From Fall Harvest parties to Halloween, the month is dominated by pumpkins and holidays are a great way to show your kids the practical application of everything they are learning in the classroom. From math to science, art and senses, we showcase activities and DIY decor to keep your kids hands busy and minds sharp, whether they are in costume or not!
PUMPKIN MATH AND PLAYFUL PAINT
Height, circumference, weight… math can be fun… especially when a pumpkin is involved! The kids had so much fun finding out all the answers and our Faber Castell supplies were key.
We started with the Young Artist Essentials Gift Set and wrote out all the measurements we were going to take. We also had a ruler, tape measure and food scale. We recorded all of our findings and then proceeded to do the same with all our pumpkins and then compared and contrasted.
Then it was time to paint the pumpkins! We turned to the Young Artist Learn to Paint Set and the Do Art 3D Sand Painting set. Continuing with the math theme, we painted our pumpkin in vertical color blocks and this made it natural to have a conversation about fractions.
The Do Art 3D Sand Painting was so easy to use and made lettering so simple, plus it provided a really fun texture too. One of the ways we combine art, pumpkins and pop culture is to turn our gourds into our favorite characters and Star Wars tops the list… check out our BB8 and R2D2!
Lastly, another way to combine art and Halloween is to make it part of your costume… and paint your face! We love the Faber-Castell Face Paint Studio because it is so simple. Safe for the skin and easy for beginners, the set comes with self-adhesive stencils, face decals and illustrated instructions to make face paintings that you will be proud to wear. Bring the designs to life with paint that is shimmery, vibrant, non-staining, easy to wash off, quick drying, great for layering and bendable!
MATH WIZARD AND SURPRISES BREWING
Abracadabra…it’s that time of year when kids are wanting to be magicians and wizards. Something is brewing this season and you don’t want to miss it!
The Math Wizard series from Osmo is truly magical. We find that kids often get bored with traditional worksheets but with Math Wizard, the players use math to help create potions for dragons and help the townspeople. They’re building airships and balancing equations to make them fly. They’re practicing repeated addition by making smoothies for a soccer team in preparation for multiplication.
Math Wizard is a self-paced, curriculum-inspired series that combines hands-on learning with digital adventure, helping children build math confidence and understanding. As parents, we love that Osmo works closely with educators to develop the games to make sure they are aligned with traditional curriculum so that children can take what they play on the Osmo game and apply it to the classroom and life. There are settings within the game for parents to set based on their student’s ability.
Each of the Math Wizard games covers a variety of math skills including: addition/subtraction up to 120, place value, how to use non-standard units of measure, how to use a ruler to measure, balancing and building equations, solving for an unknown value, repeated addition as a foundation for multiplication, number decomposition and more. The best part is that the games all use different pieces as part of solving the problem, so it is definitely hands-on learning!
As parents, we were finding that our son was getting bored with the math worksheets we were giving him. Initially, I thought that it was because he didn’t understand the material. But it was exactly the opposite, he wasn’t being challenged. We started incorporating the Math Wizard games as part of our math curriculum. It was an incentive to complete the assigned worksheet, but also was a reinforcer to practice different types of math problems. My son begs to play the game daily. He wants to solve the puzzles and he is also able to make the connection between what he is learning as part of his classroom studies with the game. He is now excelling at math.
For those that aren’t familiar, Osmo is an app-based system that works with your iPad or Fire Table. From coding to learning math and how to draw your favorite Disney characters, we love that it has a wide-range of games for all ages. Rather than sit in front of the TV, we love that it is a positive screen time option, where they are learning STEAM-based skills and having fun.
EDIBLE ART: COLOR MY COOKIE
Art you can eat! Painting the cookie canvas was such a delicious way for them to be creative which is just one of the reasons why we love Color My Cookie. The have mini sets like the Haunted House and Scarecrow that come with edible paint palettes, a brush fun sprinkles. The original sets have six cookies and they have so many fun themes from campfire to birthdays, seasonal and superhero.
Plus we love the story behind this brand. As parents and pastry store owners, the founders had to close their physical doors due to the COVID pandemic so they pivoted and launched Color My Cookie and now they ship all over the United States. They also have subscriptions which sends a new collection to your home every month. Every Color My Cookie Decorating Kit includes a link to an online tutorial taught by a professional pastry chef. Their signature iced shortbreads have been delighting cookie lovers for more than a decade, and now you can decorate them at home.
They also have subscriptions which sends a new collection to your home every month. Every Color My Cookie Decorating Kit includes a link to an online tutorial taught by a professional pastry chef.
COSTUMED ROLE PLAY
Dressing up isn’t just for Halloween. We love when our kids want to dress up and explore a career. From doctors to princesses, imaginative play fosters not only creativity but helps develop social, emotional and language skills. As children get dressed up in costumes, they have the ability to express themselves and strengthen their relationships.
When looking for costumes, Macy’s has a ton of options for the entire family. We love outfits that will go beyond Halloween. These role play costume sets from Macy’s feature a variety of professions including firefighter, police officer, chef, doctor and more. Each of them has a variety of props that the kids can use to really get into the role. We loved watching our little doctor do an exam on her teddy bear. We also love seeing our kids meet their real life heroes in their costumes. There’s nothing like a junior firefighter alongside the community fireman. You can create a dress up bin for your children or when you have outgrown them, you can donate them to a local preschool for them to use.
