"Intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals..."

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Gone Fishin'

My 6 year old has a way of keeping me on my toes.  He does not want to do school anymore because it's "no fun."  So, it was time to get creative.
He got a cheap dollar store fishing pole with a magnet for a hook from his sister for Christmas.  Inspiration!
I got out his flashcards and had HIM put paper clips on each.  (Great skill for developing fine motor skills.)  Before hie could completely finish, enter two year old.  She found the fishing pole and WOULD NOT give it back.  She had "gone fishin'" for his flashcards.  He was LIVID.  The scene he created was loud.
The result of the ruckus?  Enter four year old.  "I want to fish, too" he declared.
I ran out to the garage and grabbed the two kiddy fishing poles we had.  I cut the hooks and managed to tie slip knots on the line.  I added a couple of magnets to the lines.
Four year old and six year old now were putting paper clips on Disney Princess Math flashcards for the two year old.  She switched to fishing for princesses instead of reading words.
Four year old and six year old casted and fished for reading words, with four year old trying to say the letter names or sounds and six year old reading the words.  Two year old was still picking up princesses.
In the end I used:
  • 3 fishing poles (kiddie or play type with magnets on the line)
  • box of paper clips
  • flashcards
Result:  three happy kids under 7, fine motor skill activity, gross motor activity (fishing), reading, letter recognition and PRINCESS recognition (don't all two year old girls need that?)  :-)
What have you done for fun lately?  Leave some creative ideas here.  Help us all out.

1 comment:

RealMom4Life said...

That sounds like such fun. I'll be checking back for more ideas.

Re-enacting our history with Playmobil characters and a large map on the floor.

This one isn't so creative but my 4,6,8, and 10 year old love it. www.readingeggs.com This is exactly what my 6 year old said on Sunday. "Mom, can I do my reading eggs? I know it's not a school day but I really like it and it's more like a game to me."