Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Genius of Play. It’s time for back to school, and if you recently checked your child’s school schedule, you may have noticed a shortened recess time. In some cases, recess has been eliminated altogether. In an effort to strengthen academics, is eliminating recess the right thing to do? […]
5 Simple Disney World Learning Activities for Elementary Students
May 23, 2015 by
Disney World learning activities do not have to be time consuming or complicated. There are ample opportunities to learn on vacation while enjoying the parks! From important life lessons to introducing foreign countries and culture, you will find many learning experiences together. We just returned from a family trip to Disney World as part of the […]
Map Learning Activity for Kids
March 11, 2014 by
Teaching your children about map skills starts with knowing the basics. So I start with the cardinal directions! A simple game of Simon Says can turn into a wonderful treasure hunt with a bonus of always knowing which direction to point to find the North Star! This map learning activity is sure to teach your kids […]
Ways to Play and Learn with Water Indoors
March 3, 2014 by
Water play has the power to keep kids entertained for long periods of time. It’s just good clean fun! Whether they are washing toys in the kitchen sink, splashing in the tub, or even learning about the properties of water with simple experiments, these water activities are sure to delight kids of all ages! Ways […]
Valentine’s Day Montessori Trays
February 10, 2014 by
Valentine’s day is a time of giving and a time of love. Getting our kids into the spirit of the holiday is often hard without a moose-sized dose of sugar. But we can easily turn the things they normally do into special holiday crafts that create adorable keepsakes (and even better memories) with a […]
Playful Learning with Puzzles
January 29, 2014 by
Whether your child is just learning to master a wooden peg puzzle, or breezing through a 100 piece jigsaw, an incredible amount of learning is taking place! Putting together a puzzle is a learning activity in itself, but the following activities really up the education factor! Spelling Puzzles via No Time for Flashcards Simple Word […]
Learning in an Instant- Snowball Fight Math
January 27, 2014 by
Looking for a quick, easy, and FUN way to teach math this winter? Just add marshmallows! This snowball fight math activity is a playful way for kids to practice their math skills. And who doesn’t love a good snowball fight? Snowball Fight Math Items Needed: marshmallows magnetic numbers Directions: Use the magnetic numbers (or a […]
Most Popular Learning Activities in 2013
December 26, 2013 by
As this year is coming to an end, I’d like to thank everyone for making this first full year of Inner Child Learning a great one! We have a great team of contributing writers that have really helped make learning fun. And we are thankful to have the support of a fantastic community of readers. […]
Candy Pumpkin Addition Game
October 22, 2013 by
I didn’t really need an excuse to buy sweet, delicious candy pumpkins, but it sure was fun to validate the purchase by telling myself, “These are for an addition game! An addition game for my kid, of course.” To play the candy pumpkin addition game, you will need: candy pumpkins dice 3 rings (metal canning […]
Apple Themed Mini Unit
September 16, 2013 by
I love fall, especially since it means fresh, crisp apples! Every year we visit our local orchard to pick apples and I wanted to do a quick apple themed day beforehand to get the kids excited about picking apples. Planning a week long unit can be daunting but creating a mini unit is simple and […]
Creating Inviting Learning Spaces
August 19, 2013 by
As the start of a fresh new school year approaches, I find myself turning my attention to our surroundings. Our living spaces. Of course there are a lot of choices to be made concerning planning and curriculum, but I know that the spaces in our home have the potential to make or break our school […]
Learning in an Instant: Scissor Skills
August 2, 2013 by
I know many families are preparing for the upcoming school year by setting aside a little time to let their kids practice some of the basics before they go back. Practicing scissor skills can be one of the easiest activities to encourage. And it can be fun! You don’t even have to have an end […]
An Introduction to the Playful Learning Ecademy
July 29, 2013 by
We here at Inner Child Learning consider ourselves play advocates and fully support learning through play. So it’s no surprise that we also love and support the Playful Learning Ecademy. My family is continuously inspired to focus on playful learning through the amazing eLessons offered. There is truly something for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed the […]
Ocean Themed Fun
July 26, 2013 by
Interested in teaching your children more about the ocean? Make a day out of it! Here are some ideas for planning a day filled with lots of ocean themed fun. Eat ocean themed food Make an octopus’s garden snack with a bell pepper as the body and 8 legs wallowing in the dip of your […]
Sandbox Social Skills
July 17, 2013 by
There is a park near our home that has a spectacular public sandbox. Public sandboxes are fun places to play and learn because the high quantity of children and sand-toys present many opportunities for preschoolers to develop life-long social skills. As parents, we sometimes forget that our children are not born with social skills. Children […]
How to Make Cloud Dough
July 15, 2013 by
Summer is a great time to get outside and play in the sand and water, but those aren’t the only sensory activity opportunities! The warm weather makes it easy to take a variety of activities outside, and that typically means less mess and more fun! So today we’re sharing a video tutorial on how to […]
How to Make Colored Shadows
July 10, 2013 by
Sometimes summer plans don’t go as we wanted them to, especially if we end up with rainy days! Last week, we ended up being stuck in the house when we really wanted to be enjoying the sunshine. We pulled out a few lamps and created our own shadows. To our surprise, shadows don’t always have […]
Pretend Cake Tutorial
July 8, 2013 by
It’s amazing how much learning actually takes place during pretend play. The first time I discovered that my son could add and subtract efficiently, without prior lessons and without prompting, was while playing grocery store. I was astonished as he added up my total! Thanks to several rainy days, we’ve recently had a great deal […]
