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Now that school is almost out, kids are about to have a lot of free time. To fill that free time, I try to get my kids out of the house at every chance because there are so many things for kids to do here in Champaign-Urbana. But sometimes there’s no option other than to be at home.
As much as they should enjoy all the spoils of summer like sleeping in, going to Sholem or the Crystal Lake Aquatic Center, and hanging out with friends at Jupiter’s at the Crossing, summer is a great time to introduce some casual learning toys into their day. This is Champaign-Urbana after all, and we have some of the smartest kids around here.
My personal favorite is the Brain Quest Question Decks. I have used Brain Quest questions for years with all 3 of my kids, and I probably have 4 different Decks. The questions simply sit out near the dinner table, and whenever I want, I grab the cards and ask the kids some questions while we eat. NBD!
I keep it fun, I don’t get too serious or overly focused. I just ask a few questions I think they might know and find somewhat interesting.
A few nights ago, the best thing happened so unexpectedly – my kids started asking each other questions!! Really!!! I’m not lying. I wasn’t doing anything, and they were just asking each other question after question, and then they switched. That was really fun to watch!
STEM Toys
I was at the Urbana Free Library the other day, and they had Botley, the Coding Robot going. There were a couple of people there already playing wiht it, but as soon as they were done, my kid started playing with it themselves. That’s kind of the idea, you can just play with something and then let your kid take over, and then you can keep playing with them or go make dinner or something. Let them explore and learn.
I thought it would be fun if they could program the bot to come to me and then I would put $1 or a piece of candy on it, and it would have to go back to them.
Lastly, my kids absolutely LOVE to play Apples to Apples Jr. and SPOT IT. These games keep us entertained all the time. It’s so much fun to be extra goofy and silly when playing these games because it really brings out the fun!