Extension & Enrichment Activities

These cross-curricular enrichment activities are perfect for teachers and supervisors working with an extended-day program. Enhance children's creativity with a wide variety of crafts, puzzles, games, and outdoor activities that will help you extend any topic. Build skills in critical thinking, listening, memory, visualization, and concentration through singing, hands-on science experiments, physical education games, word puzzles, art projects, and more!

Songs & Fingergames Apples Chant Children enjoy this chant and hand jive about making an apple pie. The Barnyard Song This Kentucky mountain song is a favorite among younger children who love to practice their animal sounds. The Beetles and the Bedbugs Song A lively chant that allows children to experiment with the different levels of their voice tone. The Doughnut Shoppe Finger Game A fun finger and hand movement chant that can be altered for younger or older children. Head and Shoulders, Baby Chant Children will practice patterns and eye-hand coordination while singing this chant. Miss Sue Fingergame A humorous fingergame that is a favorite on the playground. Movement and Circle Games Incorporate movement into your music lessons with these fun singing games for "The Telephone Rings", "Ring Around the Rosie", "Shoo Fly", and "Pumpkin Patch". Arts & Crafts Activities Building with Toothpicks and Marshmallows Using toothpicks, marshmallows, and their imaginations, students create shapes, structures, and more. Clay and Play-dough Recipes Use these easy and inexpensive recipes for modeling and projects or to improve hand coordination. Paper Towel Designs Create designs on plain paper towels using dye and water. Papier-Mâché Puppets and Masks Make masks and puppets using many different materials including old newspaper, plastic milk jugs, and fabric scraps. The Face of a Leader Enjoy an art project that is appropriate when studying any famous person. Guess and Draw Children will use their senses to determine what secret object is hiding in a closed box. Pointers About Posters Try a printable worksheet that lists the elements of an effective poster. Toothpick Construction Contest Working with a partner, students will create toothpick structures for a creativity contest. Sell Your Product Poster In this project, students will become more aware of marketing strategies by creating a product poster themselves. Story Quilts Students will create a quilt that tells a story. This is a great arts & crafts activity that also ties in creative writing and black history! Portrait Heads in Paper Students will use their imaginations to create paper portraits of different people. The Shaped Book This interdisciplinary lesson will allow students to write a book and relate its shape to almost any theme or subject being studied. More Art Activities Puzzles It's Puzzling Students create their own math puzzles and then have their classmates try to solve them. Moxy's Magic Square Puzzle A challenging math puzzle. Mousey Mirror Visual Puzzle Students use their visual skills to create a mirror image drawing. Puzzles and Fun – Happy Landing Complete this crossword puzzle by using critical thinking skills. Same Name Word Puzzle Students use their critical thinking skills to unscramble names in foreign languages and complete this challenging worksheet. Put It Together: A Puzzle Employ a printable arts and crafts activity that helps build skills in assembling a dinosaur puzzle. More Puzzles

Science & Nature Activities Dried Flowers and Leaves Pressing flowers and leaves is an excellent way for young children to learn about plants. Floating Egg Density Experiment This easy and interesting experiment will teach children about the concepts of solutions, saturation, and density. Growing Salt Crystals Observe how liquids may change to solids and how crystals develop with a fun chemistry activity. Growing Sprouts Show students the process of plant life by growing sprouts right in your classroom. The Edible Model Students create a model made from food. This interesting – and tasty – arts & crafts activity will quickly become one of your students' favorites. Invent-a-Fair Teachers can use the Invent-a-Fair as a creative alternative to a science fair. Science Field Trips/Guest Speakers A great source of ideas to make your science class that much more interesting. Science Hang-Ups Children will observe, sort, and classify different natural objects. More Science Resources Indoor & Outdoor Games Beanbag Bowling Improve student's hand-eye coordination with a different type of bowling. Jump over the Brook P.E. Game Primary and intermediate students will enhance motor and space judgment skills. Shopping Trip Memory Game Improve your students' memory and concentration skills by playing a game that requires no equipment. Pom-Pom Paddle Ball Students practice their visual tracking and balancing skills during this game. Telephone Game Students can improve their listening and memory skills while being social. Scavenger Hunt The students will go on an adventurous scavenger hunt to find and classify the selected objects. Soap Carving Contest Working with a partner, students will create soap carvings for a creativity contest. Capture the Flag Teach your students the rules and strategy for playing Capture the Flag. Traditional Games These traditional games are easy to organize, challenging, and fun. More Games & Puzzles Related Resources Online Science Games Online games are a great way to build Science skills and reinforce concepts. End-of-the-Year Resources Students will stay engaged through the last day of school with our end-of-the-year resources. Encourage them to keep up their math and reading skills with summer book lists, games, and activities. New Teacher Resources Discover everything a beginning teacher will need for a successful school year, from tips for your first day, to classroom-management advice, to printables and lesson plans that will support your curriculum all year long.