It’s time to get excited: Polar Bear Week is almost here! Running from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, the special time coincides with the annual gathering of hundreds of polar bears on the shores of Hudson Bay where they wait for the sea ice to freeze so they can start hunting seals out on the frozen ocean.

Polar Bears International (PBI) is using this week to focus on protecting polar bears and people. Families can tune into Polar Bear Live Cams, play polar bear cam bingo, access free curriculum and activities, and watch live-streamed “Tundra Connections,” with scientists and experts.

photo: ©Kt. Miller + Polar Bears International

Polar Bears International will also be doing a live, family-friendly concert to kick off Polar Bear Week for the first time. The concert will host a performance by Kishi Bashi (multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter) with bears in the background, and families can tune in this Wed., Oct. 27 at 1:30 PST / 4:30 EST (it’s free, just RSVP here).

––Karly Wood

Feature photo: ©BJ Kirschhoffer + Polar Bears International

 

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What’s the first thing kids ask for when they come home from school (besides a snack)? Encantos! This new educational app features stories from diverse creators, fused with curriculum-based learning. A “storyteaching” platform, Encantos is designed to meet kiddos exactly where they are in their learning journey. From games to books, songs to Storycast series, there’s no shortage of engaging content for your little one to explore.

Here are 5 things Encantos will teach your child:

Tinybeans users can get 3 months of Encantos free with the purchase of an annual subscription with the promo code TINY15 at Encantosworld.com. Offer only available online, not through App Store.

Kids Love Learning When Learning Is Fun

Quizzing your kiddo about shapes, numbers, colors and letters doesn’t always get greeted with excitement. But playing games that weave in learning? Those are major crowd-pleasers. Encantos makes learning fun by using stories, entertainment and games to teach. “Break” a piñata and drag the fallen candy (disguised as letters or colors) to the matching bag. Give Benji the elephant a bath by popping bubbles with a certain shape. See how the Monster Math Squad uses their math skills to take on any obstacle that comes their way. There’s even a parent-approved setting that lets children take a selfie to appear in Encantos’ stories.

There’s a Big World Out There

Whether you’re in a bustling city or small town, it’s simple for kids to be transported to faraway places and gain a deeper understanding of our world. With the Tiny Travelers, read fascinating stories about life in India, China, Japan and Puerto Rico. Get immersed in other cultures by crafting Peruvian Spin Drums, Guatemalan Worry Dolls, Chinese Fans, Russian Nesting Dolls and so much more. Discover interesting ways of life, all around the globe. Another great benefit of this app is that many stories are offered in English or Spanish.

Tinybeans users can get 3 months of Encantos free with the purchase of an annual subscription with the promo code TINY15 at Encantosworld.com. Offer only available online, not through App Store.

Kids Will Be Inspired by the Characters They “Meet”

One of the coolest parts of Encantos’ series is that they feature characters from all walks of life, facing different challenges. Head to Aurora Bay and hang out with Wally the Worried Walrus as he helps kids know they aren’t alone in their worries. Wally shares breath, visualization and communication techniques to manage fears and thrive. (Pro tip: Even parents can benefit from watching Wally!) Another great series is Tyrus’ Kids, which highlights that every voice has a place, anyone can be a leader and achieving your dreams is always possible.

There Are Helpful Tools to Overcome Obstacles

Skeletina has her own special way of helping children navigate their fears and anxieties—all with humor and a relentless pursuit of a solution. In Ella Bella Bingo, Ella gets in all sorts of "Uh-oh, what a pickle!" moments—finding clever, collaborative ways to work through a problem. Kids learn the importance of perseverance, that mistakes are a normal part of life and leaning on others can help!

Being Creative Is Awesome

Pirates aren’t just prowling the sea for buried treasure. The jolly crew in Pirates: Adventures in Art is on a mission to discover and restore lost art. So grab your suitcase and hop on board for an awe-inspiring journey. And speaking of pirates… Join Story Pirate Alex on hilarious adventures, showcasing original stories written by real kids. Your children will find themselves immersed in interactive creative writing lessons that expand their imaginations!

Encantos is chock full of content the fits your kiddo’s age and interests, and its fun games and stories make it easy to win the battle between entertainment and education at home—a win-win for you and your little one!

Tinybeans users can get 3 months of Encantos free with the purchase of an annual subscription with the promo code TINY15 at Encantosworld.com. Offer only available online, not through App Store.

Photo: Katee Gra

Even though it’s easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of summer activities, it’s important to keep your child’s reading game strong amidst all of the distractions. Research supports that reading daily with your child outside of a bedtime ritual will help children become lifelong readers.

When you’re reading together, have your child pick the books and take time to “slow down” the reading. For example, ask questions about the characters or plot, point out details in the pictures, and let her turn the pages. You might also want to get creative with how you project your voice such as speaking with an accent, enhancing sound effects such as loud bangs, or mimicking animal sounds.

Here are a few summer reading ideas that will surely those reading skill in tip top shape!

1. Create a Cozy Book Nook
Little ones love snuggling and reading is always a magical way to spend quality time together. Create a cozy book nook (get inspired with these incredible book nooks) filled with soft pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and most importantly a basket of books that you frequently rotate with the covers facing forward. Young children are attracted to the bright illustrations on book covers and will definitely become excited about reading if they spot a new book in their basket.

2. Beach Bag of Books
Before heading to the beach or pool, visit the library or bookstore and find a few new books to add to your beach bag. Find a quiet moment such as lunchtime to read your new books together. For an exciting way to make sure you’re adding different types of books to your beach bag each week, create a “Book Bingo Summer Reading Challenge”. Have each square pictorially represent books your child might read this summer such as farm animals, sea-life, trucks, etc. At the end of the summer, your child can pick out a new book once their Bingo board is filled.

RELATED: 105 Best Books to Read Before They Turn 12

3. Listen to Books on Tape
If you’re in a city with lots of traffic, skip Raffi and start listening to books on tape. It’s is a great multi-sensory experience and a way to get the whole family discussing different books. When children listen to books on tape, words on a page become alive, fluent reading is modeled, and listening skills improve. Narrators use silly voices, fun music, and sound effects to make it an engaging experience. Since we’re all saps for a good podcast, find one geared towards children that will spark animated discussions about an array of real-life topics that even adults will enjoy.

4. Write a Book
Grab your camera and take pictures of your child reading in different places throughout the summer such as the car, beach, stroller, grocery store, etc. Make sure to include pictures of mommy, daddy, and other relatives reading, too. Title your book “Places We Read Summer 2021” and add to it each week. At the end of summer, you will have a brand new book to read that will serve as a reminder that reading can happen anywhere that your child will read over and over again. 

5. Host a Book Swap Pool Party
Gather a few mamas, kiddos and 2-3 books to swap. Fill up an inflatable pool, dump the books in, and have the kiddos dive in to get “new” ones. Donate any leftover books to a local charity.

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Shanna is a part-time elementary teacher, stay at home mommy to a toddler and a blogger. She blogs about a range of topics that help make juggling parenthood with a toddler a little easier. She loves to learn from her daughter and most of all laugh.

Schedule

If you find yourself at home instead of trick-or-treating with friends, or showing off your costume at a Halloween party this year, here are some spook-tacular ways to create memories with your own Halloween festivities:

1. Dress up in Costumes as a Family and Take Silly Photos

Even if you didn’t plan to dress up this year, you can look in your closet and put together looks from your wardrobe or kids’ dress-up clothes. Take photos and share them with family and friends!

2. Don’t Forget a Spooky Spread

Food should absolutely be part of the decor. You don’t have to make anything too fancy, it should just be tasty, easy to eat, and of course, look scary! Think hot dogs cut like fingers, witch’s brew green juice, pizza with toppings like a jack-o’-lantern face, peeled grape eyeballs, and so on. As long it’s on theme, it works. For dessert, you could also bake or buy plain cookies or cupcakes for everyone to decorate with Halloween-themed icing and sprinkles.

3. Build a Blanket Fort for a Movie Night or Scary Stories

Movies are a great way to set the mood for the scariest night of the year. Depending on the ages of your children, these movies could range from It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! to Friday The 13th. Check your streaming providers for what’s available now.

Watch the movie from inside your fort, and tell stories in the dark with a flashlight afterward. Or you can skip the stories if the kids are too sleepy…or too scared!

4. Have a Zoom Party with Friends

If your friends want to be in on the fun, you could organize a Zoom party. Different members of each family could read stories out loud or you could all play games like bingo or Halloween-themed charades.

5. Organize a Family Scavenger Hunt for Hidden Candy

Even if trick or treating isn’t happening in your neighborhood this year, that doesn’t mean you can’t have candy! The adults (or kids if they wish) can leave clues for the other family members to follow in order to find hidden treats all over the house or even the backyard.

6. Each Family Member Can Paint Their Own Pumpkin

This is another activity that can be just with your family or can involve other families. It can be just for fun, or even a friendly competition! Even preschool-age children can have their own mini pumpkin and paint to their heart’s content. Share photos of your pumpkin art with everyone in the group!

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween with your family!

This post originally appeared on The Haute Mommy Handbook.

Jen Kathrina-Anne is a blogger, freelance writer, and graphic designer. When she’s not writing or designing, she enjoys spending time outdoors in the California Bay Area where she resides with her husband and two fearless daughters. Find her at www.hautemommyhandbook.com.

 

If you’ve got a toddler, chances are you’d recognize the first beat of the Bluey theme song anywhere. But if the entire first season is also a little too committed to memory, never fear! Mum…Dad…Bingo…Bluey…they’re back next month!

Bluey Season 2 is coming to stream on Disney+ in May—and you’ll have 51 new episodes to choose from! “Hammerbarn,” “Dance Mode,” “Barky Boats,” and “Duck Cake” are just a few to watch endlessly with your brood (or by yourself since Bluey has plenty of clever content for adults).

The Australian animated TV series features the four-pup Heeler family and a large circle of canine friends. After it premiered on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2018, it quickly became the channel’s most popular children’s show and Disney scooped up broadcasting rights the next year, to the delight of families everywhere. Each episode is bite-sized at seven minutes long and humorously focuses on day-to-day life, including home improvement store trips and swim school.

If you don’t have Disney+ or want to try before you commit to the craze, select Season 2 episodes are available free of charge on the DisneyNOW app or Disney Junior. But trust us, Bluey is worthy of the screentime. Just don’t be alarmed if “Wackadoo,” “Dollarbucks” and “bush wee” become part of your vocabulary.

—Sarah Shebek

Featured photo: Courtesy of Disney

 

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A kid’s show that’s modern, heartwarming and just so darn delightful that even parents will enjoy it? It does exist. Episodes of this original series are short, sweet, and much like chips; you can’t stop at just one. Bluey, a 6-year-old Blue Heeler pup is full of personality with a loveable, curious spirit—dare we say, she’s our spirit animal?! We realize this is an animated show about a family of dogs living down-under, but its realness and relatability draw us in and keep us coming back for more!

Along with adorbs younger sister, Bingo, Bluey loves to turn everyday family life into endless, playful adventures. Dad, Bandit, and mom, Chilli, are like the cool neighbors you want to hang with—they parent with a sense of humor, big heart, and a little self-deprecation every now again, and we can relate. But wait—this is a show for your kids, we swear!

Now your preschooler can bring the fun and imaginative play home with their best Australian buddies! (And if you happen to get in on the action, too, we get it.) Check out these cool new Bluey toys that your little ones will adore just as much as the show!


Bluey Family Home

$39.99

Your kiddos will feel like they're inside the show with this awesome playset! Bluey's family home includes plenty of space to play in the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. It comes with two beds, two stools, two sofas, two rugs, a bathtub, toilet, dining room counter, a fridge and, of course, one Bluey figure ready for adventures!

BUY NOW

Scooter Fun Figure Set

$12.99

Let’s roll! Bluey and Bingo are ready to explore on their individual scooters included in this figure set. When you press Bluey or Bingo’s paw down, they attach to the scooter and are ready to go. The scooters even have moveable wheels and come with helmets for both Bluey and Bingo.

BUY NOW

Heeler 4WD Family Vehicle

$19.99

Take Bluey and her family on road trips in the Heeler Four Wheel Drive 4WD Family Vehicle! The top opens up to fit the whole family inside, and it features a roof rack that holds two surfboards. Your kiddo can cruise Bluey and the family to the beach so they can ride the waves. The family vehicle also comes with a fun sticker sheet so your preschooler can decorate the outside of the car.

BUY NOW

Bluey & Family 4 Pack

$14.99

Get the whole crew together with this four-pack of figures featuring Bluey, Chilli, Bandit and Bingo! These cute poseable figures are the perfect size for preschooler's hands and are compatible with other Bluey toy sets like the Heeler 4WD Family Vehicle and the Family Home Playset. These little toys are perfect for on-the-go play!

BUY NOW

Unipony

$12.99 BUY NOW

Giddyup! Bluey is ready to ride! This magical set includes a Bluey figure, a Unipony figure, a saddle for riding and a bale of hay for Unipony snacking. Recreate fun moments from the show by helping Bluey hop on her Unipony (which she attaches to thanks to the saddle) and head off to adventure!

Find more adventure-ready Bluey toys!

— Leah R. Singer/ Jamie Aderski

Bluey is back! The Emmy Award-winning Disney show returned with Season 2 on Feb. 5 to the Disney Channel (during the Disney Junior block) and in DisneyNOW, with new episodes dropping on Fridays.

This season is going to be extra fun, with special guest star Robert Irwin! Hailing from one of the most famous Aussie families will Irwin voice Alfie, the helpful store clerk who saves the day in “The Quiet Game,” premiering Fri., Feb. 26. Want to know what Bluey is all about? Watch an adorable clip below!

The Bluey series follows a lovable 6-year-old Blue Heeler pup, Bluey, who lives with her Mum, Dad and her 4-year-old little sister, Bingo. Viewers follow along on everyday events of family life and watch as the fam turns normal experiences into extraordinary adventures.

Season two will take preschoolers along as Bluey heads to the movies, has a birthday cake mishap, Muffins has to wear a cone and much more. Don’t forget to tune in on Fridays for all new episodes on The Disney Channel and the DisneyNOW app.

––Karly Wood

All photos: Courtesy of Disney

 

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If you can sneak a little learning into your kids’ afternoon while avoiding the dreaded flashcard drill, it’s a total parenting win. We’ve rounded up 10 awesome, entertaining word games that boost vocabulary, encourage sight word recognition and exercise literacy skills. You’ll find word games for on-the-go adventures, rainy days and even outdoor play. Scroll down to check out our favorite word games for kids, and find one you and your future spelling bee champion can play today!

B-I-N-G-O

Growing Book by Book

Printable bingo cards from Growing Book by Book give us a chance to use one of our favorite words: free! Plus, these bingo cards are picture based, making them great for kids who aren't quite reading yet, or who might be a little reluctant. Playing rounds of bingo will boost kids' rhyming muscles and help them exercise the pre-literacy skills that are super-important for early reading. Download the rhyming bingo cards, plus find loads of other word games and tips for young readers, at Growing Book by Book.

Strike!

The Ankle Biters

We love The Ankle Biter's Sight Word Bowling game because it makes sight word practice ten times more fun than flashcards. Plus, it's active and great for kids who are always on the move. It's easy to make your own set with a plastic bowling set or even, as blogger Britney smartly suggests, with paper towel rolls. Get your bowling shoes on and slide down to The Ankle Biters to find out how you can make your own set and get tips on sight word games. 

Super Spellers

Fantastic Fun and Learning

Cover a baking sheet with shaving cream for lots of tactile literacy-boosting fun. Your little reader can practice writing her name, sight words, or the ABCs and XYZs. It's super easy and, if you'd like, you can even add a drop of food coloring in his fave shade to the shaving cream for an extra colorful boost. Don't have any shaving cream? You can also use play sand for sensory word game fun, or take it to the next level by putting shaving cream in squeeze bottles that your kiddos can use to write out their favorite words on contact paper. Check out Fantastic Fun and Learning's shaving cream tips.

 

Stack It

Chris via flickr

Take your family game night to the next level by giving Jenga a dose of sight word power. Simply write sight words or vocabulary words on each block in a Jenga set. Then, take turns removing the blocks one by one, reading the word written on the block you grab out loud, and stacking them back on the top of the tower. The game is over when the tower collapses! To get more tips and tricks for Sight Word Jenga, check out the expert teacher advice at The First Grade Diaries.

EGGcelent

Kim Love via flickr

Gather up the leftover plastic Easter eggs and give them new life as a word game. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed bloggers have loads of egg-centric ideas for you: You can write the same sight word on the two halves of each egg, take all of your sight word eggs apart, and challenge your little bunny to make matches. Or, you can use this free printable packed with pictures and beginning consonant-vowel-consonant words. Cut up the letters and pictures, and pack them inside of an egg. Your kiddo can then crack open each egg and rearrange the letters in the right order. It's word game F-U-N!

Super Search

Thomas McNab via flickr

You'll be the parent of the year when you make your kid a custom word search. Discovery Education's Puzzlemaker is an easy-to-use free word search building site. You can fill your word search with words connected to your upcoming vacation—beach, starfish, and swimsuit—or with your kiddo's spelling words. Hop on over to Discovery Education and make your own!

X Marks the Spot

amazon

What kid doesn't love a treasure hunt? With uKloo, you can send your early readers out to find a treasure of their own easier than you can say yo, ho, ho. The game comes equipped with a stack of cards, each one written with a clue like, "Look in the sock drawer!" Simply pick a few clues, set them up around your house, and send your mini out to read their way to treasure hunt victory. The early reader edition is equipped with a picture-covered poster to help kids decipher any tricky words, and a few blank cards so you can write custom clues. Word game fun ahoy!

Available at amazon.com, $17.95.

 

Banana Fana Fo Fana

Bananagrams

My First Bananagrams is the perfect beginning word game for future spelling bee champions. The lowercase tiles include double letters like sh, making it a snap for beginning readers to flex their word knowledge. The handy green bag is easy to take on the go, and when you're done playing a full game, you can use the tiles to practicing spelling words and sight words.

Available at bananagrams.com, $14.99.

Mad Mad Libs World

Amazon

Your (ADJECTIVE) childhood word game, (NOUN), is still EXCLAMATION! Introduce your kids to the crazy world of Mad Libs and get ready for endless giggles. Mad Libs Junior books are great for younger readers and writers, with simple stories, large print, and a list of suggested words kiddos can use to fill in the blanks. Older kids will get a kick out of the themed books, whether they love dogs, Frozen, or even Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There's a Mad Libs for practically everything! Bonus: if you're not sure your kids will catch the Mad Libs bug, you can download one of the free printables to give your kids a little taste before shelling out the cash for a full book.

Available at amazon.com, $3.99 & up.

Tell Me a Story

Rory's Story Cubes

What happens when a bumblebee meets the moon? We're not sure, but we know it'll make for an interesting tale! Rory's Story Cubes is a set of nine six-sided cubes with a different image on each side. Roll the cubes, and take turns with your kiddo making up imaginative stories based on the images you get. These cubes boost creativity, build vocabulary, and encourage kids to take charge. Because it's so open-ended, Story Cubes is a word game adults love, too! The magnet box holding the cubes snaps shut, keeping the magical die safely stored for your next storytelling adventure. 

Available at storycubes.com, $11.99.

—Oz Spies

 

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Photo: unsplash

 

7 Reasons Why You Should Never Reveal Your Baby’s Name Choice

We’ve all been there…that exciting moment when you and your spouse finally determine what your babies name will be. Perhaps you have a few options, maybe a boy version and a girl version. The name is occupying your thoughts and you have this secret that just seems too good to keep between the two of you.

It all starts out innocently enough. You are at a gathering, and several months pregnant. Someone will ask you the standard pleasantries… “You look great how do you feel? Do you have any morning sickness? Boy or Girl? Have you picked out a name?” The logical part of you quickly sends a signal to your brain saying “Don’t tell anyone this name we picked out. Nothing good will come of it. Keep it a secret as long as you can. Come on it’s only a few more months!!” And just like out of a cartoon where you have a devil and angel on each shoulder that other more emotional, do-it-if-it-feels-good portion of your brain says “YES! Tell them! You love that name and should feel so proud of what you came up with. It’s the best name ever and who wants a secret anyway. Besides its perfect they will love it!! Do it! Tell them!”

I am here to tell you why keeping that name a secret for just a few months longer is always the best option. I had a friend who had 10 sisters and female cousins in her age range growing up and in order to make sure no one ‘stole’ a baby name each Christmas they would be allowed two names that they could save. They would put the names down on a piece of paper, read them out loud to the group, and then put them in a safe. Once the name had been written down it was yours. I’m not saying you need a vault but hear me out as to why it may be better to keep this wonderful news to yourself.

1. It’s a fun secret to keep with just you and your spouse:  It can be a thing just for the two of you. While everyone else is calling your baby “Baby XYZ” or “the little one” the two of you can rush home after a night with friends and say the name over and over. You can tease each other when one of you almost slips up and refers to the baby by their name, correcting yourself quickly (my husband did this several times and I was always impressed at how fast he recovered).

2. Nobody will ever love it as much as you do:  Let’s face it, unless the person you are telling the name to has THAT EXACT NAME they will never love it as much as you do. And why would they? It’s not their baby, it’s not their name choice. They will like it of course, but it will never be the response you want which I imagine if you are like me at all sounds something like “OH MY GOSH THAT IS THE MOST PERFECT NAME I HAVE EVER HEARD! YOU HAVE STRUCK THE BALANCE BETWEEN CLASSIC AND MODERN, WHIMSICAL AND SERIOUS, CUTE AND CLEVER. THIS NAME SURELY WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY”. Yeah that won’t happen.

3. Everyone will ask if you named baby after most famous person with that name:  You know this drill. You’ve likely pulled it on many of your friends and co-workers and probably didn’t realize you were doing it. It goes a little something like this.

Person 1: We are naming our baby Brad. Person 2: Oh like Brad Pitt? Person 1: No Brad is my husband’s middle name.

Or this…

Person 1: We are naming our baby Celine. Person 2: Celine… after Celine Dion? Person 1: No, Celine is Latin for “Heaven”. Person 2: Oh Ok.

4. You will learn the weirdest person someone knows with same name:  Now I am guilty of this time and time again, even if I don’t say it out loud. But I know many people who do. Here is how it goes: “Oh you are going to name the baby Patrick? <Long Pause>. I knew a Patrick in elementary school. He used to eat my glue”. The *only* time this strategy pays off is if you happen to know the coolest person the person you are telling ever knew, and if your baby shares that same name. That likely won’t happen. It will always be a glue-eaters name.

5. They might take the name for themselves:  I know this probably won’t happen. People are good and know how important naming will be. But you do run the risk if you tell of THINKING they stole the name. Likely they already had it chosen for their future child and when you spilled the beans they didn’t want to rain on your parade saying “That’s going to be our baby name too in the distant future! Our kids will be twinsies and now will both get to go thru life putting their last name initial after their first name from now until senior year”. Nope. They won’t say that. And then in 5 years when you have long moved away or switched jobs you will be trolling on Facebook and will see that “Oh my gosh they copied my name”. Not worth it.

6. Once baby is born people can’t object or give other suggestions:  When a baby is born they more or less lock in the name. Even if it’s a terrible name, or the glue eaters name outsiders will simply look at that beautiful baby, hear the name and say “I love it. It’s perfect”. Bingo.

7. So few surprises in life keep this as long as you can: In today’s society everyone wants information all the time regardless of how relevant it is. People love a spoiler. I’ve clicked on articles with the headlines “You won’t believe what happened on last night’s episode of Game of Thrones- Spoilers Ahead” and I don’t even watch that show! I just love a good spoil. Your friends and family, no matter how much they beg to hear that name, will be delighted when the baby is born and they get to hear the unveiling of the name. It’s very royal family. And everyone loves a well-kept surprise.

Once your little bundle arrives, be sure to capture all the sweetest moments—and share them with your family and friends near and far—with the Tinybeans app. The secure platform puts parents in total control of who sees and interacts with photos and videos of their kids.

Janelle is a Pacific Northwest native who escaped the rain and now resides in the Bay Area with her husband and their two sons. A tech industry leader by day and a craft mommy reheating up leftovers by night, just balancing a house of cards as best as she can.

Photo: © Marilyn Nieves—E+/Getty Images

Back in March, when we were all first learning how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, experts encouraged us to wash our hands often and thoroughly. The popular measure of each handwashing session was singing the ”Happy Birthday” song, twice. Months later, how many of us are still singing and counting as we wash?

We may be growing weary of COVID routines, yet as parents and caregivers of young children, we’re still responsible for teaching our little ones to wash their hands and follow good hygiene practices. It’s time to shake things up and find some new ways to make handwashing fun and educational.

Mix Up the Music!

You can sing the “Happy Birthday” song in about 10 seconds. When you sing it twice, you’re sure to reach the recommended 20 seconds of handwashing. But of course there are other songs children can sing as they wash. “The ABC song,” for example, takes a bit longer than 20 seconds, but is still an excellent choice for preschoolers.

How about one of these?

  • “Itsy Bitsy Spider” (20 seconds)
  • “If You’re Happy and You Know It (Wash Your Hands)” (20 seconds)
  • “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (28 seconds)
  • “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (26 seconds per verse)
  • “The Wheels on the Bus” (15 seconds per verse)
  • “Baby Shark” (5 seconds per verse)
  • “BINGO” (16 seconds per verse)
  • “London Bridge Is Falling Down” (12 seconds per verse)

Or check out this awesome handwashing song from The Wiggles!

Try New Soap!

The novelty of a new type of soap can be enough to add some zing to your child’s handwashing routine. Your child may enjoy foaming soap, colored soap, soap that comes in fun shapes, or soap with a special scent. If spending money on fancy soap is not for you, maybe you have some little hotel soaps or soap samples you can let your child use for handwashing.

Pretend & Play at the Sink

Does your child have a plastic doll or animal toy that won’t be damaged by water? Ask your child to teach their toy how to wash their hands or paws. Your child will likely enjoy the opportunity to be the boss. And their own hands will get clean in the process!

Learning the Letters W – A – S – H

If your family needs some reminders to wash their hands, ask your child to help make some signs to place near the sink or by the front door, and they’ll learn their letters at the same time. The sign might be a simple reminder, such as “Have you washed your hands?” Or try a more elaborate project, such as a poster with instructions and diagrams. Your child may also enjoy making a chart or graph to record how many times family members wash. Use stickers or checkmarks and help your child count up the total at the end of each day.

Science Experiments

Aspiring scientists may enjoy using a magnifying glass at the sink to study their hands before, during, and after each wash. Make sure there’s enough light to see the texture of the skin, the shine of the soap bubbles, and the slick surface of the water.

Adding fun and educational activities to your child’s handwashing routine may mean allowing for more time at the sink, but the benefits include cleaner hands and wiser minds.

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “When and How to Wash Your Hands,” 2020 UNICEF, “Everything You Need to Know about Washing Your Hands to Protect Against Coronavirus (COVID-19),” 2020

Learn More

BrainPOP, “Washing Hands Activities for Kids,” [n.d.] Gordon, Beth, “20 Ideas for Making Hand Washing for Kids FUN!” 2020

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