Fun for Black Hills Early Learners

We are here to bring you fun activities for any child age 0-5 years. We hope you find this useful and helpful during this very unusual time. Happy learning!

How to find the right activities for your child. Each activities is marked by dots (•): • = Infant •• = Toddler ••• = Preschooler

Fun Activities • Is your baby pulling themself up or moving around the room by holding on to things? Put something interesting, like a colorful cup or toy, just out of reach. Point to it, encourage them to reach or move to the object, and talk about their effort, "You're working so hard to get that cup!" •   It is important to strengthen your baby’s leg and abdominal muscles, as well as their coordination. Your baby’s kicking skills are an important part of their crawling and walking development. Play Ready Aim Kick! •• When it is too hot to go outdoors, make some Rainbow/music bottle shakers for your toddler and march around the house. Link to Instructions Here •• Super Simple Number Slap game helps your child learn numbers an all you need is a deck of playing cards. Link to Activit y Here •• Have a pool noodle? Turn it into a simple balance beam for a gross motor activity. Link to Activity Here ••• Explore the properties of different ingredients and how they can transform while creating tasty (and safe!) edible slime. Link to Recipe Here ••• Make a color wheel with construction paper and then have your preschooler find toys of the same color to place on the matching color paper. Link to Activity Here ••• Our world is filled with plants and animals that live and burrow in dirt and soil. Get your hands dirty as you learn about the different types of soil and make an edible “dirt” cup. Link to PBS KIDS Here

Outdoor Fun • Ring a Ring a Rosie” is usually a group activity, but it is fun to play with just you and your baby. As well as being fun, this game assists in sensory and language development. Link to Activity Here •• Painting in a box lid? Tipping the box lid back and forth? Yep, that’s what this toddler painting with balls activity is all about. Link to Activity Here •• Make mud with cornstarch and cocoa for a safe messy play activity. Hide toys for your toddler to discover in the "mud". Link to Activity Here •• Learning what dissolves in water science activity can be set up with anything you have in your pantry. Talk to your child about doing an experiment and encourage them to observe what is happening. Link to Activity Here

••• Make a human board game outside to get your kids moving and learning. The best thing about this game is its limitless applications. Get fresh air and some exercise while learning math concepts like one-to-one correspondence and real number values.  Link to Activity Here ••• Make bubble prints. Mix one-half cup tempera paint with one-half cup detergent in a jug filled with water. Stir and let stand overnight. Take the jug outside and before dipping into the paint, practice blowing through a straw with your child. Ask her to place her hands at the end of the straw so she can feel the air exiting. Pour the paint mixture into a low pan or pie plate. Blow bubbles! When a mountain of suds forms, gently place a piece of art paper over the bubbles. As the bubbles pop, they leave an unexpected design on the paper ••• We need to be safe inside during a thunderstorm but it's a great time to learn about the storm outside. Have kids count the seconds (by saying “one Mississippi”) between the time they see lightning and hear a crack of thunder, then divide that number by five. The result reveals approximately how many miles away a storm is.

Everyday Moments For more brain building moments sign up at Vroom.org . Vroom Tips help you do more with your shared moments. Add learning to mealtime, bathtime, bedtime or anytime with over 1000 free ideas • Does your baby notice when someone leaves the room? Pick them up and go on a hunt to find the missing person. When you walk into a room, say "Where is ...?" If they aren't there, say, "Nobody there." Keep looking until you can say, "There they are!" Your child is learning so much with this game. They're learning to pursue a goal, to look for clues, to connect words to meaning, even before they can talk. And it's fun too! • • Grab two plastic cups at bathtime and give one to your child and fill it with water from the other cup. Ask them to pour the water back into yours. Count the number of times out loud and see how many times you can go back and forth! Supporting your child as they explore and discover will help them become learners for life. Counting out loud also helps them build a stronger sense of numbers. ••• At bedtime encourage your preschooler to tell you about their day but tell it backwards. Did you just read a book together/ Before that did they brush their teeth? See how far back in the day they can remember. Share your backward day too! This encourages your child to step back and reflect on what just happened versus what happened hours ago. They are using their memory which is essential for learning new things.

Literacy • Copy the sounds you hear your baby make, like "ah, eee, ooo, be, dee," How do they respond? As you make a sound, place their fingers on your lips so they can feel the vibrations and movements of your lips. Try different sounds as you do! •• For older toddlers this activity can help them learn about letters and improve their fine motor skills. Write letters on construction paper and let your toddler squeeze glue on the lines and then glue on beads, beans, buttons or any other items you might have around. Link to Activity Here •• Letter Discovery Baskets are an awesome way to help your toddler explore letter sounds at home! Simply gather a few items that start with the same letter sound and place them in a basket for your little one to explore. For example, a bell, banana, baby doll, and book could live in a Letter B discovery basket. You don’t have to introduce letter sounds in any particular order, but your child might enjoy exploring the letters in their name first! Link to Activity Here •• Your child can p ractice art and letter-making by reusing styrofoam items to make painted letter prints. Link to PBS Activity Her ••• Bingo is easy an easy game to make with things you have around the house and a great way to explore letters for your preschooler. Link to Activity Here ••• Making a book about friends can help y oung children learn what it means to be a friend. Friends like to play together. Sometimes they have different ideas about what they want to do and conflicts arise. You can help your child learn to listen to each other and continue to play. Working things out is what friends do. Link to Activity Here ••• Your preschooler can read along and will sure to giggle reading "Is There a Chance You've seen my Pants?" by Russell Ginns. Link to Story Here