Productive Parenting: A Wonderful Site!

I was recently contacted by Susan from Productive Parenting. She asked if I would share her site with everyone. To be honest, NOT to share it would be a crime. It is a wonderful site full of fun activities for preschoolers, toddlers, and baby development. To access all the great information on the site, one must sign up, but it is free.

The activities in the library are arranged by age. One can also view the skills the activities will help develop. Plus all the activities are categorized into six different areas: Daily Living Skills, Exploring Our World, Fun with Numbers, Language/Pre-Reading, Science Adventures, and Sensory Experiences. All activities have easy preparation and materials.

With Susan's permission I would like to share a sampling of the activities with you:

Build a Tent
Target Age:
Late Infant



What To Do:
Children love having a space all to themselves! Have fun today creating a new space for your child to enjoy. Put a sheet over tables and chairs to create a 'tent.' Put your child's favorite toys and books in the new space. Watch the fun your child will have exploring in and out of the new space!

Variations:
Locate a large cardboard box, (with the sides open), for your child to enjoy.
Maybe you and your child can spend special time together today enjoying a snack in the tent.

Skills Learned:
Sensory Development
Creative Expression
Spatial Awareness

Activity Category:
Sensory Experiences

Activity Contributor:
Beth Bronsil, M. Ed.

Weather
Target Age:
Late One-Year Old



Materials You Will Need:
magnetic photo holders of rain, clouds, snow, sun

What To Do:
Encourage your child to look outside and describe the weather. If today is a sunny day, have your child take the picture of the sun and put it on the refrigerator door. Make this activity part of your child's daily routine. Your child may enjoy being a weather forecaster!

Skills Learned:
Visual Discrimination
Concept Development

Activity Category:
Science Adventures

Activity Contributor:
Beth Bronsil, M. Ed.

Flashlight Fun
Target Age:
Late Two-Year Old



Materials You Will Need:
2 flashlights

What To Do:
This activity is fun to do at night or in a dark place in your home. Play the "Flashlight Game"! Shine your flashlight on the ceiling or wall. Have your child try to catch the light with his/her light. Continue with the activity having your child try to catch the light from your flashlight.

Variations:
Another flashlight game to play with your child is before bedtime, when it is dark. After cleanup time, go to a dark room and let your child be silly. Track your child with a flashlight, while running around.

Skills Learned:
Visual Stimulation
Eye Hand Coordination
Visual Tracking
Creative Movement

Activity Category:
Sensory Experiences

Activity Contributor:
Beth Bronsil, M. Ed.

Animal Cracker Matching
Target Age:
Late Three-Year Old



Materials You Will Need:
small box of animal crackers

What To Do:
This fun matching activity will be provide a snack for today as well! Take all of the animal crackers out of the box and turn them right side up. Have your child choose a cracker and find another one that matches exactly. Put that pair aside, then continue to find matches until all the crackers have been matched or you have an assortment left that don't match. Have fun eating all the lions, all the elephants, etc.!

Skills Learned:
Visual Discrimination
Matching
Attention Span

Activity Category:
Language/Pre Reading

Activity Contributor:
Carrie Biales, M. Ed.

Dice Addition
Target Age:
Late Four-Year Old



Materials You Will Need:
paper, pencil, pennies, pair of dice

What To Do:
Introduce your child to this fun number game: "Dice Addition." Have your child roll one die and count the objects. (If the die indicates 4, have your child count out 4 pennies.) Have your child roll the second die and again count out that many pennies, (or other objects). Combine both sets and count them all to get the total number of pennies, (or other objects). If your child seems interested, you may want to write the problem 4+3=7).

Variations:
You can also make your own large dice with boxes covered in white craft paper with dots indicating the numbers.

Skills Learned:
Visual Discrimination
Counting Concepts
Concept Development

Activity Category:
Fun with Numbers

Activity Contributor:
Carrie Biales, M. Ed.

Remember, this is just a sampling of the activities. The above samples are one from each age group. Each age group is also subdivided into early, middle, and late stages of each age. The possibilities here are endless. If you are looking for a site to offer some additions to all the wonderful things you already do, be sure to check this site out.