“April showers bring May flowers…”
Most of us are familiar with this poem. Instead of May flowers, though, how about April brings showers of easy enrichment ideas & creativity!? Below are four ways you can easily enrich creativity and curiosity with your kids this month.
Enrichment Ideas for April
1- Poetry and the Creative Mind
Do you enjoy reading or writing poetry? For a lot of people, poetry is the perfect medium for expressing their view of the world. This month, take a walk outside, stop to smell a flower, listen to the bird chirp… find something that inspires a poem.
If you’re still struggling for inspiration, try Story Coins! You’ll never run out of great ideas with this tangible game.
Not sure how to write a poem? Start with one of these basic poems:
- Acrostic: Write a word vertically down the page (Spring or Showers) then think of a word or phrase for each letter in the vertical word.
- Shape: Draw a shape on the page (flower, raindrop or rainbow) and fill in the shape with words that describe the shape or feelings you have.
- Fill-in-the-blank: A quick search on Teachers Pay Teachers will lead you to various poem outlines. Try a personification or “I am” format all about Spring.
If you’re ready for more advanced poetry, two of my favorite books of poetry for inspiration are from the poets Robert Frost and Billy Collins.
2- Celebrate Diversity
Diversity is the joy of life! How boring would our world be if everyone looked this same, had the same hobbies, at the same food? April is Celebrate Diversity Month, so this month add a little (or a lot) of spice into your life with the steps below:
- Have your kids choose a culture or two they are not familiar with.
- Check out books or read articles online to learn more about your chosen culture and region of the world. Ducksters is a great research source for kids!
- Create something to represent the culture. You could bake a traditional dish, draw a picture of a symbolic festival, jewelry or clothing, or learn a traditional dance. You could also try to learn a bit of the language.
What ever you choose, be sure to practice respectfulness when trying something new.
3- Hippity-hop, It’s Frog Month
In my tween years, I had a poster of a Peace Frog hanging in my bathroom and I loved that poster because it made me smile every time I looked at it. Sometimes all you need for easy enrichment ideas is a cool poster! What do you love (or hate) about frogs? Look at the list of research questions below. Which ones can you answer from your brain and which ones require a little digging?
- What is the largest frog in the world and how big does it get? Make a comparison to an object around your house.
- What is the smallest frog in the world and how small is it? Make a comparison to an object around your house.
- What protective features do frogs have? Does where they live effect their characteristics?
- What would be the perfect frog habitat for your neighborhood? What could you find outside to build an amazing Froggy Fort?
4- Financial Literacy
Confession time: I am not great with a budget. Don’t get me wrong, I can keep track of my spending and balance my accounts. But, if financial literacy had a rating like Fontnas & Pinnell guided reading books, I would be a couple of levels behind where I should be.
Financial literacy is so important for kids to learn because it builds a foundation of skills they will need everyday as an adult. Plus, allowing your kids to help you balance to home budget might squash some “please can I have this?” moments on your next shopping trip.
3 enrichment ideas for developing financial literacy with kids:
- Save toward a goal. Have your child (or students) think of an item or experience they really want to purchase. Then, have them create a goal with a savings plan and an earning plan.
- Balance the books. Often times banks will give you a balancing book for free if you have an account with them. Grab one for your child and have them balance a duplicate account to the one you’re using. This is perfect for practicing adding and subtracting with decimals!
- Buy some stocks. Well, maybe just pretend. Try a computer-based game like How the Market Works or create an offline game using Excel spreadsheets.
Looking for more easy enrichment ideas
for the month of April?
Story Coins are perfect for creating interesting poetry, inspiring short stories about diversity, or building a budget with meaning. Buy a set today!
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