Daily Idea #264: 1 Square (Not 4)

By now you probably all realize I am all about simplicity. The easier something is to set up, the more likely it is we will actually do an activity and then it keeps us all busy (plus that means super quick clean up).

So, for today’s daily idea, we are playing 1 square instead of 4 square. Tape a large square/rectangle on the ground (about 2 feet by 2 feet or 2 feet by 3 feet). Have your child stand inside the square and see how many times they can bounce a pinging ball or a bouncy ball inside the square without it touching anywhere outside of the taped shape. Next have them stand outside the square and see how many times in a row they can bounce the ball in the square if they are outside of the square.

You can come up with all different combinations of bouncing the ball inside or outside the square — Have fun!

Daily Idea #263: Pop the Packing Bubbles

Thanks to being stuck at home, we’ve had an abundance of packages that arrive at the door. And thanks to those packages, we’ve had more bubble wrap in our house then ever before. So, for today’s daily idea I am giving each of my children sheets of bubble wrap and let them have at it! They love the sound of the bubbles popping and even though it starts to drive me a bit crazy after a while, it’s a great hand strengthening exercise, so I grin and bear it. They can step on it, they can squeeze it, they can take a rolling pin and roll over it… It’s all about using their hands and their creativity to get those bubbles popped.

Daily Idea #262: Frozen Bubbles

In many parts of the United States the temperature is below freezing (not were we are, but we can still have fun with this). This may sound strange but it is the perfect weather to go outside and blow bubbles. Get those layers on and take your bubbles on an adventure. After you blow a bubble, when it lands on the snow or on the freezing ground, the bubble will slowly freeze and create a snow globe effect. Experiment with adding some food color to the bubble liquid to see if different color bubbles can be blown thus forming multicolored frozen bubbles! And if you live in warmer weather like me, just go outside and enjoy blowing bubbles!

Daily Idea #261: All of My Colors

Based off of this Shel Silverstein poem we are going to create a picture of ourselves for today with all the colors. Each of us is made up of so many things beyond what others see on the outside and to honor that we are going to use all the colors in the rainbow to represent the different parts of us. Maybe using purple for your head, green for your legs, and yellow for your heart. Enjoy looking at what makes you YOU and let your imagination run wild.

Daily Idea #260: Setting a Proper Table

We are going to back to learning a basic life skill today: Setting a Proper Table. We try to get the kids involved in setting and clearing the table. They know the basics; the plate goes in the middle, the fork goes on the left, the knife and spoon go on the right. Many times it just looks like we all threw stuff at the table and hoped it landed in the right place, but when a table is set properly there is something really beautiful about it. For today’s daily idea we are going to learn the three different ways to set a proper table— basic, casual, and formal. I am attaching pictures of each way to follow.

Daily Idea #259: Board Book Long Jump

Board books are super easy to get to stand up on their own. Open the book into a “V” shape and stand it up on the ground with the spine of the book perpendicular to the floor.

Now that you have one book set up, have your child(ren) jump over it. Easy, right? Start adding a book at a time and see how many they can jump over without knocking any of them over!

Daily Idea #258: Paper Relay

It’s almost the end of January and school breaks seem like they are way off in the distance. So to keep those winter blues at bay, we are keeping up with staying active. For the daily idea today we are doing a paper relay race. All you need is two pieces of paper for each player.

The goal of this relay is to be the first person to get from one side of the room to the other or one end of the hallway to the other by only stepping on the papers. Each player gets their two pieces of paper. Stand on one of them and place the other in front. Step forward onto that paper and move the one previously stepped on to the front. Continue moving the papers one at a time from the back to the front as each player steps from the back to the front paper.

Have fun and good luck!

Daily Idea #257: Tissue Fly

I think every parents has had a child find a tIssue box and begin pulling out tissue after tissue like it’s a magic trick they just discovered. Let’s just admit it, tissues are fun (albeit completely frustrating when this “magic trick” happens over and over again). For today’s daily idea all you need is one tissue for each person playing.

Each person gets a tissue (a clean tissue). The whole idea is throw your own tissue up in the air and catch someone else’s before it falls to the ground. This sounds like it would be supremely easy and yet… Stand a few feet apart and let the games begin.

Daily Idea #256: Do the Shuffle

My kids are loving these movement activities for my daily ideas so I am trying my best to find as many as I can. The one for today, I stumbled across and I thought it looked like fun for all of us.

For today’s daily idea you will need some space. You will also need two pieces of paper and some stickers.

Tape one piece of paper on the floor on one side of a room or hallway and the other piece of paper on the floor across the room or at the other end of the hallway. Starting at one paper shuffle sideways to the other and place a sticker on the paper. Shuffle back and forth until you run out of stickers or until your paper is full!

Daily Idea #255: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Go!

For today’s daily idea we are playing a game to get moving. Two people will stand across from each other with an object on the floor in between them (a stuffed animal, a bean bag, a ball). A third person will call out in whatever order they would like, “Head, Shoulders, Knees”. The two people have to put their hands on their head, shoulders, or knees as they called out. When the “caller” says “GO” (and they can say it at anytime) the two people playing have to reach for the object in between them and whomever gets there first wins.

Daily Idea #254: Introductions

It may not seem like it, but there will come a time in the future when our children will need to know how to introduce themselves to others— strangers— people they have never met before (and maybe even reintroduce themselves to people they do know). So, for today’s daily idea, we are going over the skills of a good introduction along with a proper handshake (as well as arm bump in case we don’t ever shake hands with another person again).

Important things to keep in mind:

Look the other person in the eye when saying your name, “Hi, my name is _________”

Listen to what the other person says and repeat their name back to them in a sentence, “It’s nice to meet you, ____________”

Ask the person a question that you genuinely want to know the answer to

When shaking someone’s hand, have a firm grip but not too hard— you don’t want to hurt them— and try not to make it more than a few seconds long

If, instead you want to go for an elbow bump, just raise your elbow in their direction (if they don’t get the hint, say, “Elbow bump!”

And finally PRACTICE— practice with each other and with your siblings.

Daily Idea #253: Row, Row, Row, Your Boat

We’ve got simple and fun for today’s daily idea. Sit on the floor with a partner with your legs out and your feet touching. Grab each other’s hands. It’s best to make your 4 legs in the shape of a diamond in order to more easily hold hands. Sing “Row, Row, Row, Row Your Boat” while you pull each other back and forth to get a good stretch in your back and your legs. And if you really want a challenge, sing the song in a round where one person starts and then at the end of the first sentence (“gently down the stream”) the second person starts singing from the beginning!

Daily Idea #252: Can You Kick It?

Need some core exercises today? We’ve done a few different ones over the year of daily ideas but this one looks like so much fun and challenging on top it.

For today’s daily idea, can you kick it? Have your child lie on their back with their hands at their side and knees tucked into their chest (Imagine a turtle on their back). On the count of three, gently throw a ball (something medium sized and not so hard) toward them. Then, have your child straighten their legs out in front of them in order to try and kick the ball back to you with their feet. It’s definitely a challenge, but once you get the hang of it see if you can start aiming the ball in different directions!

Daily Idea #251: Chess

I never learned how to play chess as a child but played checkers all the time. Well, my middle child loves both chess and checkers and we have all become amateur chess players in our house.

Obviously, we have a chess board— but not every does. So, for today’s daily idea we are making a chess/checkers board out of LEGO’s! You can use this website’s instructions to create your board and pieces and then if you don’t know how to play, you can use this website to learn. Enjoy playing chess with or checkers with your mini pieces.

Daily Idea #250: It’s About Time

Thanks to film we know more about the last 150 years than we do about most of history. And things sure have changed faster in the last 150 years than ever before. For today’s daily idea we are going to take one period of time and create a “Time Period” party.

Use your research powers to find out the dress, food, music, etc from a certain time period (1920’s, Wild West, the 80’s…) Then with what we have on hand, we are going dress like that time period, eat food from that time period, and listen music from that time period.

Daily Idea #249: Shadows

Today is officially Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The day we celebrate the life of this incredible man. This year, we’ve been really trying to work on two of King’s main teachings— that we may look different on the outside but we are all the same on the inside and darkness does not drive out darkness; only light can do that.

With that said, for today’s daily activity we are looking at shadows. All you really need is sidewalk chalk or tape. This works best in the morning or afternoon (not in the middle of the day). Go outside and observe what happens when you face the sun and then when you face away from the sun. When you are facing away from the sun, look at the shadow that your body makes. Use your chalk or your tape to outline the shadow. You can even bring out some toy dinosaurs or play people and draw their shadows as well.

Discuss with your child(ren) how the shadows may all be different shapes, but they are all the same color. Then discuss what they observed when they were facing the light vs looking away from the light. We all create shadows, but when we face the light we cannot see the shadow. The more goodness and light we put into the world the more impact but less shadow we cast.

Daily Idea #248: It’s What’s Inside That Counts

We’ve been talking a lot in our family about how it’s what is on the inside of a person that counts— trustworthiness, love, how you treat people, animals, the earth, etc… People all look different (even people in our own family) but we are all the same on the inside. And finally, the more effort you put into showing empathy/sympathy, respect, and kindness the more your own beauty shines.

My favorite way to teach this is to bring out a packet of M&M’s or Skittles (anything that is all different on the outside but all the same on the inside). We take out some different colors and separate them into groups according to their color. Then have your child close their eyes and give them one M&M at a time of each different color at to taste. Ask them to try and guess which color it is. Then have them take two M&M’s and bite halfway through to see the color on the outside and the chocolate on the inside.

You can ask them what kinds of characteristics matter most to them in their friends. Discuss how physical appearances aren’t as important as who the person is on the inside.

Daily Idea #247: I Have a Dream

Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

We celebrate the life of this great man this coming Monday (his birthday is actually today). I have seen (and done) many wonderful projects over the years with my kids to discuss the great ideas of MLK Jr. This one is my favorite: We are creating dream catchers for today’s daily idea. In the process of creating a dream catcher, we will discuss the dreams of MLK Jr. and what dreams we have for the future.

ITEMS NEEDED:

Paper plate (any size)

hole puncher

scissors

yarn/twine/string

To start, cut out the middle section out of your paper plate (the flat part) and discard. Punch holes around the exterior ring. You can punch 8, 12, or 16 holes depending on how complicated you want your pattern to be on the inside of your dream catcher. Tie the start of the yarn to one hole and begin weaving the yarn through the various holes in the ring. Once your pattern is complete, pull the yarn through the top hole to create a loop and tie it off (this is to tie off the yarn so it doesn’t unravel as well to create a loop from which to hang your dream catcher.) You can leave it like this or you can cut more yarn for tails to decorate the bottom of the dream catcher.

This website has very clear instructions as to how to create your dream catcher.

Daily Idea #246: Relay Crawl

Get ready for some fast paced fun! For today’s daily idea, we are setting up a small course to race through. You’ll need 10 cans (cones, water bottles, something to line up that you can crawl over and weave through), a stack of stuffed animals or other toys, and some space.

To set up the course, place the cans in a straight line with about 10 inches in between each can. Place all the toys at the far end of the line of cans. At the start, crawl over the line of cans as fast as you can. Then pick up a toy and weave through the cans on the way back to start. Repeat until you have picked up all the toys. You can either time each person and the whomever gets the fastest time wins or you can set up two courses so you can race against each other 2 at a time.

Daily Idea #245: Make a Hacky Sack

Hacky sacks were all the rage in the 90’s. I remember not being able to even walk the halls of a school or down any sidewalk without interrupting people kicking one around. And it proved to be excellent for hand/foot/eye coordination (playing with the crocheted ball filled with rice, not dodging it).

For today’s daily idea, I am bringing back the Hacky Sack! No, I am not asking anyone to crochet one (I can barely crochet a circle, let alone a ball). All you need is an old sock, some rice, and either a glue gun or needle and thread.

First take an old sock and put about 1/3 cup of rice into it letting it all settle in the toe area. If you are going to sew it shut, now is the time to sew as close to the rice as possible with your sewing machine or with a needle thread. Then cut the sock close to where you sewed it shut. If you are going to glue it shut then cut the sock about an inch away from where the rice filled it up. Then glue the sock closed and let it dry. Now, you have yourself a homemade Hacky sack to kick around or toss in the air.