With October starting this weekend, many of the topics of conversation in our house have started to orbit around Halloween. What should we wear? How are we going to decorate? When can we get a pumpkin? Which neighborhoods are we
Out-of-the-Box Gaming
Much of the appeal of video games for kids lies in flexing their logic/strategy muscles and developing spatial aptitude via the game’s fast action and leveled challenges—not to mention getting the opportunity to be a “hero”—all of which can be
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
Parking Lot Parade
Getting bikes all gussied up, then parading around on two (or three) wheels with friends is one way to get both fine and gross motor skills moving this summer. And while parents are growing increasingly wary of letting kids play
Color De-Coding
Depending on your child's reading level, use color coding to help kids see patterns in spelling, vocabulary or grammar. For instance, if your child is learning to read, find an article in a magazine at home or print out a
Enlightening Film Fest
Watch a movie together, paying close attention to set design, camera angle and lighting. How do the changes in lighting or openness/closed feel of the set change the way your child interprets the emotional state of the actors? Extra Credit: Are
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
Innerspace List Poems
Adapted with permission from the Chicago City Park District’s “Once Upon a Day Camp” Guide, which was adapted from original source “Art & Poetry Projects for Kids”, by Alice George Using a piece of butcher paper, draw an outline of
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
Room Re-arrangement
Lots of “new” things are coming up fast… new teachers, new classmates, new school clothes, new learning material, new afterschool activities. Why not help your kids to get their outside-of-school lives better organized with a new bedroom arrangement? Starting with