Playing and Learning with Magazine Clippings

Have some old magazine’s lying around your house? Why not turn them into a fun learning activity for your kiddos to play with?

 

When a friend mentioned she was getting rid of a bunch of old magazines, I was quick to snatch them up.

Prep Work

Setup is simple. Go through the magazines and cut out great images. I focused on people, animals, buildings and musical instruments. Gather them all up and then go wrangle the kids. It’s time to have some fun!

 

Observe 

When I showed Loopy and Lumpy the pictures, they couldn’t help put “Ooo” and “Ahh”. First I just worked on their communication skills by asking them to describe what they saw in each picture. Obviously Lumpy couldn’t do much more than “PUPPY!” but Loopy learned how to paint better word pictures.

Search

After a while, I spread the images all over the floor and asked the boys to find specific pictures. Some questions were easy, “Can you find the red house?” and other questions were a little more abstract, “Can you locate a picture with food in it?” We even worked on emotional intelligence when Loopy was asked to find clippings of happy people or worried people.

Sort

Our last little game was a sorting game. Loopy would have to find all the animals, or all the house. For a little added math, we’d count, add, and subtract our findings. Sometimes I’d make it trickier and ask him to gather all the green images or things with hair. It was fun to see him make connections and ask questions about what qualified to be included in the category.

I think the best part of this activity was that little Lumpy could be included since there was no need to fret if the pictures were ripped since this was a FREE project. Of course, I could have laminated these so they could be used for years. But you know me, if it takes more than five minutes of prep, it’s over my head.

Want more simple ideas gracing your inbox? Sign up and you won’t miss a post!

 You might also want to follow me on Pinterest!

Visit My Mundane and Miraculous Life’s profile on Pinterest.

Facebook more your speed? We’ve got a growing community of parents sharing tops articles from all over the web. Come on over and give it a like!

Boasting in Weakness: I suck at flossing my teeth. Doesn’t matter how many times the dentist chastises me or news articles list all the terrible things that will happen to me. I know the benefits are tremendous. I’m just totally lacking in discipline at the end of the day.

Why the random fact? I want this blog to be an encouragement and inspiration to you. It’s so easy for me to give the impression that I’m a rock star mom since I’m editor-in-chief. But at the end of most posts I try and take myself down a notch so you know that I’m not good enough and I have an undeniable, desperate need for grace.