lots of ways to play with sensory bottles. Check out this great article about how sensory bottles can help child develop language skills, science skills, gross-motor skills, and more at: https://www.earlyvention.com/blogs/news/109301895-sensory-bottles-and-developmental-skills-they-can-target. Most importantly, have fun!

Indoor Hopscotch Game

Looking to get some energy out on a rainy day? This easy indoor hopscotch game will help keep children occupied while indoors and will also help them get some of their energy out! This is a great way to help children build their gross-motor skills. All you need is tape and a small toy.

How to play: Use your tape to make hopscotch boxes on the floor. Throw a small object (small beanbag, plastic toy) to land on square one. Hop through the squares, skipping the one you have your marker on. Each square gets one foot. When you get to the last number, turn around (remaining on one foot) and hop your way back to the #1 square. Pick up your toy on the way. Then, hop over that square and end on #1. Children and parents can take turns playing hopscotch!

Family Game Night – Charades

Playing a game is a great way to spend time as a family. Charades is fun and easy to play for children of all ages! You do not need any special materials or supplies – just your imaginations!

How to play: Choose a family member to start the game. The person thinks of a something, such as a book, movie, a song, an activity or sport, etc. They should choose something that is familiar to others in your family.

You can also write things out ahead of time on paper and have the person chose out a hat to something to act out.

The person then acts out whatever they have chosen. The first person to guess the word or phrase gets a point.

You can also divide into teams before playing. Players from each team take turns acting out for everyone. The first team to guess the word or phrase gets a point.

The person or team with the most points at the end of the game wins. This game can be a great way to have lots of fun as a family!

Paper Tube Puppets

Making and playing with puppets is so fun and gives children a chance to grow their creativity and use their imagination! There are so many ways to make puppets. This version uses paper tubes, such as from toilet paper or paper towels. To make your puppets, simply start off with a paper roll. Your child can use markers or crayons to make the puppets face and to customize their puppets how every they would like! You can give them different materials for clothes, such as tissue paper, wrapping paper, or tin foil. You can really use any materials you have around the house! Making and playing with puppets is a create way for children to practice expressing and understanding emotions and helps them to grow their fine motor skills. Everyone in the family can make a puppet!

Dial My Number

This is a fun and hands on way to help children practice their numbers and to teach children about how to dial a phone number! This method for teaching phone numbers involves the whole body and adds a sensory experience to help learn a phone number quicker. Check it out at: https://teachingmama.org/how-to-teach-phone-numbers/. Don’t have paper plates? No problem! Write numbers of paper and tape to the wall instead. Children can help decorate the numbers and then have fun as a family dialing numbers!

Sound Scavenger Hunt

Go on a sound scavenger hunt with your child! It is a great way to get outside and do something fun and interactive. You can talk with your child about the different sounds you hear. You can use this activity anytime – while going for a walk, playing outside, or even just open your window at home and see what you hear! You can listen for sounds, such as lawn mowers, birds, raindrops, and sirens. When you hear a new sound talk about it. Encourage your child to talk about what made the sound and identify where it is coming from. Play a game by taking turns imitating a sound you hear and guessing its source. You can use the Sound Scavenger Hunt list below or make your own! There are lots of ways to have a Sound Scavenger Hunt!

Make Your Own Hand Fan

With summer right around the corner, here is a fun craft to help you stay cool! All you need is paper, tape, scissors, straws, and anything to decorate your fans with, such as markers, crayons or stickers. Simply trace and cut out your hand, tape cut up pieces of straws along the fingers and palm, tape one long straw at the bottom, and decorate however you would like! Wave the fan in front of you to stay cool. Using scissors is a great way for children to practice fine motor skills, strengthen their hands muscles, and practice hand-eye coordination – all of which will help them as they learn to write! See activity image below to help guide you through the craft. Most importantly, have fun!

My Family Paper House Craft

Check out this easy to follow guide on how to make your own family paper house craft: https://thecraftingchicks.com/paper-house-craft/.

Along with drawing your family, children can also include aunts, uncles and grandparents – whomever you think of as part of your family. This is a great way for children to talk about family they may not have seen in a while. Doing crafts with children offers them an opportunity for self-expression, develop their fine motor skills and reduce stress. Doing crafts can also offer a sense of accomplishment. Have fun doing this craft as a family!

Fun with Threading

This is a simple, fine motor threading activity using straws and cardboard tubes! If you do not have a one-hole punch, adults can use scissors to make holes in your carboard tube. You can use an empty paper towel or toilet paper roll. This activity help children to practice their problem solving and fine motor skills. This is an activity you can use again and again! Check out more information at:

https://laughingkidslearn.com/fine-motor-threading-activity-using-straws-and-cardboard-tubes/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=424381584_14383270_104369

Paper Spinners

These are a great way to get creative at home! Paper spinners are fun and easy to make and are great for building fine motor skills, practicing problem solving, and learning about colors. This is an activity that is fun for toddlers and older children. The supplies you will need are: twine or thicker string, cardboard, white paper, markers/crayons, scissors, and glue. Follow the link for the step by step guide on how to make your spinner! The site also has a fun video on how the spinners work. Check it out at: https://www.makeandtakes.com/diy-paper-spinner.

Growing a Rainbow Experiment

Children of all ages love science experiments! Doing science projects helps develop a child's resourcefulness and practice goal setting, planning, and problem-solving. It also grows their curiosity, helping children learn new ways of asking questions and understanding the world. The Grow a Rainbow Experiment is great for the while family! Want to grow your own rainbow? Try this simple science experiment! You only need paper towel, water and washable markers. Kids will love to see their rainbow “grow” in this easy activity! Your whole family will love seeing the rainbow come together in this simple science experiment! You can even do different patterns and colors too. All you need is two small cups, paper towel, and washable markers! Check out the super easy instructions and even more activities about fun with rainbows here: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/grow-a-rainbow-experiment/.

Fun with Ice!

This is a fun and learning filled sensory activity! This activity helps children develop fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are important as they help get children ready to do things like, cutting, gluing, and writing. This activity can also encourage children to use their imaginations, which means the play will last longer! All you need is ice, water, kitchen tongs or a spoon, ice tray, egg carton, or another type of container, and a big bowl or container. Then, put your bowl into the bin, dump your ice into the bowl, and put your egg carton or ice tray into the main bin. Be sure to show your toddler how to “grab” or try to catch the ice with the tongs and transfer the ice into the egg carton/ice tray. Most importantly, have fun! Check out more details at: https://happilyevermom.com/toddler-activity-with-ice/.

Balloon Ping Pong

For this activity, you will need paper plates, popsicle sticks (or something similar for the handle) and balloons. All you do is tape or glue some large popsicle sticks to paper plates for the paddles. And then you are ready to play ping pong with the balloon! Playing ping pong helps children develop hand-eye coordinator, practice concentration, and improve their reflexes. Check it out at: https://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/tot-thursday-balloon-ping-pong/

Spring Planting with Paper Tubes

Planting can be a fun at home activity for the early summer! For this version, all you need is cut up paper towel tubes (cut to about 2 inches or paper egg cartons), dirt, and seeds. You and your child can arrange the tubes in a round cake pan (see activity image). Then, have your child sprinkle dirt, add seeds, add more dirt, and water. You can choose different seeds! This activity is all about exploring with dirt and having fun. It may be messy – you can put down some newspaper, towel, etc. to make clean up easier. This activity helps children build fine motor skills and explore with their senses. Most importantly, have fun with your child! See more at: http://creeksidelearning.com/planting-seeds-with-preschoolers/

BINGO Game

BINGO is a fun and easy at home game that you can alter based on your child’s age. All you need is a maker or crayon, paper, small item to use to cover the letters or images on your BINGO cards (such as blocks or another small toy), and a bowl. To start, draw a grid that is five rows across and five rows down (see activity image). Write a letter in each square. Write the letters on a small piece of paper and put them in a bowl. Pick a letter out of the bowl and call it out. If your child has that letter on their card, they can cover it with a small item. Cover five in a line to win! For older children, you can have them come up with a word that starts with that letter (such as S is for Snake). You can also make BINGO cards with numbers! For younger toddlers, you can use pictures of animals and you and your child can make the animal sound together when they find it. There are lots of possibilities. BINGO can help children with hand-eye coordinator, fine motor skills, and to start recognizing letters or numbers. Most importantly, have fun!

Drive and Drop Activity

This is a fun and easy to put together activity that can keep little ones busy! All you need is: a cardboard box, duct, masking, or electrical tape, scissors or box cutters, and toy cars. Begin by cutting a rectangular slot on the top of your cardboard box. Draw or tape out your lines for roads. Place the race cars next to the box and invite your toddler to play - the rest is up to them! This is a great activity for children to encourage pretend play, practice hand-eye coordination, and strengthen small hand muscles by grasping objects. Most importantly, have fun!

Paper Airplanes

Making their own paper airplanes can be so fun for children and parents! All you need is pieces of paper. There are so many ways to make paper airplanes. Check out this great video on how to make paper airplanes and how to make them fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KPaxKUDj6I. Making paper airplane encourages creative thinking, problem solving, and is a great way to for children to build their fine motor skills. You can even use paper airplanes to make a target game! Take pieces of paper and use different sized bowls to cut out circles. Assign points to the different holes (the smaller the hole, the more points it is worth) and try to fly your airplane into the holes! You can also set up a target on the floor to try and land your airplane on – lots of possibilities and fun!

Water Play

With the weather getting warmer, what a great time to think about water play! Water is great for sensory play with children! Children practice their hand-eye coordinator and fine motor skills during water play. They also can practice problem-solving, creative thinking, and using their imagination! All you really need for water play is a bucket, bowl or container, different objects, such as toys, sponges, balls, and water! Check out lots of great ideas at: https://www.thingstoshareandremember.com/preschool-water-table-ideas/

CARD SLOT DROP

This is a fun and easy at home activity that will keep toddlers busy! All you need is an empty oat container and a deck of cards! You can also use thicker paper cut into different shapes or decorated by you and your child. This activity helps your child practice fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. With this activity, children have the chance to practice their fine motor skills, grasping and pinching, and their hand-eye coordinator! Check it out at: https://busytoddler.com/2016/08/card-slot-drop/ Have fun!

MUSIC

Check out this fun at home musical activity – make your own mini lid banjos! For this activity you will need old jar lids, rubber bands, tape, craft sticks (or anything similar) and anything you want to decorate your banjo! Place four rubber bands over your lid and secure them at the back with some tape. Decorate and attach the handle of your banjo. Continue to decorate however you want and then practice and play your banjo! Have fun!

MONSTER FEET

Grab different colors of construction paper. Be sure to get even numbers of each color so you have sets of 2 for each color. You can also use white paper and color them! Then trace the outline of a monster footprint (large oval on the bottom and then four pointed claws on top) on one of the sheets and cut it out. Repeat this for all the colors! For kids working on their scissor skills, you could trace the monster print on all the pieces of construction paper and have the kids cut out the prints. Using tape, take each set on the ground. For younger kids, have them work on color recognition by shouting out the colors they are jumping on as they move through the course. For older kids have them count by twos when they are jumping through the course (2, 4, 6, 8). Most importantly, have fun! Check out more at: https://www.raisingdragons.com/monster-footprint-hop/

HOMEMADE PUZZLE CRAFT

This simple homemade puzzle is easy and fun to make! All you need is some construction paper or white paper and any toys you have around the house. Children can practice their fine motor skills, learn new vocabulary, and talk about colors, shapes, and more! Check it out at: https://www.toddlerapproved.com/2010/01/matching-objects.html?m=. The website has easy to follow instructions and pictures. Have fun!

FUN MOVEMENT IDEA

Feel like being active and moving your body? This Copy Me activity is a great way to exercise, get your heart pumping, and enjoy time as a family. It is so important for all of us to move our bodies. You and your child can take turns in doing different movements, poses or exercises and copying each other. This is a great way for children to practice taking turns as well. Some examples of different movements could be jump like a kangaroo, scratch like a monkey or run in a place.

ROLL & MOVE DICE GAME

You will need dice for this activity, but if you do not have dice, you can easily download a dice app on your phone! Write down a list of simple exercises and label them 1 through to 6. Do each exercise of the number you roll from the dice. Some examples of exercises you could use could be:

1. Touch your toes

2. Do arm circles

3. Run across the room

4. Hop on one foot

5. Jump forward

6. Take big steps

7. Take tiny steps

Keep rolling the dice until you have completed every exercise listed!