I stumbled on this site, Productive Parenting, when my daughter was first born. It has been a great resource, providing one activity a day based on my child’s age. The activities are creative and easy to do, not needing much in the way of materials or planning. I have found this site to be so helpful, especially on days when I’m not feeling inspired! Their activities are targeted toward infants to 5 years old.
Some of my recent favorites for my 2 and 4 year old have been:
- Target Age:
- Early Four-Year Old
- Materials You Will Need:
- map of the world
- What To Do:
- Children love to explore their world! Show your child a world map and point out continent where you live,(and country, state, and city, if interested). Point out the nearest ocean, (this is more meaningful if your child has traveled there). Point out the other ocean that borders our country, then teach your child the names of the other 2 oceans on the map.
- Variations:
- Count the number of states that border the oceans in our country.
- Skills Learned:
- Activity Category:
2. Pouring
- Target Age:
- Late Two-Year Old
- Materials You Will Need:
- tray, small pitcher, glass, sponge.
- What To Do:
- Children love to help you in the kitchen. Invite your child to pour a beverage for the meal. Put the beverage in a small unbreakable pitcher. Help your child as the beverage is poured from the pitcher into the cup. Praise your child as the beverage is carried to the table.
- Variations:
- Open the door to your dishwasher to place the pitcher and cup for pouring. Perhaps your child could pour everyone”s beverages for dinner!
- Skills Learned:
- Activity Category:
- Target Age:
- Middle Three-Year Old
- Materials You Will Need:
- calculator
- What To Do:
- This fun activity will provide opportunities to practice number recognition. Show your child a calculator and watch your child explore. See if your child can push the buttons for the numbers you recite. See if your child can input the numbers in order from 0-9. See if your child can input a sequence of numbers as you recite. This is a great tool to bring along on road trips, especially if you have a solar powered one. You’ll never need to replace the batteries and it doesn’t make noise!
- Skills Learned:
- Activity Category:
- Target Age:
- Late Three-Year Old
- What To Do:
- Start a discussion while on the way to the grocery store about healthy snacks and foods. See if your child knows which kinds of foods are healthy and which kinds should be avoided or only eaten occasionally. If your child is able to distinguish between the two, let your child help choose the snacks you purchase on your shopping trip. If not, point out the healthy foods you’re buying, (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.), and encourage your child to help you find more based on your example. If your child is drawn to the candy/cookie aisle, let your child know that these types of foods are only for an occasional special treat. Continue to have these types of discussions at meal and snack times, or when your child is asking for fast food.
- Skills Learned:
- Activity Category:
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