Back To School Ideas

Here are some fun and helpful ways to help your child transition back into the new school year…

Art Projects:

Ice Volcanoes http://www.readingconfetti.com/2013/08/ice-volcanoes.html

Homemade Moon Dough

Materials:

• Shaving cream
• Cornstarch
• Food coloring (optional)
• Cups, spoons, bowls, play dough toys, etc. (optional)

Step 1: There's only one step! Just pour any amount of cornstarch, and squirt about the same amount of shaving cream on top of the cornstarch (you can add more of either if you need to as you mix it until you get a moldable dough). Then just mix it by squishing it with your fingers (my daughter really loved this part!). You can also add some food coloring if you want to add some color. That's it! Super easy. Super quick. Super fun!

4 Ways to Improve Scissor Cutting:

1) Cutting playdough.This is an easy place to start. Cutting playdough doesn't really require any accuracy, so it's good for learning to grasp the scissors and get the open-and-close motion going. We have some all-plastic scissors that came with a playdough set, and I love the fact that they are easy to wash.

2) Make some homemade cutting worksheets.Make some with lines, some with shapes, and one with a snake to cut out and tape together.

3) Cut alphabet letters out of cereal boxes, etc.

4) Make an alphabet book.Staple any paper together that you have around the house and write one letter on each page. Have your child look through magazines and catalogs for things they like and help them figure out which page to glue them on.

Or you can always have your child get some exercise too by having them go on an alphabet hunt around the house and/or backyard! Be creative!

Make sure to also pack them healthy snacks to take to school so they can use all their energy to focus once they're in the classroom.