Tagged with 'home school'

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.

If you’ve got a little one in school, you’ve likely heard the terms STEM and STEAM enough to wonder what they mean. Simply put, STEM is an academic focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. STEAM adds the all-important artistic aspect – hence, the “A”. For the last 20 years or so, the U.S. has committed to incorporating STEM learning into our kids’ school curriculum, and for good reason![caption id="attachment_5304" align="alignnone" width="724"] Photo credit: https://www.theedadvocate.org/[/caption]According to the experts at The Edvocate, STEM learning fosters ingenuity and creativity, builds resilience, encourages experimentation and teamwork, promotes knowledge application and the use of technology, teaches problem solving, and encourages kids to adapt what they’ve learned to fit specific problems. All good, right? Even better – it’s never too early to incorporate STEM learning into your at-home play time! Below are some of our favorite, super fun, STEM activities from around the web:

Science

Make your own bubbles! If you’ve got dish soap, corn syrup, and a straw, you’re ready to mix up your own batch of homemade bubbles. Visit our friends at homesciencetools.com for instructions and a simple scientific explanation.Soak up an oil spill! Bring the bummer of pollution home with this DIY oil spill clean up project from LittleBinsForLittleHands (don’t miss their FREE ocean-themed STEM activity cards!). Fill a pan with water, add some oil, then brainstorm ways to get it out. Try a spoon, paper towels, cotton balls, and finally, Dawn dish soap to demonstrate how difficult it is to recapture spilled oil in the ocean.[caption id="attachment_5308" align="alignnone" width="608"] Photo credit: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com[/caption]Get outside and explore! There’s no better teacher than mother nature, so get up and head outdoors! Observe the natural flora and fauna in your area, talk about the seasons, compare and contrast different plants, seeds, twigs, and rocks. Make exploring even more fun with kid-friendly scientific tools like microscopes, telescopes, adventure pens, and binoculars from GeoSafari®![caption id="attachment_5309" align="alignnone" width="530"] GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars®[/caption]

Technology

Speak in code! From verbally programming your walk through the house to talking through tasks, step-by-step, there are lots of low-tech ways to introduce coding to your kids. Visit our blog on coding for some fun and easy at-home ideas!Get cute! 100% screen free and super cute, Coding Critters allow kids to code adorable animal friends following the directions in their new pet’s storybook adventures. Kids simply press buttons on the Critters’ backs to move them left, right, forward, or back, navigating the obstacles in the included pet playsets and introducing this key STEM concept.[caption id="attachment_5310" align="alignnone" width="688"] Photo Credit: learningresources.com[/caption]Draw it out! Kids who love art will go coding crazy for ARTIE 3000™ The Coding Robot! This self-contained unit teaches kids to write computer code line by line and then draws whatever they’ve coded! From shapes and letters to mandalas and custom designs, kids use an easy computer interface (no WIFI required!) with step-by-step instructions to tell ARTIE which way to turn, how many steps to take, and when to lift his pen or put it down. Then they simply click “run” to see their ARTIE execute their coded script on paper.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FyS_4ZTyK4&t=24s

Engineering

Ramp it up! Simple machines are the perfect way to slip some engineering into your child’s day and it doesn’t get much simpler than a ramp! Use a cut up the box from your last Amazon delivery, use a cereal box, or a wooden building plank, grab a small ball or toy car, and experiment with different constructions and angles. Find some fun ideas at BuggyandBuddy.com.[caption id="attachment_5311" align="alignnone" width="703"] Photo Credit: https://buggyandbuddy.com[/caption]Build, build, build! Wooden blocks, building bricks, and Lincoln Logs are the perfect first engineering experiences. Stack them as high as they’ll go, construct bridges, or – trickier – tunnels. As they play, kids will gain a sense of spatial reasoning, learn about structural integrity (crash!), explore the principles of design, and so much more.[caption id="attachment_5312" align="alignnone" width="909"] Photo Credit: manzanitakids[/caption]Make a marshmallow man! Encourage your kids to create all kinds of structures using marshmallows and toothpicks. Try making a cube, a curved dome, a two-sided ladder, or, some of these other ideas from our friends at BrainBrigade.org.

Math

Count it out! Even little ones can get in on the STEM fun and learning – with counting! Count Cheerios, crackers, steps to the car, anything and everything you can count, count!Match it up! Correlating a digital number with an actual amount is a key early math skill. One simple activity from BusyToddler.com has kids matching numerals 1-9 on sticky notes to sets of the same number of dots on a white board.[caption id="attachment_5315" align="alignnone" width="632"] Photo credit: https://busytoddler.com[/caption]Make an abacus! Well, sort of. Start with a bowl of multi-colored beads. Help your child find one bead of one color, two beads of another color, etc. Then assist your kiddo in sliding the beads onto a pipe cleaner, bending the ends so the beads don’t slide off. Then practice counting the number of beads on each pipe cleaner. This two-in-one activity from TheImagnationTree.com is also a great way to build fine motor skills ????.Click to learn more about the importance of STEM and for even more at-home ideas for incorporating STEM learning in your everyday play!

It's Sunday August 10th, 2012 and it's our last Deal of the Day of the summer! But like all good things, they must eventually come to an end. Today, we have decided to feature our Woodsy Words™ Game!It’s Pick Up Sticks with a reading twist! Great for ages 5-8, Woodsy Words enhances reading skills with simple game play. Simply hold all the sticks in one hand and let them fall onto a flat surface. Select one stick - if you can extract it without moving any of the others, read the word printed on it and select another stick. Continue play until you bump another stick or get stuck on a word. The player with the most sticks at the end of the game wins! Put them back and start again or try to use all your words in a sentence! This game can be played with 1 to 4 players and it includes 30 earth-friendly vocabulary words on wood sticks and game instructions. Woodsy Words normally sells for $12.99, but today you can get it for only $7.99 until midnight PST. As an additional gift from us to you, type in EIFREE at checkout and enjoy Free shipping with this Deal of the Day Purchase! Deal of the Day may be over for now, but that doesn't mean that we'll stop having awesome sales and discounts for our fans. "Like" us on Facebook to get exclusive access to our giveaways and first-hand insights into upcoming and/or current sales. Don't miss out!