Does it seem like every time you turn around, your home has been taken apart by your little explorer? Don't despair. It may only result from an extraordinary desire to learn. Who knows, your child may be a future scientist, inventor, or leader in the making.
When your child needs to occupy her creative energy, have her try some of these fun, educational activities.
Put together a book of facts on a personal interest such as dinosaurs, insects, rock bands, sports, or astronomy. Clip pictures and descriptions from magazines and Internet printouts. Then trace drawings from books and write about personal experiences on the topic.
Play restaurant. Have your child make up a restaurant menu with several simple dishes he can prepare. At dinnertime, he can seat the family, take orders, then prepare and serve the meals. (Suggestion: Bring along some reading while you wait).
Recycling fun. Start a discard collection and teach your kids the importance of recycling and reusing disposable items. Then get their creative juices flowing. Save zippers and buttons from old clothing, plastic containers, fabric strips, packing materials, small scraps of wood, carpet and wallpaper scraps, and more. Supply your kids with scissors, tape, and glue, and let their creativity blossom.
Play Thomas Edison. Save old kitchen appliances, computers, DVD players, and other electronics. Give your child a supply of tools such as pliers, screwdrivers, and safety glasses, and let him go to work. Kids love this type of exploration and learn by taking apart and examining the inner workings of electronics. As a word of caution, cut the electrical cord before your child begins and supervise for sharp parts or mechanisms that could pinch fingers.
Create a video. Have your kids make up several humorous tv commercials using household items for props and dressing up for the part. Once they've rehearsed their skits, set up a video camera and tape their production.
Go on a dig. Archaeology excavation kits let children dig for ancient treasures from replicas of dinosaur fossils to Egyptian reliefs. Kids also learn about the history behind the excavated items through stories included with the kits. Once kids’ interest has been sparked, parents can find additional articles from the library, encyclopedias or the Internet.
Scientific Explorer kits have won several awards. These kits offer a variety of educational activities, experiments, and worksheets. They are available in the following themes: Ancient Greece: The Dawn of Modern Science, Galileo: Renaissance Astronomer and Physicist, Charles Darwin: The Life of a Naturalist, and many others. Look for these kits in gift shops at science museums and in educational toy stores.
