Show #10: On-The-Go Activities

Memory Game

Materials

• Any three objects
• Something to cover objects (jacket, napkin, blanket, sweatshirt etc.)

Directions

1. The adult places three objects on table/ground
2. Have the adult cover the three objects or have child close their eyes
3. Adult secretly removes one object
4. Take away the cover or have the child open eyes and have say what object is missing
5. Make this more difficult by adding more items and shuffling the items under the blanket before revealing the objects to the children

I-Spy

Materials

• none

Directions

Easiest Version:

1. Find an object within your vision field and say “I Spy with my little eye something….red.”
2. Let the child respond with saying a red item they see

More Difficult Version:

1. Find another object within your vision field, but remember this specific object. Say “I Spy with my little eye something…green”
2. Again let child respond with something green that they see, but if it’s not the specific green item you saw, then they need to guess again.

Most Difficult Version:

1. Find yet another object in your vision field. But consider looking for a shape, number, letter or word
2. Say “I Spy with my little eye something…shaped like a square
3. Let the child look around and guess what square object you spied

Why? Game

Materials

• none

Directions

1. Come up with “Why” questions either with your child or alone for your child to answer
   • Example: Why is Dad sad? Why does the sun shine? Why do we wear jackets on cold days?
2. Let the child answer the questions

Tips

• Resist starting the answer for them. It’s fascinating to hear the child’s own response to the why question. Plus there is rarely a “wrong answer”!

What’s My Animal?

Materials

• none

Directions

1st Version:

1. Let one child come up with a “secret” animal in their mind (don’t share aloud)
2. Then go around the group and ask one yes or no question to learn more about this secret animal.
   • Example: Does your animal have 4 legs? Yes.  Does your animal have stripes? No. (Similar to 20 questions)
3. This continues until someone correctly guesses the “secret animal”

2nd Version:

1. Again, let one child come up with a “secret” animal which they don’t share
2. Instead of the guessing group asking questions, the child with the secret animal, gives hints to the group or guesser.
   • Example: “My animal is grey”  Then each person gets a guess. If no one gets the right animal, another hint is provided “My animal lives in the jungle” people guess again.
3. This continues until someone correctly guesses the “secret animal”. This can be made more or less difficult by the types of hints provided

Resources

Instead of providing books or music this month, below is a list of our favorite four items to keep in your purse, bag or car as they can keep children occupied with no preparation time and lots of creative play can happen with these simple objects.

1. Deck of Cards: ask your child separate by color, suite or numbers. Work on math skills by having them line up cards chronologically or play a game of War- the options are endless!
2. Pencils: we like small “golf” pencils, but any will do! Crayons can melt and markers can stain or explode making a mess.
3. Small Blank Notepad: this obviously partners with the pencil. Let child draw, play tic-tac-toe or hang man. You can also rip pages out and work on folding the paper into different shapes.
4. Book: pick a favorite you know your child will love! Have your child tell you the story, or talk about the pictures or play I-Spy with the picture in the book to change up the use of the book a bit. 

Posted on 23 Jun 2015 by Elissa Sungar