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home / Blog / family life / family fun / indoor activities / tabletop surprises: simple, summer learning fun

tabletop surprises: simple, summer learning fun

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July 12, 2013 by Teach Mama 8 Comments

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post contains affiliate links

 

tabletop surprises week one

 

Summer is kicking us hard over here.

Actually, swim and dive are kicking us hard over here, like always.Ā  And at five weeks in, between meets, practices, relays, pep rallies, and team events, our family has run a bigtime marathon.

So our Smart Summer Calendar and daily plan have morphed into something that is really, truly working out well for us: Tabletop Surprises.

Tabletop Surprises? Easy.

On their own time.Ā  On my own time.

Creative learning and crafting opportunities for the kids on the craft room table.

Opportunities for open-ended play and learning–when it works best for them.

For now? It’s rocking.

Here’s the skinny. . .

  • Tabletop Surprises–Simple, Learning Fun:tabletop surprises button

What are Tabletop Surprises? If you follow me on Instagram, you’d know what I’m talking about because each day I’ve shared a quick photo of each day’s surprise each day of the week.

Tabletop Surprises are fun learning or creative thinking opportunities for the kids on our craft room table. Just sitting there.

Waiting for someone to come along and try ’em out.

How to I get the kids to actually sit down and do the activities?Ā  A few ways:

1. The activities are fun and they want to do them;

2. At any given time, on any given day, I have been known to toss a few gems into the gem jars of people who have been spotted doing the activity. Not every day, but some days.

3.Ā  I’ll join them. Kids–I truly believe–like to hang out with their parents. Especially if their parents are kinda cool or funny or at least act like they’re cool or funny. I like to hang out with my kids, so when they sit, if I can, I’ll join them.

Tabletop Surprises for this week:Ā  Here we go. . .Ā 

magnetic words

magnetic poetry tabletop surprise

 

  • Magnetic Poetry: Magnetic words by our friends at Magnetic Poetry, and this set is the Magnetic Poetry Really Big Words Set. All I did was put a bunch of words on three clean cookie sheets.

That’s it. I started with a funny sentence on each tray, and I let the kids take it from there.

They liked it. Tried to sneak in a little potty talk, but lucky for us the set doesn’t really lend itself to such.

focus of this activity: creative thinking, reading, speaking

———————————————————————-

tabletop surprises shape blocks pattern cards

shape pattern cards

  • Shape Blocks & Pattern Cards: Love, love, love this set.Ā  There are dozens of great sets out there on the market, and I’m not even sure where ours came from.

I put the cards out on the table, threw some shapes into three separate containers to avoid grabbing and arguing, and crossed my fingers. Owen hit the table without asking me to play Wii, and he sat and worked until breakfast. Win!

focus: geometry, critical thinking, fine motor skills

———————————————————————-

tabletop surprises perler beads cover

tabletop surprises perler beads

tabletop surprises perler beads

  • Melty Perler Beads & Pegboards: I love these, and so do the kids. Perler beads are simply teeny, tiny beads that fit on small pegboards.

Kids can create patterns, letters, words, you name it, by placing the beads on the small pegs. When the creation is complete, you iron it to melt them together. Once it’s cool, it pops off of the pegboard and you have a little masterpiece.

focus: fine motor, patterning, creative thinking

———————————————————————-

tabletop surprises mazes

  • Mazes: I have fallen head over heels for KrazyDad and his amazing math site. Serious gold mine of printable puzzles, mazes, and so much more, it’s insanity.

All I did for today was dive into the maze area of his site, and I printed out mazes of varying difficulty.Ā  I went for Easy, Intermediate, Challenging, and

Tough, and they all rocked.

tabletop surprises mazes

tabletop surprises mazes

Second day in a row that the O-Man chose unplugged fun vs the siren call of his Wii.

focus: critical thinking, fine motor, problem-solving

———————————————————————-

tabletop surprises magnets

tabletop surprises magnets

  • Magnets, Pipecleaners, & Paperclips: Easy, easy, easy. Magnets are so fun, and my kids have loved them forever and ever.

I used the disc magnets from way back when we made Bottle cap Ornaments, glass vase and some empty glass jars from the recycle box, colored paper clips, and pipe cleaners.

tabletop surprises magnets cover

tabletop surprises magnets cover

I cut the pipe cleaners into various sizes and threw them in the bottom of the glasses. I added some paper clips and scattered the magnets. Done. Invitation to explore.

Kids? Loved it.

focus: science, fine motor, critical thinking

———————————————————————-

Really? That’s it. So fun, so easy.

Next week we’ve got some really cool ideas up our sleeve for Tabletop Surprises.Ā  Gotta love summer, and as the kids are yearning for more independence, I think this is the recipe for success.

Need some supplies for your own Tabletop Surprises? Click below:

 

fyi: affiliate links are included

About the Author

Hi, I’m Patricia, an elementary teacher and reading specialist, turned homeschool mom. I also have a master's in psychology, specializing in children's issues. Read More…

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Comments

  1. Natalie says

    July 12, 2013 at 3:49 pm

    Lovely idea, especially for a larger number of kids. I wish we had a craft table!

    Reply
  2. Jackie Higgins says

    July 14, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    We’ve had such a hard time fitting in any learning at home this summer. I know the boys are learning as we are out and about, but then we run home and I have tons of work , laundry, etc to do. These are great ideas with little prep for me and the kids can pick them up when they feel like it.Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Teach Mama says

      July 17, 2013 at 11:40 am

      You got it, Jackie! Sorry it’s been tough, but I’m *secretly* glad we’re not alone!

      Reply
  3. Kelly says

    July 20, 2013 at 3:46 pm

    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea. We are going to try it out this week! I think it would even be something I can do for the kiddos to have something to do while I homeschool their older brother. šŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Teach Mama says

      July 20, 2013 at 11:29 pm

      yay! SO glad you like it. Please, Kelly. Let me know how it goes or if you come up with other cool ideas! Would love to hear ’em!

      Reply
  4. Katie Joiner says

    July 22, 2013 at 2:13 am

    Thank you so much for the reminder about magnetic poetry words! Such a wonderful thing to do with little ones. Since I catch my three year old reading to herself often, I know she would “write” her own stories by arranging the words — thanks for the post!

    Reply
    • Teach Mama says

      July 22, 2013 at 7:13 am

      you got it, Katie! thanks for reading, and HUGE thanks for taking the time to write!

      Reply
  5. Gabrielle says

    October 3, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    I was doing table time for my two boys in the mornings for a while. I would set out an activity at night and they could explore it when they woke up in the morning. It gave me an opportunity to introduce some fun extra-curriculars to them, and allowed me a few more minutes of shut-eye. Thanks for the inspiration to rekindle the habit.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Patricia, an elementary teacher and reading specialist, turned homeschool mom.

After our three kids graduated high school, I went back to school to become a marriage and family therapist who has specialized in children’s issues.

I love helping families find all the fun and deep learning possible for their children.

I’m so glad you’re here on Teach Mama and I look forward to helping you on your journey!

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