Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links; the opinions shared here are 100% mine. I received product samples.

By now, summer vacation might be feeling like an albatross around your neck.  The kids are sick of each other, it’s hot outside, and you don’t have a lot of money to spend on activities.  Feeling it?  There are ways to use things you have right in your house to keep the kids busy with ZERO prep work on your part.  In one of my early education classes, my professor said she could teach an entire math semester using only a phone book.  I marveled at that statement but now realize what she meant.  Be creative and get the kids busy with things you have at your house!   Here are some ideas.

Dream Vacation
Staying home this summer? Make it a learning experience! Give your kids a pretend budget and ask them to create a vacation that stays within their limit. They can easily research hotels online, find activities, and figure travel expenses. If you have older kids, challenge their math skills by asking them to determine the savings if they stay off-season or through the week, skipping the more expensive weekend days. If you’re really headed out of town, have your kids take part in the planning by using a search website like the Trivago widget below.

Challenging Apps

Technology is such a normal part of life these days that you might not even consider it as a way to teach your child. There are lots of easy learning activities that you can enjoy with your kids right on your computer or iPad.  It’s tempting to limit your app choices to those that are strictly game-based.   Most of the apps I click regularly are games like 2048 or Candy Crush.  Although my kids love their games, they’re excited anytime I download something new for them.  Make the most of the new-app novelty by choosing an app that challenges your kids.   Kids Academy asked me to share their free app with you and it seems like something that most preschoolers will enjoy.  My son is 5 years old and played this for several minutes, exploring the various “worlds” and activities. The app received top ratings from Children’s Technology and Parent Reviews. My children learn best with experiences; while we’re in the car it can be tempting to let them just watch a DVD. With the Kids Academy app, they’re using logic skills and developing reasoning while playing a game.  Kids Academy offers a few of the activities on the free version; to get all the options you have to click through to the in-app purchase.  My son played the alphabet game for several minutes before getting bored with it.  It required him to practice tracing letters and numbers (which is something he needs to work on before he starts kindergarten).   Check out the Kids Academy website for some great parenting suggestions, too.  I enjoyed reading the articles.

Allow them into the forbidden land

Do you normally tell the kids to “Keep Out” of a forbidden area of the house or your beauty box?  Get their attention by letting them in that space for a few minutes!  Explain the rules, put up what can’t be touched, and let them have at it.  For example, my kids aren’t allowed to get into my nail polishes.  There’s just too much room for error and I’m not interested in cleaning up that mess.  But for once over summer break, it’s super fun to let the kids have a chance to play with the polish.  If you’re worried about the mess, take the kids outside and put down some newspapers or an old shower curtain.  Allow them to give themselves mani/pedis.  Get out the old baby dolls and have a nail salon.    I tried some new shades from Silk & Satin, the new SinfulColors line, and my children kept asking if they could try them, too. SinfulColors are available for only $1.99 at Walgreens, so this is an affordable luxury.  So my daughter tried the darker teal shade and know what? It was perfect for her!  My son could even use them to “paint” small jars or rocks, helping his fine motor skills.  These shades are matte rather than my preferred glossy style, so I finished with a topcoat.  You could use that kind of language with your kids to improve vocabulary skills, too. Ask your children to experiment with colors, finding combinations they like and ask them to describe why.  Discuss the ingredients list and why it’s important to avoid certain chemicals in beauty products.  There are all kinds of ways to make this into an educational experience — no worksheets required!

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Use your senses

Get your kids to use their senses in as many ways as you can!  Cut a hole out of the lid of a shoebox, fill the box with all kinds of textured objects (cotton balls, sandpaper scraps, feathers, etc) and let your little ones try to guess what’s inside.  Find new ways to create a breeze by fanning with paper in different ways.  Have your kids host a bake-off with friends, then enjoy the taste test.  If you’re not into getting your kitchen messy, you can make this easy by ordering a dessert box from Orange Glad.  This box comes in the mailbox and brightens my day every month.  The June box was wrapped up like a beautiful gift, satin ribbon and all.  

The treats in this month’s box included a traditional Jewish cookie called the Hamantashen. My kids would never have tried one before Orange Glad, so I was really excited that we had something cultural in there!  They both went right for the Cheryl’s Buttercream Summer Cookie; I was sad to only  have one.   My favorite was the Salted Caramel Cream Cookie.  What a delight – every bite was full of flavor without being too sweet.   There are so many ways to enjoy this box, but I highly suggest making it a family affair. Let everyone have taste of each item, then compare your notes.  You could even make a ratings game out of it!  Have your kids use their senses while enjoying a beautifully packaged box of goodies.

What other household items do you use to help the kids learn?