Books and Giggles
Playful learning activities for young children
This bubbles sensory bin can be an engaging way to get kids interested in learning their ABCs. This post shares tips on how to set up a fun activity with bubbles and foam letters. Bubbles & Letters Sensory Play For letters, I used our foam bathtub letters. They’ve held up well, and my girls still…
The picture book One by Kathryn Otoshi has a simple yet powerful anti-bullying message. While it’s appropriate for younger kids, the concepts are a little abstract. Here is an activity box that children can use to retell the story and begin to internalize its lessons. I remember when Liam first started kindergarten at our local public school….
Here’s a fun, Easter time activity for learning letters, sight words, spelling words, or math facts. It’s perfect for kids who crave movement. Pretty much all you need are plastic Easter eggs and the free printable in this post. You can have multiple kids play it together, even if they’re working on learning completely different things. If you’re a…
If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff is fun for kids of all ages. The story is a sequence of events that fall in place like a row of dominoes set up in a circle. It ends where it begins, with a moose and a muffin. The silliness in between will draw giggles and…
Learning ABC’s and their sounds takes time and practice. If your child likes stickers, he or she might enjoy this simple letter sticker activity. I chose foam stickers because children can feel the shape of the letters as well as see them. All you need are some foam alphabet stickers and paper. You can…
I originally wrote this pretend play library post way back in 2016. Amazingly, people are still finding this and reading it. So, I decided to give it a little update… and brand new adorable library dramatic play printables. When your kids are stuck inside on a lousy weather day, the last thing you want to…
Alphabet stamps are a fun way to practice all sorts of literacy skills, from ABCs to phonics, sight words, and writing. You can make stamping even more fun by letting the kids make their own stamp pads. It’s easier than you think. All you need is a sturdy paper towel and some paint. Oh,…
Here is a fun little Valentine’s Day game you can play with little kids. You can play it during a classroom party or at home. The idea is to get kids talking about what they LOVE. I tested this game out on my girls, and they adored it. I wish I had a picture…
Here are some fun rhyming games just right for kindergartners. Each game has a snow theme. Learning to read is so much more exciting when it looks like playing, don’t you think? Rhyming games, besides being fun, help kids learn phonics. So, for winter, I’ve come up with a few simple rhyming games using snowflake cutouts. All you…
Here is a simple way to bring literacy into your home at Christmas time. I’ve put together a free printable mini word wall for your little reader’s room or playroom. Kids who aren’t quite reading may like to look at the holiday words and pictures too. My girls made a stack of shiny Christmas cards last…
When you have an active child who needs to move, practicing sight words can be challenging. Santa Claus can help! This activity for kinesthetic learners is a fun way to motivate kids at Christmas time. My son, Liam, needed extra motivation to work on sight words. He isn’t the type of kid who will sit…
If your toddler or young preschooler loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, I have a fun, educational toddler Christmas activity for you. It will help them learn about numbers and one-to-one correspondence. It will also introduce them to Christmas and winter themes. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,…
Open-ended toys make great gifts! They often can outlast other toys with more bells and whistles. You can’t always tell on Christmas day which toys will be the winners. Sometimes the toys that allow open-ended play are what get played with the most over the long haul. Toys that only do one thing can get boring quickly. That’s because kids…
Today I’m sharing another one of our favorite picture books, and a storytelling basket to go with it. There’s a free printable template, too, so that you can make your own. These pieces could also be used on a felt board. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate…
Halloween is coming up quickly! Wouldn’t it be fun to plan a last-minute kids Halloween party? If you keep your preparations simple, you can do it! I’ve got you covered with simple kids’ activities, easy Halloween food ideas, last-minute decorations, and no-fuss invitations. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an…
I’m super-excited about the special Halloween sight word activities I have for you today. If you have a child who needs a little extra motivation to work on sight words, this may do the trick. I had to get pretty inventive to hold Liam’s interest back when he was working through his kindergarten word list,…
I remember picking my girls up from preschool once, and seeing that the teacher had written a letter on Isabella’s hand. I was taken aback at first. Writing on a little kid’s skin didn’t seem like a good idea to me. Yet, my sweet girl was so proud and excited to show me she had learned a letter and…
Twenty minutes past bedtime, my daughter asked me to read her a story. We’d gotten home late from soccer practice, and I hurried everyone through their evening routines. Finally, I turned out the light and went to kiss Isabella goodnight. “Mommy, you have to read me a story,” she announced. I took a deep breath. …
I really must be going crazy. I just spent several days wondering how to make a spacesuit for a toy dog. I’d made a fun Mars rover craft to go with the picture book Max Goes to Mars – and sent it over to Cerys at Rainy Day Mum for a guest post on her blog. (I’d love it if you…
Kids who loves mazes can work through a stack of them pretty quickly. One solution is to give them harder ones. Another fun activity for big kids is drawing their own mazes. I caught my son making his own maze out of a coloring sheet, and had an “aha!” moment. As a child, I loved…
My son has wanted to make a solar oven ever since he saw one on a Curious George episode a few years ago. This year, as we started planning our summer, the kids and I brainstormed a list of what we wanted to do. High on my son’s list: make a…
Even big kids can enjoy sensory play. Children of all ages love digging their hands into a tray full of beads. They adore the feeling of the beads, and the sounds they make rattling together. They like the imaginative possibilities beads hold. I didn’t always know this. (All the product links in this post are…
If you have a preschooler who is ready to learn a few early sight words, this quick project is for you. When my twins were at that stage, I made them tiny, personalized books. My results weren’t beautiful, but my girls loved them. Mini-Reader Suspense Part of what sparked my kids’ interest was watching me…
In Montessori programs, teachers introduce the ABCs with sandpaper letters. These are boards, maybe about 4″ x 6″, with the letters on them in a rough, sandpaper-y texture. Children trace the letters with their fingers and say the corresponding sound. Most Montessori children do, that is. Not my son. He didn’t like the feel of…