Do you remember the old My Simon game that was a family favorite back when we were kids? (Need a memory jog? Play the video at the bottom of this post.) Update that concept with Kine-Simon for some active family
Celebrating Citizenship
With 4th of July quickly approaching, Canada Day just past and Bastille Day next week, it seems that people the world over are celebrating citizenship. Play some national anthems with your child and read the english versions of the lyrics
Thumb Ball
Via Childrens-Choice.org (used with permission) Blow up a multi-colored beach ball, then using a sharpie, draw an “equator” on the ball, then number each section from 1 to 12. Toss the ball to different family members and call out the operation to
Broadway Baby
Watch a broadway show or musical theater movie with your child. Have him/her make up a song for one of the other characters in a scene that wasn’t singing…or compose a song for “after Happily Ever After”–what happens to the
Be Playful
Have your child become a playwright. Take his/her natural gift for language and storytelling and apply it to playwriting. Creating dialogue, imagining character motivations and developing story arcs will help your child strengthen interpersonal smarts in a way that’s comfortable for
Recommended Summer Reading for the “People Smart” Child
All ages Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. By Marilyn Singer. Read the poem in one direction and it tells the folktale from one point of view. Read it in the opposite direction and the point of view is
Become a Story Sleuth
Tie together logic and language over the summer with whodunit puzzles! Playing detective once a day will strengthen your child's mind muscles in an enjoyable way. Timing how quickly puzzles are solved and charting the solution speed over the course
Picture Perfect
Inspired by 7 Kinds of Smart by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. The mystery of whether or not eidetic memory exists was solved for me in 7th grade when Peter M. was able to recite exact words and passages from a history
Autobiographical Cube
Inspired by an activity in Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom: A Teachers Toolkit by Susan Baum, Julie Viens and Barbara Slatin. Take a square box (or die) and put 4 of your child’s FAVORITE multiple intelligences on the sides
Selecting the Best Sport for Your Child
Selecting the Best Individual Sport, Team Sport or Sports League for Your Child If you’re like most parents, you feel that youth sports are an important part of growing up. Youth sports can help encourage activity in a fun way,