Posted by Cindy on June 10, 2009
At co-op, we have a “serious” field day with class competitions and ribbons and awards. A group of friends in our hometown also gets together for a more “casual” field day. Each of the moms prepares a simple game or two – many involving water and relays – and we just have fun together. No awards or ribbons necessary.
This year, we brought potluck food for lunch and our wonderful hostess opened up her pool after the festivities. My children always look forward to this fun day, but the pool made it extra-special!
Little ones enjoyed their own pool while the big kids played games.
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Filed Under: Co-op
Posted by Cindy on January 5, 2009
The time has come to keep the toddler busy during school. I’ve always had to keep him occupied, of course, but now I’m finding the need for an arsenal of ideas so that school can flow smoothly. Well, as smoothly as school can flow with a toddler in the house.
I hope you’ve noticed the toddler section I added to the far sidebar. I found all sorts of great ideas from the links that should keep my active and inquisitive two-year-old busy for at least a little while. Here are some of the things I’ve prepared.
A bookshelf full of books just for him. Board books, hardcovers and softcovers. Almost all of it living literature because there’s no sense in even reading twaddle to a toddler!
A list of fingerplays, nursery rhymes and songs posted on the wall so I’m not stuck when the time comes.
EFL Fingerplays
Dinosaur Fingerplays
NNCC Fingerplays Plus
Preschool Rainbow Fingerplays
Rhymes and Fingerplays
Wikipedia Nursery Rhyme List
Preschool Express Songs
Preschool Educations Songs
A CD player with preschool-friendly CD’s in the schoolroom.
Toddler Tunes
Preschool Songs
100 Singalong Songs for Kids
Action Bible Songs
Silly Songs
Toddler activity bags and boxes ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’ve stashed them on a high shelf so he doesn’t have access to them. It’s partly to keep the activities fresh and partly to keep him from destroying them!
I’ll probably do an activity bag post soon. Remind me if I forget!
Imaginative toys. For the moment, they are placed around the room in “centers”, but I’m sure they’ll all be jumbled in one big mess before the first week of the new school year is over with. What sorts of imaginative centers could you put together for a two year old?
Easy dress up – hats, big shoes without heels, big shirts, old Halloween costumes
A toy barn with lots of animals and tractors (or any Little People set)
Toy cars with a little “town” to drive through
A play kitchen with pots, pans and play food
A wooden train set
Blocks of any sort – my favorite – foam blocks, wooden blocks and bristle blocks
A cheap toy electric piano and other simple instruments
Toddler-safe art supplies – including crayons, washable markers, finger paints, watercolors, paintbrushes, rollers, play dough & cookie cutters, safety scissors, glue sticks, lots of paper scraps, coloring books and two Christmas gifts her received that I’m very excited about – a Aquadoodle Wall Mat
and Crayola Color Wonder Coloring Book
. Just in case you’re wondering, the art supplies will always be supervised. No (more) crayon colored walls for me! By the way, Magic Erasers are a wonderful invention!!
Giggles computer games
I’ll be excited for you to add wonderful ideas to my list! Homeschooling with toddlers is challenging, but I’m not defeated (yet!)
Posted by Cindy on May 23, 2007
Remember Field Day back in high school? (For me, it was a great day to get out of class! But I digress already.) Whether you belong to a large or small homeschool group, have just a few homeschooling friends, or even just want to try some games with your own children – Field Day can bring a lot of fun and excitement into a day of P.E. class!!
I’m lucky to belong to a fairly large homeschool group that does a Field Day every year. We have games, races, snacks and even ribbons! Here’s a picture of one of mine in action this year.
With a large group, we split the children into age groups and have events like:
Tug-of-war
Three-legged race
50 yard dash
Softball throw
Obstacle course
Sack race
Long Jump
We usually have a popcorn machine or cotton candy maker and lots of popsicles to make the day extra special. Ribbons are handed out at a mini awards ceremony. Of course, this sort of big-scale event costs a bit of money. I think each family usually contributes $3.00 to $5.00.
I’m also part of a very small group of homeschoolers that wants to put together a field day this year. Plans are in progress and we’re going to have a blast, even with only 6-8 children! With a smaller group, we’re going to be able to do some messier games like:
Wet sponge relay
Frisbee slime relay
Water balloon toss
Egg toss
Skittles in the spoon relay
We’ll probably add a few of the “regular” field day event listed above, too.
This smaller field day probably won’t include real ribbons. We’ll all bring our own drinks and snacks. And the competition won’t be nearly as fierce. But, boy does it sound like fun!
Either way you go – big or small – have a Field Day with your children. Memories will be made, so don’t forget the camera!
Related Tags: homeschool, field day, games, physical education, fun
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Filed Under: Co-op
Posted by Cindy on May 18, 2007
Are your kiddos getting bored with the same old math day after day? Do they whine and complain about math? Are you looking for a fun way to keep the math skills sharp this summer? Are you looking for a great way to boost those logical thinking skills? I have an answer – Play Games! Card Games. Board Games. Mental Games. Paper and Pencil Games. Whatever you find, I promise your children will do their math with smiles on their faces. Unless their sore losers, but that’s another post! 
Here are a few ideas to get you started. I betcha most of the games we have came from yard sales or Goodwill. Keep your eyes open this summer! Please add your favorite math games in a comment!!
SET
Mastermind
Battleship
Life
Monopoly
Backgammom
‘Smath
Money Matters For Kids
Sequence
Connect Four
Yahtzee
Hive Alive
Guess Who?
SkipBo
Dutch Blitz
Uno
Perfection
War
Rummy
Hearts
Dominoes
River Crossing
Block To Block
I also want to put a plug in for math computer games. I don’t let my kids have too much computer game time, but there are all sorts of really great free math game sites that are worth a half-hour here and there on those 95 degree days in the summer. (If I knew how to copy my favorites list for you I would, but there are too many math sites to list here. Do a search and you’ll find some great ones!)
Related Tags: math, games, homeschool, fun
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Filed Under: Math
