Easy DIY activities for early learning at home
Coming up with new and exciting activities to keep children entertained can be a challenge.
However, chances are you’ve got everything you need at home to organise a number of DIY activities that also support early learning.
If you’re stuck for ideas and need some inspirations, we’ve pulled together – with generous help from our homebased educators around Auckland – some easy activities to help enhance early learning at home. All activities use things commonly available in homes.
Sensory bins
Fill an empty container with beans, pasta or rice and hide small toys inside it (don’t make it small enough for the littlest ones to put in their mouth!). To help improve fine motor skills, give your child a scoop or spoon to dig out the hidden toys.
Alphabet puzzle
It may sound like a big job, but making a puzzle at home is quite simple. What you need is a sheet of cardboard, markers, adhesive dots and a few bottle caps. Simply write the letters on the bottle caps and draw the matching letters on a piece of cardboard. Have your kids match the caps to the letters on the cardboard sheet. This activity is budget-friendly and helps develop early literacy skills.
Scavenger hunt
Create a simple list of items and let your kids find them. This promotes observation skills. When the day is bright, take your scavenger hunt outdoors and ask your child to hunt out rocks, leaves, branches and all sorts of natural fun items!
Shape stamping
Most kids love playing with stamps, but that doesn’t mean you need to invest in an expensive stamp set. Instead, cut out different shapes from sponges or potatoes to use as DIY stamps. Dip them in paint and let kids stamp them onto paper. This activity reinforces shape recognition and creativity while helping children develop fine motor skills.
Story stones
Paint or draw simple pictures on small stones, like a sun, a tree or an animal. Stickers are fine to use too if painting isn’t your thing. You can even get children to do this for you.
Once you’ve painted or put stickers on a collection of stones, ask your child to make a story using the stones. This encourages imagination and storytelling. You can also get your kids to sort the stones based on different categories, helping them develop their pattern recognition skills.
Ice excavation
DIY ice excavation games are a great option for a hot summer’s day. Freeze small toys in an ice tray or bowl and let kids use warm water and tools (like a spoon) to “rescue” them. Not only does this activity engage the senses, but it also introduces basic science concepts and problem-solving.
Homemade musical instrument
Rhythm and sound are great for early years. Simple household materials can be used to create musical instruments that create sounds – all great for motor skills, coordination and instilling a love for music in a hands-on way.
Kids can create their own maracas by filling a plastic bottle with rice, beans, lentils or small beads. You can even decorate the bottle with coloured tape and ribbons. To make a mini guitar, stretch a few rubber bands of different sizes around an empty tissue box and attach a cardboard roll for a guitar neck. The rubber bands should create different tones, helping children to understand pitch variations.
Do you have fun homemade activity ideas to share? We’d love to hear from you on info@home2grow.co.nz.
