Educational Activities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OGAvKbCZek&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Michael Sheridan, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 5+Grades: K+Supplies:• 1-gallon container (clear is nice so you can see the food breaking down)• soil• food scraps• worms (optional)In the United States, it is estimated that 30-40% of food is wasted. That’s more than 100 billion pounds of wasted food! Composting is a great way to make full use of that food material that would normally be thrown away, reducing waste and enabling a household to create their own, nutrient-rich dirt for gardens and planters.Procedure:1. Find a clear bin to store your starter dirt and fill it about ¾ full. We recommend using a container with a lid to help regulate the temperature and humidity, but it’s not absolutely necessary.2. Add kitchen scraps as you have them.3. Stir your compost every day or two to help distribute the material.Thing to compost:• eggshells• banana and orange peels• apple cores• food trimmings• coffee grounds• teabags• corn cobsOther tips:• Do NOT put meat or dairy products into your compost bin unless you want to attract flies and other pests• If you are adding materials with a lot of moisture (watermelon or squash, for example), add a few dry leaves or bits of finely shredded paper to absorb some of the liquid• Smaller items break down faster, so chop your food waste into small bits if possible• If you would like, you can add earthworms to your compost bin to help break down the food particles you add• You can make it easy on yourself by using the Educational Insights Now You See it, Now You Don’t See-Through Container.[caption id="attachment_6422" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Now You See It, Now You Don't™ See-Through Compost Container[/caption]Resources:Composting overview: https://www.thespruce.com/tips-for-indoor-composting-2539618Indoor composting overview: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/indoor-composting/ EI Product Manager Michael Sheridan is a jack of all trades! An avid surfer and former international soccer competitor, this outdoor and sporting enthusiast also has a degree in Astrophysics from UCLA and eight years of product development experience in a variety of industries. Prior to helping build EI's science products and brain game lines, Michael developed everything from folding chairs to electric scooters and skateboards!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=UUtYw0FtVU8&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Janene Russell, one of our Product Managers!Let’s get our fine motor skills working with this fun EASTER activity.Ages: 2-4Supplies:• Cardboard box (if you’re using a delivery box, let it sit for the CDC’s recommended 24-hour “cooling off period.”)• Popsicle sticks (colored sticks are better)• Plastic Easter eggsBefore you start!• Remove any staples or other fasteners from boxes• Empty all plastic bags or packing materials from boxes as they can present hazards to childrenProcedure:1. ADULTS ONLY! Use a knife or scissors to cut small slots into the solid bottom of your box.2. Slip your Popsicle or craft sticks into each slot.3. Show your little one how to place one half of a plastic Easter egg on top of a stick, then have them try. See if they can balance more than one egg on a stick.Pro Tip: For added learning, match each colored eggshell with its matching popsicle stick! When you’re done:• Save your plastic eggs…• Save your sticks for another craft…• Recycle your box!A former teacher and current mom of two young children, EI Product Manager Janene Russell has more than 15 years of early learning experience! This So Cal native puts her little kid knowledge to good use, guiding the development of the Bright Basics and GeoSafari Jr. lines, as well as various preschool games and classroom resources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSFfjXtVraI&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-7Supplies:• Flowers, leaves, acorns, anything you can find outside• Googly eyesProcedure:1. Go outside, explore, and collect flowers, leaves and other cool things from nature!2. See what you can create using the natural objects you’ve found! Here we’re making a bunny…3. Use the flower as the head…4. Then the leaves as the ears…5.  An acorn as a nose…6. Add googly eyes and you’re done!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Duv2TqGklec&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Stacie Palka, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 4-6Supplies:• Plastic eggs • Permanent marker

Procedure

Setup:1. On one end of each egg write several beginning sounds (or consonants).  You can probably about fit 5 different consonants per egg.2. On the other end of the egg write a word family such as “an” or “ad”.Use the sample list below.To play:1. Show your child how to twist the side of the egg with the beginning sounds until one sound lines up with the word family on the other side of the egg.2. Help your child sound out each part of the word, putting it together to form the whole word.3. Twist again and sound out the word using the new beginning sound.Variations:• Once your child has mastered simple beginning sounds, try writing blends (ex: sl, bl, fl), or digraphs (ex: “ch”, “sh”) as the beginning sounds and work on sounding those out!• Mix and match tops and bottoms and create silly words!Sample word family list[caption id="attachment_6429" align="alignnone" width="640"] Photo credit: @darleneavila[/caption]With first-hand experience teaching Kindergarten and first grade and 13 years of product development know-how, EI Product Manager Stacie Palka is uniquely qualified to develop products that spark curiosity and a-ha moments. When she's not coming up with cool (and smart!) new ways to play, So Cal native and board game buff Stacie is caring for her two kids and adorable doggo, Frankie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=er_vXxmXQWI&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3–5Supplies:• Construction paper in various colors• Scissors• Marker• Tape• Playfoam Pod• Googly eyesProcedure:1. Cut two yellow wings out of construction paper, then tape them to either side of the pod.2. Fold a sheet of orange construction paper in half and cut out a small triangle.3. Open the triangle and draw two smaller triangles on the inside, to make a beak.4. Add tape to the back of the beak and stick it to the center of the pod.5. Add googly eyes.6. Add a little note to the back and you’re done!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=UtL6PUpIsXg&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Janene Russell, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3–4Put your egg cartons to good use – and build those early math skills – with a DIY egg carton counter! This math activity encourages counting, number sense, and one to one correspondence.Supplies:• Egg Carton• Markers• Counters (pasta, buttons, sequins, coins, pom poms, etc.)Procedure:1.  Write the numerals 1 – 12 in order on the bottom of each slot in the carton.2.  On the sides of each slot, draw dots representing that number.3.  Together with your child, count out the matching number of counters and place them in the corresponding spots.A former teacher and current mom of two young children, EI Product Manager Janene Russell has more than 15 years of early learning experience! This So Cal native puts her little kid knowledge to good use, guiding the development of the Bright Basics and GeoSafari Jr. lines, as well as various preschool games and classroom resources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2xfU39aNVY&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3–5Supplies:• Construction paper in various colors• Scissors• Marker• Tape• Playfoam Pod• Googly eyesProcedure:1. Cut two pink ears and 2 smaller yellow ears out of construction paper.2. Tape the smaller ears to the big ears.3. Add tape to the bottom of the ears, place them on the top of the  Playfoam pod, and press to secure in place.4. Add googly eyes.5. Using a smudge-proof marker, draw a nose, mouth and whiskers right onto the front of the plastic pod.6. Add a little note to the back and you’re done!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

Save a few household items to create a set of adorable binoculars with your sweet kiddo! Use stickers, markers, sequins and beads to jazz them up to your liking!Supplies:

• 2 Empty TP Tubes
• String
• Paper
• Markers
• Stapler
• Tape or Glue Stick

Procedure:

1. Place the toilet paper tubes next to each other. Staple them together at the top and bottom.
2. Cut about 12-16” of string. Use a pen to poke a hole in one side of each toilet paper tube. Insert the string and tie a knot so it’s secure.
3. Wrap the piece of paper around your binoculars and mark where the ends of the paper meet. Also mark the bottom of the binoculars.
4. Cut the paper along the lines you marked.
5. Decorate the paper and make it unique! Add your own personal touches like your name, a cool pattern, or a fun picture.