Try and Tell-Fun Learning Games for all ages

I am so happy that one of my favorite blogs, Mom tried it (and where I get a lot of my "tips" and activities) is starting a blog carnival where we can share those tried and true things that have worked for us either with the kids or in the kitchen, or just about life in general!

Here are a few parenting "tricks" that I have found to work well:

I have a 5 (soon to be 6) year old and a 3 year old. One loves to learn and the other says "I don wanna learn" whenever I even mention a number or letter. With their age differences and their differing opinions on learning, finding activities to do together can be tough. Often times I find that Jackson (the oldest) and I end up playing a game while Wrigley (the youngest) plays by himself. Sad, I know! So, the other day I came up with 2 great activities that involved all of us and tapped into some learning for both kids!

1. I drew a vertical line down the middle of their chalk board and drew different shapes on one side and sight words on the other. I told them that we would play a game and gave each one a piece of chalk. When I called out a shape, Wrigley had to find and circle it and when I called out a sight word, Jackson had to circle. It was a lot of fun and both kids were racing to circle the most things.
2. Since letters and numbers were making Wrigley disgruntled about learning, I decided this week to focus on our 5 senses instead. I grabbed some great activities from No Time for Flashcards and he enjoyed them. So, while we were gathered around the chalkboard, I decided to combine spelling and senses. I drew a face and a hand (Jackson had to remind me about the hand. I would of totally forgotten touch!) and then would say and write a sentence about senses (ex: She saw a bird). I would leave out at least two words (ex. ___ saw a ____). I would have Wrigley come up and circle what she would "see" the bird with and Jackson had to spell the missing words. So much fun!

I can't wait to read other posts at Mom Tried It from others and gain some tricks, tips, recipes, activities, etc. for my arsenal:)