Ten Ways to Keep Them Learning at Home

Amy Rees
August 24, 2012

We know that home is the first school house. The kids learn in their classrooms and preschools, but they also learn math by helping us in the kitchen, science by helping us in the garden, and fine motor skills by drawing and creating and writing. We know this play an essential part of the "work" of childhood. And it isn't just the math, science, and writing that are important. It's also imagination and creativity! And that's where some of us get stuck... Far too many of us say we're not creative. Something about being grown-ups makes us feel far from the ease of a flight of imagination. 

The ever clever Ginger Carlson offers a whole volume of good ideas on how to open our own minds and foster imagination in our children as a result. She inspires us to ask more open-ended questions, to explore the delights of "yes days," to re-learn how to look. 

And as with all things, imagination comes with doing. Start with one of our great Savvy activities specially designed by parents for parents, and let the creativity fly, for all of you!

Create a playspace for more creative play to flourish—build a fort (or something else)

Act out anything your mind dreams up—design a portable flannel box playscene

Making a world in a shoebox lets you remake your own world however you wish—create a shoebox diorama

Take your imagination on the road—pack for a getaway, no tickets required!

Your little one is made for the stage—give life to a story with your own living room play

Hours of fun with no supplies required—take your mind's elevator to any stop in the whole world

A doodle, a collaboration, a fantastic creation—share a drawing and see what unfolds

Who says you can't travel through time—let your imagination take you on a walk through the ancient world

A sweet twist on unit blocks—indulge your architect's fancy with marshmallows

And for the entire set of Savvy activities designed to engage your little one's imagination (and your own!), don't miss these!