Dinosaur Swap Sensory Play for a Bit of Summer Fun

Kids universally seem to love to play in water, and a water table or tub of water can be a great alternative to having a pool or sprinkler or larger area of water that kids can play in.

Having themes in the water table is a lot of fun and can draw kids to it. I love this idea of making the water table into a dinosaur swamp, from the Imagination Tree. (Because most kids love dinosaurs, too, right?)

This is actually pretty easy to set up and includes a lot of natural materials in addition to the toy dinosaurs (you could also use other kinds of animals if you prefer). Include some buckets, nets or scoops for collecting and observing.

Throw in a dino-themed story book, and check out some more fun dinosaur activities for kids from Brain Power Boy.

How do your kids play with and learn about dinosaurs?

[Photo: the Imagination Tree.]

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Easy Sensory Activities for Valentine's Day

Learning about Hanukkah is important for people of all faiths as a reminder that December isn’t just about Christmas and that their are many other important holidays that happen during this time. Hanukkah unit studies can give you ideas for incorporating the holiday into your holiday studies that happen in December, or to use at home for learning about people of different faiths.

Homeschool Superfreak has a lot of basic ideas for how to build a Hanukkah unit study, as well as FAQs about what Hanukkah is and why it is celebrated. This list is a good stargint point but doesn’t include all the details you’ll need. For example it says you can play the dreidel game but doesn’t explain how to do that or why it’s important. (If you need that information, this post from Mama Smiles is a good source.)

Teachers Pay Teachers has lots of great lesson plans and activities if you’re willing to pay a little bit to get some good content. Two I really like are this Hanukkah PowerPoint presentation from Shelia Melton, which provides a good overview of traditions, food and the history of Hanukkah; and a virtual field trip to Jerusalem from MagiCore, which includes lots of videos showing the city and activities like playing dreidel, drawing a menorah and making latkes. It’s a Google Drive folder and also includes writing activities and more for kids in second to fifth grade.

Kids Activities Blog has some simple printables with facts about Hanukkah and things kids can color in like a Star of David, sufganiyots (jelly doughnuts) and a menorah. These are great for learning the basics.

Homeschool Giveaways has a printable ebook about Hanukkah complete with questions kids can answer after they read. This would be a good one for older kids with good reading comprehension.

NurtureStore’s Hanukkah unit study includes a printable mini book, tons of crafts, as well as math and writing activities. I love the dominoes game that’s part of the unit.

And check out our previous posts for more Hanukkah crafts and learning activities!

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