It's All About Family: Activities for Kids

Spend "together time" as a family. Celebrate this very special relationship by using a variety of activities that focus on the family theme. Take this theme into reading, writing, speaking, music, and art.

My Family Quilt

There is nothing cozier than a quilt. They feel like home. Begin this lesson by reading The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy and discuss the importance of family and what family means to each child. Talk about the making of quilts and how you can incorporate family heirlooms and memories inside this stitched piece of art.

Why not try an art project involving quilts? Cut out squares of pastel-colored paper. Invite the kids to draw and color a quilt block for each member of the family including pets. Draw the person and surround the headshot with things they love. Now, if you have an odd number of family members, just have the child create an extra quilt block (or two) with some of his/her favorite things. When all blocks are done, glue them together onto a sheet of poster board. Next, take a black marker and create stitch marks around each quilt block to replicate the real stitching on a quilt – a work of art that has spanned generations.

Family Fun and Laughs

For this themed activity, read the book The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. It’s a fun pairing of words and pictures that capture the energy and love that flows from a family reunion. After reading the story together, take time to share memories of family experiences.

For a project, have the kids think of a specific family gathering.  At the top of the page of paper, write the event in a large circle. Next, branch down to the next level and add all the family members who attended. The third row holds circles for things that happened during the event.  The last row of circles includes thoughts of how the children felt during this family gathering.  This “graphic organizer” project helps kids to express how they feel about their family, the events, and even tips for future family gatherings. This organizer design is almost like an outline for when students are asked to write a story.

CONTINUE READING... (a Bright Hub Education article by Tania Cowling)

Books available on Amazon -- Click to Purchase

The Relatives Came
The Patchwork Quilt

Family is always a good theme to engage children in discussion and activities. Children learn through books and art -- get them involved today. 

Happy Parenting,
Tania  :)

This post may contain affiliate links. The money we make from linking helps to keep this website up and running. 

Olivia's Garden -- New Book Release for Children

Beautifully written by Diane Seufert Tait, Olivia’s Garden fuses factual information about plants and the natural world with a lovable cast comprising humans, plants, insects, and a faerie. Harking back to that magical bygone era of true children’s storybooks, Tait’s creation will stir the boundless imaginations of young readers while inspiring them to get out and embrace the natural world around them. Okay…over to Grandmother Sage and her wisdom!

Synopsis:

In Olivia's Garden, an intuitive gardener meets a bold little faerie during an emergency in the magical garden they both tend. Written in three chapters with an easy-to-read font. Sounds wonderful read aloud by an adult and will be a fun read for an older child.

Characters are human, plant, animal, and faerie. Although all the details about the garden and the animals and plants in it are factual and true to life, the use of plants as actual characters, such as Grandmother Sage and Cally Calendula; Mira the cat; and Olivia, the ever-present faerie, make this a delightful book both fanciful and accurate. It gently teaches children about a garden, herbs, and all the inhabitants of such a place, while engaging their imaginations in the possible interactions of the characters.

There is an exciting crisis near the end with a surprising result that should please every reader. Grandmother Sage has the last word and deftly leaves the door open to the possibility of a sequel.

“The whole goal of the book is to make children sit up and realize that the natural world contains limitless opportunities for exploration, empowerment, and discovery,” explains the author, a self-confessed passionate gardener keen on helping today’s young generation find their own green fingers. “To that end, the story and stunning illustrations are complemented by an expansive glossary that reprints and names the individual herbs throughout the book, with child-friendly information and the page number where they can find it within the story.”

Continuing, “I hope the book makes its way into homes and schools across the country, so children will be encouraged to get their fingers dirty and explore everything from their own backyards to city parks and beyond.”

But of course, to grab the often short attention of young readers, Tait knew her characters had to be more than unconventional.

“I decided to do something extremely rare; to have the story play out through the lives of plant characters so children can learn how they interact with each other and the natural world around them. I also hope I can prove to children, once and for all, that faeries do exist…at least in our imaginations, anyway!”

About the Author:

Diane Seufert Tait enjoyed a 40-year career as a classical violinist, most recently as assistant concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company orchestra. Diane became a Registered Herbalist with the Ontario Herbalists Association in 1997. In 2012 she published her first book, Letters from Italy,still available as an ebook at Amazon, or in paperback from the author at dianeseuf@rogers.com or www.greenwoodpress.ca.

This book is available in soft cover and a Kindle edition you can purchase here.

Note: This review is via a press release and book was provided gratis.