Please forgive a few seconds' horn-tooting here, but today's activity is what this website is all about:  it's fun, free, easy, and educational!  Really, what more could you ask for? 

 

(Well, you could ask for  less horn-tooting.  In which case, here we go . . . )

 

Today we are classifying and organizing.  This is a great activity for children because it's what human brains do naturally.  Give a person a few minutes and an assorted mishmash of stuff . . . and a little while later you'll have a classified, organized bunch of stuff.

 

The human brain is great at applying order to disorder.  This is true for kids' brains, too.  And . . . making sense of a mess can be fun, too.  (My wife, upon seeing all the kids' toys strewn helter skelter all over our playroom, might disagree with that last sentence.). . .

 

 

This one is very simple.  Well, at first glance it's simple.  But some thinking needs to occur here, too.

 

Grab a paper and pencil.  Ask your kid or kids to say anything.  Just tell them it's got to be a thing.

 

My kids liked doing this.  They had many things to suggest: . . .

 

We've all seen those oversized maps  in malls and amusement parks.  These helpful maps  always include a small way of letting you know where you're standing:  "You are here."  That designation is the inspiration behind today's family activity.

 

Sometimes kids have strong feelings. Very often, something makes kids feel angry, sad, or anxious (even though that last is probably not a word they use).

 

One effective way of dealing with strong emotions is to focus the child's attention in the present moment.  Encourage them to concentrate on where they are now -- not elsewhere in time or place.. . .

 

Okay, this activity requires a box or a bag of dry pasta, but we really feel strongly that you must use “little shape” pasta -- not “long noodles” such as spaghetti.  This activity would be best for kids in the “low” elementary grades -- say, K through 4th.

 

If your kids’ hands are grubby -- and believe me, my kids’ hands are always quite grubby, seemingly even when they wake up in the morning -- you will want to do a very thorough hand-washing.

 

Next, have your beloved little ones sit down at the kitchen table.  Give them a box of pasta -- we like “elbows” or macaroni -- and ask them to count how many “pastas” are in the box.  (The correct English, I suppose, would be pieces of pasta.)

 

Well, how many are there in the box?  

 

This activity might seem pretty pointless, but…. . .

You may have heard of Samuel Taylor Coleridge before.  He’s a famous British poet who lived from 1772 to 1834.  Among his most well known poems is the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  It’s about a man traveling by sea, and the troubles he encounters.  It’s a good poem -- and if you have a few moments, you might want to check it out.

Poetry like Mr. Coleridge’s inspired today’s activity.  You see, in his poetry -- and in most poems generally -- liberties are taken with language.  Outside the confines of a poem, these unusual uses of language might be viewed negatively and called “mistakes.”  But in an English class or a literature book, these language irregularities are called “poetry.”

In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner -- which tells a story -- a man is listening to a sailor talk.  The listener listens very intently, “like a three years’ child.”  In every day talk, we wouldn’t use say it that way, of course.  We’d say “ like a three year old.”  But it’s pretty easy to understand what is meant by a “three years’ child,” isn’t it?  And this poetic way of talking is nice.  It’s different; it’s interesting.  

Today we want you and your kids to discuss these concepts.  And you guys can make up some little bits of poetry yourselves.

Then, have the kids evaluate everything as:  right, wrong, or poetry.  Here are some examples:

You can see the sun up in the sky.  (Right.  This statement is true.  I don’t think you could argue with it.)

You can see the sun down in a deep dark cave.  (Wrong.  This statement isn’t correct, really.)

You can see the sun in the eyes of a puppy.  (Poetry.  This is an interesting, different way of expressing the thought.  It’s poetry!  And it’s easy!)

Here are three more examples, just because this is really fun to do.. . .