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With our family, church, and school commitments; and with our ever-growing to-do lists, the focused time we are able to spend with our children is so important. It is true that much more is "caught" by our children than is taught. In order for them to catch our values, they need to be able to observe us living our values.
Whether you are a grandparent, relative, Mom, or Dad, there are precious teachable moments that happen in our children's lives. Each month, we will look at several projects and craft activities you can do with children of all ages. These projects will take less than an hour to complete, use minimal supplies, and be a way to share some teachable moments.
Since it is the time to think about Memorial Day and summer vacations, this month we will look at easy crafts/activities children can do in the car or airplane to keep them occupied and make the trip more enjoyable for everyone.
Licorice Rope knots and Braids
This activity kept my brother and me occupied for hours on family car trips to grandma's house.
What You Need:
1. Give each child a thin rope of red licorice.
2. Show them how they can tie knots over and over again until there is no more
rope left.
3. Eat the licorice and enjoy. With all of the knots, it will last a lot longer
because it will take longer to eat.
Another variation:
1. Give each child three thin ropes of licorice.
2. Show them how to tie one overhand knot to tie all of the ropes together.
Then show them how they can braid the licorice strands.
3. Have them continue to braid the licorice until no more rope is left.
4. Again, they can eat their creations and it will last longer than if they
were eating licorice ropes.
5. You can have a race to see who can finish a braid or completely knot their
ropes first.
Car Games
1. Play the ABC game using license plates and road signs. See who can finish
the alphabet first.
2. Have the kids count the animals they see along the road on their side of
the car as you drive. If you see a cemetery on your side of the road, you have
to bury all of your animals and start the count over again. See who has the
most animals when you reach the next stopping point or your final destination.
3. Assign point values to different types or colors of cars. For example,
a VW bug may be worth one point, a taxi ½ point, a motorcycle 1/3
point, a purple car 5 points, etc. First one to call out a car gets the point
value.
Helps with math as you have fun and pass the time.
© 2008 Good News Tucson™