Recipes/Activities For Family Fun
Bubbles
Bubbles are a great way to help your child increase his/her jumping skills, balance and overhead reach. Try blowing bubbles for catching, stomping, running towards, clapping and jumping up to!
You can also try catching a bubble with the wand and get your child to reach to pop it when tall kneeling, standing or half-kneeling.
Small Balls
Ball skills are an important skill to learn for your child to play in a variety of physical activities. Try playing pass overhand, underhand and towards a target.
You can use a bag as a basket to help your child with his/her aiming. Practice kicking the ball, throwing and catching with 1 or 2 hands. Chasing games with the ball in your child’s hands is a great way to learn how to run with balance and efficiency.
Treasure Map
Required: Paper, crayons or pencil and an imagination
On those cold, boring, or rainy days, it’s hard to come up with new ideas to entertain the troops. Here’s an idea we used to entertain our son that does not like to sit and read or play a game. Have them imagine the yard or area nearby and try to draw a map of it. To spark their interest, tell them that they’re drawing a treasure map. If it helps, place them in front of the window or send them outside to draw details like rocks, trees, bushes and key markers on the map. Once they have completed drawing the map they must decide where they would put a treasure. Have them draw a map key that labels bushes, roads, trees, rocks, logs and other details in the area. They can have directions on how to find the treasure by how many paces (steps) and what direction to go next. Instruct them as to what direction north, south, east and west is at your location. Once they have completed this task give them some type of treasure to hide like quarters or chocolate coins. This activity will teach about their surroundings, how to plot out maps and how to communicate to others what they are trying to express. Later show them different types of maps such as a city map, provincial map, amusement park map, biblical maps, and property survey map. Talk about people that use maps and people that had no maps at all. Columbus had no map; The Israelites had no map when they wandered in the desert
Marble Art
Required: Small containers, tempera paints, paper plates, spoons, extra paper and marbles
Place a precut paper onto your paper plate. Pour tempera paints into small containers and place marbles into the various colors. Spoon out marbles one or several at a time onto the paper plate and while using wrist action allow the marble to roll around leaving a very colourful design. You might want aprons on the participants or you can do this project outside to prevent making too much of a mess.
T-shirt Painting
Required: Fabric paint, white t-shirt, cardboard, wax paper, paint brushes
Snugly fit cardboard into the t-shirt. Place wax paper between shirt and cardboard. Decorate shirt.
To make flowers, dip your finger into one colour paint. Apply to shirt. This will form the center of the flower. Dip a different finger into another colour. Touch five individual spots around the center to form the petals.
You can use cookie cutters dipped in the fabric paint to create a pattern for the paint.
Smiley Mini Pizzas
Required: English muffins, cheese, tomato sauce (pasta sauce), favourite pizza toppings (mushrooms, pineapple, ham, etc.)
Place the English muffin on a microwaveable plate. Spread on some tomato sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Arrange toppings in a smiley face (or other pattern of your choice) Microwave on high for 2 minutes until cheese is melted.
Can also be baked in the oven at 350’F for about 5 minutes.
Paper Tube Puppets
Required: Toilet paper tubes, pictures from magazine or catalogue
Cut out around pictures of animals or people.
Glue 1 picture to the paper tube.
Make many puppets and put on a puppet show!