My Obstacle Course: Engage, Encourage and Empower

A fun, structured, systematic way to work on your child's strengths and weaknesses at home!

Problem Solving

Droppers

Unexpected Find = Fun, Engaging Activity

I was wandering through the aisles of my teacher supply store and saw a package of these droppers in the science section.

Dropper found in the Science section of my teacher supply store.

I thought that they would be great to introduce a little bit of experimentation while also building his grasping skills.

Using same fingers as tweezers...
to build fine motor, squeezing skills.

My Obstacle Course Station Activity: Experimenting with Color

When teaching kindergarten I always loved teaching about the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) and how to use them to make the secondary colors (orange, green and purple).  The children were always so excited and amazed as though I were a magician magically creating different colors right before their eyes!

I decided that I would set up a My Obstacle Course station that would combine the droppers with making colors. This station activity was not only easy to set up and take down, it was also a huge hit!  Andrew’s exact words were, “This is fun. It is just like Easter!”

My Obstacle Course Station Set Up:

  • droppers
  • food coloring
  • 3 small bowls, cups or ramekins with some water
  • 3 small bowls, cups or ramekins that are empty
  • rimmed cookie sheet to catch spills
  • paper towel or old towel to wipe spills and hands

I used one of my rimmed cookie trays (I have to use them for something since I don’t bake!!), some ramekins (If you worry about breaking the ramekins, you could also use small Dixie or plastic cups or bowls.) and added a few drops of red, yellow and blue food coloring in: red, yellow and blue food coloring. I did this part with Andrew so he could also work on stirring but you could do this for them or ahead of time.  It is kind of cool for them to see the water take on the color of the food coloring drops.

We talked about the colors we were seeing as we added and stirred the food coloring. I told him he was going to use the dropper to get some colored water from one bowl, squeeze it into an empty bowl and repeat with a different color.

These are some questions I asked him as we were doing this:

  • What do you think is going to happen?
  • What color is going to be in the new bowl?
  • Which colors combine to make new colors?
  • What happens when you add more of one color?
Dropper in and squeeze! Look at his focus!!
Checking out the blue liquid in the dropper.
Checking out and commenting on the color he had made.

He used the droppers to combine red and yellow to make orange, yellow and blue to make green, and red and blue to make purple. He had a ball experimenting with these colors and had no idea that he was building skills like motor planning, fine motor grasping skills as well as going through the scientific method by questioning, predicting, experimenting and making conclusions based on his personal experience with the materials. All of that AND he was totally engaged and having fun with me.

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

Sticker Cards

Two of my favorite items to use when making My Obstacle Course stations are colored index cards and stickers.  I love how they make things colorful and bright while also allowing me to change up the theme easily with stickers.

Snowflake stickers and colored index cards

Building Math Skills

Before setting up My Obstacle Courses, I always think about what skills Andrew needs to build and how I can incorporate them in a fun way.  Early on, I was thinking of the math skills he needed and was trying to find out more about what he knew.  At that point in time we were working with him on numbers (the actual number and what that number represents) and number order.  I had used some regular playing cards found in a drawer and one day had the idea of creating my own “playing cards” using index cards and stickers.  This would be a perfect way for me to combine concept and theme.

Sticker Cards:

What you need:

  • 10 4×6 index cards
  • 3 sheets of stickers from 1 package of 120 stickers (Ideally they should match but can vary a bit like these snowflakes.  I just try to not make them too busy with lots of details.)

How to:

This is really easy and quick to make.  Take a card and place the same number of stickers on it as you want it to represent (ex. one sticker on the 1 card, two stickers on the 2 card, etc.).  The photo below shows my completed sticker cards in order from 1-10.  I do not put the numbers on the cards because I want to be able to see how he is counting.

Sticker cards 1-10

My Obstacle Course Station Activity Ideas:

Put sticker cards in order:

My Obstacle Course station activity: Put these cards in order from 1-10.

Matching sticker cards with numbers:

  • Choose some sticker cards and set out in a random order.  Note:  They do not have to be in order like the photo shows, you can choose whatever numbers you think will challenge your child appropriately.  (Ex.  Using 6 and 9 in the same set would let you know if they are confusing them because they look similar.  Using two consecutive number cards would show you if they are counting properly (1:1 correspondence) or if they are miscounting by counting randomly, skipping over stickers or double counting them.)
  • Make number cards that match up with the sticker cards you’ve chosen.  The numbers shown below are made with same index cards cut in half.
  • Set out the numbers for the child to match up with the sticker cards.
My Obstacle Course station activity: Match the number with the card that has the same number of stickers.
Matching up numbers with correct card.
Numbers matched up with correct sticker cards.

Make This Number:

  • I choose a number and write it down.
  • I then select sets of cards that when put together, they make that number.
  • When putting the station together, I separate the cards so that one card from each set is put out underneath the number and I mix up the other cards.   This activity is giving them the sum and one addend and they have to figure out what the other addend is!
My Obstacle Course station activity: Make This Number

How To Play:

  • When he gets there he will look at the number to make  (10 in this photo).
  • He will count the number of stickers on the first card under the number.
  • Then he will choose a second card from below that he thinks will help to make the given number.
  • He’ll count the stickers on the two cards to see if they make the number.  If he doesn’t get it, he’ll choose another one from below and see if it works.  If he gets it, he moves on to the next set, continuing until all sets are matched up.

Note:  When we first began doing this, Andrew went about this in a fairly random way but I have seen him grow and begin to strategize a bit.  I can see him really thinking about the number he is starting with and choosing his next card based on what makes the most sense.

Two cards matched up to make 10 in "Make This Number" (In this photo, 3+7 are matched together to make 10)
Cards matched up for Make This Number. Â This photo shows 9+1, 3+7, 8+2 and 4+6 which all make 10.
Andrew making 9 while doing My Obstacle course station "Make This Number."

Storage and organization:

Winter sticker cards stored and labeled

These cards are quick and easy to make yet provide many different ways to build math skills at many different levels.  I have shown you just some of the ways I have used them in my home.  I encourage you to think about the skills your child needs to build and see if there is a way to use these fun, colorful sticker cards to help!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

Winter Themed Graph

Math was one of my favorite subjects to teach and is something that I find easy to incorporate into My Obstacle Courses with Andrew.  One of my favorite station activities is graphing.  This one activity builds many different skills – sorting (visual discrimination), arranging (fine motor skill), counting (math), and answering questions using the graph (problem solving).

My Obstacle Course station idea: Winter Themed Graph
My Obstacle Course station idea: Winter Themed Graph

We have made graphs with all sorts of different things and when I found these mini-cutouts I knew they would not only make this easy for me but there were so many in the package that we could do lots of different graphs showing different results.

These were my favorite and I used to be able to get them at my teacher supply store but haven't been able to find them lately. They worked well because they were small, bright and blank.
I did find these at the teacher supply store. The package has three different kinds of snowflakes and the backs are blank.
These were some that I got for our Christmas themed My Obstacle Courses, but I can still use two of the three patterns for my winter themed graph.
I would combine the cutouts and use these if I was working with someone who had trouble with visual discrimination.
These cutouts are a bit more difficult because they have similar coloring. Â I would use these with children who are working on this sort of visual discrimination.

Creating A Graph Doesn’t Have To Be Anything Fancy!

Once you have something to graph, you are almost ready.  Here’s how I set up my graphing stations for My Obstacle Courses:

Here are the materials I used to make these activity stations: Â paper, cutouts, markers (a gold photo marker for the black paper). and glue.
Start with blank sheet of paper (white or colored, printer sized or larger)
Draw a line down the left hand side (y-axis) and along the bottom (x-axis). Â The paper could be turned to make the graph the other way as well.Â
Write and underline the title.
My graph is ready! Â The numbers are on the side and the cutouts are glued on the bottom. Â Note: Â Make sure your numbers are about the same size as the cutouts or it may cause confusion if the number doesn't line up with the item amount.
The other graph numbered and labeled.

I choose how many of each specific cutout I want to have in the graph and place them in a container (small plates, cups or cupcake foils work great for this!).

That’s all the preparation necessary for this station!

Graphing Station How To:

  1. When the child gets to this station, they will sort the cutouts into the correct row.
  2. Gluing is not necessary but if you want to work on that skill, the pieces can then be glued in the row.
  3. The child counts how many in each row.
  4. Incorporate math vocabulary and answering questions either by asking your own questions or by using question cards.
Calendar cutouts used as question cards.

Sample questions:

How many ___?

How many in all?

Which one has the most/greatest?

Which one has the smallest amount/least?

Do any of the rows/cutouts have the same amount?

Completed graph with question card pile
The child flips over the card, reads (with assistance if necessary) and answers the question.

The level of difficulty can be adjusted and if you have a child who is ready for more representational thinking, you could have each cutout represent a given amount (ex. one snowflake cutout=10 snowflakes falling), even cutting snowflakes in half to make it more challenging!

I encourage you to have fun doing math with your child.  It doesn’t always have to be scary and boring.  This is such an easy thing to do and the finished graph looks cool hanging on the refrigerator or pantry door!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

Winter Themed Memory Match

I am in the process of gathering and creating materials for Andrew’s Obstacle Courses this month and am going to share one of his favorite station activities, memory match.  This was one of my first posts but feel it’s worth revisiting because I have had many new visitors since then.  (Click here to view the original detailed Memory Match post.)

Creating Your Own Thematic Memory Match Game

This game is really easy to make and as I was shopping for the holidays, I noticed all sorts of character themed memory match games for sale out there.  I love creating my own because it allows me to incorporate vocabulary for whatever themes or concepts I can find stickers for.  Right now, he is learning about the winter season in school so I will use winter themed stickers and talk about them when they get flipped over.

These are some examples of what I might ask or comment on for the card with the snowman on it:

  • What would it feel like outside if you were building a snowman?
  • What kinds of things would you bring out to put on your snowman?
  • Do you notice how the bottom snowball is larger than the top snowball?
  • What would happen if the bottom snowball was the smallest?
  • Is a snowman a real man?
  • Was the movie Frosty the Snowman fact or fiction?

(Keep in mind I wouldn’t ask all of these at one sitting, but would choose questions that were appropriate for him during that time.)

In addition to language building, this game allowed us to work on play and social skills.  Since it is a game with few rules, it was perfect for teaching him about turn taking, something he definitely needs to work on.  I discovered that we needed to do more things like this because he did not like it all when someone else found the card he was looking for!  Once again, an activity that combines what he likes to do with building skills he needs.

Materials needed: Â Index cards, seasonal stickers and my paper-cutter or scissors
Cut the index card in half
Place one sticker in the middle of one of the cards.
Place the matching sticker on another card.
Sets of winter matching cards
Labeled and stored in a small bag to keep them organized.

I have made a new thematic memory match game each month for two years and am now working to create some different kinds that move beyond seasonal themes.  I will share soon!

Engage, Encourage and Empower!

New Toys Not Played With…Now What?

It seemed like every year Christmas would come, I would go out, search for toys and find some that I thought would be fabulous for Andrew.  I tended to choose pretty basic things that had lots of possibility in my mind to build his pretend play skills.  He would open the toys and they would get set aside with all of his attention turned to the toys with on/off switches, music and lights.  My choices couldn’t compete but that was fine, I figured we had a whole week in the house together.  During this break from school, I would ask him if he wanted to play with a certain toy and his response was “No!” (if I got any response at all).  And so these toys sat…and sat…until I came to a realization, one that made a huge difference for me and perhaps can help you as well.

One day it occurred to me that perhaps the reason he has no interest in these toys is that he has no idea how to play with them.

Most children learn how to play with their toys by having someone playing with them, acting as the model for how to play.  This works great except for those of us with children who don’t want to play with us.  Since this was not an unfamiliar concept with us, I began to think, “Was there a way to incorporate some of these toys into an Obstacle Course so I could teach him how to play with them?”  You bet!

My Mental Shift

Now, in all honesty, I had to make some mental shifts because what we would be doing was different from the ideal in my head when I purchased the toys.  We were not going to be sitting for hours in the afternoon while we built carnival rides with “Magformers” but that was okay.  My goal shifted from getting him to play how I had envisioned to teaching him the basics of the toys he had so that maybe down the road he would use that knowledge to play on his own.

Start With The Basics

When I begin to work on a skill in My Obstacle Courses, I break it down to the most basic point that I know he can handle so I can build from there.  Teaching him how to play with these toys would be no different.  I had to look at these toys and think about the basics- what does he need to know how to do to put one part together?  Does he need a model?  Does he need written out directions giving him what to do step by step?

Make the Same

My Obstacle Course station idea: Make the Same with Magformers

I incorporated these ideas with an activity we had done before as an Obstacle Course station, “Make the Same” (click here to get more details and pictures of this) and it worked!  He got the exposure to the toys, their different parts and how to put them together so that down the road he would be able to build on those skills.  He had a model in front of him, the pieces he needed to make his own and me to help him when he got stuck.

I encourage you to look around for toys around your house that your child does not play with and see if you can break them down to be something very basic to build a play skill that could fill in a blank, one that may be preventing them from playing with something they actually want to play with!

Button Sorting

Years before I had Andrew, I was a teacher.  I taught kindergarten for 4 years and loved it!  I loved it because of the emphasis on play and discovery when given common household items, such as buttons.  One year I requested that families send in any unused buttons that they may have lying around their drawers or sewing kits.  I filled half of a shoebox with a marvelous collection of buttons.  The children would have a ball playing with and sorting the buttons.  They were encouraged to find new and unique categories for a button sort.  An activity like this helps with visual discrimination and also basic problem solving, being able to group like items in a logical manner.  My students always had so much fun doing this!

Now this might just be me, but when I was a child, I loved playing in button boxes.  I recall mine being stored in an old cigar box and remember quite clearly how it was kind of a treasure hunt each time the box was opened.  I would sort them by color, shape, size and the number of holes they had.  I have my own collection of buttons now to use in the same way with Andrew and you may have your own that you can use with your child.

My Button Bag

Using buttons as a station in My Obstacle Course:

  1. Pour some of your buttons into a bowl
  2. Look to see what ways they could be sorted and choose 3 or 4 ways, including a misfit category for any buttons that don’t belong in the other categories
  3. Write those categories on a piece of paper or on an index card, providing a picture clue as well (nothing fancy, anyone who has seen me draw knows I am an expert at stick figures!).  This not only helps them to know how to sort, but also shows them what the category word looks like.
  4. Provide a specific place for them to place the buttons- muffin liners and the cups from Easter Egg dying kits work great!

This only takes a few minutes and you have a station ready for them to get sorting!

No Buttons?  No Problem!

I was at Michael’s the other day and in the $1 section I came across these cute containers of buttons.  Each one held buttons of a certain color and when I looked closely, there were a variety of sizes, they had different styles and had either 2 or 4 holes.  They came in red, black, blue, white and green and I thought they would be perfect for an Obstacle Course sorting station!

Containers of buttons found at Michael's Arts and Crafts store
Pouring the buttons onto a rimmed cookie sheet so they can be sorted while also stay contained.
More buttons!
All of the button containers emptied onto the tray.
Mix the buttons well and then they are ready for sorting. Just choose how you want your child to sort them- color, size, number of holes?

Sorting By Color

Using a small loaf pan to sort buttons by color. Â Paper cups or styrofoam bowls work just as well if not better because you can write the color directly on them! Â I also used the container lids as a visual cue as to go along with the color word.
A cute, small pad of paper and a pen are all you need to add some literacy to this activity.
Your child can go through the buttons, sorting them one color at a time (like Andrew would) or each button as it is picked up.
Red buttons!

Sorting By the Number of Holes

Using the cookie tray to sort buttons by number of holes, 2 or 4. I used the snowman pad of paper to make an easy label for how to sort.
2 hole label and button
4 hole label and button
Buttons sorted with 2 holes
All buttons sorted by number of holes.
Use the pad of paper to incorporate math vocabulary "most" and "least"
Have your child place the "most" and "least" labels on the correct pile.

Extension:

After the buttons are sorted you could have your child count them, one by one if that is what they are able to do, or by groups of 2, 5 or 10 to work on skip counting.