DIY Games for Kids made with Squeeze Pouch Caps
Squeeze pouch caps can be great for including in educational and fun diy games for kids to play around the house. Here are two ways we used them!
I love an activity that is both fun and educational with Jake at home. Add in using materials from around the house and I’m completely sold!
Which is why I wanted to figure out exactly how to make DIY games for kids with squeeze pouch caps. They are so bright and colorful and something almost every mom has on hand. Plus, I had seen some really great ways his pre-school teachers had used them in class.
I came up with two activities, washed and dried the caps and then placed them in a leftover washed blueberry container (seriously, I’m a recycling fool and I didn’t even know it!). I was shocked at how engaged Jake was for both.
He loved playing with the caps and even went back to it later at his table. For a kid who would be active literally every minute of the day if he could, this is really quite something!
DIY Games for Kids Made With Squeeze Pouch Caps
Activity 1. Stacking and Color Sorting.
I started off by saying, “Let’s make a tower!” But I was secretly a little giddy when he started placing them in individual color towers and then talking about each color. Apparently, my eye for detail just may be coming through after all. Hee hee.
This would be great preschool color activity (even for someone a little younger than him) to start working on their colors in a fun way. I’ve also seen his teachers use some [amazon_textlink asin=’B00W8JKSUI’ text=’colored bowls’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’borogi-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’73b309e4-217a-11e8-b324-8b5e727e219f’] for sorting and learning.
Once Jake is a little older I could even take it a step further by writing the color words down on index cards and asking him to sort that way. What a fun way to help with sight words!
Activity 2. Pattern Play.
This activity is another easy preschool color activity. The night before, I made a simple word document with filled in shape boxes all in the same colors as the caps we had. I made each line its own pattern and then printed it out. Before playing, I explained that each line had a pattern and that he could match the caps to the pattern to figure it out.
He really had a ball with this and after a few minutes, it changed into making pathways that connected, etc. You can download the pattern play worksheet below, but I plan on making this again with a few changes. A horizontal view would let patterns continue and really hit home.
Also, numbering each line might give a clearer view of when a pattern starts and ends.
Overall, a win for DIY games for kids that are fun for kids to play at home and learn without even realizing it!
So, that’s what we’ve been up to in learning activities around the house.
Next, I really want to explore more ways to include learning about space since he is VERY into space right now. Very cute and, hey, I have a lot to learn too! Back when I was a kid Pluto was still a planet! Ha!! What ways have you used materials from around the house? Any cool ideas to share?
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We have a ton of those caps. I recycle all of my plastic. I did not think that they could be a great toy. Maybe even use them like a checker board if you can gather enough of them. Great post.
http://askmelissaanything.blogspot.com/
@Lissa, checkers would be awesome! Or Making fun shapes like trains (wheels) and apple trees (apples). SO versatile!