Fun and Meaningful Home-Learning Activities with Mr. Talley

While our children are away from school, it doesn’t necessarily mean that their learning must decrease. Try the following (very fun) activities at home, my friends. Neither you, nor your children, will be sorry you did. These activities won’t even feel like homework. They are all great fun to do. Almost none require a computer. Most may be done by any grade level, but they are “generally sorted” by academic level. Many are best done as a family. Some can even earn you money (high schoolers) … such as activities 3 and 16! May they all serve to bring your family closer together during these times.  Mr. Ben Talley, Van Pelt Elementary

Activity 1 … Your Five Senses … elementary: Step outside your front door with your family. Time yourself. 3 minutes. Become totally silent. (Yes, totally silent, it won’t hurt. Promise.) What did you HEAR in those 3 minutes?

Do it again. But this time notice what you SEE.  Yes, you will find things you’ve never even noticed before, though you walk this way every day. Amazing.

Do it again, using SMELL (just stay away from boys’ socks). Then do it again, using TOUCH. Walk a few steps. Do it again. If you do, it will change your life.

Activity 2 … Family Storytelling … elementary, middle and high school: Have the oldest members of your household tell some stories about “back in the day”. Make ‘em funny, rowdy, serious … you decide. Give a prize to who listens best. No, not a monetary prize. (Yes, you can ask simple questions from the story to see who was really listening). As a prize, give them a big hug. Everyone loves hugs. Even middle and high schoolers.

Children remember stories when they forget all else. If you want them to learn ANYTHING better, than put it into a story. I do it all the time in the classroom. Jesus taught by storytelling, too. No computers or worksheets ever used or needed. Period.

Activity 3… $50 Essay Contest … high school:  Write a 500 word essay entitled “How I Can Make Bristol and the World Better”. It has to be about things that you (personally) actually can, or will, do. Email your finished essay to Mr. T. ([email protected]). Your name will go into a drawing. I will send money to the winner, for you to spend it on anything you wish, related to your education. Yes, I trust you.

Activity 4 … Math in the Head … elementary, middle and high school:  Gather everyone around and do math problems in your head (no need for pencil and paper). Little ones can do simple add or subtract (and use real objects, such as Legos, if needed). Older kids can multiply or divide. Take turns calling out problems. Make it as easy or as difficult at you’d like. Have a race to see who can get the correct answer first each time, or simply take turns by ability level.

Activity 5 … Who’s the Nicest … elementary, middle and high school: Plan a day to see who is REALLY the nicest in your home. Who can do more nice things for other family members? Who can VOLUNTARILY clean their room, wash dishes, sweep, say please and thank you? You decide what’s nice. (Hopefully this one ends in a “tie” for all family members.)

Activity 6 … Pillow Notes … elementary and middle: Sneak little notes under the pillows of family members during the day, so they’ll find them at bedtime. Some of my fondest memories from my own childhood are of playing this game with my family. No, it never gets old … not if you have a creative mind.

Activity 7 … Walking Blind … elementary: Walk around your apartment or your house. Only don’t open your eyes. Yes, you’ll need help. Yes, you’ll discover what it’s like to have a particular disability. You’ll find out that you must trust someone else totally. You’ll also find out if you are prone to “cheat” and peep while you walk (most do).

Activity 8 … Home Map … elementary and middle: Draw a detailed map of your home or bedroom. Measure the perimeter and area of each room precisely, if you are able. If not, estimate in “feet”. Then draw it all again with your “other” hand, the one you don’t normally draw with. This will also help with understanding people with disabilities.

Activity 9 … Spring Flower Dance … elementary, middle and high school: Go outside and do the craziest dance you can possibly invent. Whoop all you want. Create words or a chant, if you’d like. (Warning: you might want to tell neighbors what you’re doing, as you don’t want to wind up in a white gown in a hospital.) P.S. – If spring flowers start to blossom, you’ll know it worked.

Activity 10 … Just Draw … elementary, middle and highs school: Research tells us that “just drawing” increases our intelligence by leaps and bounds. So take a pencil and paper. Do it inside or outside. Draw something. Don’t tell anyone what it is. Then let someone else guess. Do it again. Include more details each time.

Activity 11 … Scavenger Hunt … elementary, middle and high school: Hide 10 things (or more) in your home. List clues as to how to find each one, one by one, like a treasure map. Each one found has a written clue with it to help the searcher find the next thing. Great for critical thinking. Can be adapted for any age.

Activity 12 … Writing Contest … middle and highs school:  Write about anything you want. Absolutely any thought that comes to your mind. (Or you can choose a general topic, if you wish.) But you must write for 3 minutes. At the end, see who has the most words. Forget about perfect grammar and punctuation or being on topic for this one. Just make it creative wild fun. Only rule: you cannot pause for more than 3 seconds at any time. It must be true “thought writing”. Whatever you think, you write.

Activity 13 … Drop Out Cost Discussion … high school: A typical high school graduate makes about $400,000 more over a lifetime than a high school drop out. A typical college graduate makes about $400,000 more over a lifetime than a high school graduate. Talk about all the reasons you think people drop out of education. If you have a friend about to drop out, discuss this with them. You may save their future.

Activity 14 … What’s for Dinner? … elementary, middle and high school:  Help plan and cook dinner. Or plan and cook dinner all by yourself, depending on age and ability. Just don’t play “Burning Down the House” by the rock band, The Talking Heads, while cooking.

Activity 15 … Make a Rhyme … elementary: Think of a word. Any word. Then think a word that rhymes with it. Then make a rhyme, using the two words. Rhyme and time. “I can make a rhyme and do it every time.” Beat and feet. “Every time I smell your feet, it’s you I want to beat.” Yes, they can be silly and often are.

Activity 16 … Home Learning List: $50 Reward … high school: Who can name 30 fun learning activities that VIRTUALLY EVERY family can do at home? (Such as the ones you are reading about here, but different.) If you email your final list to Mr. Talley ([email protected]) he will place you in a drawing for $50. If you win, you can spend it on something related to your education (yes, I trust you to do that).

Activity 17 … Write a Letter, I Dare You … elementary, middle and high school:  No, don’t just call, or text, or message. Write an actual letter. Yep, the kind you put in the mail. Yes, to Grandpa and Grandma … or anyone you wish. A handwritten letter (from you) will be like gold to a loved one or a friend, because they are so rare these days.

Activity 18 … Dig Down … elementary: Go outside and dig down into the soil. Most anywhere. A stick will do if you have nothing else. Notice what all you see. Be careful not to harm any living creature, if possible. If you can find ten interesting things to talk about or investigate, email me. You will get an A.

Activity 19 … The Night Time Sky … elementary, middle and high school: Step out at night, with your entire family if possible, and gaze up at the sky. (No, the cold won’t hurt you. Wrap up and enjoy it.) Can you see any constellations (star patterns)? Do you see the moon? What shape is it? Do you see any planets? Venus is easy to find if you look right before dark. She is a planet, not a star. So she just shines. She doesn’t twinkle, like a star.

Activity 20 … Tickle Me … elementary, middle and high school: Who can stand to be tickled the longest without giggling or uttering a single sound? Yes, it’s a silly game. But often a fun one. Rule: if someone yells, “Stop!” then the tickler must stop. We don’t want anyone tickled to death.

Activity 21 … Bouncy Ball … elementary and middle: Use at least two types of balls and drop them from the same height on the same surface. Predict which one bounces highest. Repeat your experiment again to see if you get the same results. Then choose just one ball, but use two different surfaces on which you drop the ball. Predict which surface allows the ball to bounce higher. Repeat. Make a drawing or a chart showing your experiment and results.

Activity 22 … Rock Collection … elementary: If at all able, let your child go collect rocks. Yes, rocks can be found most anywhere. Let your child arrange them by: how dark, how heavy, how shiny, how smooth.

Activity 23 … Alike and Different … elementary and middle: Have any two people stand in front of you. Tell how each is alike. Then tell how each is different. Are there more “likes” or “differences”? Predict before you play. But you must try very hard to prove your prediction wrong. That’s what scientists do; they try to prove things wrong to discover the truth.

Activity 24 … Invertebrates or Vertebrates … elementary and middle: go outside and see if you can see more vertebrates (animals with a backbone, like us) or invertebrates (animals without a backbone, like insects). Predict before you play. Yes, digging and looking around and underneath things is allowed.

Point to Point:

Activity 25 … Brainstorming … elementary, middle and high school: Point to anything. Yes, anything … a cup, a just-clipped toenail, a banana peel. Name ten separate facts about it. Yes, it gets harder at the end. But it will make your mind stronger. P.S. – It must be ten facts. Not opinions. Know the difference.

Activity 26 … Mass or Shape … elementary and middle:  Use several sheets of any of the SAME type of paper.  Change the shape of each paper. Wad one into a ball, let one stay flat, and maybe make a paper airplane out of another. Predict which ones will “fall” to the floor faster.  Do they still have all the same mass? (They actually do.) Then why do some fall faster?

Activity 27 … What Floats, What Won’t … elementary and middle: Fill a bathtub … or clear container (the larger the better) half full of water. Then pick 10 various household objects. Try to choose five you think will float and five that you think won’t. Predict each one before you try. Then see what happens. Don’t be afraid to be wrong. We can learn a lot when we are wrong.

Activity 28 … Windy Riddle … elementary, middle and high school: Go out and look for the wind. If you see it, Mr. T. will buy your pizza every night for a month. I absolutely promise. No fingers crossed. On my mother’s grave. “Who has seen the wind? Neither you, nor I. But when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.” So wrote a very nice lady named Christina Rossetti.

Activity 29 … Old Folks and Groceries … high school: If and/or your family are able to go grocery shopping at all, ask around to see if an elderly neighbor needs groceries, too. They might allow you to shop for them. Remember, this virus seems to be especially bad on the elderly, not the young (thank goodness).

Activity 30 … Family Walk … elementary, middle and high school: Walk anywhere together. Anywhere. Just. Walk. And Talk. Explore. Anyone who comes along will remember it forever. Because hardly anyone just goes for a walk anymore. Just do it. You’ll be so glad you did.