Days of the Week {free printable board game}

A few weeks ago when the boys were doing a Bedtime Math problem, my youngest had trouble remembering the order of the days of the week. I wrongly assumed he had them mastered. My bad.

To give him a little practice, I made a simple board game for us to play.

What You Need

Free printable PDF of the game board and playing cards (click here to download from Google Drive)

Heavyweight cardstock (7 pages minimum)

Tiny game pieces, a different one for each player

Paper trimmer (or scissors)

Prep

Download the 2-page PDF from the link above. For a two-player game, you'll need to print about 6 copies of page 1 (the game cards). Print one copy of page 2 (the game board). Use a paper trimmer or scissors to cut out all the game cards.

Play

Place two game pieces on the board's first space (Sunday). The youngest player draws a card. They must identify the missing day of the week and move their game piece to the next occurrence of that day on the board.

If they draw a card "Draw Again" card, they must draw until they get a missing-day card and then move TWO of those days forward (e.g. put their game piece on the second Monday ahead of them). 

The first player to the finish wins!

Read

Our 6-year-old read Terri Sievert's Days of the Week to me to go along with this activity!

After School Linky (7-25)

Welcome to the party!

Where has July gone? It's nearly over! 

There's still time to get inspired and have a fun (and learning-packed) summer!

Here are some of my favorite activities from last week's link-up.

 My Book of Four Seasons: Paper Bag Book from Creative Family Fun

 10s Target Practice from The Afterschool House

 Summer Adventure One in a Minion from A-Z Schoolers

Large Pick-Up Sticks from Nap Time Creations

 Seashell Memory Game for Kids at Growing Up Gabel

 Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt at Grandma Ideas

Parking Garage Number Activity at Teacher Mom Plus 3

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Creative Family Fun

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks.

The Tower that Won't Topple (Inertia Science)

We're doing a lot of science this summer and I love it. Okay, who cares if I love it, right?!? Well, the good news is, the boys love it too.

This 5-minute experiment is impressive and inexpensive (say that tongue-twister 5 times fast!).

What You Need
10 quarters (or more/less)
a finger
a flat surface

What to Do
Stack all but one quarter in a tower on a flat surface.

Place the one remaining quarter on the same surface 3-6 inches from the tower. Now flick it across the surface using your middle finger, shooting for the bottom of the tower. (This is the hardest part as aiming can be tricky.)

What Happens
The coin you flicked slams into the bottom coin and pushes it out. Surprisingly though, the tower of remaining coins stay stacked neatly. 

How it Works
Newton's First Law of Motion (sometimes called the law of inertia) is at work. It states that an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion. The coin you set in motion stays in motion pushing the bottom coin in its path, with the stacked coins above it remain in place because they have enough inertia to prevent them from moving.

After School Linky (7-18)

Welcome to the party!

I hope you're all having a great summer - filled with endless fun, grilled food, water play, and the scent of bug spray and sunscreen. We certainly are!

Here are a few of my favorites from last week's party.

Four Games for Teaching Time from Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Printable Treasure Chest Craft at The Classroom Creative

Swim Meet Printable Rounding Game from Math Geek Mama

Who Lives in a Pond? at Teacher Mom Plus 3

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Creative Family Fun

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks.

When Water Defied Gravity (Hands-On Science)

Since summer is hot, it doesn't take too much persuading to get my boys outside to do an experiment where they might get wet.

I told our six year old that we were going to fill a bucket with water and that it'd be upside down over his head without spilling. One of his eyebrows went up with skepticism.

But lo and behold, he did it. Here's how.

What You Need
A small pail with a handle
Water
Somewhere outdoors
Clothing that can get wet

What to Do
Fill your pail half full of water.

Holding it by the handle, swing it in front of you from side to side like a pendulum. Once you get going at a pretty swift pace, swing the pail with a straight arm in a circular path above your head and all the way around.

If you're going fast enough, the water will remain in the bucket without spilling out!

How it Works
Because of the swift pace with which you're swinging the bucket, centripetal force is present. While you're spinning, a force is applied to the bottom of the bucket to push the water out, but thanks to Newton's Third Law of Motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction), the water pushes back against the bucket and, therefore, doesn't slosh out.

This great activity came from a wonderful book of science experiments. Check it out! 

After School Linky (7-11)

Let's party!

How's your summer going? Too fast, you say?!? I hear ya.

Here are few ideas for inspiration if your bucket list is getting short.

20 Captivating Children's Audio Books for Road Trips from The Jenny Evolution

DIY Star Wars Target Shooting Game from Atta Girl Says

All Kinds of Summer Olympics Themed Games for Kids at The Real Thing with the Coake Family

 Under the Sea Books Kids Will Love (and Parents Too) from Crystal & Co.

Water Bull's Eye at Grandma Ideas

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Creative Family Fun

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks.

DIY Indoor Origami Flying Discs

It's been hot lately. Like melt your face off hot. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but sometimes it's nice to do an indoor activity to at least let the sweat dry.

This one is simple and loads of fun. If you're hearing, "I'm sooooooooooo bored" this summer, making indoor origami flying discs might just be the cure.

Supplies for 1 disc
8 two-inch square pieces of paper (plain office paper or heavyweight card stock)
Tape

How to Make It
Fold each 2-inch by 2-inch square of paper corner to corner so you now have 8 triangles.

Now fold one corner of each triangle down; look at the picture below for guidance.

Make sure all the origami pieces are facing up, with the folded flap on top. Slip the pointed corner of one piece into the folded flap of another. Continue doing this until you're able to tuck the last piece in place.

Add tape over each triangle tip for added stability.

Gently bend the outer edges of the disc down for increased aerodynamics.

Fling it like a frisbee and watch it fly and curve in the air. These are remarkably good flyers!

This awesome project came from the book Make: Easy 1-2-3 Projects. Check it out!

Gushing Soda Geyser

Most people have heard of the fabulously impressive Mentos and Diet Coke experiment before. If you haven't though, you're in for a treat.

This is a must-do for all kids who think science is boring.

What You Need
A roll of Mentos candies (mint flavor)
2-liter of Diet Coke
Piece of office paper
tape (optional)
someplace where it's okay to make a sticky mess (in other words, outdoors)

What to Do
Roll the paper into a tube the width of the Mentos. Add tape if desired. Load the Mentos candies inside the tube and hold the bottom of the tube so they don't spill out.

Open your 2-liter of diet coke and place it outside on level ground. Hold the tube of Mentos over the opening in the bottle. Quickly release your fingers so the candies slide into the bottle. BACK AWAY QUICKLY!!!

A gushing geyser of soda will come spewing out the bottle.

What Happens
That bubbly fizz that makes soda so yummy is the result of invisible carbon dioxide in the drink. Add something to the bottle and you'll see the CO2 at work (check out our Diving & Rising Raisins Experiment for proof). In the raisins experiment, tiny CO2 bubbles attach themselves to the raisins we added to the clear soda. This bubbling is called nucleation.

When the Mentos, which are covered with TONS of tiny pits, are dropped into the Diet Coke, CO2 bubbles instantly form in all the pits as the candies sink to the bottom of the bottle. The bubbles quickly rise to the surface, causing an eruption of soda!

Want a more detailed explanation? Visit Steve Spangler's site for more info, video, etc.

After School Linky (7-4)

Let's party!

WHOA! This weekend was so busy I nearly neglected the linky! Do forgive me!

Share all that's great about summer, fellow bloggers, and link up to show us what you've been up to!

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Creative Family Fun

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks.