When I was visiting 3 year-old Will, he requested that we have a “scavenger hunt.” Now I have been known for my “candy hunts” I conduct on family vacations where I send kids off with a set of clues to find the final tin can of candy. But, I wondered how Will knew what a scavenger hunt was. It turns out that he has been watching “Dinosaur Train,” a clever kids’ show that teaches about plants and animals from the dinosaur age through a set of interesting clues delivered in rhyme.
On the left are my clues. Next time I will give them in rhyme but I wanted Will to be able to “read” them. The final clue, “Go to the Rescue Center” is a little blurred because it was hidden in the bath tub! Will loved the adventure of going up and down floors and finding his clues to his prize. Try making up clues that rhyme, leave off the last word and let your child guess the rhyming word. Now it becomes a literacy activity too.
What stories do you have about kids bridging the information from a TV show to their experience? Share them below.
May 27th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Some of the shows these days teach a lot of relevant ideas. Ni Hao Ki Lan teaches kids about feelings. My son and daughter, though 18 mos apart, both enjoy this show. There is an episode when they are at the beach and Tolee is really upset. They teach him to breath in and out and move from side to side. Now when the kids are melting down I ask them to do the same and it works all the time.
May 28th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Thanks for the suggestion. It is great for shows to model how to deal with and name emotions with kids. What network is that on?
May 29th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Hi. I love your blog! Keep posting more please.
June 14th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
hi sherry,
i too love your blog and find much relevance in your posts! thanks for sharing this info with the cyber world. keep it coming!
on my list of activities to do with my girls this summer is make a worm cake the way siblings “Max and Ruby” do together. not uber educational, but fun!
June 16th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Thanks, Natalie,
I love that you are making a worm cake. I used to read that book to the kids I had in therapy and then we would make a worm cake with dirt and gummy worms. They loved it but couldn’t eat it!
Let me know how it turns out!
Sherry