15+ Awesome Early Childhood DIYs

It's time for some activities for the little ones!  My sons are both upper primary now, but I love planning activities for our younger nieces, nephews and family friends.

My brother-in-law asked where I get my ideas for early childhood activities.  The answer is:  Pinterest! You can check out my pinboard for younger kids here.  

Now, what you've come for:  Easy DIYs that will keep your little ones busy and learning!

1.  Pringles can posting toy

This one has been SO incredibly popular with the 18-month crowd.  It helps develop fine motor and colour recognition skills.  It's also really, really easy to make with some dot stickers, pipe cleaners and a hole punch.  I used the half-size Pringles can.

2.  Straws and toilet rolls with holes

Good for fine motor, but I also add some items to encourage pretend play, such as toy animals or toilet roll characters like the Old Tom below.  Older children can make their own toilet roll characters.

3.  Large popsticks with Velcro dots

This works best if you display a few straight-sided shapes or a shapes board book.  

4.  Egg carton bean sorting

Even my primary aged children still enjoy sorting beans.  

5.  Ball posting

Sometimes the simplest educational activities are the best.  This helps toddlers develop understanding of object permanence, but it also hones motor skills.

6.  Felt faces

This activity is great for using up scraps of felt.  You could also add yarn hair.  Good for developing oral language.

7.  Button threading toy

Again, great if you have scraps of felt to use up.  Develops fine motor skills.

8.  Rainbow rattle

This is a good one to make WITH your child.  Just be careful your younger ones don't pull off the bells and choke.  As well as developing rhythm skills, this can be used for syllables and poetry.

9.  Box tugging toy

Another one for younger children developing understanding of cause and effect.

10.  Felt shape matching toy

Can you tell I love using up leftover felt?

11.  Sponge blocks

For when you get sick of the noise of block towers falling down.

12.  Alphabet spoons

The white spoons have lower case letters and the clear ones have upper case, for alphabet recognition in preschool/junior primary.  If I made them again I would make sure the upper case letters didn't cover up the lower case ones.

13.  Bottle cap spooning

Spooning floating bottle caps out of water helps toddlers develop their motor skills.  You can add a sorting element to it by having different containers for each type of bottle top.

14.  Dyed pasta threading

Dyed pasta is super easy to make.  Younger children can thread it onto pipe cleaners, while older children can use a needle.  Fine motor, patterns... this is a good basis for later maths skills.

15.  Pop-top peekaboo shakers

These are great for music learning, but also develop object permanence.  I used some small erasers and insect toys inside the rice.

16.  Paper shape pictures

I feel embarrassed posting this one it is so easy, but kids love it.  Shapes, paper, glue and googly eyes make for the craziest robots, monsters, landscapes... 

17.  Mug tree colour matching toy

I found a mug tree at a garage sale, so I used some surplus curtain rings and paint to create a colour matching toy.

18.  Hand sewn soft toys with loops, tags and fasteners

If you're handy with a sewing machine (which you can tell from the above photo I'm not), you can make your own educational toys.  My most popular one was a simple bag with a zipper which my niece enjoyed opening and closing, putting things in and taking things out.

19.  Activities with natural items

I'm going to do a more detailed post on this topic, but some of my most loved activities have been rocks with numbers, rocks with lines, playdough with natural elements, and sticks with masking tape. 

Over to you!  What easy DIYs have been popular with your kids?  I'd LOVE to try out your ideas, so please tell me in the comments below.

New to the Afterschooling Blog?  Try our A-Z of Afterschooling.  If you liked these ideas, please share them using the buttons below!

20 By 20 Bucket List

Are there certain things you want to do with your kids before they grow up?

Lately I've been encouraging my sons to make their own '20 by 20' bucket lists.

Learning how to set and achieve goals is part of developing personal and social capability (Australian Curriculum).

My older son, S-Man, just ran his first 12K trail run, and next he wants to learn Chinese.

My younger one, Roo, wants to hand-tame a wild bird, and to learn to ride a horse.

Here's my '20 by 20' of things I want to do with the kids before they leave home.

1.  Ride scooters on a jetty

I don't know what the appeal of this is, but I guess it's the risk of falling in the drink!

2.  Sleep out under the stars

I'm picturing either the involvement of a trampoline, or a beach.  Or both.

3.  Travel to Asia

I want to take them to my old hometown in Indonesia, where people might not have dishwashers and vacuum cleaners and electric washing machines, but they're still happy, kind and generous.

4.  Travel to the nation's capital

Visit the hallowed halls of Parliament, check out the galleries and War Memorial, visit Questacon and the Mount Stromlo Observatory, plus tour the miniature world of Cockington Green.

5.  Visit Savoy Baths

Even kids deserve to relax, unwind and be pampered.

6.  Swim at night, in the dark

In the dead of winter!  Brr!

7.  Give them a 'Yes Day'

My kids love it when I do this.  It's when I say yes to any request (within reason).  Ice cream for breakfast?  Well...  yes!

8.  Be craned up and dropped into a giant Finnish blueberry pie

Okay, I concede this one might be impossible.  But we could pick wild blackberries for pie.

9.  Grow native plants for food

We've really been inspired by this book: Eat Wild Tasmanian.

10.  Teach them to ski

I'm a pretty crap skier myself (snow plough all the way) but skiing is way too much fun to miss.  Plus: hot chocolates.

11.  Celebrate Christmas in July

Reindeer.  Pine trees.  And more opportunities for Finnish blueberry pie.

12.  Ride bodyboards down the dunes at Crescent Beach  

This one is super scary.  I'll just close my eyes.

13.  Watch a marathon of Pinky and the Brain episodes

I just love how Brain fails every time in his evil plans to take over the world, but he never gives up.  #motivation

14.  Read aloud to them while they still want me to

Nothing marks the passing of time more than when it's you asking your kids to read.

15.  Slide down a banister

Somehow, this is just something we've never actually done.  How did we miss that??

16.  Take Annie The Destroyer to more cafes

Annie is our exuberant dog.  Not a designer dog at all.  Much scruffier.  Taking her to posh cafes is like taking one of Hyacinth Bucket's uncouth relatives.  But the kids love it!

17.  Force them to watch a slideshow of all 15,428 baby and toddler photos

This one I'm saving for their 18th birthdays, especially because about 14,999 of those photos are embarrassing.  Seriously though, what's the point in taking all those photos if you never look at them?

18.  Create 'Mum's World' in Minecraft and whip their behinds

Believe me, I know everything there is to know about Minecraft TNT cannons.  I have listened until my eyes bleed and my ears explode.

19.  Teach them to use chopsticks

S-Man has finally got it.  Roo... not so much.  Does using it like a Harry Potter wand count?

20.  Write them a special letter, to tell them how much I love them

You can read my Open Letter To My Children here.

What's on your 20 by 20?  I'd love to know your ideas.  Have you done any of the above ideas already?  Please let us know in the comments (especially if you've been dropped into a pie).

How One Kid Is Changing The World! 8 Ways You Can, Too

What would you change about the world?

What do your children want to change?

My son Roo is trying to change the world, one lip balm at a time.

He's donating the profits from his care products to charity.

Wouldn't it be great if we could eradicate hunger, end war, and ensure everyone the world over has basic human rights?

These issues seem so impossibly big and beyond one person to solve.  It's hard to stay active on these problems year in, year out.

Working together is our best bet!

What can we do to make the world a better place?

1.  Be a good bystander

Stand up for others when you see everyday injustices occurring.

2.  Spread the word

Use your social media networks to bring awareness.  Start conversations.  Like this one!

3.  Write to your pollies

Politicians get a bad rap, but actually most of them love hearing about the issues important to their individual constituents, and will take on board what you say.  It's also super easy to sign online petitions.

4.  Invest ethically

Companies like Australian Ethical use your superannuation for good.  It takes a bit of admin work to set up at first, but then you don't have to do anything except feel satisfied.  They perform well, too.

5.  Get your kids involved

My favourite resource for kids who want to change the world is ruMAD?  (Are You Making A Difference?)

6.  Volunteer

Help out at a local school, do some gardening for an elderly neighbour or relative... there are possibilities to suit everyone.  Volunteering makes you happier and healthier.

7.  Spend money wisely

Do you really need that new doozy-whatsit?  Do you know whether it is produced ethically?  Check out this App to help you put your consumer dollar to work.

8.  Reduce your waste

Drive less, turn the heater down, compost leftover food and take your own bags and containers to the supermarket.  Choose seasonal produce without all the plastic rubbish and high food miles.

8.  Donate a percentage of your income

Between 1 and 10 percent is a good amount.  The Effective Altruism website helps you select the best charities.  On Dr Dad's side of the family we make an annual donation instead of Christmas gifts.  Join a cause (or causes) that you care about and make a regular donation.



Over to you.  What would YOU change about the world?  
Let's DO it!

Thanks so much for reading.  Looking for ways to develop personal and social capabilities in your child?  Start with A Little-Known Fact About Kids' Heroes.

Shout out to Amnesty International for some of the ideas on this list!!

Why I'm A Pushy Mother

We all just want our children to be happy, but what exactly causes happiness?

And what causes high life satisfaction?

Friends, family and hobbies are the first things that spring to most people's minds, but they're only part of the picture.

Research by Churchill Fellow Michele Juratowitch has uncovered something fascinating:

For 'gifted' students, happiness = challenge.

Michele explains that when challenged, students enter a state of flow that is associated with increased happiness.

So why do some people underachieve, leading to poor self-reported life satisfaction?



Juratowitch thinks Gagne's model provides some insight into the problem.

Some children might not experience the environmental support, interpersonal catalysts or optimal developmental processes to derive maximum 'talent' from their innate 'giftedness'.

Unfortunately, Michele points out, in Australia there is an even more subtle reason for academic underachievement.

Researchers in Australia and the USA have tested personality profiles for acceptability and found that...

• 'Average intelligence + non-studious + athletic' = highest acceptability
• 'Brilliant intelligence + studious + non-athletic' = lowest acceptability
• BUT 'brilliant intelligence + non-studious + athletic' ranks highly.  

Juratowitch was quick to point out that these findings apply to Australia and the USA, not necessarily to other cultures.

So, academic achievement might be sacrificed for social integration, in Australia at least.

Maybe that's okay, if social integration is more important to you than academic achievement.

But it's sad when people experience lowered life satisfaction as a result of underachieving, or less happiness due to a lack of challenge in their lives.

There must be a way to have both social integration and some studiousness.

I discussed this with my Year 6 son, S-Man, and he approached it from a mathematical and evolutionary point of view, relating it to left-handedness.  Read Woo's Wonderful World Of Maths to learn more about why left-handedness confers an evolutionary advantage but isn't dominant in our society.

If you want to learn more about the complicated field of experienced happiness and life satisfaction, I highly recommend Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

I also urge you to attend one of Michele Juratowitch's workshops if you get the chance, for a much more in-depth look at the issues.

After the fantastic seminar by Juratowitch, I had a conversation with S-Man about where he might want to head next with his maths education, so that he remains challenged.

"I don't want to push you," I said, "I want you to take all the time in the world with your education and to really enjoy it.  There's no rush.  I don't want to be a 'pushy mother'."

His reply was immediate and vehement, and wouldn't have surprised Juratowitch one bit:  "No, push me, push me!  I want to be pushed, mum!"

By which I think he really meant I WANT TO BE CHALLENGED!

I have great faith in my children and in children in general.  I trust that if we challenge them and give them some responsibility they will rise to the occasion.  And they'll be all the happier for it.

Can you be TOO involved with your child's education?

My opinion is yes, you can!  That's called 'doing it for them'.  Or living vicariously through them.

We parents don't need to do school, we've done it.  Now it's their turn, to make their own mistakes and figure out how to rescue themselves from them.

It's only fair that parents should get to have a life.  I want to work at my paid jobs, spend time with my grandmothers while they're still around, catch up with my friends, exercise, engage in my hobbies, make the world a better place, not to mention carry out the necessary tasks of scaling Mt Washington, picking up dog poo, and putting nutritious meals on the table....  like beer mousse...  mmmm... beer mousse...

Actually the beer mousse was disgusting, but I digress.

Speaking of chores, one final point worth noting on the topic of happiness is that adults who report having done chores as children are actually happier.  It pleases me to quote that at my children on a regular basis!

Thanks for reading, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!  Are YOU a pushy mother?

Looking for ways to develop personal and social capababilities in your children?  Head on over to this post.

My Naughty Secret: A Must-Have English Resource

My naughty secret is not at all saucy, but it does give me a private chuckle.

My kids absolutely HATE The Art of Conversation, an English game I picked up a few years ago.

They think it's unbearably pompous and schoolish.

Their hatred has gone beyond mere eye-rolling into the territory of "I'm going to ritualistically burn that game on an altar to Hades".

I, on the other hand, absolutely LOVE the questions in this game.

You want to know my naughty secret?

I slip the questions into everyday dinnertime discussions.

Heehee!  Shh, don't tell the kids!

Yep, I look up a couple of questions per week in secret, and then just ask them - nonchalantly - in our everyday conversations.

Bahahaaaaa!  My kids wonder why I'm giggling as I'm asking, "What's one thing you would change about the world?" or "What will be the best thing about being grown up?"  (My son's answer to that one was, "The infinite treats!" He has no idea.)

We've enjoyed some brilliant conversations thanks to this awesome game, and my kids are none the wiser.

What cheeky secrets do you keep from your kids?  Go on, I know you've got a few!  Let us know in the comments.  I promise I won't tell!

Looking for great English resources?  Check out our Poetry Teatime Books and Hints, procedural writing with Harry Potter or our Aboriginal Story Stones.

UPDATE:  I left this blog post open on the computer and the kids saw it - BUSTED!!!!

A Little-Known Fact About Kids' Heroes

Who were your childhood heroes?

Although this fact is not well known, the type of hero you had as a child is linked to your adult happiness.

One of my heroes is my grandmother, who taught me, "It's nice to be important but it's important to be nice."

I asked my son who his hero is and he said, "Parpie."  That's my grandfather, who was a prisoner of war.

So which people make the best heroes for kids?

How many heroes should we have?

Is it okay to hold celebrities up as heroes?

Which kids' heroes promote happiness and success later in life?

It turns out that children whose heroes are personally known to them are more likely to achieve life satisfaction as adults.

Also, there's a protective factor in having a number of heroes rather than just one.



A psychologist once told me about the Five Fingers exercise:  Ask your child to come up with 5 people they could turn to in a crisis, including at least one outside the family.

That exercise could easily be applied to heroes, too.


To expand my children's repertoire of role models, we watched this great BTN special about Dr Douglas Mawson, who contributed hugely to science and also survived an incredible Antarctic ordeal.

We took a trip to the replica Mawson's Hut to really imagine ourselves in his shoes.

For a follow-up, I'm going to get the kids to plan our next intrepid winter expedition.

How much food and water do we need?  What will we take to keep warm?  Which personal qualities will help us to survive and thrive?

Who are your children's heroes?  Do you know any heroic human beings we can learn about next?  Please share in the comments, we love to be inspired!

Our Mawson field trip follows a simple but awesome afterschooling formula.  To learn more, check out this post.  New to afterschooling?  Try our A-Z of Afterschooling.

Sneak Peek In Our Techie Study

Today I'm going to give you a SNEAK PEEK at what's on our study desks and computer desktops - completely uncensored, NO hypocritical tidying right before the photos!  Yup, warts and all!

We have a lot of tech in our study, especially by global standards.  Let me stress that there's no point in having new technology unless you can use it to make the world a better place.  

Here's an overview of the space we have:

You can see we've got 3 desk zones; two have Mac laptops and one has a monitor which gets used with either a Raspberry Pi or Dr Dad's work laptop running Linux.

There's actually a Raspberry Pi sitting there at the moment, which the boys have been playing Minecraft on programming.  That little doovalacky next to it is a random part for Dr Dad's boat.

On the first laptop: 

• This Oxfam petition (please sign it now!  I'll wait for you here)
• Infinity Squared, a government school maths program for S-Man (Year 6)
• The Scratch programming homepage
• Blogger.com and a search page on how to spell 'doovalacky' (ehem)
• Black Star Maths (just starting to explore this)
• This Quanta magazine article on maths
• Canva.com which I use for creating blog images

Below the desk is our modem and a NAS (Network Attached Storage) which has all of our music on it.  We use a wireless Sonos in our living room and we also have Spotify.  Spotify means less waste in the form of CDs that eventually end up in landfill.

On top of the desk we've got one of our Kindles charging, and Roo's motion-activated camera for bird-watching.

We've got a basic printer-scanner and a gift waiting to be sent.

I display a photo of my grandfathers who have both passed away...

... and a photo of S-Man being presented with a certificate for high achievement by the Minister for Education.  That was a slightly bizarre but kind gift from our school.

We've got a couple of trophies and a jar with loose change, too.

On the second laptop:

• A graph of the Collatz Conjecture that Dr Dad and S-Man programmed together
• A Python program S-Man wrote to generate prime numbers to 10,000

Next to it there's a plant Roo bought himself with pocket money...

... and a couple of textbooks I recently purchased secondhand on Gumtree for S-Man.  I like the Jacaranda textbooks best, but the Pearson ones are usually pretty good too.

The 10/10 signs were made by Roo so that his Fuzzy Bunnies could judge S-Man's piano practice.  They rated him unanimously 10/10.  Nice Fuzzy Bunnies.

Finally, there's a pair of cycling duds waiting to be mended, and under them a counter for tallying up piano practices which S-Man soldered from a Jaycar kit (a gift).

Oh, and I almost forgot: There's a beautiful ceramic Kelp Gull made by Roo, which is waiting to be fired.

That gives you an idea of what tech we have at home and which websites we're using right now!

Thanks for reading this warts-and-all peek into our study, and if you liked this, check out my video tour of our STEM playroom for some inspiration!

What tech do you and your family use?  Please let us know in the comments!  And if you like our blog, please share using the button below :-)

An Awesome Afterschooling Formula

Here's the simple and effective formula I follow for our home education adventures.  Let me outline the components, with three examples.

I'll give you an infographic first, for those who prefer to digest information in that way.  Then I'll go into more detail with 3 examples that you can try at home.

Using this formula, the learning really sticks.  Plus, it's fun!

Now, let me give you some awesome examples you can use.

THE HOOK

The main point of the hook is to get your child asking questions.

Sometimes I do more than one tuning in activity.

Hook Example 1:

The first example is a mystery; a 'Dr Dad for PM' sign appearing in the window of our house one day.

With an election coming up, and the Australian Curriculum requirement to cover Federation for my Grade 6 son, I had a vague idea that I wanted to take my kids to see Parliament sitting.

At this stage, I hadn't assessed their prior knowledge or come up with any firm learning intentions.

Remember, the hook doesn't have to do anything except get them interested!

Hook Example 2:

Again, I had no real idea of what the learning goals would be, but I knew I wanted to do a hands-on activity dissecting a sheep's heart.  I wasn't sure if my kids had any idea about veins, arteries or how hearts work.

The hook in this case was an interesting resource in the form of a fun lift-the-flap book on the circulatory system, which I put on display in our living room.

Hook Example 3: 

Sometimes the best hooks are simple open-ended questions, like when we drove past a tower and I asked, "What do you think this tower is for?" 

THE FIELD TRIP

A field trip takes the learning into the real world.

Before the field trip we usually discuss any questions we have that we want answered.  This is when I assess their prior knowledge and firm up learning goals.

It's a great Visible Learning strategy backed by research to be very explicit with your child at this stage about what they will learn, how they will learn it, and how they will know they have learnt it.

Field Trip Example 1:

The 'Dr Dad for PM' sign sent us off to see Parliament sitting, with the intention of learning what the different roles in Parliament are and who currently fills those roles.

Field Trip Example 2:

The book about the circulatory system took us to a medical museum with the intention of learning about the history of heart surgery.

Field Trip Example 3:

We visited a Shot Tower with the intention of learning when, how and why shot was produced in that way.

THE HANDS-ON ACTIVITY

This is a really, really essential component for me.  

The hands-on activity is less about knowledge, and more about creating a fun memory linked to the knowledge.  It really helps to develop a positive orientation towards learning.

Hands-On Example 1:

My son made this beautiful mace after seeing one on a poster we got at Parliament House:

Hands-On Example 2:

We dissected a heart after reading about the circulatory system:

Hands-On Example 3:

We built towers after visiting the Shot Tower.

I don't always do these components in order.  Sometimes the hands-on activity makes a really good hook, so we do that first.

If you want to see some examples of when I've used a hands-on activity as a hook, try our Cactus Invitation To Play or our Poo Provocation.

IN CONCLUSION

The three essential components of our afterschooling formula are a hook, a field trip and a hands-on activity.

Now it's your turn.  What do you think?  Please hit me up in the comments.

Stay tuned for another example of this formula in action with a post coming soon: 'This Is WAY Better Than Flashcards!'