Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Captions" - Grades K-3rd

Creative Writing, Composition, Handwriting

Help your child cut out interesting photos from newspapers or magazines, and glue them onto pieces of construction paper. Encourage her to provide appropriate (or just plain silly) captions for them. If your child isn't old enough to write yet, simply have her dictate captions to you.

Another fun place for captions is the family photo album. Let your child think up captions for a roll of photos you have just had developed or have her write captions on strips of paper and tape them under pictures in the family album. For extra fun, let her create and tape word and thought bubbles above peoples' heads in the photos.

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Writing Activities to do with your Child, Grades K-3rd, Ages 5-9. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Coin Solutions" - Grades 1-3

Currency, Mental Calculation

Give your child an assortment of coins (e.g. four dimes and four pennies), and pose some coin problems to him.

"Show me three coins that add up to twenty-one cents."

"Show me two coins that add up to twenty cents."

"Show me four coins that add up to forty cents."

"Show me five coins that add up to fourteen cents."

"Show me three coins that add up to thirty cents."

"Show me five coins that add up to thirty-two cents."

"Show me seven coins that add up to forty-three cents."

As your child becomes more skilled, give him additional coins (nickles, quarters, etc.) to work with.

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Math Activities to do with your Child, Grades Kindergarten to 3rd, Ages 5-9. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Sock Sports" - Age 1

Large Motor Skills, Hand-Eye Coordination

Sock Slam Dunk: Stand an open, large paper grocery bag in the middle of a room. Hand your child a balled-up sock (or a small stuffed animal or ball) and show him how to race by the bag and throw the sock in. After a while, give him two balled-up socks to throw into the bag at the same time. You can also encourage your child to stand still and try to shoot the balled-up sock into the grocery bag from different distances.

Sock Target: Draw a face on a large paper grocery bag. Cut out a large hole for the mouth. Place the open bag on a table, put a book in the bottom of the bag to weigh it down, and let your child try to throw balled-up stocks into the mouth.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Age 1, 12-24 months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Come Out Of The Barn!" - Preschool

Imagination, Listening Skills

Tell your child that you are going to play a game where she pretends that she is a farm animal and you are the farmer. Ask her what farm animal she wants to be, and talk about what the animal says (a cow says "moo," a pig says "oink," etc.).

Now have her go "into the barn," which could be going into another room, hiding under a little blanket tent laid over a table, or simply sitting on a chair. Tell her that you (the farmer) are going to call her out of the barn by speaking her language.

If she is a cow she can come out if you "moo," but if you "oink," or "baa," etc., she should stay in the barn. "Oink, oink. Come out of the barn! Hmm, that didn't work. Neigh, neigh. come out of the barn!" etc.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Preschool Activities to do with your Child, Ages 3 to 5. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Coin Collection" - Grades Kindergarten to 2nd Grade

Currency, Place Value

This activity will help your child learn how to read the year-date on coins and also create an annual age progression of a group of coins.

Create a four-column grid on a piece of cardboard or poster board. Label the tops of the columns,

"Pennies," "Nickels," "Dimes," and "Quarters." In the sections of the grid below each heading, write the current year and each progressively earlier year until you have the ten most recent years written in each column.

Now help your child look for coins throughout the house, and tape or glue the appropriate ones onto their proper spots on the board. Finding all forty coins might take a while, but a lot of the fun is in keeping an eye out for the missing years.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Math Activities to do with your Child, Grades K-3rd, Ages 5-9. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Music Time" - Ages 0-12 months

Sensory Awareness, Language Skills

Move Along: Babies love music and hearing you sing. As you are singing or listening to music with your baby, hold him and move to the rhythm or pat him gently in time to the music.

Sing & Stretch: As you sing a song such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," gently curl and uncurl your child's arms and legs to the rhythm.

Sing & Do: Sing about what you are doing while you are with your child. For example, "We're getting in the car! We're getting in the car! Hi Ho the Derry-O, we're getting in the car!"

Song List: Tape a list of songs by your child's changing table to help you remember different tunes to changing his diaper. You can also make up songs, such as, "I love Nicky's nose, nose, nose. I love Nicky's tummy, tummy, tummy."

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Baby Activities to do with your Child, 0-12 months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Brain Busters" - Ages 7 and Up

What is the Rule of 72?

Sock Drawer -- So as not to wake up his brother, Mark leaves the light off while looking for a pair of socks. He knows he has twelve black socks and eight blue socks in the drawer. What is the minimum number of socks he will need to pick out in order to ensure that he has a matching pair? (Hint available*)

Generous Grandparents - Grandpa wants to help you save up for a new bike. he says that as long as you start with one penny in your piggy bank he will add enough money each day to your bank to double the amount already in there. After you put the penny in, Grandpa puts in one cent the first day, two cents the second day, four cents the third day, etc. On the twelfth day your piggy bank is full. On which day is your piggy bank half full?

Not to be outdone, your Grandma decides that she will also give you one cent on the first day, two cents on the second day, four cents on the third day, etc. With both grandparents now contributing, on which day would your piggy bank be half full? (Hint available*)

Age of Reason - If I add two times my age two years from now to three times my age three years from now, the result is six times my current age. How old will I be four years from now?

(Hint available*)

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Thinking Activities to do with your Child, Ages 7 and up. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Hints:

Sock Drawer -- Three socks. If Mark picks three socks the possibilities become black/black/black, blue/blue/blue, black/black/blue, or blue/blue/black. There is a pair in each possibility.

Generous Grandparents -- When only Grandpa contributes, the piggy bank will be half full on the eleventh day (i.e., the day before the last day). Remember, the amount doubles each day! When Grandma chips in too, the piggy bank is half full a day earlier (Grandpa's one quarter fill plus Grandma's one quarter fill equals half full), so the piggy bank will be half full two days before the final day (day ten). (If a quantity doubles every day, then, today's amount is half of tomorrow's amount.)

Age of Reason -- Seventeen years old. (Begin by figuring out his current age (x). 2(x+2) + 3(x+3) =6x, then add four.)

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Mix & Match" - Age 1

Visual Discrimination, Sorting

Gather up pairs of socks, mittens, or spoons. Mix them up and encourage your child to try to match them. Or, mix up several pairs of shoes, then give your child one shoe from the pile and ask him to find the mate. Matching socks can also be a great way for your child to help with the laundry folding!

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Age 1 Activities to do with your Child. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Follow the Toy" - Age 0-6 Months

Sensory Awareness, Large Motor Skills

Attract your child's attention to a rattle you are holding in your hand. Slowly move the rattle across his field of vision, gently rattling it, when necessary, to regain his attention.

As your child's neck muscles strengthen, show him the rattle and then remove it from his view. Shake it gently to one side of him to encourage him to turn his head in the direction of the sound.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Baby, 0-12 Months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "All But One" - Grades 1 to 3

Composition, Vocabulary, Spelling

Place small strips of masking tape on a die to cover the dots. On each of the six sides, write a different letter, for example, D, W, G, Y, U, J.

The object of the game is to roll the die and write a sentence that does NOT use the letter you rolled in any of the words. Take turns with your child so she can see you struggle a bit while trying to come up with suitable words.

For example, if the letter "D" is rolled, a possible sentence could be:

The best way to go fishing is with a worm on your hook.

Naturally, it will be easier to refrain from using the more uncommon letters, so you may want to start by putting letters such as J, Q, V, W, X, Z, etc., on the die. As you and your child become more skilled in this activity, you can begin adding more of the commonly used consonants or vowels. For an added challenge, roll a pair of dice and try creating sentences that require you to avoid using two letters instead of just one.

Variation -- Instead of excluding the letter, challenge your child to use the letter as much as possible in a sentence. "Dan didn't dig doodling on dry, dusty dinner dishes."

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Writing. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Bathtub Boats" - Age 2

Observation & Discovery, Imagination

Egg Carton Boat: Float the top of a foam egg carton in the bathtub. Encourage your child to place different toys or household objects into the boat. She will learn to balance items so that the boat stays afloat, and she will see what causes the boat to sink.

Aluminum Foil Boat: Create a boat by curling up the edgew of a sheet of aluminum foil. How much water will it hold before it sinks? You can also crumple a piece of foil into a ball and place it into the tub along with a flat sheet of foil. Do they sink or float?

CAUTION!: Monitor your child closely during these activities. Never leave your child unattended in or near the bathtub.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Age 2. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Bogey at Two O'Clock" - Ages 7 and up

Before beginning this game, take a moment to show your child how directions can be given in relationship to the numbers on the face of a clock. First, remove your watch and have him hold it as your point out that twelve is straight ahead, three is to his right and nine is to his left.

Next, stand with your child in front of you, both facing a lamp (or some other reference point.) Explain to him that the lamp is "at twelve o'clock" when it is straight in front of him. Now have him turn so that the lamp is directly to his right and point out that the lamp is "at three o'clock." He can turn again so the lamp is directly to his left and note that the lamp is "at nine o'clock." Another turn puts the lamp behind him "at six o'clock." Remind him that whichever way he is facing is "twelve o'clock."

Secretly select an item in the room and give your child a clock coordinate to help him find it. For example, you may pick the fireplace and then call out, "Bogey at three o'clock!" This is your child's cue to look directly to his right and try to guess which item in that vicinity you chose. If he mistakenly turns to the left, you can continue to redirect him. "Bogey at six o'clock!"

EXTRA CREDIT: "Who is Elbert L. "Burt" Rutan?


SOURCE: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Thinking Activities to do with your Child, Ages 7 and up. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

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Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Button Button" - Grade Preschool

Visual Discrimination, Small Motor Skills

Button Comparison: Compare assorted buttons with your child, noting their similarities and differences. Look at size, shape, color, material (like wood or plastic), number of holes, etc. This can be a great time to practice sorting.

Where's the Button?: Ask your child to guess in which hand you are holding a button. Each time she guesses right, you can say, "You win! Let's play again!"

Button Tiddlywinks: Place a flat button on the floor or tabletop. Have your child press down on the edge of the button with the edge of another button so that the bottom button hops forward. She can even try to get it to jump into a shallow dish.

CAUTION: Monitor your child closely during these activities. Small items can pose a choking hazard.

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Preschool Activities to do with your Child, Ages 3-5. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

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Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Icy Bag" - Age 12 to 24 Months

Sensory Awareness, Small Motor Skills, Observation & Discovery

Put two ice cubes in a sandwich-sized resealable plastic bag and place it on your child's high chair tray. Leave the bag unsealed, letting her explore the ice and the bag. She can take the ice out and hold it, or put it on the tray.

Create a non-slippery area on the tray by placing a dishtowel over half of the surface. Your child will enjoy transferring the cubes to and from the bag and onto the slippery and non-slippery areas of the high chair tray.

Caution: Monitor your child closely during this activity. Ice can pose a choking hazard. Discard the ice and plastic bag immediately after play.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Age 1 Activities to do with your Child, 12 to 24 Months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Back Writing" - Kindergarten to 1st Grade

Pre-Reading, Letter Recognition, Handwriting

Write a letter on your child's back with your finger. After he figures out the letter, encourage him to think of a word that starts with that letter. Once your child gets the hang of this, you can try writing short words as well.

Variation - Use your finger to write a letter on the palm of your child's hand. This way, he can actually see the "writing" strokes.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Reading Activities to do with your Child, Ages 5 to 9, Kindergarten to 3rd Grade. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Drawing in the Dark" - Age 7 and Up

Imaginative Drawing, Visualization Activities

A drawing is easily visualized in our mind's eye, but can that picture be translated directly from mind to paper without using our physical eyes as a guide? As a way to further explore this mind-body connection, encourage your child to try to draw a picture while blindfolded or looking away from the paper.

She can either keep the pencil on the paper at all times or allow herself to raise the pencil now and then as she is completing the picture.

Your child will likely find that she gets better and better at this activity with practice. Over time, her mind will adapt to being able to draw without depending upon external visual cues.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Thinking, Ages 7 and up. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Big & Little" - Age 1

Visual Discrimination, Language Skills

Use household items to teach your child the concept of sizes -- big and small.

Bring out two or three differently sized spoons. Lay them before your child and talk about which is the biggest and which is the smallest. Shift the spoons around and then encourage him to pick up the biggest one. You can follow this up with differently sized bowls, plates, pans, utensils, socks, etc.

Use other everyday objects to discuss longest, shortest, fattest, thinnest, etc.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Age 1, 12 to 24 months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

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Free Parent Involvement Activity - "BEGINNINGS and ENDINGS" - Ages 7 & Up

On separate slips of paper, write the following letter combinations:

ans gin key pig bal hap law rac bol har let sea ius pen
bor hoc low ser cen hol mal son din hur mar sym yer
dle ies ner ter fam ing nor ver fin ish ous wer gen

Let your child try pairing these combinations to create twenty, six-letter, English words.

(Extra credit: Who is William James Sidis?)

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple, Activities to do with your Child, Thinking - Ages 7 and up. Available at SchooDoodle.com

FREE PARENT INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITY - Writing - "Action Basket"

Composition, Sentence Structure -Grades 1st through 3rd.

Divide eight (or more) strips of paper between you and your child so that you each have at least four strips.

Encourage your child to write down some fun action commands on his strips while you do the same. Examples:

"Jump while singing the alphabet song."
"Close your eyes and stand on one leg for as long as you can."
"Do five sit-ups."
"Make up a short poem and tell it to me."
"Walk backwards to your room and back."

Fold and place all the strips into a basket, mix them up and take turns drawing a strip and following the written instructions.

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Writing Activities to do with your Child, Ages 5-9, Grades K-3rd, available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - Art Collection

Visual Discrimination, Classifying
You can introduce your child to fine art and develop her appreciation for it by helping her collect postcards of well known pieces by famous artists.

Most museum gift shops stock a variety of postcards depicting their most well known works. You can buy a few cards at each museum you visit and continue adding to your child's collection over the years.

Looking through the cards and talking about the subject of the painting, the artist, and the style, can help her develop an understanding about how art takes many forms, and how styles of art change over time. Does the painting tell a story?

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Age 2 Activities to do with your Child.

Age 2 and up. Learn something new together!