Smarties, we decided to reach out to April Whitlock from Fundanoodle for activities you can do with your little Smarties during National Screen Free Week. Here is what she had to say:
At Fundanoodle, this is one of our favorite weeks of the year since we believe that Little Learners should be device and touch-screen free all the time! Little hands and brains are wired to develop crucial motor skills, strength, visual perception and more between the ages of 2 1/2 and 6 years old. These foundational skills develop with lots of hands-on and sensory learning activities, not with a touch-screen.
Here are few FUN-danoodle ideas to try this week!
Build Letters and Sight Words– Our sturdy, colorful letter builder magnets allow children to piece together letters and words like a puzzle! The included letter guide can be used without a magnetic surface for younger children. Add a magnetic surface to encourage building strong hand muscles! After both uppercase and lowercase letters are mastered, then start making sight words! And they can always just have fun building shapes!
Cut it Up! – Did you know that your 2 1/2-year-old should start learning how to use scissors! It’s a hard skill that takes lots of practice to master. And the developmental benefits are HUGE! This skill alone helps with fine motor development, hand strength, bilateral coordination (learning how to use both hands at once) and more! Give your kiddos our FUN Scissors – they do not cut skin, clothes or hair – just paper! Set-up a cutting station with old holiday cards, paint chips, and other scrap paper and let them practice, practice, practice on their own!
Move those Muscles! Put down the touch-screen and pick up our Muscle Mover cards or Get the Wiggles Out! game! These colorful, durable cards get Little Learners “galloping like a Unicorn” or “whistling like a Quail” as they work on letter and number formation. The 52 unique animals also spark great conversations about their habitats, sounds, and activities. And if your screen-free week plans include a trip to the zoo, take our muscle movers along to help identify animals!
