Can You Top This?

Teamwork is important in school and at home. In this game, children practice taking turns and working with others. They also build language skills.

What you'll need

Imagination

What to do

1. Make up a story, with parents and children taking turns, one sentence at a time.

Decide on a topic. You might begin the first sentence with "Once upon a time a pirate lived in ..."

Continue taking turns making up and telling parts of the story until you decide to end it--maybe after 8 or 10 sentences.

1. Take turns beginning and finishing a story. Ask other family members and friends to join in.

By making up stories, children can improve their language skills. They can also start to understand how ideas flow from one to another, and that everyone's ideas are important.

Listen Up

This game helps teach how to listen carefully and follow directions, two things that are important in school and at home.

What you'll need

Any small object you can hide
Objects that make noise

What to do

1. Hide a small object. Give directions to find it such as, "Take five steps ahead. Turn right. Keep the lamp to your left. Bend down and look to the right." Take turns doing this.

1. All but one person close their eyes. The person with his or her eyes open makes a sound (such as keys jangling, hands clapping, a bell ringing, a spoon tapping against a glass). Everyone else tries to guess what is making the sound.

1. Clap your hands to tap out a rhythm. Have another player listen and then clap that same rhythm back to you. Do it different ways: slow, fast, loud, soft. Make the rhythms harder as it gets easier to repeat them.

1. When taking a walk, or any place where you can stop for a few minutes, sit quietly for 30 seconds with your eyes closed, then tell each other what you heard: a baby crying, an airplane, a bird singing.

1. Take a walk. One of you tell the other person what to do--cross the street, turn left, look down. Take turns following each other's directions.

Through practice, children can learn to listen carefully, see and hear details, and follow directions.

Time Marches On

This game will help your children see the difference between "a few seconds" and "a few minutes," and can help them be on time in school and at home.

What you'll need

Paper
Pencil
A timer of some kind (alarm clock, kitchen timer)
Clock or watch with all 12 numerals and a second hand

What to do

1. Ask your children to watch the second hand tick five seconds. Together, count off the seconds.
2. Count off 30 seconds. How many times can your child clap hands during this time? Take turns timing and watching each other.
3. Make guesses about how long ordinary things take:
   How long is a traffic light red or green?
   How long does it take to eat dinner?
   How long does it take to get ready for school?
   Test your guesses with the watch or timer. How close did you each come to the right answer?
4. Read a book aloud with your child for 3 minutes. Time yourselves. Then move up to 5 minutes, then to 10, and so on.

Learning that some things take longer than others will help your child understand how long it takes to do a task and how to plan for it. This activity will also help them increase their attention span.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

This activity teaches children to pay close attention by seeing how long it takes different kinds of liquids to freeze and melt.

What you'll need

2 ice cube trays
A clock
Water
Small bowls
Paper
Pencil
Other liquids

What to do

1. Together, fill one ice cube tray to the top with water. Fill the other tray only half full.

Put both trays in the freezer. Check the clock. In 2 hours, look to see if the water has frozen (if not, wait until it has frozen).

How long did it take the water in each tray to freeze?

Did the smaller amount of water freeze faster than the larger amount?

1. Take an ice cube from each of the 2 trays. Put them in separate bowls to melt. Which cube melts faster--the larger one or the smaller one?

1. Put one ice cube in a window and another in the refrigerator (not freezer) and see how long they take to melt.

1. Try to freeze samples of liquids such as fruit juices. Compare their freezing times to that of water.

This activity can help your child understand that things don't happen immediately. It will also introduce the concept of change--liquid to solid to liquid again--and the idea of having to wait to get the result you want.

Start to Finish

Organization has to be learned. This activity lets children practice planning, beginning, and finishing a job--important parts of helping out at home and completing schoolwork.

What you'll need

Pencil
Paper
Items used to do a job around the house, such as watering plants or setting the table

What to do

1. Together, select one job your child usually does around the house, such as watering plants.

Ask your child to write down or tell you the "Plan," "Do," and "Finish" steps needed to do the job well.

Look over these steps together and talk about possible changes.

1. See what happens if one plant isn't watered when it is supposed to be. How long does it take for the leaves to start changing color?

1. List the "plan," "do," and "finish" steps of one or two jobs you do around the house. Ask your child to help you think of ways to improve these steps.

1. When your children have a new task, help them plan the steps so they can do the job well and have a sense of accomplishment.

Sometimes taking time to plan seems like "a waste of time," but it has been shown that those who plan a job are usually more successful and do it in a shorter amount of time.

Seeing the changes from not watering a plant can introduce the idea of "cause and effect."

I'm OK, We're OK

All of us have ways in which we are special. This activity helps children recognize and appreciate how they, and others, are special.

What you'll need

Pen or pencil
Paper

What to do

1. Together, think of and write down at least 2 things you like about yourselves (for example, I have a good sense of humor; I try to be fair).

Write down 2 things you like about the others playing this game.

Now, take turns talking about what others say they like about you.

1. Write down 2 things you would like to improve. When will you start? How long do you think it will take?

1. Think of some jobs around the house that both of you will feel proud of, like fixing special food for the family, teaching the family a new game, or fixing something that's broken.

1. Try to set a time every day, even a few minutes, when you can talk about things that happened that day.

Find times to listen to each other and to chat. A ride to the grocery store or a wait at the dentist's office can be a good time.

Self-confidence can make a difference in how much success a person has, both at school and later in life.

Talking about what happened during the day lets children work out problems early instead of having them pile up and become overwhelming.

Where Did I Put That?

Children need help getting organized. A special place for clothing, toys and school items helps make the day go smoother.

What you'll need

Cardboard box
Crayons or markers

What to do

1. Find a sturdy cardboard box or carton large enough to hold notebooks and other school things. Let your child decorate it with pictures, words, or art work, and his or her name. Each child in the family can have a separate box.

Together, find a place to put the box. A spot near the front door or the place where your child does homework would be good.

School things should go in the box as soon as your child comes home from school. Later, all homework and anything else needed for school the next day should go into it.

In the winter, hats and mittens can also go in the box when they are dry.

1. Let your child make a rainy day box and put it in a different place (or make it a different color). Fill it with "treasures"--games, books, a new pencil. Invite other members of the family to put surprises in the box (no snakes or frogs, please).

Keeping all school items in one place helps teach children how much easier life can be when we are organized and plan ahead.

Show your appreciation when your child keeps things in order.

My Place

This activity gives each child a separate place to study or play.

What you'll need

Space--even a tiny area will do
A small but steady table
1 chair
1 lamp
Small floor covering

What to do

1. Together, find a quiet study area away from the TV and radio for each child (even those not old enough to have homework yet).

1. Cut down an old blanket, rug, or sheet to put on a small area of the floor. Use this to mark off each child's private space. Put the table and chair on the floor covering. This space does not have to be in the same place all the time. If the table is light weight, the floor cover can be put down any place it is out of the way (such as near the kitchen if a child needs help while dinner is being fixed). It can also be put away when it is not being used.

1. If the study space will always be in the same place, try out different arrangements of the furniture to see what works best. Arrange the lamp so the study area is well lit.

1. Together, label items with the child's name.

Watch for improvement and show pleasure when quality of work improves.

Children tend to argue over the same space (even in a big room). By having an area of the floor marked off, each child has a place that feels like his or her own. A special place also helps children focus on what they are studying.

Well Done!

Children need the experience of doing chores. The following are ideas to help children be more responsible and realize the importance of people doing what they say they will do.

What you'll need

Helping hands

What to do

1. Talk about what happens when people do the things they are responsible for (water the plants or feed pets, for example).

Think about what would happen if people did not do these things--if the bus driver stayed home, or the movie projectionist didn't show up for work. Together, think of more examples.

1. Decide together on jobs for each family member to do. Should people be able to do only the things they like? Talk together about this.

1. Turn a household task into a game. Decide together how long it will take to do the job. Time yourselves against the clock.

Listening to the radio or a record while you do the job makes it more fun. This helps the work get done faster, too.

Children need to learn early how others are affected when chores are not done. Talk about why it is necessary to do things we don't want to do, and why we should not expect others to do our work.

This activity also gives children an early lesson in how to make good decisions.

How Time Flies

"I don't have time to do all I need time to do." Sound familiar? Planning our time is one of the most useful things we can learn. Knowing how long something will take can save time and tempers.

What you'll need

Paper
Pencil
Clock
Calendar

What to do

1. Together, write down your estimates of how long it takes to do certain tasks (such as getting ready for school or work in the morning; fixing a meal).

Use a clock to time at least one of these tasks. Then take turns timing each other. (But be realistic--it's not necessarily a race.)

1. See what part of a job can be done ahead of time, such as deciding at bedtime what to wear the next day.

1. Talk about at least 2 places you and your children go where you must be on time. What do you do to make sure you are on time?

1. Put a monthly calendar with large spaces where everyone can see it. Each member of the family can use a different colored marker to list appointments and social activities.

Being on time, or not being on time, affects other people. It is important for children to understand their responsibility for being on time--it's not just for grown-ups.