Welcome to our “It’s a Sweet Life – Candy Week” – an at home camp filled with days of relaxed learning and fun activities all themed to the oh-so-fun sweets and treats! After all, what better way to get them to keep learning than to pick something they LOVE – sugar and sweets!
For this day, we turned our attention to a comforting favorite – maple syrup! We dove a bit deeper into maple syrup and where it comes from! Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all on maple syrup!
A TYPICAL DAY
All kids are different and you can definitely vary your day with whatever works for you 🙂 Our relaxed & learning fun day kicks off with an introduction to the day’s theme. Then, we move onto videos and themed activities (reading, writing – or story telling – time, crafts, food crafts/snacks, and games or experiments). Feel free to pick and choose whatever works for you 🙂
INTRO
Who has not drizzled some syrup goodness on top of pancakes or waffles (or at least seen it happen). If not – or if you just want a maple syrup fact refresher, check out the links below. They’re perfect for providing a brief intro for your little ones (or to gather up some knowledge as well!)!
WHAT TO WATCH
We find that mixing in a short video themed to our day is a great way to add some learning fun! We try to pick informative videos OR mix in a cartoon favorite (where they don’t even realize they’re learning). Below are some of the videos we picked from for the day:
- Where Does Maple Syrup Come From? | Winter is Alive! | SciShow Kids by SciShow Kids (5m)
- Ever Wonder How Maple Syrup Is Made? By Highlight Kids (2m)
FOOD CRAFTS / SNACKS
What’s more fun than taking a break and having a simple snack??? Including the snack in your theme of the day! We find that our kiddos are more than happy to eat the snacks they create especially when they can arrange them into fun shapes and scenes!
What pairs well with maple syrup – pancakes and waffles!!! And no, it doesn’t need to be breakfast time to enjoy them!
OR try your hand at making some maple syrup candies: Snow Day Treat: Make Maple Syrup Candy from Scholastic
BUT, if you aren’t a fan, there are also tons of recipes out there with syrup as an ingredient 🙂
READING
It’s no secret that reading is an important part of learning, which is why we pick out a handful of books that are fun and filled with some learning tidbits. For our older ones, we have them fill out some worksheets (or let them create some of their own comics) to describe what they read and/or learned! These are a few we picked from for the day:
- Maple Syrup from the Sugarhouse by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton
WRITING & WRITING PROMPTS
Just like reading, writing is a great way to keep kids learning by both encouraging their creativity and thought process as well as helping them practice their motor skills and penmanship.
If you’ve got a little one, have them trace words related to the theme: SUGAR, SWEETS, CANDY, MAPLE, TREE, SYRUP
If you’ve got older children, have them write a sentence or two up to a page or two (depending on their age). Encourage them to be creative AND give reasons for why they made certain choices. This was our writing prompt of the day (and we offered up some examples as well) but definitely pick something your kiddo might be interested in writing about!
- Imagine you could create a stack of pancakes as tall as a building or as big as a swimming pool. What contraption would you use to pour syrup over it?
- Maple syrup can be used in many recipes. What would you put syrup in (or on)?
CREATE & CRAFT
If you’ve got a crafty little one, a simple craft is a great way to keep them interested in the topic. While their creative juices are flowing, you can also chat about what they’ve learned so far or ask them what else they’re excited about learning! Below are some of the crafts we looked at:
- Natural Mini Maple Tree – Find some sticks from a nature walk and add some maple colored “leaves” to it using construction paper or tissue
STEM & STEAM ACTIVITIES
While crafting and writing get their creativity and imagination flowing, we also like to add in an activity that gets them thinking along the lines of science, technology, engineering, or math! These engaging activities or experiments are a great way to keep them learning!
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for checking out our at home learning fun article! If you enjoyed this post, please let us know what you think in the comments below and/or follow us on Pinterest.
Also, if you haven’t already, check out some of our other Candy Week days, Sweets & Treats Ideas, as well as our DIY At Home Camps!
Happy Learning!
