Need help with ideas for activities to do with a 6 year old.?

Question

I will be watching my 6 year old cousin this summer who will be entering the 1st grade in the fall. He is very advanced in his studies. He is already reading at a 2nd grade level and doing math at a 1 1/2 grade level. What would be some good activities I can do with him, both fun and education?

Answer 1

Play games with him like Yahtzee, Uno, Rummikube, Jr Scrabble, or regular Scrabble, Boggle. Play checkers and/or chess with him.

Go to :
http://www.puzzlemaker.com/AdvMazeSetupForm.html
and print out some mazes for him. Then work together to make up some of your own mazes.

The same site (http://school.discovery.com/brainboosters/) also has many nifty educational activities.

Together pick one a "unit" to study for the summer, like dinosaurs, or the solar system, or rockets, or the Rainforest, or snakes, or whatever, and look on line and at the library for information about it. Especially look for books at the correct reading level for him to read on the topic.

Do a yahoo or google search using the topic and wordfinds, or wordsearch, or crossword or maze, or puzzle to find related activities to print.

About halfway through the summer have him start working on a project on one of the topic. Have the project include info, and artwork, and possibly results of any experiments.

Museums and zoos are great places to visit. Have his folks get him a blank paged book or a few. Keep one as a nature journal so that he can draw and lable interesting animals, insects, plants he sees during the day. He can write short explanations to go with them too.

Use another one as a research journal for his chosen topic.

I forgot. Bake and cook with him, find a kid's cookbook, and let him read the directions, and teach him how do the measurments.

Go to Target and get one of their science kits and do a different experiment every day. (he can keep track of the experiments as well as what happens using pictures, labeling, and short entries in another journal)

Answer 2

I don't want to burst your bubble but I would not say he is very advanced. In a good school system, most intelligent kids read above the state standard..thats because the standard is low.

Regardless of that, do things that kids like! The zoo, the beach, museums, parks, try to set up some playdates with other kids in your neighborhood, set up lemonade stands, go to yard sales where there may be stuff for kids (books, toys).

Answer 3

Take him on little day trips. You can make any event educational. Make sure you read up on the subject yourself and this way you can pass on your knowledge to your cousin. You an take day trips to the library and to area museums. Also the beach is a great place to learn lakeside or seaside. Just find out what animals and are indigenous to your area and go on a nature walk to look for them.

Answer 4

Play with water and food color! When my son was that age I would fill the bathtub with water and give him a box of food color (red, blue, green & yellow) and instruct him to use a drop of color at a time in different areas of the tub. He was facinated how the colors sank and dispersed, and blended together. I also gave him a clear, plastic cup, so that he could scoop up the water to look at the shading close up. Caution: if you have a rug in front of the tub, remove it and put a couple of old towels down. Also, if you have surgical gloves for him to put on, it will alleviate stained fingers! Have fun!

Answer 5

Paper-folding, from newspaper hats and boats up to origami, volunteering at a local food pantry, homeless or abuse shelter, ant farming, "painting" the sidewalk with brush and water, growing plants from seeds, visit the public library for tons of free resources like maps, computer software, videos, and groups to participate in.

Answer 6

Watch some educational TV interactive games on the PC, hopscotch, counting up stairs etc

Answer 7

Indoor-Lego's are great, he is old enough to follow the picture instructions to build things. Crayola baking sets are fun, get creative in the decorating.

Outside-Speaking of creative, try sidewalk chalk drawing. My son draws characters he knows, then tells a story of what is happening in the pictures.

Answer 8

I suggest the www.familyfun.com website for loads of activities (both fun and educational). These activities are games, crafts, etc. They are close enough in age that they (and you) will do great!

Answer 9

Going to the library is always fun as well as educational. Let him pick his own books.

Answer 10

i like the library idea. you can also set up "activity stations". when i was little, my parents used to do that so i wouldn't get bored. every station would have a different activity at it (like blocks, playdoh, art projects, etc) and i would just move from one to the other. legos would also be fun!