families

AAA says more than 1.2 million people from Michigan are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

August 1, 10am-noon | Join Fenner Nature Center and WKAR for this FREE Family Fun Workshop.

This is another in a series of articles for families from Michigan State University Extension.

Would you like to engage your child in a type of play that supports a broad range of physical development skills, language skills and social skills?  Try giving her a chance for rough play. 

Sometimes called rough-and-tumble play or horseplay, rough play used to be looked down on as the “bad boy” of play for young children.  But, researchers are finding that this type of very physical interaction between children can be very beneficial as well as enjoyable.

This is the second in a series of Kitchen Chemistry articles with activities you can do with your child at home.

Plant a Seed

Supplies Required: Beans, paper towel, zippered plastic bag, water

Directions: Place damp paper towel in zippered plastic bag, add beans along the side. Zip shut and tape to a window in a sunny spot. Observe!

This is the first in a series of articles on kitchen activities for kids.

The easiest way to introduce science concepts to children is to answer their questions with “let’s find out” instead of giving them the information they are seeking. Children are naturally curious, with lots of questions about what is happening in the world around them.

Most home kitchens hold the tools to dozens of fun experiments to expand the imagination of the children in your life. Here are three fun experiments to try at home!

Vinegar Volcanoes

Childhood educator Maria Montessori said, “Play is a child’s work,” basing her entire philosophy about preschool education and caring for children around this concept.

In today’s world of full-day Kindergarten, and increased academic expectations for children, parents may wonder, is play still as relevant and important as it once was?

The Case for Play

I don’t have anything to do! 

It’s summer – and the children are home from school. After even a few days of “freedom,” moms and dads everywhere start hearing the familiar, high-pitched whine of summer. No, it’s not the 17-year cicadas. It’s our children declaiming loudly “I don’t have anything to do!”

But doesn’t it seem like your child has every toy under the sun?  Why not play with those?

There are reasons that may explain why children don’t play with the toys that are available.

During times of grief and loss it is hard to understand what feelings and thoughts children may experience.  If the loss is significant it may be hard for adults to focus specifically on children because they are trying to cope with their own emotions.

Adults “match and sort” every time we do laundry. Children start learning this process during infancy, when they begin to notice which sounds they make bring an adult running to them (sounds that aren’t so effective).