Guess what's behind my back?

What began as a simple show & tell about his souvenir flag soon turned into a good couple hours of guessing what my best friend's little boy had behind his back. While we were waiting he came to show me the flag he'd been given at the ANZAC Day parade that morning.

Him: Guess what's behind my back?
Me: Ummmmm, is a pirate hat?
Him: Nooooo, don't be silly.
Me: OK. Is it a peanut?
Him: Nooooo (laughing).
Me: Is it big or little?
Him: It's kind of big.
Me: So is it a dinosaur?
Him: Noooo, not THAT big.
Me: Is it an ant?
Him: Noooo, not that little. In between.
Me: Is it an animal?
Him: No, it's something.
Me: What colour is it?
Him: It's blue, with white and red. And it has stars.
Me: Ohhhhhh, I know. It's the American Flag!
Him: YES! How did you guess?
Me: Just clever I guess. (laughing).
Me: Oh but wait, that's not the American Flag. That's the Australian Flag. You know, we live in Australia, and America has a flag too, but it's different.
Him: Oh. Like my Foo Fighters Flag.
Me: (hilarious laughter at a 4 year old). Yes, just like that!

So next thing I know, he's back with something else behind his back! Then 3 things. Then 5 things. Then a tin (oh sorry, a suitcase) full of things!

An hour or two later I've managed to guess a tiger, a pig, a car, Lighting McQueen, a ring, a police in the shape of a police helmet, a flute made out of straws at kinder, an elephant from Thailand and a whole bunch of things I can't even remember, and some that I even had to cheat and guess thanks to Google on my smart phone.

But while we were having fun, mucking about, having a laugh, we were learning!

Learning new words, learning to describe things without saying what it is, learning beginning and rhyming sounds (what does it sound like.....it starts with aaaallllll....alex the lion!), learning colours & shades, big & small, what things feel like, what they sound like, what they can & can't do. Learning about animals, countries and cities. Learning to think laterally and be creative and learning to communicate.

WOW! Who would've thought you could learn so much from a simple made up kids game?

So next time you do something fun that the kids enjoy, and they keep coming back, and back, and back....before you get tired of the game, have a quick think about what they could be learning from this and keep it going while you've got the chance.

Happy Learning!

Come say Hi to us over at Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram for lots more fun games and activities.

Learning to Party

Who likes to party? We do! We love a kids' party! We wouldn't be human if we didn't look forward to some fairy bread and pass the parcel.

The joy kids get from a great party is second to none. Balloons, cake, games, treats, gifts, playing and having a great time.

But when do kids learn best? When they are having fun. So here is a perfect opportunity to focus on the learning benefits you can add to a regular birthday party.

Click to download

I know what you're thinking. Classroom? Boring? Teachers? But don't.

We wouldn't suggest it if it was boring. All you need to do is look around, what's planned for the party and work out the educational aspects.

• Get the kids involved in catering and cooking. Read recipe books and follow the method to apply maths in real life.
• Have the kids write out their invitations to practice neat handwriting, spelling, vocabulary and dates & times
• Play games like backyard scrabble, treasure hunts and word bingo to add a little learning to the activities.

We have a whole pin board of party pics.

 

But if that all seems like hard work, we have the perfect download!

• Party themes
• Games with educational benefits
• Nutritional snack ideas
• Printable template to stay organised 
• A secret gift for downloaders ONLY

So get yours now to claim the gift.

Visit our website or click here to get on it!

Click on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram for more ideas to make learning fun at home.

Why are we here?

As many of you would know, Learning that's Fun is a website. It's a Facebook page, it's an Instagram account and it's a book. But what does all of that really mean? What's it all about? Why are we here? So I'll let you in on the story and the secret.

It's a message.

A message that I wanted to share.

When I was tutoring I started to research, read more about how kids learn, how to help struggling children, understand learning difficulties and disabilities and more about the education system too (scary place, let's not go there).

But what I found was that there are so many kids out there with learning difficulties and learning disabilities, many that will go undiagnosed for their entire lives, many that will never get the individual help they need and deserve. Help that is just about impossible for our teachers to give, because they couldn't possibly find the time in the day to devote to every single child in their enormous classes, and help that they just aren't trained to give in regular, run of the mill school.

Not only are there children with learning problems, but there are kids out there with behavioural problems, and issues at home that are holding them back from getting the most out of their education. And the classroom just can't cater to their needs, and unfortunately many of these kids will struggle through their entire lives with simple things like reading or maths.

I can't solve those problems. It will take a complete shift in society and government to change our education system and curriculum. Hence the massive growth in Home Schooling in Australia (but again, another complete story there!). But what I learnt as a tutor was that learning doesn't have to be boring. In the classroom, reading and arithmetic is like a chore for some kids. They hate it because they struggle with it, so they play up, they get distracted, they make excuses. But it doesn't have to a chore. Let's make it fun!

There are whole schools of thought out there that are based on "learning through play", "experiential learning", "sensory learning" and lots of others. Research and common sense would back them up. Kids learn when they are having fun. And it doesn't mean just little kids, toddlers, kinder and preps. Learning by having fun works for EVERYONE! If you enjoy a book, you read it - if it's boring, you put it down and walk away. If you go to an exhibition of something you are passionate about, you stay for hours....if you go with your husband to a car show and you hate cars, you probably want to leave after 5 minutes.  Kids are exactly the same. If they are interested, if they are having fun, laughing, enjoying, spending quality time with their family, they will learn new things without even realising it's educational.

It's such a simple message, but one that so easily gets forgotten in the day to day routine, especially if "fun learning" wasn't a part of your own day to day childhood. There are so many simple everyday things we can do at home, in the car, out in town, on holidays etc to add some extra learning time to our lives. You don't have to be university qualified to be the Single Most Important Teacher in your child's life. As parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, family friends, neighbours we are absolutely the most influential teachers kids will ever know. That's the message I wanted to share. So I wrote a book. The rest, as they say, is history.


If you would like to see the book click here.


Please feel free to leave some comments below to share your feedback, or your own ideas or suggestions for fun family learning activities.

To see some of our fun learning ideas check out our Pinterest boards, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram @blossomltf

You've Got Mail

Remember the days when you would get home from school and race your brothers and sisters to the mailbox to see what treasures had been delivered that day? If you were waiting on a postcard from travelling grandparents, expecting an invitation to a friend's party or checking for greetings from distant cousins you would know the excitement of opening the mail box to find an envelope with your own name on it! 

Unfortunately, as you have grown up, the exciting letters have become few and far between, and you dread the trip to the mailbox that brings bills, notices and letters for serious, boring household matters! 

But your kids can still be a part of that old time excitement. With so much emphasis on technology, email, social networking, computers and tablets, it's so easy to forget about the old art of writing a letter. So why not encourage them to find a pen pal and enjoy having a paper friendship with someone. Spend time getting to know how other people live, dress, eat, go to school, play sport, use their spare time. Or find things they have in common, similar taste in music, fears and goals in life, family and friends.

And of course there are the secret learning benefits to having a pen friend. Practicing their handwriting in a relaxed setting, doing it for fun, rather than for school gives the kids an opportunity to work on their lettering, their fine motor skills, their spelling and vocabulary and refining their skills without being tested or scrutinised. When they receive their letters they can further enhance their vocabulary and practice their reading.  

Using special paper, favourite coloured pens, nice envelopes and heading to the shop to buy a stamp, post a letter and wait for one in return is such a rewarding way for kids to learn about the world and other ways of life.

So how do you find pen pals for them? There are lots of ways, especially with access to the world wide web! 

Many kids magazines will have a section for kids to connect by mail. You'll see them in the supermarket or newsagent. Grab a couple, sit down together and look through the pen pal pages and choose 2 or 3 to write in to. 

Write to a distant relative or family friend who is living abroad; interstate or overseas. They will probably love to have that connection back home and hear familiar stories to soothe their travelling hearts, while your children can read about tales of other worlds! They might be encouraged to travel and explore the world themselves when they get older.

There are also many online communities who provide programs for kids to connect with eachother and write old fashioned letters to each other. This provides parents with a sense of comfort and assurance across the internet. One beautiful community is The Little Folk, a local Australian magazine for children who operate a program for pen friends aged 8 to 13. Their next round of applications for the program will open in May. So have a look at their site and get ready for the May run. 

http://www.thelittlefolk.com.au/pen-pal-collective/

To see more fun learning ideas check out our Pinterest boards, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram @blossomltf