Activity: A new kind of hide and seek

Hide and seek is always fun for kids, but as an adult, I either get bored quickly, or worry that the kids are going to hide somewhere crazy or dangerous, and then fall asleep and I won't know where to find them. Needless to say that I was thrilled when I heard about a "NEW kind of hide and seek". Here's how it works:

You take an object (toy car, doll, boat, action figure, etc). and while the person who is "it" closes their eyes, you hide it somewhere in the room. (This next part of the description comes straight from the website http://www.education.com/activity/article/hoppeduphide_preschool/).

"Give simple but very specific directions to guide your child in finding the object. A typical game might include: "Walk three steps forward." "Turn toward the window." "Walk five steps forward." "Walk two more steps forward." Or throw in some colors, like "look next to something red." At first, allow the child to complete a direction before giving them another one."

You can of course make the direction easier, or more complex depending on the age and understanding of the child. And then after the child has found the object a few times, allow them to hide it and you to seek it!

We tried this today with Mia and her cousins. It was a lot of fun for her 5 year old cousin Brooklyn, although Mia and Jenna didn't quite understand what was going on. So this activity would probably be better for kids 2 1/2 and up. But of course, that's just a generalization.

Have any of you tried this activity or one similar to it? How did it go?

Activity: Matching Counting, and Colors

My friend Tara was recently able to get two infants down for a nap at the same time, thus allowing her one-on-one time with her 3 year old (Emma). Together, they got out craft box to do some, as she puts it, "big girl" stuff. When I saw this activity on her blog, I saw immediately how awesome it was, and decided that it needed to be shared. I asked her and she officially said that I could copy her post and share it with you all. Here's what Tara says:

I cut up some pipe cleaners so they were all different lengths. Then I traced them onto a piece of paper and numbered each one. Emma matched each stick to the correct one on the paper.

 After she matched them up, I taped down the top and got out the beads.

I helped Emma count the correct number of beads for each pipe cleaner. She then strung the beads onto them.

She loves to sort and match colors, so when she had finished stringing on the beads, we took them off and she sorted them into little bowls.

If you don't have pipe cleaner, you could use string, or straws might be thin enough to string the beads on as well. The advantage of pipe cleaner is the beads stay where they are placed instead of falling off. Makes it easier and less frustrating for those little hands and fingers.

Next time we do this, I will probably put down a cookie sheet first. Not too many beads fell off the table, but it would have kept them from rolling so far.