Tag Archives: activity

Summer Sports – Camps and Alternatives

Sports are a great way to get your kids out of the house and building a better fitness lifestyle. The problem is that sports can be expensive and time-consuming for both you the parent and for your child. It can be hard to decide what sport to get them involved in, after all – different sports focus on different skill sets. The majority of them do help build teamwork skills, socialization and physical fitness. But how do you choose what sport your child will participate in? The first step to this decision is asking your child what interests them. By … Continue reading →

The Mental Do It Yourself Fitness Program

As we were discussing earlier, there is a lot of activity that we could participate in that would make us physically active without grinding away in the gym. Our parents and grandparents did a great deal more work by hand regularly than we do. Is it no wonder that we are facing a national crises of activity? We rely on our car to run to the corner store, to take the kids three blocks to school and in some places, just to go and check the mail. We use vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, washers and dryers and we save tremendous amounts … Continue reading →

Fidget Your Way to Fitness

If you’re laughing at the idea of fidgeting your way to fitness, you are not alone. For years, I’ve bounced my right leg whenever I was sitting still for prolonged periods. My leg bounced in meetings. It bounced at the dinner table. It bounced while I sat in a seat at the movies. It bounced when I sat in a class. My bouncing leg drove the people around me crazy. But as it turns out, my fidgeting leg may have been a fitness fidget and I didn’t know I wasn’t just restless – I was burning calories! A recent report … Continue reading →

Experiments with Static Electricity

Science can be hair-raising fun! You can teach your kids about static electrity while doing these activities. Super Sparker My favorite activity comes from the Exploratorium, a hands-on science museum in San Francisco. On their website, there is a great, simple experiment using a pie tin a styrofoam tray that will introduce your kids to why they get shocked when they rub their feet along the carpet and then, say, touch a doorknob. The experiment also teaches them why lightning happens. Check it out here: © The Exploratorium, exploratorium.edu Sticking Time Your kids have probably rubbed a balloon on their … Continue reading →

Activities That Teach – #7 The Case for Personal Space

The basic concept of “personal space” is an important social rule. It’s a simple idea–each of us has an invisible bubble around us where we feel safe, and if someone crosses into it we become uncomfortable. Most children instinctively sense when they enter someone else’s personal space and when theirs is crossed, but the special-needs child may need help learning these boundaries. She might forcefully invade her peer’s space, oblivious to how it makes him feel. And this could cause her to be rejected by peers and have difficulty making friends. Or your child’s inability to recognize when his own … Continue reading →

Activities That Teach – #5 Amazing Abstracts!

Bring out your child’s inner artist with this fun, self-esteem boosting activity. And get some art for your home in the process! This idea came about because I decided I wanted some abstract paintings in my house. Maybe it’s just a phase I was going through. So I started shopping for abstracts, when something dawned on me. Why should I buy the work of strangers to hang in my home, when I’m raising gifted, brilliant, aspiring artists? R.J.’s Masterpiece (Age 11) My children were delighted to be treated like “real artists” whose work would be permanently displayed. This is a … Continue reading →

Activities That Teach – #4 Dancing Puppet People

My kids and I had so much fun making these puppets! “Can we make more and put on a puppet show?” they asked. I like the fact that they’re simple, and you can probably scrounge up the materials to make them around your house. Attach a string and watch them dance! Prerequisite Skills: Your child should be able to use his thumb in opposition with fingers to grasp. Skills: Fold and crease paper. Fold paper in imitation. Fold and creases paper on a line multiple times. Use scissors to cut shapes. Thumb and forefinger grasping to hold paper pieces and … Continue reading →

Activities That Teach – #2 Simple Paper Snowflakes

I think most of us have made paper snowflakes in our childhoods. This is a simple version which can be used to help improve fine motor skills and grasping strength, not to mention encouraging creativity. Prerequisite Skills – Your child can already: 1. Use thumb in opposition with fingers. 2. Grasp objects. 3. Open and close scissors. 4. Snip and make cuts in paper. Materials Needed: 1. Paper squares (a regular sheet of paper should be trimmed to make a square). 2. Scissors 3. Paste, glue, or string Method: 1. Fold paper this way: In half, in half again. If … Continue reading →