Daily Triple Treat - Monday Edition
An old stand by, historical significance and a scale full of oranges.
ADDED December 29, 2008
Last week we had the week of Great Gargantuan Giving at Today is Fun. Needless to say, it was a hit. People loved it, and the question everybody asked was, "How will you ever top the week of Great Gargantuan Giving?"
Well don't worry, we've devised a way to make keep the special-ness going during this final week of 2008. We have decided to give you three ideas each day that encourage family togetherness. We are ending the year with a DAILY TRIPLE TREAT! That's right three ideas every day!
One idea will be for inside fun, one idea for outside fun, and one idea will be educational fun. As usual they are all completely free, easy, and -- best of all -- fun. Please, tell your friends: we have a feeling the TRIPLE TREAT is going to be a very helpful and popular feature!
Monday's Treats
Inside Treat- Today try the old stand-by a board game. It can be Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory, Hi-Ho Cherry-O or Elefun. While these games may take some time to play and might not be the most entertaining activity for an adult, you will be spending time with your kids . . . and that is fun for everyone.
Outside Treat- Visit a local park. But today don't go to an old standby park. (You know, the one with the play structure and ice cream man). Forgo the familiar and try another park: maybe a National Park that has some historical significance or a local park that has a hiking trail. Wherever you end up, pack a lunch and make a day of it; this activity will not be soon forgotten!
Educational Treat- Practice counting on your trip to the market with our idea Market Price (If you missed it here is the link). This is a truly great idea for kids of all ages. Really, what is more fun than a scale and some oranges? After all, you do have to pick up something for lunch at the local park?
Picture thanks to mag3737
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educational, good at home, quick activity, |
share this postQuizmaster & Answermaster
Because all good games have funny titles.
ADDED December 19, 2008
To play this game you need two people the first person is the Quizmaster the second the Answermaster. The Quizmaster asks the questions and the Answermaster answers the questions. This game is fantastic for all ages because the questions can be tailored appropriately to make it easy for everyone to win. It also can be played as a group activity to include many more kids if needed.
First the person who is the Quizmaster thinks of two or three things that have one thing in common, for example shark, octopus and sea cucumber. Next the Quizmaster poses their question to Answermaster,” What is the same about these three things, a shark, an octopus and a sea cucumber?” At this point if you have a group of kids, in an orderly manner everyone in the group takes a turn giving their best answer to the Answermaster. When all the answers are tallied the Answermaster tells the Quizmaster the answer, “They all live in the ocean”. Now the Quizmaster becomes the Answermaster and it is their turn to think of of two or three things that are the same.
The game works great using a variety of topics and the questions can range from very simple to extremely difficult, here are some starters:
Quizmaster question:
What is the same about these three things red, blue and green?
Answermaster answer.
All three are colors.
Quizmaster question:
What is the same about these three things truck, car and van?
Answermaster answer.
All three are cars.
Quizmaster question:
What is the same about these three things elbow, toe, and nose?
Answermaster answer.
All three are parts of your body.
Quizmaster question:
What is the same about these three things sleepingbag, tent and flashlight?
Answermaster answer.
All three are used for camping.
Try it today and use the comments section to let us know what you little Quizmasters come up with!
Sounds like a…holiday
A great game that can make a drive a festive adventure.
ADDED December 18, 2008
I am sure everybody reading this will very soon be driving in a car with kids. There will be traffic, inclement weather and festive kids music playing on the stereo. Instead of being frustrated with your situation embrace it. Spend a few minutes talking with them about what specific sounds they are likely to hear at Christmas.Here is a list of what my kids came up with
Rain on the car and house
Music in the car and house
Dishes at a family dinner
Bells
Popcorn popping while watching a special movie
People saying, “Ho, Ho, Ho”
If your kids are younger they might also like practicing the holiday sounds they hear. Really nothing is cuter than three year old saying,”HO HO HO”.
If your kids are stuck for sounds use our list as a starting point and make today fun!
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ages 2-8, educational, good for a restaurant or public place, good for the car, quick activity, verbal activity, |
Indoor Holiday light show
Create a light show at home.
ADDED December 16, 2008
This time of year some people choose to create very elaborate Holiday light shows on the outside of their house but very few create this type of intricate display inside their house. Today’s activity is silly and rowdy but as always we’ll try to add a little learning to the fun.
I will usually start this activity by playing some festive music, all good light shows have music. Really any music will work, but try to pick something with a strong beat or peppy rhythm. Then flick the lights on and off with the music creating a rhythmic syncopation. While the lights are flicking on and off take turns pretending to see the different colors of the light show. For example you can say, “I love to see the red lights” or “Oh my, the blue lights are so very pretty”.
You can also mention some colors that your kids might not know yet to stimulate imaginations and expand their vocabulary, words like Amber, Cerulean and Vermilion. Imagination is key to the success of this activity.
When the light show is in full effect let your kids have a chance. Explain how they can listen to the music and anticipate the beats as they create their own light show. Who knows you could be preparing them for a career at the “happiest place on earth” or just helping to expand their vocabulary by using Saffron in a sentence. Have fun and let us know if the neighbors slow down as they drive by.
-P
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ages 2-8, educational, good at home, may rile them up, no 'props' needed, quick activity, verbal activity, |
Snowflake Tortilla
Delicious edible momentarliy decorative treat.
ADDED December 15, 2008
Snowflakes are fun to make but they are even more fun make when you can eat them. This is a great idea for an after school snack or just a fun cooking activity to do today with your kids.
First grab a few tortillas pop em in the microwave for a few seconds so they are warm, carefully fold the tortilla in half and then in half again. Then using scissors cut triangles circles and diamonds into the tortilla to create your edible snowflake.
When you finish cutting the tortilla unfold it put in on a plate and if you want a treat that is a little more sweet, toss the tortilla back into the microwave for about 15 seconds, spread some butter, cinnamon and sugar on it once you have your snowflake ready to eat take a few seconds to behold the beauty of your creation and eat it. There is nothing like a nice warm snowflake treat.
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ages 4-12, educational, quick activity, rainy day fun, see our disclaimer, |
Vowel-No-Vowel
Fun with vowels and no-vowels
ADDED December 08, 2008
What do you get when you take a piece of paper and write a vowel, a no-vowel, and a vowel?
If
you can figure out a funny punch line to the above question, please
email us with it. But actually, we're not joking. The real answer to
that question is: you get a word.
Try it with your kids. First have them take a blank piece of paper
and write down all the vowels: A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y.
Now
have them draw a line around those vowels, to separate them from the
rest of the blank page. Now that we've got the vowels nicely aligned,
we're not going to be writing in that area any more.
Have your kid write any letter that's not a vowel (a "no vowel"), then any vowel, and then another no-vowel.
Now they've done it: they've got a word!
Well,
some kind of word. We're willing to concede that it might be
gibberish. But it will be some kind of word; it will be something that
you guys will be able to pronounce.
The first time my 4-year-old tried this out, his no-vowel, vowel,
no-vowel creation was: ZEC. Well, it's pronounceable at least, right?
But after we pronounced Zec, I could see a light go on for him. His next creation was: CAT. Then DOG. He was on a roll.
Then he said, "Daddy, I just wrote no-vowel, vowel, no-vowel,
no-vowel." What was that, I asked. It turned out to be his friend,
JACK.
This diversion will get your little ones thinking about letters and vowels, as well as how they all go together to make words.
And when you guys are learning like crazy and having loads of fun,
you can try this tricky one on for size: YIPPEE! (Also known as:
sometimes vowel, vowel, no vowel, no vowel, vowel, vowel)
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ages 4-12, educational, good any time, good at home, |
Words that end with A and T together
Fill in the blank and turn on the fun
ADDED December 05, 2008
Have you ever noticed how many three letter words end with A and T together? Using A-and-T-ending words, we created a fun game that you can play with your kids in the car, at dinner, before bed, and beyond...First start with the word "CAT." Spell the word (C-A-T) and then ask, "Can you think of any other words that end with the '-AT' sound?"
If you think it will help the activity along, provide more examples of words that end with -AT. Words like hat or rat.
Once you and your kids have thought up many, many words that end in -AT, start at the beginning of the alphabet and work together to add the -AT sound after every letter in the alphabet. (This sounds like it might take a while but it is faster than you think.)
In our house, when we have finished going through the alphabet and laughing at all the funny made-up words like "jat" and "qat," we move on to other ending sounds like -AN.
Have fun, and please let us know if you can find the meaning of the words "yat" and "yan!"
Box art
Recycled art is the best
ADDED December 03, 2008
After a trip to the market a few days back, as I was unpacking some magically sugary snacks, I had an idea for a recycled box art craft. So I started flattening and saving boxes. In about a week I was able to save enough boxes for this easy imagination charged recycled art craft.
First, take the three or four boxes. Get some pens, stickers, scissors and warm up a little creativity. Second, have an adult cut the boxes to make them flat because sometimes the cardboard can be a little thick and difficult to cut. This is your canvas. Then encourage your kids to spend a few minutes visualizing what the cardboard canvas could be. Here is a very brief list of a few things we though would be grand if made out of a recycled box:
A monster
A bus
A spaceman
A sign to a party
A big birthday card
And then go for it! Let those imaginations run wild! The sky is the limit (or in this case the edges of your box)!
And here is what we made
A mailbox
A computer
A robot
A jump for cars
Try it today make your trash into something fantastic! We will post submissions for all to see so start sending your photos to info@todayisfun.com. The most creative piece of box art will receive a conduct happiness shirt courtesy of conducthappiness.com.
Contest ends 12/10/08!
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ages 3-12, educational, good at home, longer activity, |
Heads or Tails
You will flip for it!
ADDED December 02, 2008
On Thanksgiving morning, my family and I had a few hours free, so we decided to volunteer at a local charity. We chose to donate our time doing a job that we felt would be suitable with younger kids. We were "curb runners."
Our task was to take food donations from cars to the kitchen where meals were being served to some very important people who didn't have homes or families spend Thanksgiving with. When we first arrived, it was very busy; we were moving turkeys, stuffing, fruit and pies. As the first hour of the shift moved into the second, donations slowed down and we found ourselves with time between drop offs. I had four quarters in my pocket, and that was all we needed for some quick entertainment between cars.
We made up three games to play with the quarters. The First game was "Call It In the Air." I would toss a quarter and let the kids take turns calling heads or tails. The winner of each toss got to hold the quarter. When all four quarters were gone, a winner was declared and we started over.
The second game we played was called "Find the Quarter." The kids took turns holding a quarter in one hand with both hands behind their back, and I would try to guess which hand held the quarter. We played this until I found all the coins.
The third game we made up was called "Head and Tails Battle." This game proved to be the most exciting. Here is how we played: one child was the "Heads" team and the other the "Tails" team. Each child got two quarters and they would both flip one coin. If two heads were showing the heads team would win, and if two, the tails team would win and if one of each was facing up, a tie was called requiring a do-over.
In the end, it was really rewarding donating our time to some less fortunate people and flipping coins. Next time you need some quick entertainment, remember these three coin games. (You might also want to consider donating some of your time this season; we had so much fun we are planning on going back very soon.)
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ages 2-8, educational, good for a group, quick activity, |
Professional Food Tasters
Better than bad and better than good
ADDED November 25, 2008
What words can you use to describe food? If you're like most Americans, there are three words you use to describe food: good, bad, and delicious. You might throw in an occasional "awful" or "wonderful," too, but of all those words we've just reviewed, only "delicious" is specific to food.
There are people whose job is taste food: Professional Food Tasters. And those people have to use better words than "awful" and "delicious," right?
Right. They do. There are many, many words to describe food specifically. And what better opportunity for your kids to try some of these words out than . . . your Thanksgiving feast?
Here are some fine words to describe food . . .
• crunchy
• crispy
• spicy
• sweet
• salty
• buttery
• flavorful
During meals this week, teach your kids some or all of the words in that list. You could plan to include foods that get you guys talking about sweet and about salty (apples and pretzels, for example).
Then, encourage your kids to use their new vocabulary to fun effect during Thanksgiving dinner. This can also be a tool if they get restless: talk about the Thanksgiving food. What is the most crunchy thing on your plate? What is the most buttery? What is salty and what is sweet? What is your favorite item?
Do try to show respect for the person who cooked the meal, of course. We don't want your kids using descriptive words like "icky" or "inedible" during the holiday celebration!
(We didn't want to inundate you with words, so we just featured the ones above. But here's a quick appendix of more food adjectives, if you're so inclined: savory, garlicky, nutty, minty, zesty, tart, tangy, sharp, mouthwatering, tasty, yummy, delectable, bitter, flavorful, lemony, chocolatey, and so on.)
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ages 3-12, educational, good at home, good for a group, good for a restaurant or public place, good for mealtimes, no 'props' needed, |
Growing fun!
fun for young farmers
ADDED November 21, 2008
One of our favorite things to do with fruits and vegetables is keep the seeds and try to make them grow. Whenever someone makes fresh-squeezed orange juice, cores an apple, cuts an avocado, or carves a pumpkin, the kids are there, ready to collect the seeds and start the experiment.
We put the seeds on a damp paper towel, seal it all in a baggie, and carefully place the experiment on the window sill in the kitchen. Then we wait and check each day. (Checking each day is important and fun -- and sometimes we need to inspect the progress more than one time a day!) Once the seeds sprout, we transfer them to small paper cups, and when they look healthy and strong, we put them into the earth outside. Most of our seeds don't make it to this final step, but is fun to try and to hope!
Due to my obsession with free stuff, my kids have become avid seed collectors. Together we have grown watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, grapefruit, apples, oranges, avocado, corn, lemons, key limes and pumpkins. And by the way, we live in the middle of the city, not out in the country. Here is a photo of this year's pumpkin crop.
Try to grow your own plants from free seeds today. Healthy eating is really a lot of fun for kids, especially when they're the ones who served as farmers!
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ages 3-12, educational, good at home, longer activity, no 'props' needed, verbal activity, |
Crazy Letter Sandwich
A tasty, tricky and tremendously entertaining letter activity
ADDED November 14, 2008
In our extended family, there is a darling toddler girl named Mckenna. She is insanely adorable.
For some unknown reason, my two boys, "Rough" and "Tumble," are entranced by this sweet little girl. Any activity that invovles a mention of little Mckenna is sure to be a hit. And so, Mckenna became the starting point for this game. (When you play, of course you can use a name that has relevance in your family.)
To start the game, I say, "I'm making a sandwich. Here's what I was thinking to put in it:
• Mustard,
• Mayonnaise,
• Mango,
• Melon,
• Mckenna, (yes, that wonderful little girl) and . . .
• Pickle relish."
Then I ask Rough and Tumble if they can tell me which ingredient doesn't belong in my sandwich. They know that I can be somewhat tricky, and they quickly catch on to what I'm doing. Poor little Mckenna stays in my lunch, but pickle relish is out!
After you've asked your kids about your sandwich options, do it again with a different letter. "I'm making a sandwich. Here's what I was thinking to put in it: Grapes, Granola, Goat cheese, Grandpa, a Gorilla and some alfalfa sprouts."
This activity gets kids thinking about letters . . . as well as what belongs or doesn't belong in a group or category.
Because we are who we are, we're including a list of alphabetical ingredients you can download and print. That way you don't have to think too hard. Click here.
(Disclaimer: we at Today is Fun in no way encourage or condone eating kids -- or biting in any way. This game is just supposed to be silly and fun.)
Good luck making those crazy letter sandwiches! Bon appetit!
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ages 4-12, educational, good any time, good for the car, verbal activity, |
Fun with Flickr
And with funny buildings, too
ADDED November 11, 2008
Most of you have probably visited the website Flickr.com. If you haven't, it's definitely worth checking out...for a few hours.
Flickr is a site where anybody and everybody can upload and share their photos for free. There are millions and millions of photos there, some of them dreadful and some quite 
amazing. Simply put, you (and your child) can find anything there.
In fact, here's the first part of today's activity: if you and your child are so inclined, try to think of something that Flickr can't show you. An unusual jar? A funny race car? A chocolate bar? Your child's favorite movie star? Do a search for any of these: Flickr's got pictures of them. A skating rink? The kitchen sink? Things that are pink? Englebert Humbertdink? Yep, they're on Flickr, too.
And Flickr is great to use as reference, too. Here's the next step of our activity today: type "building" into the search field at Flickr. You and your kid will find thousands of results. Have a look at some of the different buildings people across the world have built. Now type "weird building" in. You'll find many, many very interesting and sometimes very weird constructions there.
After you guys have enjoyed those sights, take out your trusty paper and markers. It's time for you guys to create weird buildings of your own. As you guys draw talk about what makes buildings "normal" or "regular," and what makes them different and strange. Also ask, because it adds to the fun, "Would you like to live in this weird building?"
Have fun exploring Flickr and the wonderful world of weird buildings.
(Today is Fun is not affiliated with Flickr in any way. We think they're cool, though, and hopefully vice-versa.)
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ages 4-12, art supplies needed, educational, good at home, longer activity, |
Construction Instructions
Drawn to scale, sort of!
ADDED November 10, 2008
This fun game is inspired by the instructions that come with a complicated Lego toy. It's also inspired, to a lesser extent, by those Ikea directions that never seem to work out right (or that always include a reference to some mysterious, not-included part.)
Whenever you get a complicated Lego toy, or a model airplane, there are always instructions included in the box. You can see how to build the item, and you can also see what it is supposed to look like in the end.
Well, why do you have to buy something to get these kind of directions for your child? You can make these very easily!
Choose some of your child's toys: blocks, Legos, or Tinkertoys certainly work well. (But you could really do this with any toy: even toy cars or Barbies.) Have a look at the toy you've chosen, so you have a good sense of all the different parts and pieces.
Then take out a piece of paper and a pencil. Draw 'something' for your child to build with the toys in question. This could be a house, a tower, a maze, a pattern . . . anything. Make the drawing clear enough to show your kid what toy goes where.
Now your child takes over. Hand over the 'instructions' you've created and point towards the toys. Of course, you can be standing by to help with any questions. But really, your kid should be able to re-create your drawing with the toys without too much of your input.
(If you're using toy cars or Barbies, you might not be able to draw instructions for a house or tower, but instead make instructions for a pattern with them, or to align them in a specific, interesting way.)
The next step of this game is for your child to draw 'instructions' for you to create a toy construction.
Have fun with your instructions and constructions! (And please remember to submit bulding plans to the city for approval and to make sure everything is up to code!)
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ages 4-12, educational, good at home, longer activity, |
Alpha-Candy-bet
Get rid of the extra candy with some reading fun
ADDED November 06, 2008
Because Halloween was on Friday this year, I think my kids got the most treats I have ever seen. One of their cousins received 136 pieces of candy! That is a shocking number of treats -- an amount so huge that even eating one piece a day (which is the maximum amount kids can eat at my house), it would take 4 months to eat it al!. Since taking the candy away all together might cause a mutiny, my lovely spouse and I made up an activity that helps the kids chose what candies to keep. And it gets them reading all at the same time.Here is what we did: we told them they could keep 27 pieces of candy but they had to find the letter "A" on the wrapper of the first piece of candy, followed by the letter "B" on the next piece and so on until the whole alphabet was represented.
So off they went reading each wrapper carefully looking for every letter in the alphabet to maximize their candy returns. For my wife and I, it was fun to hear, "Oh look a Kit Kat. I like those, and it has the letter 'A' in it. Now I need 'B' do you see 'B?' Butterfinger! Butterfinger has 'B!'" We also enjoyed hearing the benefits of picking M&M as your "M" candy (because it has two M's)Of course we ran into a little trouble filling out the whole alphabet: the letters X and Z proved a little hard, but after reading the list of ingredients we found all the letters quite easily.
In the end each of my kids had 27 pieces of candy, and after they went to bed, my beautiful wife and I played our own candy selection game. The rules were simple: what do we like and what should we throw away! Happy sorting!
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educational, longer activity, reading activity, see our disclaimer, |
Book in review
A little review to help your little readers
ADDED October 20, 2008
Use this out loud reading activity at home to help your new readers (and even older ones) review words that cause stumbling. It's called "The Book in Review," and it's not a game, but a way to build a familiarity with newly learned words.Here is how to do it: As your kid is reading a book out loud, keep a mental list of what words are new or that might need some review. When the reading is done, close the book and give your child a pop quiz on the tricky words.
Make it fun and, if you're up for it, make it a little bit like a game show. Find a page that has a troublesome word, point to it and ask in a booming voice, "What is the word?" If they get the word right, cheer and whoop. Make "jackpot" sound effects and an all-around big deal.
Then move onto another word and repeat the question. If your child gets the word wrong, have them work on figuring it out, and keep that page marked for further review and move onto another word. When your kid gets the next word right, quickly turn back to the word they previously got wrong, review it again until it is correct. In the end, when you are finished with the review, carry your young reader on your shoulders like they are champs that just won the big game.
Try a review with your little readers today. (But don't practice this book review with your significant other unless you are able to lift them up on your shoulders!
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ages 2-8, educational, good at home, may rile them up, no 'props' needed, reading activity, verbal activity, |
No Lights On An Old-Fashioned Night!
A fun way to learn about olden days
ADDED October 15, 2008
Today we're going to learn a little about . . . light bulbs. This activity is fun and educational for kids of all ages.
Tell your kids (if they don't already know) that in olden days, people used candles to light their houses at night.
Ask your kids if they'd like to re-create an old-fashioned, candle night in your house. Everybody has to agree that after the sun goes down, no lights will be turned on!
Rooms look much different in candlelight. The absence of electricity will give the whole bedtime process a much different feeling.
(But by all means BE CAREFUL with the candles' open flames. If you have very little ones, please keep the candles up and out of their reach!)
We've also included a fun fact sheet for you to refresh your memory as to the history of light bulbs. And your kids might enjoy coloring it in, too. Simply print it after downloading here.
Oh, to make the no-electricity thing authentic, no TV or computer games either! How does that sit with you? (Of course, when the kids are asleep, parents are allowed to check their email, send TIF tips to their friends, and watch a show or two.)
And for this activity, you don't need to go 100% authentic. There's probably no need for you to unplug the fridge.
Candle power! Learning is fun!
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ages 3-12, educational, good at home, |
Donate Used Toys
A fun activity and a helping hand for people in need
ADDED October 08, 2008
The other day, as the cleaning machines were working away (see our Cleaning Machines post), my son said, "Why do we have to put so many toys away?"
"Because you have a lot of toys!" I said.
He continued, "If we had less toys, it would not take so long to put them away".
I though about it for a minute, and he was right. My kids have far too many toys. I think if I were to divide their toys in half they would still have enough toys to last at least till the 7th grade. The sheer volume of toys in most houses has brought about an industry of organizational professionals jjust to tell parents what to do with their kids' stuff.
Since I am kind of a do-it-yourself kind of guy, I decided to do something about the toys, something that would not require a trip to Ikea or an organizing professional.
Since this site is all about fun, I tried to make a hard conversation fun. My kids are a little older, so they understand that some people are not as fortunate as they are, and they understand what "donate" means. And we decided to start donating.
So we took all the their toys out of every bucket, tub and shoebox. We made a little game out of getting rid of the clutter. (Just like on one of those ever-so-popular house de-cluttering shows).
The activity worked really well: just a "keep" box and a "go" box. No questions asked. After the boxes were sorted, we decided what toys were worth keeping and what toys needed to go . . . and just like that, it was done.
It was amazing: we de-cluttered, then donated. In the end, everybody won. In my son's mind, he had less toys to pick up and we were able to give some nice toys to some less fortunate people. Not to be preachy, but it's one thing to donate when everything's going wonderfully, but it's also important to give during the bad times, when the economy isn't so great and when our natural instinct is to circle the wagons and cling to our stuff.
We donated two boxes, and it felt good for parents and kids alike.
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ages 4-12, educational, reading activity, verbal activity, |
CODE CRACKING
You're never too young to start deciphering secret-agent-style messages
ADDED October 02, 2008
This
is a great activity to fill some of your kids' time. It's both educational
and fun, too. It will even work for little kids who aren't
yet reading. (But the participants do need to know their letters.)
In some newspapers and activity books, they have messages in code
for teens and adults to figure out. This is similar, but for younger
kids, we suggest giving them a coded message *and* the key at the same
time.
With the key, young children can enjoy concentrating and figuring out the secret message.
We've provided a couple of secret coded messages here, and the keys
necessary to decipher them. Print them up and let your young code
cracker have at it!
(Note to very sugar concious parents: two of the coded messages we've included here involve praise for
cookies and cake. We hope this is okay; we just want to keep your kids
on their toes, not cause unpleasant altercations or additional trips to the dentist. The possibly objectionable messages are the even numbered ones below.)
We hope you 99 • 13 •17 • 77 • 55 !
Click to download:
photo of deciphering boy by plasticrevolver
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ages 4-12, educational, good at home, longer activity, rainy day fun, |
How to Entertain Kids -- Submarine Team
Actually it's not a car anymore -- it's a submarine
ADDED September 14, 2008
Here's a way to make driving the kids a bit more entertaining for them: turn your car into a submarine!
You don't need any tools or water-proofing materials for this exercise. All you need is some imagination (and possibly some ideas about submarines, which you can get from this Wikipedia article.) This isn't really a game or specific activity--it's just a way to have fun talking about the seas and ocean travel.
The windows in your car are now periscopes. The doors are hatches. If you have a sun roof, that's especially good, because while stopped at red lights you and your submarine team can view the world above.
Have your kids examine the 'underwater' view from their windows. Here are some things you and they could see:
A beluga whale (a white mini-van)
An orca (a black SUV or mini-van)
A shark (a silver car)
Seaweed (a lot of vegetation)
My kids are always pointing out "puffer fishes" and "bad barnacles." (I can't really recognize those items yet.) They often want to radio back to base. Your kids can call out "close the hatches," "Dive, dive, dive!", and "Full Steam Ahead!"
And when we do this activity, there is just one rule: please don't roll down your window while we're pretending to be underwater! That's always a bad idea on a real submarine.
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ages 2-8, educational, good for the car, no 'props' needed, |
How to entertain kids -- House of Cubes
It's a house, it's an igloo, it's . . . missing?
ADDED September 04, 2008
This one requires a bit of patience, so it might work better for older kids. It's one of our fine, fun kids games for the end of summer.
A lot of freezers these days try to prove their worth by making tons of ice cubes. Ours does, and it seems that there is always a couple cubic feet worth of ice cubes ready to go in there that we never use. So . . . why not use them? They make fine building blocks.
Take as many pounds of your ice cubes outside as you can, along with a cup of water. See what kinds of constructions your kids can make with the cubes. We've got pretty good at a wall, a house sort of thing (complete with a roof), and the tricky but satisfying tall tower. (Six cubes is our record.)
As you stack the cubes, sprinkle a little water on top of each cube to act as mortar.
What can you build? Please let us know at info@todayisfun.com.
And please, there is only one rule to remember here. Whatever the kids do, they are not allowed to put an ice cube down Daddy's back while he's trying to build up the tower!
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ages 3-12, educational, good at home, good for a group, see our disclaimer, verbal activity, |
HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- Sshhh! Library Fun
This books looks terrific!
ADDED September 02, 2008
Here at Today Is Fun, we definitely try to promote books and a love of reading, as those things can entertain kids long after they're kids.
Trips to the library are often magical for young kids, as they first see the walls and shelves full of books. If your little ones are old enough, this game is a way to make a trip to the library even more fun. It's also a way for young kids to experience a measure of freedom and self-reliance in a public place.
The idea is simple, really. When you go to the library, have hunts for certain kinds of books. For instance, on one visit we will all try to find a book that looks terrific about pirates. Or each person will spend ten minutes trying to find a terrific book about an animal. Of course, the topics to find for books that look terrific are endless: rainy days, Moms, flowers, cowboys, etc.
It's important for the kids not to ransack the shelves and to keep the books in place. Running and yelling are of course causes for immediate disqualification.
Once everyone has found a book, we read each one. If the book is really terrific, we check it out and take it home.
One last idea about this Library Fun game: if the librarians and library patrons aren't bothered by the young competitors, then everyone gets extra points!
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ages 3-12, educational, good for a group, longer activity, no 'props' needed, reading activity, see our disclaimer, verbal activity, |
KIDS GAMES -- Find the Shape
Fun game to help your kids learn shapes
ADDED August 27, 2008
Here at TIF we like to think that every day holds an opportunity for learning. We also like to take every teachable moment and make it fun. Today’s entertaining game is a great idea called Find the Shape. It is simple and easy all at once. It also can even help little ones learn shapes.First find a willing player or players and second look for a shape that is easy to find. Look for something big to start with that has an easily identifiable shape like a rectangular door or a round table. And ask your kids to find the shape. Then your kids can take turns trying to Find the Shape.
I will also add a few variations to the game to keep my kids on their toes. I will ask them to Find the color or Find the empty table or even Find the guy in the red and white striped shirt. It’s just another one of the great Kids Games we love!
Commenting is easy and fun so let us know how it going we are always at info@todayisfun.com and don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!
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ages 2-8, educational, good any time, good for a group, no 'props' needed, quick activity, see our disclaimer, verbal activity, |
KIDS GAMES -- The human adding machine
Fun family game that everyone can play
ADDED August 26, 2008
Next time you and your kids are waiting for your meal at a restaurant or in the doctor’s office, try this fun and educational activity. This game can be played with as few as 2 people and can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. We call it "the human adding machine."We all take turns holding up zero to five fingers and then it is the human adding machine's job to add up all the fingers. Then the game moves on to the next person, and they add all the fingers up and so on. To add some fun and make it a little more entertaining, I will talk in a robot voice and sometimes give the wrong answer just to keep my kids on their toes. I will also push the subtract button on the human calculator to create a teachable and challenging moment.
My kids love to play, and I like to think it strengthens their math skills. This is one of our most simple, easy and fun kids games.
Commenting is easy so let us know how the human adding machine works for you. We are always at info@todayisfun.com and don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!
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ages 2-8, educational, good any time, good at home, good for a group, good for a restaurant or public place, no 'props' needed, quick activity, see our disclaimer, verbal activity, |