Turn a routine outing into a learning experience – and a fun game!

What You Need:

• paper
• marker
• index cards
• crayons

What You Do Together:

1. Before setting out on a regular errand in your neighborhood, talk with your child about the things you'll see on the way. Explain where you're going (the grocery store, the post office, the fire station) and how you get there (by car, by train, by bus, or on foot). Ask your child what people, places, and things you might see. Write down the things he mentions.

2. Go on your neighborhood trip together. Play "I Spy," taking turns giving each other clues about something you see. For example, "I spy a place where people buy bread" (bakery); "I spy a vehicle with many people in it" (bus); "I spy a person who puts out fires" (firefighter). Ask your child to remember as many of the things you see as he can.

3. Back home, talk about all the people, places, and things you saw on your trip. Compare the things you actually saw with the things you listed before the trip. What did your child see that he had mentioned? What did he see that he did not expect to?

4. Invite your child to make a set of riddle cards. On separate index cards, he can draw a picture of each thing he saw on the trip (such as a bakery, a bus, or a firefighter). Help your child label his drawings. Then help him to write an "I Spy" clue on the other side of each card (such as "I spy a place where people buy bread"). Your child can use the cards to play a riddle game with a friend or family member.

More Ways to Learn

Neighborhood Show: Your child can pretend to be one of the people you saw on your outing. Invite him to think about what that person does and to make or find props to use in his pretend play.

Where Things Come From: Before going on a shopping trip in the neighborhood, show your child the list of things you need to buy. Ask him where he thinks you can buy each item. Work together to sort the items on the list by type of store. At each store, let your child check off the items on the list as you find them.

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Take a look at the Spanish version of this activity.