love of local in Utah
Friday: Play!—3-Ingredient Games
Parenting had a wonderful article written by Melody Warnick about 3-Ingredient Games that we have had a lot of fun with! The article had 8 games but I am just featuring the few we have tried so far. Check out the article for the others!
Here is a direct exert from the article:
SWAT TEAM (babies)
Make a slit in a tennis ball with a sharp knife. Tie a knot at one end of a piece of string, then insert that end into the ball. Tie the other end to a doorknob. Seat your baby in front of the dangling ball, and let her whack it.
TAKE-AWAY LESSON: Cause and effect. When the ball bounces away, your baby gets the thrill of making something happen. Taking aim will also improve her developing hand-eye coordination and depth perception.
PINT-SIZE OBSTACLE COURSE (babies)
Stack pillows to make mini-mountains, create a tunnel out of blankets and couch cushions, then urge your crawler to scramble over and under to get to you on the other side of the room.
TAKE-AWAY LESSON: Persistence. With enough motivation — a hug from you at the finish line — he’ll plow through until the end. Plus, all that pillow-scaling and blanket-diving strengthens the large motor skills your baby will need to walk.
ALPHABET WALK (preschoolers)
Write a different letter of the alphabet on each paper plate and arrange them in a circle on the floor. Turn on some music and let your kid march around from plate to plate. When the song stops, so does he — and he should name the letter he’s standing on. For older preschoolers, ask for the sound the letter makes or a word that starts with it.
TAKE-AWAY LESSON: Letter recognition. Once your child can recognize letters and make their sounds, he’s on the way to reading.
REMEMBER THAT? (bigger kids)
Place a different small object in each section of an egg carton. Let your child study them, then close the lid. Have her draw pictures of the objects she remembers on individual sticky notes and attach them over their spots in the egg carton. Check to see if she’s right. Rearrange and play again.
TAKE-AWAY LESSON: Memory power. Using images to recall things will help with the memorization your child will do, from spelling words to multiplication tables.
Be sure to check out the rest of the article by Melody Warnick at Parenting.com!
Tags: easy games, play!
