The Joy of Teaching

You may have heard your child’s teachers discussing the idea of fostering a growth mindset in their classroom. It sounds like a great approach to helping children cope with emotions, but what does that really mean, and how can you encourage a growth mindset at home?

A growth mindset nurtures motivation, resilience, and perseverance. It teaches that intelligence isn’t fixed, but rather controlled by our thoughts and actions.

Here are 6 Tips for Fostering a Growth Mindset in Your Home:

1. No One Is Perfect: Teaching our children to embrace failure as a learning opportunity rather than a mistake helps them accept their mistakes and to keep challenging themselves to try new things. If we teach our children to be afraid of mistakes, they won’t want to try new things and embrace their creativity. I love the quote by Thomas Edison, who said, “Have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Instead of using perfection as a measurement tool, use improvement. Create some goals with your child for the week/month in areas he or she wants to improve. Have an honest discussion about something he or she would like to get better at. Examples could be:
   
   1. Making the bed every morning
   2. Reading 20 minutes each night
   3. Helping with dishes after dinner
   4. Using kind words with a sibling
   5. Reading more nonfiction
2. You Have the Power to Control Your Emotions: Teaching our children to view their emotions through a growth mindset gives them permission to take control of their feelings. We all experience anxiety, fear, and sadness sometimes, but practicing mindfulness can help children develop healthy habits for dealing with those emotions. A growth mindset teaches children to find an activity that is calming and keeps them from obsessing about a situation or emotion. Calming activities could include:
   
   • Imagining something peaceful: “I can see…,” I can hear…”
   • Coloring a picture quietly
   • Reading a comforting story
   • Cuddling with a favorite stuffed animal or blanket
      
3. Challenge Yourself: Part of teaching children to embrace challenge is helping them understand the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Often, some of the most rewarding experiences in life come from hard work, commitment, and perseverance.
   
   1. Fixed mindset says, “I am not good at math.”
   2. A growth mindset says, “I can get better at math by practicing.”
       
4. No Comparison: The secret to a happy life is to not compare yourself to others. The quicker children learn this habit the better. Recognizing personal strengths in themselves and in friends can help your child understand the futility of comparison. Help your child identify three things he or she does really well and three things that are more difficult.
    
5. No Fear: Part of developing a growth mindset is accepting that it is normal to feel fear, but how we deal with that fear is the determining factor in success or failure. Teaching children to challenge their fear and persevere despite it is a great life lesson. Teach your child coping strategies for managing anxiety-producing activities.
   
   • Demonstrate unconditional love
   • Celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities
   • Focus on solutions
   • Brainstorm worst-case scenarios to take away their power
      
6. Gratitude: Every day can be a good day if you choose it. Fostering a thankful and positive attitude has an enormous impact children’s happiness. Learning early on that happiness is a decision and not an outcome is a wonderful gift. One exercise for fostering gratitude is to choose three things each day to be thankful for. “Happiness depends more on the internal frame of mind of a person’s own mind than on the externals in the world.” -George Washington
    

Rose-Rosebud-Thorn Check-in 

One summer my daughter attended a summer camp that taught her the rose, rosebud, and thorn challenge. She loved it so much that we continue the tradition every evening before bed. It gives us the opportunity to do a self-check-in about the day and our emotions.
Each person shares:

• Rose: The best part of their day
• Rosebud: Something they learned or would like to get better at
• Thorn: A problem that occurred during the day

Additional Resources

Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids is a full-color activity book that helps children spread kindness, build empathy, and practice mindfulness. Download free printable activities from this book here!

For more educational ideas and resources for grades PreK–8, subscribe to Evan-Moor’s free education newsletter.

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.

Music education is an easy subject that is often overlooked by parents, but it is a very important subject to teach. Children with access to music education achieve higher academic scores, advanced social skills, and an overall confidence boost, so it is a subject that should be included in our teachings, whether in the classroom or at home.

Children sometimes have difficulty concentrating for long periods of time. There are some really great musical games that can be incorporated into the classroom or at home that inspire creativity and help keep your children engaged. The point isn’t always just the game itself, but rather, how to incorporate it within your curriculum. Here are some simple ways to help you include games that you can use in the classroom or at home.

Play Musical Chairs

We all are likely familiar with the game musical chairs, but we can add a fun twist and do it at home virtually with other children. This game promotes strong listening skills in children.

This can be tough for children at home, so one way to do this is to have a video chat with other children so that they can all participate. Instead of using chairs, you can utilize a chat window, which will improve your child’s listening and writing skills. When they hear the music stop, they can type in a word, such as “CHAIR,” or something pertinent to the game itself, and whoever is the last one to type in a word is the one who’s “out,” then the game continues.

Make a Homemade Instrument You Can Play

Instruments create music, and there are so many household items that can be utilized for this. Part of the game can be locating the materials, almost like a scavenger hunt for children to find items they can use to make something that will create sound.

You can make a simple-to-play harmonica out of straws. You can even make a homemade guitar out of some cut cardboard and a bunch of rubber bands. There are plenty of ideas you can find online on how to make instruments.

The objective of the game is to see who can actually play a song on their homemade instrument. You can also have the students play a song together with all of their instruments as a unique classroom band.

Learn a Fundamental Instrument from Home

The piano, for example, is a great beginner instrument. If you’re unable to provide instructions on an instrument from the classroom, you can find virtual piano instructors who offer online piano tutorials that can help make learning the piano entertaining for any student at home. Children can learn the keys by labeling them and making a simple song such as “Happy Birthday” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” out of fun symbols or shapes.

Because you have multiple options, the possibilities of musical games are limitless. Help keep music education relevant and continue to incorporate it in class and at home.

Nicole McCray: Before she discovered her passion for teaching students how to play their first instrument, Nicole was pinching pennies in her 20s while singing across the country. Nowadays, she spends her time contributing to music blogs, parenting forums, and education websites when she’s not providing private music lessons. She finds joy in sharing her insight with musicians, fellow teachers, and parents of musicians-in-training!

Summer reading is a great way to keep children’s minds active during the summer, but what if they don’t like to read? Roald Dahl is a world-renowned children’s author of BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and more! His writing is extremely popular among beginning readers, and can turn even the most reluctant readers into book lovers. Dahl uses funny language and makes up words to coax a smile or a laugh out of his readers. The worlds he creates in his books are imaginative and incredible and bring a touch of magic into the lives of his readers.

Summer Reading Recommendations

Many research studies have shown that children who do not read over the summer face steep declines in cognitive and critical thinking abilities. According to a study by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, research shows that skipping summer reading can impact a child’s education for years. “What we know is that children who do not read in the summer lose two to three months of reading development, while kids who do read tend to gain a month of reading proficiency,” Allington said. “This creates a three- to four-month gap every year. Every two or three years the kids who don’t read in the summer fall a year behind the kids who do.”

Before jumping into BFG or another of Dahl’s classics, there are a few things you can do to support your reluctant reader.

Children are recommended to read 20–30 minutes a night

• Grades 1–2 are recommended to read 20 minutes
• Grades 3–6 are recommended to read 30 minutes
• Set up a routine: read around the same time every day, whether it’s before bed, after breakfast, or whenever suits their schedule.
• Find a comfortable spot to read that doesn’t have any distractions.
• Be flexible: If your children need extra support, sit with them and have them read aloud to you. If they’re having a hard day and seem especially reluctant, you can start reading aloud for the first few pages to get them engaged in the story. Use funny voices to narrate and to make it a fun experience.
• Always create a positive reading experience by using encouragement, incentives, and rewards.

Reading Rewards 

One of the coolest incentives for summer reading with Dahl is a themed family movie night party! Though children are often reluctant to read, using imaginative stories like Dahl’s can help jumpstart their reading interest. Tell your children that once they finish the book, they will get to celebrate by watching a movie based on the book they just read! The book-movie night will be paired with book-themed treats and activities to bring the reading to life! Below are three ideas for book-movie parties for three of Dahl’s greatest books!

BFG

The story of Sophie and BFG is one of Dahl’s most popular books; the Big Friendly Giant is one of Dahl’s beloved characters, and the book is full of funny words, foods, and drinks that you can incorporate into your movie party!

• “Frobscottles”: Make root beer or sprite floats with colorful spoons/straws and call them “Frobscottles” (a made-up fizzy drink in the book). You can also serve snozzcumbers, which are slimy cucumbers (with ranch or hummus).
  
• Dream word jar: Just like the BFG goes dream catching, you can create your very own dream word jar, where each family member can write a positive dream word and place it in the jar! Read one word (like delightful, garden, sunshine, chocolate, etc.) each time the BFG catches a dream.
• Dahl vocabulary: Have your readers pick out three of their favorite Dahl words from the book (like swagswalloped or goosegruggled), and whichever family member uses them the most throughout the night gets a prize!

• BFG art activity: Have your children design their own castle or cottage, like Buckingham Palace or the BFG’s castle. You can also create BFG ears out of construction paper and headbands you have around the house.   
• Free BFG book report: You can also do a fun book report about BFG by making a book yourself! You can get instructions and a free download of this Read-a-Book Make-a-Book project here. Making their own book is a fun project for kids, especially when it’s based on a book they read and loved! If you don’t want to watch the movie, you can just include all of these fun activities and treats to celebrate your reader!
  

James and the Giant Peach

Another of Dahl’s classics-turned-movie, James and the Giant Peach, tells the story of an orphan, James, who lives with his cruel aunts. James escapes their home in the giant peach that grows in the backyard, and befriends several large insects who live inside.

Create a peach-themed book party for this fruit-filled fantasy journey!

• Peach desert: Make peach pie, roasted peaches with ice cream, peach cobbler, and other peach-themed treats.
• Character costumes: Use clothing and costume pieces you have at home to make costumes for your favorite character; for example, make ladybug costumes by taping black construction paper circles onto red shirts.
   
• Insect treats: Create insect-themed deserts, using gummy worms as inchworms and sour gummy worms for glowworms. Chocolate-dipped strawberries can be ladybugs. Skewer green grapes for a centipede as a healthier snack.
• Decorate the room: Cut out orange construction paper circles for giant peaches and decorate the room with them. You can add balloons or drawings of birds to go along with the storyline. If you’re not watching the movie, but want more projects, try a short writing or drawing activity. Ask your children what kind of fruit they would want a giant version of and where they would travel in it. Who would go with them inside the fruit? Have them write or illustrate their ideas and hang it up during your party.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

You will have no shortage of sweet treat or fun costume ideas for this book-movie project! Dress in all blue to be Violet, find a fantastic coat and hat to be Mr. Wonka, or dress up as Charlie himself! Make invitations for the book-movie party with yellow/gold construction paper Golden Tickets! Deliver these to your family members in creative ways, like inside a snack bag or inside the book itself!

• Golden Ticket entry: Have each member present his or her ticket before being let inside the “Chocolate Factory” (a.k.a. the movie viewing room).
• Movie treats: Chocolate in any form is a great addition, but the book features all kinds of colorful candy you can recreate. Fizzing lifting drinks can be soda or cream soda; “Wonka’s Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight” can be melted chocolate mixed with marshmallows, re-chilled, and cut into squares. Re-creating the “Chocolate River” may not be possible, but anything with melted chocolate would work, such as chocolate milk, hot chocolate, and chocolate fondue. You can actually buy everlasting gobstoppers, which will last the entire movie! Include your children in the party planning and have them create mini signs for each treat using the colorful vocabulary from the book.
• Character dress-up: Assign each family member a character to dress up as and put together creative costumes! It could be as simple as pajamas for the grandparents, a creative candy hat (glue candy to a favorite ballcap), or recreating the Oopa Loompa magic with make-up.
• Decoration: Create paper candy images to hang from light fixtures or the ceiling. Some easy-to-make ideas include: peppermint hanging circles, candy canes, or round lollipops with popsicle sticks.

The movie made of this book is a colorful addition that brings all the wildest ideas to life, but this story can be made magical without the movie, too! In addition to all the incredible treats you can make, children can stretch their own imaginations to create their own candy ideas. What crazy flavors can they come up with, and what effects will they have? If their ideas seem attainable (apart from the magical effects), try to recreate it in the kitchen. This is a fun baking experiment and will get your child excited about the book.

Summer Learning Activities

Studies have demonstrated the importance of summer learning to keep skills fresh. Daily Summer Activities is a great option to keep children learning throughout the summer without overwhelming them.

• 15 minutes: This colorful activity book provides summer review for reading, math, language, and social studies in 15 minutes or less!
• Great for active kids: It is the perfect option for active children who can’t focus for long periods of time.
• Reading log: The workbooks provide a reading log so your children can effectively record their weekly reading!
   

This is another great way to keep track of their summer reading and to reward them for their progress. Check out Daily Summer Activities for grades PreK–8.

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

Summer is the perfect time to commit to a reading routine! When your children need some inside time to take a break from the sun, books are the perfect activity. Take advantage of local libraries, bookstores, or online ordering services to get ahold of the best books for your kindergarten, first grade, and second grade readers. Here are 30 of the best books for each reading level.

Beginning Readers

Brown Rabbit’s Shapes by Alan Baker: This is a classic picture book for early learners to encourage their curiosity and learn about different shapes.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff: This is a classic picture book for young readers that tells the story of a little mouse and his quest for snacks.

Chicka Chicka ABC by Bill Martin, Jr., and John Archambault: This is a great book for children just learning to read! This book tells the story of alphabet letters racing up a tree and will help your little ones sound out letters.

The Little Mouse, the Big Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood and Don Wood: This fun story uses lots of adjectives to describe how a little mouse hides his strawberry from a hungry bear. The repeated phrasing makes this title a great book for beginning readers.

Froggy Bakes a Cake by Jonathan London: This book is one is a series about a loveable young frog named Froggy. The stories are perfectly relatable for young children with great sound effects!

Don’t Take Your Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland: This hilarious book will entertain children and adults with its entertaining pictures and peculiar pets!

The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend: If your child loves funny voices, then this book will be a hit. This story chronicles the antics of a hungry cat and a new nest of eggs.

Each Kindness by Jaqueline Woodson gives an important lesson on anti-bullying through the eyes of a young girl named Chloe. Chloe and her friends refuse to play with a new girl named Maya. When Chloe’s teachers gives a lesson about the importance of small acts of kindness, Chloe is reminded of her treatment of Maya and learns an important lesson.

Duck! Rabbit! By Amy Krouse Rosenthal: This is a read-aloud book for young children and tells the story of taking different points of view to see things differently using optical illusions!

Pete the Cat’s Super Cool Reading Collection by James Dean: This collection of stories about Pete the Cat is perfect for younger readers and has stories for other reading levels, too!

My First BOB Books: Pre-Reading Skills by Lynn Maslen Kertell: This book series helps your youngest readers start to learn the alphabet, sounds, and small words!

Boot and Shoe by Marla Frazee: This Caldecott-winning book is great for read-aloud for younger children and tells the story of a hilarious pair of puppies.

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes: This sweet story is a perfect one to cuddle up and read aloud together. The main character is a mouse named Wemberly who worries about his first day of school.

Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch: Everyone should have a least one Robert Munsch book in their child’s library. This is a funny story about a young girl and her refusal to wash her socks.

Hair Love by Mathew A. Cherry celebrates the relationship between fathers and daughters and teaches the importance of self-love. It tells the story of young Zuri and her father and how he helps her with her hair for a special occasion.

First Grade

Amelia Bedelia (I Can Read!) by Peggy Parish: This short book series is great for emerging readers who are ready to read by themselves! They follow main character Amelia Bedelia through all her crazy adventures.

Big Shark, Little Shark by Anna Membrino: This book about two sharks in the ocean is great for kids comfortable with the alphabet and ready to read! It can also be a read-aloud book.

Bird and Squirrel All or Nothing by James Burks is the perfect book for reluctant readers. This title includes illustrations and funny stories to keep children entertained and reading!

Mac and Cheese (I Can Read!) by Sarah Weeks: This is a level one reading book about two cats who are total opposites. It’s perfect for emerging readers!

The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan and Jan Berenstain: The classic children’s books are always favorites in any teacher’s library. The series chronicles real-life lessons that a bear family learns in each book.

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smellyl Bus by Barbara Park: This is a book series for young readers who are ready to read more advanced and slightly longer books! It is a colorful and fun series about a young girl named Junie B. Jones.

Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina: This short story is about a little girl named Juana in Colombia who is having a hard time learning English in school. This is a great story for kids to learn about other parts of the world!

Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor: The Fancy Nancy series takes first grade readers on a journey through Nancy’s adventures as she lives life as fanciful as possible.

Second Grade (or more advanced readers)

Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osborne: This illustrated chapter book for kids takes readers on a journey alongside Jack and Annie as they travel through time and history and visit the dinosaurs, pirates, and more!

Time Twisters: Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler by Steve Sheinkin: This series for first and second graders is a great short chapter book series that brings history to life. This series puts a twist on historical figures in a fun and colorful way.

Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows: This chapter book series tells of an unlikely friendship between Ivy and Bean, who are total opposites. It’s great for advancing readers.

Alvin Ho by Lenore Look: Alvin is starting second grade, but he’s absolutely terrified of everything. His alter ego is Firecracker Man, who is scared of nothing. Readers will follow Alvin and he conquers his fears.

The BFG by Roald Dahl: The Big Friendly Giant is a classic book for young readers who love chapter books. It tells a colorful story of friendship, love, and adventure.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary: This colorful series follows Ramona, an energetic young girl, on her series of adventures. It’s a great chapter book for second or third grade readers!

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder: This is the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series, an enchanting series about a family living on the western frontier.

If your little readers are progressing quickly and are looking for something a little more advanced, check out these chapter book series. (These books are also great for family read-alouds for your more advanced readers.)

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan: This series follows 12-year-old Percy as he ventures into the world of Greek mythology…creatures, monsters, and swords!

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: This series brings magic to life with spells, adventures, magical creatures, and more! Recommended for advanced readers, grades 4 and up.

Challenge your kids to read more this summer! If they need motivation, try offering prizes or rewards for every book they read. Check out the summer reading programs at your local library for reading incentives and prizes.

These 30 books are some of the best for elementary readers who love reading! Create a reading log with sticker charts or other tracking systems so your children can keep track of how many books they’re reading. This can also be a reward system if your children need a little extra motivation to dive into these amazing  books. Evan-Moor’s Daily Summer Activities for grades PreK-8 includes a reading log for each week of summer break.

Download a free sampler of Daily Summer Activities here!

For more great activity ideas and educational lessons, subscribe to our free e-newsletter here.

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

As children progress from simple math to more complicated functions, it’s easy to get swept up in the speed of learning and progress without mastering the appropriate skills. Math facts are the memorization of basic functions that will help your child increase his or her math fluency and apply that knowledge to more difficult problems. But do math facts really matter, and what math facts should children master in each grade?

Do Math Facts Matter?

The short answer is: yes! Math facts are the foundation for math fluency, and having a firm grasp on math facts allows children to excel in math classes as they progress in difficulty. Math facts, however, cannot improve math fluency alone. A combination of fact practice and number sense create strong math foundations. Fluency Without Fear, an article from YouCubed at Stanford University, writes:

What Is Math Fluency?

Math fluency is built from a combination of math facts, number sense, and practice. Math facts help children quickly apply knowledge, while number sense helps children make the problem easier for themselves.

Number Sense: 31-11 may seem daunting, but by using number sense, students can turn it into 30-10, and then use their math facts for easy mental subtraction. This is a good sign of math fluency.

Mental math is also key for math fluency, as it allows students to work through problems more quickly and efficiently. Being able to do mental math means your child has mastered that math skill!

How to Improve Math Fluency

There are many resources and strategies that can help your child practice and improve his or her fluency and math facts.

Evan-Moor’s Building Math Fluency workbook (available for grades 1–6) provides strategies and lessons for improving math fluency and practicing math skills.

• Adding doubles is introduced with a tally mark strategy to help students learn these math facts.
   
• Adding by tens teaches students to increase the tens place digit instead of counting in their heads.
   
• Sums of 20 uses a strategy called “ten’s partners” that teaches children to use 10-7 to find 3 instead of 17+?=20. This mental math strategy helps students recognize easier thinking patterns to do simple math fact problems.
   

What Level of Fluency Should My Child Have?

It’s important to note that some students may need more practice than others, or more time to memorize and practice their math facts. Fluency Without Fear, an article by youcubed at Stanford University also states:

As every child learns differently and at a different pace, this guide serves as a recommended reference of where children should be. If your child isn’t where we’ve placed him or her, don’t worry! Work on your math fluency at home, and do not move onto the next skill until your child has mastered the previous one.

The sooner your child gets a grip on math facts, the easier it will be for him or her to master new math strategies and skills, but the most important thing is not speed, but rather comprehension and fluency.

Resources for Math Practice and Fluency

Skill Sharpeners: Math is another great workbook for practicing math.

• Available for grades PreK–6 and helps fine tune math skills for each grade.
• Perfect for at-home practice, the activities develop children’s number sense and fluency.

Building Math Fluency provides strategies for solving math that improves number sense and math fluency.

• Available for grades 1–6.
• Develops thinking patterns, strategies, and shortcuts for developing number sense.
   

Remember that every child will learn at his or her own pace, and it’s important to practice at home so children can improve consistently. Building math fluency takes time, patience, and practice, but it is an essential foundation for higher-level math and science. Creating a strong foundation for math fluency now will benefit your child as he or she reaches middle school, high school, and beyond.

Check out Games to Play with Math Flashcards for fun fact practice ideas!

For more great activity ideas and educational lessons, subscribe to our free e-newsletter here.

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

Create fun and entertaining learning opportunities at home with these simple activities!  Create a DIY laser maze at home, conduct simple science experiments, and incorporate short mini-lessons from workbooks to keep children thinking and learning during school breaks. Listed below are free downloadable activities, workbook recommendations for all ages, and how-to’s for fun activities. Plus, don’t miss the free printables and social and emotional learning activities!

DIY Laser Maze

This is a fun activity that will help your child take a break from workbook pages and get him or her moving. It can be adapted for any age level with easy adjustments! All you need for this activity is painter’s tape and a hallway!

Using painter’s tape, tape one side of the tape to one wall of your hallway or staircase and stretch it diagonally or laterally across to the other side. Repeat this process, leaving enough space between each tape piece for your child to fit through to make a laser-esque maze! Make some “laser beams” low, some high, some diagonal, some parallel to the floor, etc. 

Challenge Tip: Make it more difficult to complete the maze by adding more tape and asking questions that have to be answered correctly before moving on the next stage.

• What’s 2+2?
• What color is a banana?
• Spell the word “cat.”
• What is 9×8?
• What are three adjectives that describe you?
• What is a nonfiction book?
• Is a fiction book real?
• What is a noun?
• Are bears mammals?

Build a Fort

Forts are magically capable of making anything more fun. Turn your bunk bed, couch, or kitchen table into an awesome fort using sheets, pillows, and blankets. Use flashlights or lamps inside to turn your fort into a workbook, reading, or homework space that your kids will love.

Create a weekend fun night with your fort!

• Watch a family movie in your fort together.
• Have a family living room sleepover in your fort.
• Build a Lego or doll world inside your fort.

Children will love feeling like a spy in this super fun and simple activity! It will provide hours of endless, mostly hands-free fun!

Cardboard Construction Company

Using cardboard or other pliable building materials you have around, such as pool noodles, blocks, and pager, make a play space. The possibilities are endless, and it will keep your kids busy, thinking, and having fun! Here are some more ideas for what you can make with cardboard:

• restaurant
• school space
• cardboard airplane
• playhouse
• airplane, bus, or car
• dollhouse
• soccer goal
• puppets
• DIY painting canvas

Use paint and markers to turn just a box into anything you want!

Underwater Fireworks Science Experiment

This simple at-home science experiment is great for younger children who like hands-on activities. All you need for this experiment is water, oil, food coloring, a fork, and a couple of glasses. Simply follow these directions to experience an underwater fireworks show!

1. Fill a tall glass nearly to the top with room temperate or slightly warm water.
2. In the other glass, pour a tablespoon or two of oil.
3. Add a couple drops of food coloring (the color of your choice) into the oil.
4. Using a fork, briefly stir the oil mixture. The oil mixture does not need to be thoroughly mixed, just enough to break up the food coloring.
5. Pour the oil mixture into the tall glass and watch!

Oil and water don’t mix, and food coloring will dissolve in water but not in oil. As the coloring sinks in the tall glass, it will slowly start to dissolve, and you’ll be treated to an underwater fireworks show!

Top Activity Books to Inspire Learning

Creativity and a desire to learn are born from boredom! Encourage your child to learn about topics that he or she is interested in from Evan-Moor’s favorite at-home activity books. With books on STEM, math, reading, writing, science, geography, social studies, and more, there are plenty of activities and mini-lessons for your child to explore and engage in.

STEM and Science

Smart Start: STEM for grades PreK–1
This workbook uses hands-on activities to teach mini-lessons about earth, life, and physical science. Each grade level uses different concepts such as magnets, animal habitats, and weather to explore different areas of science. Each unit provides concept reading pages, comprehension activity pages, and hands-on experiments and activities to apply the lesson.

Skill Sharpeners: Science for grades PreK–6
Study different areas of science, such as physical, life, space, environment, and engineering science with Skill Sharpeners! The older grade levels teach children about anatomy, waves, energy, and more! This activity book uses full-color pages and hands-on activities to keep children engaged in their learning, and plenty of different topics so they can learn about what interests them.

Top Student Activity Book Has It All!

Top Student for grades PreK–6
Give your child practice in every subject with Top Student activity books for grades PreK–6. Top Student is a workbook that covers all subject areas and provides over a hundred pages of activities and mini-lessons to help your child learn. It covers basic subject areas like writing, social studies, grammar, reading, math, and science, but also has activities in more advanced subjects such as computer science, social and emotional learning, and STEM! This workbook is great for at-home learning and provides a variety of activities so your child won’t get bored. Also included are mindful moments lessons to help children connect with their emotions and actions. Each activity book for grades PreK–3 includes reward stickers.

Download free Top Student kindergarten activity here. These free workbook pages are from Evan-Moor’s Top Student grade K.

Download this free sampler for social and emotional learning activities from Top Student for grades PreK-6 here.

A healthy mix of workbook pages and hands-on projects will keep your child engaged and learning during school breaks! The workbooks recommended will provide resources and activities that encourage at-home learning, while the other activities focus on at-home fun and creativity!

For more free lessons and activities, subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter!

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.