We all want our children to be learning, as much as possible. This could be at school, at home or while playing. Kids learn all the time – think of those awkward moments when your child has heard a naughty word, they remember it and repeat it. Children learn by watching and by listening, even when they aren’t actively being taught anything. However sometimes it does feel like children just want to play – playing is of course learning too! They learn to share, to interact and to hold conversations. We thought we would share some educational fun ideas for you so that your kids are happy, and so are you!
Creating a newspaper
Get the kids to look at a newspaper, and then try to make their own. It can be as short or as long as they want. You could even go so far as to have a newspaper office set up, and allocate jobs. Who will be the journalist, the photographer or the editor? Does one child really love helping people? They could make an agony aunt column. You can print a crossword puzzle here. You can then take the newspaper and show it to all your friends and family!
Online Games
Online games are a great way for your children to have fun while learning. Just make sure you choose the games! There are some really good educational games you can play online, then even take it offline and extend the fun and learning. For instance, why not try this fantastic word game that gets you to make words from letters. This will give children some taxing times! There is a timer and the letters just keep on coming, so you have to think fast! You can then play a game of traditional Scrabble afterwards and see what they have learnt!
Another great game is searching for hidden objects. This will test your child’s observation skills to the max! but be careful, this game of search in a kitchen is addictive! You have to click on the object that you are searching for and it just goes on and on – its just great. It is also a great way to show children what things are., depending on their age. You can get even younger children to spot the items, then explain what they are called and what they are used for. For older children, its a way of getting them to talk about how things are used. In the kitchen example, you could talk about how spatulas are used. There are lots of games on the same website, and all are free, with no downloads needed.
Start a band
Bear with me here. If your kids love music, then why not start a band? If they are younger, they don’t even need real instruments, just use some old tins and wooden spoons! If they are a bit older, get them to start a band but with some planning. They need to work out where they can practice, how long they need to learn an instrument (check out YouTube for videos) and how they can advertise for their concert. They can make a poster advertising their concert which will help with their art skills – obviously, the poster is just for your house! They can however make tickets for entry and you could even sell popcorn or snacks to their lucky guests (family and friends only!)
We hope you have enjoyed our educational fun ideas and have a great time trying them out!
