1.Create a "READING Hideaway": Cut the bottom off large cardboard boxes
and connect them to each other with heavy duct tape- to make a tunnel,
house, or fort, and especially a palce to curl up with a book.
2. Teach your child to play "Tic-Tac-Toe" and "Twenty Questions", which enhance basic math and logical thinking skills.
3. Using acrylic-base paints, let your child design her own T-shirt.
Cut sponges in funny shapes, dip in paint, then press on shirt. For
extra pizzazz, glue on buttons, lace, or jewels.
4. Provide your child with a typewriter or word processor and plenty of paper.
5. Surround your child with books, magazines, and other reading
materials. Keep a basket of library books by her bed, a basket of
magazines in the bathroom, a few books in the car, and a basket of books
by the couch in the family room.
6. Play the "Synonym Game" to enrich your child's vocabulary. Write a
word like "walk" on a card, and then brainstorm, coming up with as many
substitutes for the word as you can: skip, stroll, march, saunter,
swagger, hobble, shuffle, etc. Then try another word.
7. Get a star map from a local planetarium and take a "Stargazing
Walk." Identify stars, planets, and constellations. Figure out which
phase the moon is in, and tell stories about how the constellations got
their names.
8. Have a "Creative Night" by providing the raw materials of crafts,
art supplies, or invention. Together design and put together a banner to
hang, make a board game, puppets, or anything that appeals to your
kids.
9. Drop a cloth, take out paint and a giant piece of butcher paper, and
get creative together. Use big brushes and also sponges cut in
interesting shapes, a marker taped to the end of a stick, even apple
cores.
10. "Get physical": Bowl together, go roller skating, or play at the park.
11. Encourage making collages, crocheting, weaving, or sculpting in
clay. These hands-on activities engage most children's attention and
help them build longer concentration and focus.