simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, hands-on learning, life skills, money

10 Exciting Field Trips to Teach Kids About Money This Summer!

 Summer is the perfect time to have fun and learn valuable skills like managing money. Understanding how money works is essential for our future success. So, prepare for an adventure-packed summer with these ten fantastic field trips that will teach you all about money while having a blast!

  1. Bank Bonanza: Visit a local bank and discover the secrets of money management. Take a tour of the bank and learn about different bank accounts, such as savings and checking accounts. See how money is kept safe in vaults and learn about the importance of saving and budgeting.
  2.  Thrifty Thrift Shop: Head to a thrift shop and embark on a treasure hunt for great deals. Learn about the value of money by searching for unique items at affordable prices. You’ll have a blast understanding the importance of smart shopping and saving money.
  3.  Entrepreneurial Adventure: Become a young entrepreneur by setting up a business for a day. Whether it’s a lemonade stand, a bake sale, or a craft fair, selling your creations will teach you about pricing, budgeting, and making a profit. Plus, it’s an excellent opportunity to showcase your creativity!
  4.  Budget-Friendly Grocery Hunt: Accompany your family on a grocery shopping trip and take charge of finding the best deals. Look for discounts, compare prices, and use coupons to save money. This hands-on experience will teach you to make wise choices and stretch your budget.
  5.  Real-Life Math at the Farmers’ Market: Visit a local farmers’ market and learn the value of fresh produce. Talk to farmers, understand how they grow their crops, and discover how they set prices. Practice your math skills by calculating the cost of fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers.
  6.  Money-Smart Museum Tour: Explore a money-themed museum that showcases the history of currency and the importance of financial literacy. Engage with interactive exhibits, learn about different currencies worldwide, and understand how money has evolved.
  7.  Budgeting Picnic: Plan a budget-friendly picnic with your friends or family. Create a shopping list and calculate the costs of food, drinks, and picnic essentials. Learn to prioritize and decide based on your budget while enjoying a delightful outdoor meal.
  8.  Financial Literacy Library Adventure: Visit your local library and dive into books that teach financial literacy. Discover engaging stories, comics, and educational resources that explain money concepts in a fun and easy-to-understand way. Participate in library programs or workshops focused on money management. Teach Your Child About Money Through Play: 110+ Games/Activities, Tips, and Resources to Teach Kids Financial Literacy at an Early Age is a great resource.
  9.  Future Investor Simulation: Participate in an online investment simulation game. Learn about the stock market, research companies, and make virtual investments with pretend money. Track your progress and see how your decisions impact your portfolio. This exciting activity will introduce you to the world of investing.
  10.  Community Service for Financial Education: Volunteer for a local organization that promotes financial education in the community. Assist in organizing workshops or events that teach others about budgeting, saving, and managing money effectively. By giving back, you’ll reinforce your understanding of financial literacy.

This summer, combine adventure with learning as you explore these fun field trips to teach you valuable lessons about money. Each trip offers unique opportunities to develop money management skills, from visiting banks and thrift shops to becoming an entrepreneur and exploring financial literacy resources. So, grab your friends and family, embark on these exciting adventures, and become a savvy money master this summer!

The book below is available on Amazon.

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, creativity, hands-on learning, Kids, life skills, Science

How To Make Homemade Snow Cones For Kids

One day my son, Cory, was watching television and saw some kids eating snow cones. He asked me if I ever had a snow cone and my reply was “yes.” Then he wanted to know if it was good. I told him it was “tasty” especially on a hot summer day. Cory then asked if we can buy one and taste it.

The next weekend, I went to an ice cream shop hoping they would have a snow cone. The only item they served was ice cream. This was the case for the next ice cream shop we visited three weeks later. Cory finally said “Where can we get a snow cone?” I paused trying to think of an answer to his question. Then he said, “Can we make one on our own. I said, “I will research some recipes.”

Miraculously two days later, a former co-worker who often sends me fun hands-on activities for kids via Facebook, sent me a recipe for homemade snow cones. I thanked and told her Cory wanted to try snow cones for the past month.

After a week, we viewed the recipe and found that we had MOST of what was needed to make our own snow cones. Instead of buying new ingredients from the grocery store, we used what we had at home. Cory was so excited to make and taste his first snow cone.

Great Lesson In Making Snow Cones

Making homemade snow cones is an excellent lesson in science and cooking chemistry for kids. It provides a great opportunity to teach kids about irreversible change, which are things that cannot be changed back. During this process new materials are always formed. Irreversible change while cooking can mean heating various ingredients to create a new meal. You cannot change it back to its original state.

How To Make Homemade Snow Cones for Kids

My son and I will show you how to make homemade snow cones in the video below. It is an easy and fun process for kids to do with their parents.

The video below comes from my son’s YouTube Channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures. Please like and subscribe for fun learning activities.

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Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

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simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, hands-on learning, life skills

A Fun Way to Teach Kids to Tie their Shoes

The Beginning

Learning to tie shoe laces is a life skill that most people conquer as a kid. When my dad taught me to tie my shoes, I knew that was a big accomplishment. I remember purposefully untying my shoe in school, so my classmates could see my new skills.

As parents, we all have to teach our children this skill. I expected to teach my son around the age of five or six. However, due to his curiosity, I started introducing the concept to him as a two and a half year old.

Answering a Request

One morning, my son saw me tie my shoes and asked if he could do it. Instead of saying, “You will learn once you get older,” I showed him the first three steps in shoe tying. I held the two strings up, positioned them to make the letter x, put one string under the other, and pulled them both to make an initial tie.

We practiced this for a week until he finally knew these initial steps. Whenever I needed to tie my shoes, unless I was in a hurry, he would do those initial shoe tying steps for me. Then I became inconsistent in teaching him the remaining steps until two years later.

My son has a pen pal, named DJ, who lives in another state. They write letters to each other regularly. DJ’s mother texted me one day to ask if my son, Cory, can tie his shoes. I told her that he can do the initial three steps.

A Little Motivation

This text provided motivation to teach my son to tie his shoes fully. However, I needed to know if he was ready. He told me he was ready to learn.

I decided to use a creative learning method called Chain Linking to teach my son this skill in its entirety. Chain Linking is associating information with pictures and a story. In other words, I made up a fun story to describe the steps in tying shoes. Chain Linking created a desire in my son wanting to practice tying his shoes.

He learned the skills within a week at four-years-old. If you think this is too young, then check out this article about a two-year-old who could tie shoes.

Also I did not use the two bunny ears method that many parents use. I decided to teach my son the way my father taught me as a first grader.

The Story

Below is the Chain Linking story we used when Cory first learned to tie his shoes, called the Kingdom’s Shoe Tying Boy. You will also see a video of him tying his shoes while I am telling the story.

Once there was a boy who lived in a huge kingdom. He was the only one that could tie shoes. He was paid a lot of money to tie the king’s shoes. The boy took the king’s shoelaces and made the number 11. Then he made the letter X, put one string under the other, and pulled them. Next he made a loop and took the other string and choked his thumb. The boy pulled the string through the big hole, grabbed it, and he pulled!

IMG_1477

Below are some questions many parents have about kids learning to tie their shoes.

What age should a child be able to tie their shoe?

Most kids learn to tie their shoes at the age of five. This is when many kids start kindergarten and need to know how to dress and undress themselves independently. I personally did not learn until the first grade as a six-year-old. In kindergarten, I remember wearing shoes with velcro straps.


How do you tie laces for beginners?

I personally did not use a “beginners shoe tying” method to teach my son to tie shoe laces. We just took each step one at a time. Before practicing, we set a limit for the number of times my son would practice. For example, one day we said he would try three times. Most times, he wanted to try more than that. However, he knew he could stop at the number we set.

We used the steps featured in the video you saw above to learn.


How do you tie shoelaces so they don’t come undone?

I taught my son to double knot his shoelace. Once he ties his shoes, he takes the two loops or bunny ears and make an additional knot. This works well for us.

I hope this article was helpful for you!

Happy Shoe Tying!

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Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

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simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, clean up, game, hands-on learning, life skills

6 Games that Make Clean Up Fun for Toddlers

As parents, one of the first life skills we teach our children is to clean up. When one has a clean environment, they tend to think and feel better. Ensuring that a child cleans up after playing can be a challenge for some parents and kids. Therefore, I have created six games that will make clean up time fun for toddlers.

Let’s Get Started!

Eat Monster

Create an “Eat Monster” with bags or bins. Let your child pretend the bags or bins are eating toys or whatever needs to be cleaned up. Below is how we played…

  • Make a mouth out of the opening of a box or bag you would like the toys to go.
  • Pretend the box or bag is hungry and wants to eat the toys.
  • If you have a bag, use your hand to open and close the opening with your hands.
  • If you have a bin with a lid, move the lid up and down to represent the monster’s mouth.
  • While your child is picking up the toys, the monster should say, “I AM HUNGRY AND I NEED TOYS TO EAT!”
  • Your child will hurry to put the toys in the monster’s month.
  • They will most likely have fun and laugh during this activity.

Create a Slide

  • If you have toys that belong in a bag or bin, get curled paper, newspaper, cardboard (folded), or poster card and place it in the bag or bin.
  • If you have a bigger bag or bin, it would be better to use newspaper, cardboard, or poster board.
  • Have your child put the toys at the top of the bag or bin and slide it down the paper, newspaper, cardboard, or poster board.
We created a slide with paper and put it in a bag. My son slid magnetic letters down the slide.

Race Against the Count or Clock

Tell your child they have a certain amount of time to clean up. Challenge them to beat the clock!

  • Tell your child they have 55 seconds to clean up their blocks
  • Count to 55 and see if your child has beaten the clock or the count.
  • Count in different languages if you are teaching your child to be bilingual.
  • If you see your child struggling to complete the task, count a little slower to give them a better chance to win.
  • You may also help your child clean up, so both of you are racing against the count or clock.

Race Against Each Other

Most of us want our houses or rooms to be neat and tidy, why not make it a friendly competition?

  • Start the race by grabbing a toy.
  • Tell your child to say, “Ready, set, go!”
  • Both of you will hurry to clean up the room.
  • The person who cleans up their area first, wins!

Sorting

Many times while cleaning up, we have certain bins, bags, or places we want toys to go. Why not expose or reinforce sorting during this activity?

  • While your child is putting toys in certain places, identify what is similar about those items.
  • For example, all the toys are used for building such as colorful Legos or hard wooden blocks?
  • You may also identify what is different about two areas.
  • Does one area contain building toys such as magnetic tiles while the other has soft toys like stuffed animals?

Music

Music is a great way to motivate kids to do a tasks. Try these ideas below…

  • Play the “Clean Up Song” while your child is cleaning up.
  • Create your own clean up song with your child.
  • Bang on a box and create a “Clean Up” chant while the children are cleaning up.

Incorporate these games during clean up time and make it fun. It will bring enjoyment to this task.

If you want more games, check out our post, Games/Activities for Kids and Parents to Make your Morning Routine Efficient.

Happy Cleaning!

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Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

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simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, Financial Literacy, game, Kids, life skills

4 Simple Financial Literacy Games/Activities for Kids

April is financial literacy month. I wanted to start the month off by giving you fun and simple financial literacy activities to do with young children.

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad said  when you are an adult your report card is your credit score. This is one reason why teaching kids financial literacy is so important. Once a child becomes an adult, handling money becomes inevitable. So, let’s strive to build an early foundation for our children!

Check out our new book available on Amazon, Teach Your Child About Money Through Play! It has over 110 Games/Activities, Tips, and Resources. The book is great for kids ages 4-10 and their parents.

To Find Out More About This Book Click Here

GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST AND GET 10 ACTIVITIES TO BOOST KIDS’ FINANCIAL LITERACY KNOWLEDGE

Let’s get started with our activities!

Money Recognition

The value of money and how to count it is a basic skill every child should learn. The activities below will teach money recognition in a fun way.

  1. The first step in money recognition is for kids to hold and interact with money.
  2. Have your child put money in a piggy bank.
  3. Another activity is for the child to sort money by pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, etc.
    • Help your child learn the difference in colors and sizes.
  4. After your child has mastered this, then teach them the monetary value of each coin by doing the following.
    • Repeat step 3 by having the child sort coins, then make a COLORFUL SIGNS with the value of money.
    • Create a sign for each coin and place it near each type of coin. The signs should read the following…
      • Pennies = 1¢
      • Nickels = 5¢
      • Dimes = 10¢
      • Quarters = 25¢
  5. Review the values frequently.
  6. Read books about the value of money such as…
  7. Watch the value of money videos on YouTube.
  8. Then move on to the next activity, Ice Cream Store.
Sorting money




Using a money funnel to sort money


Putting money in coin wrappers.

Ice Cream Store

This is a great activity to reinforce the value of money. It also introduces your child to entrepreneurship.

  1. Create ice cream by using the following suggestions.
    • Make ice cream with Playdoh. An example is shown in the picture below.
    • You may also put various colored balls in cups to make pretend play ice cream.
    • Another option is to purchase an ice cream set like the Melissa & Doug Scoop & Serve Ice Cream Counter.
  2. Create price tags and put them on the ice cream.
  3. Get pretend play money and give to the customer.
  4. Have your child play the ice cream store owner.
  5. As the customer, start by giving your child the correct amount of money for the ice cream.
  6. Once they become more advanced, give them more than enough money and help them determine the correct change to give you.
  7. This is also a great activity to teach your child about kindness and customer service.
My son giving me change after my ice cream purchase.
Ice Cream Cones made from PlayDoh

Monopoly

Introduce your child to investing in real estate with this game. Use this game to teach your child financial literacy vocabulary such as Assets, Liabilities, and Transaction.

  1. If you have a young child, start off with Monopoly Junior.
    • There are various versions of this game. The tips below can be used with most versions.
  2. Read the directions on how to play the game.
  3. Play the game with your child until they start to understand the concept and do the steps below.
  4. View the video below to learn how to teach your child the words, Assets, Liabilities, and Transactions by playing Monopoly.

Saving

This activity teaches kids how to work towards something they want or would like to purchase in the future.

  1. Explain to your child that saving money means putting money aside.
  2. Most kids like to save for something they want in the future.
  3. Is there a toy your child has been begging you for?
  4. Use this as an opportunity to teach them about saving.
  5. You may create a project around the house that allows them to earn money.
  6. It doesn’t have to be money, you many use a behavior chart so kids can earn awards at the end of the week.
  7. We use the Melissa & Doug Chore Chart.
    • If my son completes his chores at the end of the week, then he earns a privilege of his choice like going for a fun outing or watching television.

Bonus Activity – How the Stock Market Works: A Simple Explanation For You and Your Kids

Financial Literacy can be taught to children in a fun way on any level.

Have fun with these activities!

OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION!

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, life skills, math

Fun In Teaching Young Kids Real World Math

Life Skills is something that many parents teach their children. It helps them navigate through the real world. Incorporating math in life skill lessons is important because  it helps people, including children, to describe how the world works. 

For example, a child knows that if he/she has one cookie and their sibling has two cookies then there is a difference. If a child has played with a toy for 5 minutes and another child played with it for 15 minutes, they can feel the discrepancy. 

In the examples above, children are using mathematics on deciding how they should feel about certain situations. As adults, let’s encourage and foster their learning by building on their knowledge of using everyday math.

These activities below will show you how to do it in a fun way with your children!

Check out our new book available on Amazon, Teach Your Child About Money Through Play! It has over 110 Games/Activities, Tips, and Resources. The book is great for kids ages 4-10 and their parents.

Let Get started!

Everyday Math at the Grocery Store

  1. Take your child with you to the grocery store.
  2. Have the child pick a food item they would like to pay for.
    • It could be their favorite food to eat such as apple sauce.
  3. Give the child more than enough money to pay for the item they choose.
    • Account for taxes
    • If the apple sauce costs $2.00, give them $4.00.
  4. Ensure the child gets the correct change back.
  5. Explain to the child that food costs money.
  6. The extra money added on to the prices is for taxes which helps pay for schools, roads, and parks.
  7. Explain how you got the money by going to work, starting a business, etc.
  8. Repeat this activity and incorporate more food items.
    • Once your child is able, have them calculate their change.
    • They can also calculate how much money is needed to pay for the item.

 Everyday Math in the Kitchen

  1. Find a recipe, such as brownies or cookies, that uses measurements such as teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups (or any measurement you use for cooking).
  2. Have measuring spoons and cups available to represent the teaspoons, tablespoons, ounces and cups.
  3. Have the recipe and ingredients available.
  4. Make the baked goods with the child.
  5. Discuss the difference between 1/2 and a full cup (use the equivalencies below to help with the explanation).
    • Put a 1/2 cup of flour in 1 cup to show that it only fills up 1/2 the cup.
  6. Explain the difference between tablespoons and teaspoons (use the equivalencies below to help with the explanation).
    • Put 3 teaspoons of flour in 1 tablespoon to show that 1 tablespoon is 3 times 1 teaspoon.
  7. Compare other measurements based on the chart below.

Equivalencies chart

  • 1 tablespoon (tbsp.) = 3 teaspoons (tsp.) = 1/2 fluid ounce (fl.oz.) = 1/16 cup
  • 1 cup = 8 fl.oz.
  • 1 pint (pt.) = 2 cups = 16 fl. oz.
  • 1 quart (qt.) = 2 pt. = 4 cups = 32 fl. oz.
  • 1 pound (lb.) = 16 ounces (oz.)


Everyday Math While You Take a Trip

Has your child ever asked you “Are we there yet” while taking a trip? Use everyday math to answer this question.

There are two ways to do this. One way is with time.

  1. Let’s say your family takes a trip that will last one hour (60 minutes) to get to your destination.
  2. Just before leaving for your trip, show your child the time.
    • Let’s say you are leaving at 4:00pm.
  3. Tell your child, you will get to your destination when the 4 turns into a 5, which is 5:00pm.
  4. Check in with your child every 10 minutes and do a countdown.
    • For example, at 4:10pm tell your child you have 50 minutes to go.
    • At 4:20pm tell your child you have 40 minutes to go.
    • You can also do this every 15 or 20 minutes if you like.
  5. This helps to decrease the constant asking of “Are we there yet?”
  6. If you stop to use the restroom, explain to your child that this will add time on to the trip.

Another Way to do this is with Landmarks

  1. Let’s say you are driving on the Interstate and you are on Exit 1 but your destination is near Exit 20.
  2. Tell your child when you get to Exit 20, you will be at your destination.
  3. Pinpoint every 2 or 5 exits until you reach the end of your trip.
  4. Have your child identify the Exit Numbers.
    • For example, ask your child to tell you when you have reached Exit 4 and then Exit 6.
    • You have just created an important task for your child.
    • They are helping you navigate and they can sense how long the trip will be.
    • This is also helping with number recognition!

Everyday Math while at Home

Introduce your child to Mortgage or Rent Payment with this activity.

  1. Explain to your child that your house or apartment costs money.
  2. People who live in an apartment pay Rent to the owner of the building called the Landlord.
  3. People who own their home, usually get a loan from the bank and pay the bank back with Interest.
  4. You can skip steps 2 and 3 if you think this is too advanced for your child.
  5. Your child is going to pay you rent at the first of each month with play money for their bedroom or any other room in your home.
  6. If you want to get technical, calculate how much your child’s room is worth with the formula below.
    • Get a percentage of your child’s room by dividing your child’s room square footage by the apartment or home’s square footage.
    • For example, if your home is 1,200 square feet and your child’s bedroom is 200 square feet, then their bedroom takes up 16 percent of the home.
    • Now calculate how much of the rent your child’s room represents.
    • If your mortgage is $1600 a month, then your child’s rent would be $256 (which is 16% of $1600.
  7. If you don’t want to get too technical, then come up with a simple figure, like $100, that your child can pay you each month for rent.
  8. You can even have them earn play money daily by doing the following…
    • Pay them a certain amount each day for cleaning up or following the rules.
    • This money can be used to pay their rent.


I hope you and your child enjoy these simple activities!

A great resource for similar activities is The Everything Everyday Math Book: From Tipping To Taxes, All the Real-World, Everyday Math Skills You Need by Christopher Monahan

Happy Learning!

OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION!


simplyoutrageousyouth Books and Fun Activities, life skills

17 Children’s Books that Creatively Teach Kids Practical Skills

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

17 book that teach life skills

I love reading!! I am the person that can spend all day in the library and bookstore soaking up knowledge from various books. When I became a mother, I hoped my son would share the same love of reading as I do.

It turns out that he does. However, I found ways to make books fun and interesting for him.

We often use books and hand-on activities to learn new skills within our household. I wanted to share with you 17 books that promoted fun interaction and  used creativity to teach my son a new concept.

*Click on the links and you will find a book review and  hands-on activities that we have done to supplement the books!

  1. Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories For All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers.

 

In this book, each letter has a word and short story related to it. The stories have various themes such as humor, gratefulness, and the art of thinking.  This book also helps children learn how to solve problems through its story telling.

  1. The Question Song by Kaethe Zemach

 

This book teaches kids to solve everyday problems. It addresses issues such as injuries and selfishness. My son found it interesting because it contains repetition, rhythm, and rhyming words.

  1. Emily’s First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells

 

This book is about a bunny named Emily who is starting school. Emily tells the reader about her first 100 days of school through short stories. This book  encouraged my son to create other stories with numbers. It helped him learn the numbers 1-100 through imaginative play.

  1. Big Words for Little Geniuses by Susan and James Patterson

 

This book is colorful and introduces kids to big words in alphabetical order. The first word was ARACHIBUTYROPHOBIA!!!! This word means a fear of peanut butter sticking to the top of your mouth. At first, I thought this book would be too advanced for my toddler. However, I decided to give it a try.

It became a great learning and bonding experience for my son and I. He learned how to pronounce all the words in the book. We also try to use the words as we are talking daily.

  1. The Great Dictionary Caper by Judy Sierra.

This is a fun, interactive, and flashy book about parts of speech, literacy, and language arts. This book addresses topics such as actions verbs, homophones, palindromes, onomatopoeias, contractions, etc. The Action verb page has various words like somersault, jump, glide and ricochet. Each word is written and drawn to portray their action.

  1. What’s On Your Plate? Exploring the World of Food by Whitney Stewart

This book highlights countries such as Mexico, Ethiopia, China, and Greece, and gives the reader information on their locations, foods frequently eaten, and recipes. The enticing food pictures in this book will make you hungry. My son gained an interest in learning about geography and connected with this book instantly. He learned that he eats similar foods to people all over the world.

  1. Meet Black Panther by R.R. Busse and This is Black Panther by Alexandra West. 

 

These two books introduced the characters and their roles for the Black Panther Comic Books. It also addressed themes such as good vs bad, courage, hard work, intelligence, instinct, loyalty, etc. One of the books identified vocabulary words and asked the reader to find them within the story. My son became excited when he saw the words in the story! I took it a step further and introduced my son to settings, geography, action verbs, and science.

  1. Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, Stretch It, Shape It by JoAnn Deak, PhD.

 

This book uses a diverse group of young characters to educate its reader on the powerful brain. A few concepts addressed in this book are parts of the brain and their functions. I was thrilled when we read the fact, “Making mistakes is one of the best ways your brain learns and grows.” Many children get frustrated when they are learning something new because mistakes are made, which is a part of the process. This book has taught me one way to handle my son’s frustration as he experiences the trial and error process.

  1.  I Want to Be a Doctor by Laura Driscoll

 

This story is about a boy who broke his leg by jumping off the top bunkbed. His family takes him to the emergency room, where his inquisitive older sister takes the reader on a journey to learn about the various doctors helping her brother.  Children will learn about specialized professions such as Radiologists, Orthopedists, Neonatologists and Dentists.

  1. Find Your Way in Space By Paul Boston

 

This book will take your young reader on a space mission using math and mapping skills. This book encourages children to solve a mystery. Mathematical concepts addressed in this book are counting, addition, shapes, identifying relationships between objects, colors, length, height, map coordinates, and telling time. The concepts are introduced through questions the reader must answer.

  1. The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers by Stan and Jan Berenstain

 

In this book, Brother Bear was cautious and wary of strangers. Sister Bear, similar to my son, was “friendly to a fault” and said hello to everyone. Brother intervened and told his sister to stop talking to strangers, but he couldn’t articulate why. This book explains to the young reader what to do around strangers.

  1. My Weird School Fast Facts – Space, Humans, and Farts by Dan Gutman

 

This book contains a lot of fun, humorous, and engaging information for kids. Your child will discover a love of science from reading this book! If you have a younger child, read these facts to them and see how amazed they become.

  1. When Miles Got Mad by Sam Kurtzman-Counter and Abbie Schiller

 

This is a great book that teaches kids to use their words to express their feelings. It also uses an image, a red monster, to represent anger and rage. The red monster makes a connection to what a child feels when angry feelings overwhelm them. This book addresses other themes such as empathy, self-control, keeping hands to self, and problem solving.

 

  1. How Does My Home Work? By Chris Butterworth

The author brings awareness to actions kids take every day in the home such as flipping on the light switch, accessing water from the faucet, and taking a drink from the refrigerator. He then uses the book to show children how these things happen. This book made my son more curious about how our home functions. He became more conscious of turning off the lights and water before he leaves a room! It also encourages a greater appreciation for your living space.

  1. Treasure Map by Stuart Murphy

 

This book is about a group of friends, the Elm Street Kids’ Club, following a treasure map to find a time capsule. The author shows the reader how to follow a map by giving clues that identify landmarks and directions. Other concepts presented in the book are decision-making skills, interpreting symbols, and scales. The author provides teachers and parents activities to supplement learning. Furthermore, he includes other books that address map reading skills.

16. Milo’s Museum by Zetta Elliott

This book’s plot was unexpected but refreshing. It is about a girl named Milo who takes a class field trip to the museum with her grandfather as a chaperone. As they were exploring the museum, Milo admired the art but something was missing. Children will witness a child taking the initiative to create an idea, plan and execute it. They will learn vocabulary words and will have access to a guide on how to create their own exhibit in the back of the book.

17. 3 x 4 a Toon Book by Ivan Brunetti

This comic book is about a teacher who gives his students a homework assignment of drawing 12 things but in sets.  He is addressing multiplication in the book. The story goes on to show the reader the process that each student executes to complete their homework assignment based on their interests. At the end, you will find tips for parents and teachers on How to Read Comics with Kids.

All of the books listed were fun and interesting to read. They opened my son’s mind  to learning something new and applying what he learned.

Let us know which book was your favorite and what activities you did to supplement the book.

Don’t forget to sign up for our FREE course on How to Teach the Alphabet in a Fun Way!

Also, download our FREE Printable Holiday Card so your children can showcase their artwork to family and friends this Holiday Season!

Don’t forget to check our two books, Teach your Toddler to Read Through Play and Fun and Easy Ways to Teach your Toddler to Write.

Happy Reading!

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, Books and Fun Activities, cooking, Interactive Activities, life skills

4 Simple and Fun Pumpkin Activities for Kids

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

Pumpkin activities

Every fall, I ask myself what are simple, fun, and educational pumpkin activities to do with my son.  We attend fall festivals in our county and get at least 4 pumpkins annually. This year, I was looking for activities that DID NOT require me to purchase more craft supplies from the store. I wanted to use items that we had on hand.

Below is what we did and had a blast!

Paint The Pumpkin

Materials Needed

  1. Put Newspapers or cloth on table for easy clean-up
  2. Put water in cup to clean paint brushes.
  3. Put napkins in paper plate #1 to clean and dry paint brushes.
  4. Put small sections of various color paints on paper plate # 2.
  5. Place pumpkin on table with newspaper/magazine paper or cloth.
  6. Let your child be creative and paint the pumpkin.
paint set up
This is our set up before starting to paint.

Pick, Count, and Cook Pumpkin Seeds

Materials Needed

  1. Place pumpkin on cutting board or pan in front of child.
  2. Give the child a spoon and have them scoop out the seeds.
  3. If they are having difficulty using the spoon, have them use their hands.
  4. Instruct child to put seeds in bowl.
  5. Have the child count the seeds while scooping.
  6. Another option is for the child to count the seeds at the end of the activity.
  7. Roast the pumpkin seeds for a great snack!
Scooping pumpkin seeds with spoon!

Make Pumpkin Soup with Rice

Materials Needed

  1. Follow our Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe.
  2. Have fun eating it with your family!

Access Our Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe

at the bottom of this post!

Have a Science Lesson and Learn about Decomposition

Materials Needed (please note this activity came from Sid the Science Kid Season 1 Episode 6 called Mushy Banana)

  1. Once the painted pumpkin has started to decay put it in a large plastic bag or container.
  2. Let the pumpkin decompose until it changes colors.
  3. Put plastic gloves on the child before touching pumpkin.
  4. Stay close to the child to ensure they don’t put the pumpkin in their mouth.
  5. Have the child feel the pumpkin and compare it to a fresh pumpkin.
  6. Have the child take a closer look by using their magnifying glass.
  7. Ask the child the following questions…
  • How is the pumpkin different from the fresh pumpkin?
  • How does it smell?
  • What colors do you see?
  • How does it feel?
  1. Put Pumpkin in the compost when complete.
He is analyzing a decayed pumpkin!

 

We cut the pumpkin in quarters and now he examines the decayed flesh.

Don’t forget to sign up for our FREE course on How to Teach the Alphabet in a Fun Way!

OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION!

Get the password for the library with Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe by completing this form. Once you press the GET ACCESS NOW button, we will send you an email with the password. Then go to SOY Resource Library and enter the password.

 

 

 

simplyoutrageousyouth Books and Fun Activities, life skills

Life Skills – Teaching Kids How Your Home Functions

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.
TEACH KIDS HOW YOUR HOME FUNCTIONS After my young son washes his hands, he often looks under the sink at the pipes and explains how the water travels in and out of our home. This concept was introduced to him by the cartoon, Sid the Science Kid. In the Where Did the Water Go episode, Sid wonders what happens to all the dirty water when it goes down the drain. Sid’s father shows him there is a pipe that brings in the water and one that takes it out. After witnessing my little one’s curiosity, I wondered if there was a children’s book on how the home functions. I finally found the book, “How Does My Home Work?” by Chris Butterworth. The author brings awareness to actions kids take every day in the home such as flipping on the light switch, accessing water from the faucet, and taking a drink from the refrigerator. He then uses the book to show children how these things happen. We learned that electricity comes from power stations in which water is boiled to make steam. The steam causes the turbine blades to spin, which turns the generator. The generator contains a coil of copper wire that spins around a set of magnets, which produces electricity. The book also addresses cleaner ways to make electricity like wind turbines and solar panels. This work contains detailed, colorful pictures and scenery that helps to explain how the home works. It also teaches children about items in the home that makes it function such as the circuit breaker, gas meter, and water tank. There are colorful pictures of household appliances like the dishwasher, iron, space heater, blender, and toaster.

*Bonus Tip

Go to the bottom of this post to Access “How Your Home Functions”  Fun Activity –  A Great  Activity for You and Your Children/Students

* PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN ACTIVITY WE CREATED TO SUPPLEMENT THE BOOK

This book made my son more curious about how our home functions. He is more conscious of turning off the lights and water before he leaves a room! It also encourages a greater appreciation for your living space. I recommend this book to anyone because it teaches life skills! Happy Learning! OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE. Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.” THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT. Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION! Get the password for the library with “How Your Home Functions” Fun Activity by completing this form. Once you press the Get My Fun Activity Now button, we will send you an email with the password. Then go to SOY Resource Library and enter the password.
simplyoutrageousyouth Books and Fun Activities, life skills

Clever Ways to Introduce Young Children to Feelings

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.
Clever Ways to Introduce Young Children to Feelings One of my favorite books to read with my son is When Miles Got Mad by Sam Kurtzman-Counter and Abbie Schiller.  When I heard the authors were releasing a new book, Un Pequeño Libro Sobre Sentimientos/A Little Book About Feelings, I could not wait to read it. This is an engaging, bilingual work that introduces young children to “emotional literacy.” The book begins by giving the young reader a simple definition for feelings. It supplements the definition with a storyline involving a dog, big sister bear, baby bear, and mama bear. Baby bear sees his sister giving the dog a treat and becomes upset because he wants one as well. He begins to cry but then remembers to use his words to identify his feelings. He asks mama for a snack. As a result, mama bear recognizes the baby’s feelings and gives him a snack. The authors use relatable elephant characters to explain that feelings can range from sadness with aches to happiness with warmness. Children learn that feelings are always changing and this teaches them adaptability and empathy towards others. The first time I read the book to my three-year-old son, he identified with the elephant characters because it is his favorite animal. The second time, he read the book to me and insisted on having his stuffed elephant sitting next to him. We like this book because it provides opportunities for interaction and discussions!

Access How to Use Un Pequeño Libro Sobre Sentimientos/A Little Book About Feelings, to Encourage Interaction with Young Children at the bottom of this post!

I was able to discuss with my son that pets have the ability to express their emotions. We pinpointed examples of this through our observations of dogs in the neighborhood. We took it a step further by role playing the emotions of the dogs! My son and I made predictions, which is an excellent exercise for reading comprehension, of why the elephant character was upset in the book. He thought the elephant’s friend did not want to play. I thought the elephant had a bad day at school. This book is clever because it is written for open interpretation! We agreed that we were both right! Bonus – A Great Cause
  • 10,000 copies of this book will be donated to children enrolled in Head Start.
  • Bilingual lessons will be created for classrooms and education centers nationwide, based on the themes in the book.
Read this story to explore a range of feelings and to contribute to a great cause!! Happy Learning!! OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE. Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.” THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT. Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION! Get the password for the library with How to Use Un Pequeño Libro Sobre Sentimientos/A Little Book About Feelings to Encourage Interaction with Young Children by completing this form. Once you press the LEARN HOW NOW button, we will send you an email with the password. Then go to SOY Resource Library and enter the password.