Heuristic Play Heuristic (hewr-iss-tisk) play enables children to discover and learn things for themselves. It works so well because toddlers learn best from doing and experimenting with their environment. And it is a very enjoyable free toddler game too. Examples of heuristic play objects: • Natural objects: shells, pebbles, driftwood, pine cones, fallen leaves, conkers, […]
AGES: Seven to 12  Build a catapult to test the relationship between the angle of release and the distance traveled by a catapulted object – a 2d vector. Two-dimensional vectors are diagrammatically represented as two arrows beginning from the same point, one traveling horizontally and the other vertically. They offer a way to organize […]
Can you figure out who’s who? • The Donkey’s Christmas Song, by Nancy Tafuri (optional) • paper • crayons In The Donkey’s Christmas Song, a variety of farm animals and the sounds they make are portrayed. What animal noises can your child make? Play a guessing game with your child. Make a variety of animal noises and invite your […]
 Your children’s task is to create a method for moving 2 items from Start Line A across Finish Line B, using provided materials.  On the floor are a taped Start Line A and a Finish Line B. The objects to be moved will be behind the Start Line. On a table are materials […]
Children will have a brand new answer to the question, “What’s for breakfast?” Â empty cereal boxes white paper glue tape markers, pencils, crayons old newspaper computer (optional) Â Children will create a new cereal and cereal box design to strengthen creative-thinking, problem-solving, language, and writing skills. Â Place a variety of the collected cereal […]
Children are eager learners from the very start. And from the start, they learn in the context of important relationships. Parents are in a unique position to help their children develop learning and thinking skills. Other caring adults, including grandparents, caregivers, and teachers, can help as well. Â Learning at Home Children’s thinking and reasoning […]
A marble, some paper towel tubes and tape can be the basis for this fun game. Challenge your kids to move a marble from one spot to another through tube tunnels. Start easy (say, from a chair to the other side of the room), then get harder (around the corner and downstairs). For older children, […]
 Teach your children how to find information rather than concentrating on the information itself. There’s so much to learn and so many sources of information, that you have to know how to find what you want.  PROJECT: To find information using different library reference materials to encourage kids to learn how to do […]
