10 Ways To Make Learning Fun At Home!
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This post is sponsored by KinderCare but all opinions are my own.
For our little ones, who learn through play, making learning fun is key! This post will focus on how to make learning fun for toddlers through kindergartners, but it can also be applied to other ages too! I’ve learned some of these techniques from observing how teachers make learning fun in the classroom as well as my own experiences at home.
Even today, I feel like I learn best in certain circumstances versus others and that’s because some activities or situations are more “fun” – even as an adult! When you crack this code, the possibilities are endless!
“Learning and memory occur in more than one part of your brain. The best way to retain new information is to involve as many parts of the brain as possible. If something is fun, interesting, or is associated with a positive emotion, it will be learned more efficiently” — Dr. Laury Paul, Pediatric Psychologist and Neuropsychologist
So as moms, how can we make learning fun at home?
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10 Ways To Make Learning Fun At Home!
Let’s start with the senses! When you engage a child’s five senses! When one or more of these is used in an age-appropriate way, your child is likely to have so much more fun and learn more at the same time!
1. Sight – Using Bright Colors To Make Learning Fun
Young children LOVE bright colors! Have you ever seen Caillou? Who would really decorate their house that way?! Ha! It’s not drawn in bright colors because that’s how the producers envision Caillou’s house would be – it’s bright because children LOVE bright colors!
When you incorporate bright colors into your activities, children will be more likely to enjoy the activity and earn more in the process!
Whether you are tracing letters or coloring in the letter A, incorporating bright colors is a great way to make the activity more fun! So put away the pens, grays, and browns…. and take out the bright red, blue, and green crayons! KinderCare has tips for how to add a splash of color to your child’s day.
2. Taste – Often Forgotten Way To Make Learning Fun
Babies love to put everything in their mouths. It’s a way for them to explore the world! Eventually, they learn other ways to explore but that doesn’t mean that taste becomes any less exciting! Even adults love to explore through taste! So why not harness that to help make learning more fun!
If you read my last post, All the questions you need to ask when choosing a childcare, you know about my recent trip to KinderCare to try out their Cooking Academy™! It was such a great example of learning through play!
The children got to learn fine motor skills like cutting and pouring, had a chance to hypothesize what their actions would do and how it would taste, had some great conversations working as a team, and then… got to taste the results!
It was such a great example of how taste can help children learn better! The children were so excited to taste their creations that they were fully engaged the entire time and had a blast!
Check out the next post in my partnership with Kindercare where I will show you how to make holiday dessert with your children!
3. Smell – Sometimes Stinky Way To Make Learning Fun
Scent is another great tool in your arsenal. Personally, I think it’s one of the strongest senses… Have you ever been doing something and then smelled a familiar (or unfamiliar) scent that completely distracted you? It just grabs your attention!
So why not incorporate it into your activities? You can easily use scent to help make learning fun because kids love all sorts of smells like bubble gum, grape, and even cinnamon!
Here’s a fun activity that will combine scent and sight. Make your own scented modeling clay! It is SO easy. Just combine the following ingredients in a saucepan and warm:
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
Then remove the saucepan from the stove and slowly stir in 1 cup flour. Once it’s all mixed in, remove the mixture from the pan and kneed for a few minutes until it’s consistent everywhere.
Now you have your modeling clay! You can do so many amazing things with these but one of my favorite things to do is teach my kids their letters! Separate the modeling clay into 3 sections and add different fragrant rich spices to them! You can use extracts like vanilla or lemon. Or use cinnamon, cloves, or allspice. The options are endless!
Then grab some letter coloring sheets like these, have them roll the playdough into long “snakes” and then trace the letters using the snake! What could be more fun than learning your letters with yummy smelling modeling clay?
4. Touch – Using Shape, Temperature, Or Substance To Make Learning Fun
Have you ever closed your eyes and try to guess what something is just by tough? This is so much fun for little kids! Try putting a bunch of shaped blocks into a bag or a box.
Then have your kids close their eyes, select a shape and try to guess what it is just by holding and touching it! Just adding the element of touch and having them close their eyes so that they can’t see the shapes makes it an instant game!
5. Hearing – Using Sounds or Songs To Make Learning Fun
In some way, we all know this one already! That’s why we naturally since songs with our kids and why there are so many nursery rhymes!
What better way to learn something that to add music to it! “One, two, buckle my shoe…” or “The ants go marching…” We all sang those songs at one point and it helps little ones learn how to count! When in doubt, singing a song helps make learning such a blast!
Music is a powerful brain-builder that can help children learn all sorts of things. Check out KinderCare’s list of musical activities you can do at home and the skills your child will pick up from a playtime jam session.
Want more ways to make learning fun at home?
6. Follow Your Kids Lead To Make Playtime Educational!
Is your little one into trains? How about dolls? Incorporate what they love into educational activities! Count the trains, arrange the dolls into shapes, or talk about what color their plushy is! Everything is a learning opportunity!
7. Make It A Game
Anything can be made into a game and that’s one of the best ways to make learning a fun experience for your kids!
“How many red blocks can you pick up before the music stops?”
8. Give Them Choices
As parents, we often find ourselves directing our kids. “Get your coat on” or “Brush your teeth”, but rarely do we give them a choice without doing so consciously.
By giving them a choice, something they will be very excited about, we can create amazing learning opportunities!
“Do you want two or three carrots” – and then let them count them out!
9. Get Them Moving
Kids have SO much energy and it’s important to give them a chance to let that energy out! My oldest has always been a bundle of energy and now he’s a runner! (Surprise!)
When he was younger, we would practice counting while doing jumping jacks! Counting practice plus exercise! Win-Win!!
10. Set A Goal
Who doesn’t love to achieve a goal right? Setting a goal makes just about anything into a game so why not use that?!
“How many cards can we match before dinner is ready?”
How do you make learning fun for children? How do you make learning fun at home? Share yourideas below!
Stay tuned for my next post in this series on how to cook an entire meal with your kids!
Related articles:
- Easy STEM Projects for Kids of all Ages
- Super Fun Gardening Activities for Kids
- Guide to Starting a Kids Vegetable Garden
I so agree that anything can be made into a game. Children love games and learning has to be fun. As a classroom teacher I try to j factor (jay factor) in everything. So nice reading this post.
Keep up the great work.
Thank you for writing a post about ACTIVE learning! Learning is best when it is interactive and not just through a screen.
This is such a great post! I completely agree with the fact that sometimes, the sense of taste is often forgotten as a learning tool. As a mother to a pre-schooler and toddler, I will be trying this out during meal times! or maybe even when we’re making smoothies! thanks for the tip.
This is so true. Kids need more active ways to learn. This would be a great post for teachers also. There are so many children who have trouble with classroom-type learning, these are great ways to incorporate fun learning with older kids as well.
I love the quote: “If something is fun, interesting, or is associated with a positive emotion, it will be learned more efficiently.” It seems so logical that its the case but some parents just don’t seem to apply it in the same vein. My favorite is probably setting a goal for myself but for my nephew (because he has ADHD) it’s more about the sensations for him like touch and sound 🙂 Great post!
Hi Rachel,
I could talk all day about the importance of #1. But so could so many others. So I’ll comment on #9 Get them moving because there is more to this than is obvious.
Back in the old days (when I went to school) it was thought that brains didn’t change after a certain age. This was very damaging and false information. Because of that information it was very common for people to assess a child’s intelligence and then create expectations based upon that. Unfortunately that has resulted in many not living up to their true potential.
And very unfortunately that idea still persists.
The truth is our brains retain plasticity at any age.
In the late 90’s neuroscience found that both neuroplasticity and neurogenesis were real things.
And as it turns out, exercise seems to stimulate neurogenesis.
The problem has been that if those new brain cells were not used quickly they simply dies off. That is the reason neurogenesis took so long to be discovered. Because it was fleeting.
So it seems that we must create them and then use them quickly. This science is pretty new so no one knows exactly. But there’s a whole lot of subjective evidence that it is true. For 20 years I taught a very proprioceptive form of Kung Fu and over those years I have observed some pretty amazing things which lead me to believe that proprioceptive activities combined with exercise are the key to unlocking this amazing neurogenesis neuroplasticity combo.
And
Neuroscience does know definitely that neurons can and do have many uses in a single cell. So if they are created they then add to the overall cognitive capacity.
Pretty amazing!
Hi Rachel,
My daughter loved Caillou when she was little and I agree with you on scented things. My kids love all scented things-markers, candles, etc.
Hi Rachel! I’m a boy mom too! I love your ideas for engaging the senses when it comes to learning. Sensory activities are so important for children and add to the fun of the learning process. One of my favorites things to do with my kids is cook, because it incorporates all the senses and provides lots of learning opportunities!
That’s great!! You will love my most recent post then ! 🙂
I think learning through multiple senses (not just vision) is huge. Even unintentional learning like when my 2 year old picks up dog food from the floor and learns that it doesn’t taste great haha. But I’m also a firm believer in giving children autonomy in their learning and it seems like you are too! Loved your post!
I’m pretty good with numbers 2, 7 and 8, but after reading this I’d like to incorporate more Smell, Touch and Movement into our learning and activities. Love the idea of counting jumping jacks as a math game!
I needed to read this! I have a two year old and she’s now at the stage where she cannot easily be entertained anymore.
As a former elementary teacher, I cannot love this post enough! The ideas of adding all kinds of smells to dough would make it so engaging for kids. I’m also a huge fan of using motion and songs to help teach new concepts. I have a rather long last name and created a cheer for my three year old to learn how to spell it. It worked!
Such a relevant post! Kids today need nothing more than just some active and innovative ways to learn. I have twins who are 18 months old and I keep searching for new ways to keep them engaged while making them learn new things. Recently, I tried Mega Bloks 80-Piece Big Building Bag and it’s simply great. It’s fun watching them use their imagination.