It's officially the holiday season and Christmas is just a few weeks away! While the decorations, gifts, and spirit of generosity make this is a magical time of the year, we know that it also means a mile-long to-do list.
Amidst all the things you have to get done, you may be wondering how to engage your little helper following you around the house.
Children love little trinkets and gorgeous holiday ornaments. But more importantly, a toddler seeking independence will be eager to help you out with important tasks!
If you are looking for activities to keep your child busy this Christmas, this week's Co-Create activity is perfect for you. This simple DIY will help them create their own ornaments and even learn to count and add along the way!
Benefits of Candy Cane Addition
This week’s activity is once again brought to you by Anushikha Bansal, a DIY blogger and homeschooling mom to 3-year-old Atharv. You can see Anushikha’s previous Co-Create activities here.
This activity is called Candy Cane Addition and its benefits include:
1. Strengthens hand-eye coordination: Inserting each bead onto a candy cane will sharpen your child’s hand-eye coordination.
2. Improves problem solving abilities: Counting the right number of beads and adding it to the candy cane will improve their problem solving abilities.
3. Teaches early math skills: Adding the numbers on the stickers will help your child learn basic counting and math.
4. Betters concentration: Completing the game requires your child to focus for a while at a stretch. This will improve their focus and concentration.
5. Aids cognitive development: From learning numbers and colours to visual skills, playing this game will hone several cognitive abilities.
6. Hones fine motor skills: Manipulating the small beads will hone your child's fine motor skills.
Creating the game
Age recommendation:
This activity can be enjoyed by children between 3.5 to 6 years.
Material required:
1. Colourful pipe-cleaners
2. Colourful beads
3. Paper strips
4. A pen and glue
How to create the game:
1. Take each pipe cleaner and bend the top to make it look like a candy cane.
2. Stick paper strips on the candy canes, as shown in the picture below.
3. Write simple addition problems on the papers.
Playing Candy Cane Addition
The aim of the game is to add the numbers on each sticker and thread those many beads onto the candy cane. You can start by asking your child to read each number out loud, counting those many beads, and then asking them how many beads they’ve counted in total!
Once you’ve completed the activity, you can remove the tags. Hang the candy canes as ornaments on your Christmas tree or use them as holiday decorations around the house!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this activity. If you would like to share the experience of your child playing this game, tag us at #CoCreatewithshumee. Take care and stay safe!
Anushikha Bansal is a DIY blogger and the co-creator of #noprepkidsactivity. You can follow her @toddler_ed on Instagram.