Listen to a piece of music from a ballet, then have your child draw a picture or make a model of the scene they believe is occurring at that point in the ballet. Have your child describe the picture (or
Wordless Walk
Make a date to go for a wordless walk with your child each evening. Use the opportunity to silently reflect on your days, just enjoying the sounds of nature as you stroll away the day’s stresses. Think about what you
Family Theme Song
Decide on a piece of music that will be your family “theme song”. What about it made your children choose that song? The lyrics? The tempo? The melody? How about theme songs for each individual family member? Extra Credit: Have your
How to Choose the Best Instrument for Your Child
If you have a little musician in the house, they may be chomping at the bit to graduate up from your pots and pans and belting out vocal stylings to toddler tunes to their first musical instrument. Selecting the right
Haiku and Tanka
Pick up a child-friendly Haiku collection like If Not for the Cat or Cricket Never Does to introduce your child to the art and science of Haiku and Tanka. Talk about the structure of Haiku (5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in
Get in Gear for Back-to-School :: LANGUAGE ARTS
One day closer to the first day of school… Below, we’ve compiled our favorite 10 language arts activities we’ve featured over the summer (as well as our Summer Reading Lists) to make sure your child gets in gear ahead of
Native Nature
Encourage your child’s “blossoming” love of nature by introducing the art of Xeriscaping. Have him/her help you identify new plants that you can use to beautify your outdoor surroundings…that can thrive without additional irrigation. If they don’t know about it
Secret Hideout
Go to a nearby “wild” space with a few of your child’s friends and help the kids create a “secret hideout” solely from the trees, rocks, branches, etc. Show the kids how they can not only use the hideout for
Nutrition Math
One of the most important things we can teach our kids during our current obesity epidemic is the basics of eating right. And *many* of those basics are grounded in math…from portion control to how much of what foods to
Forgoing Fear of Failure
In an era of teaching to the test in school and avoiding mistakes at all costs, one of the most important things we need to teach our children these days is that failure in-and-of-itself is not a negative thing. It’s