In today’s computer-driven high tech world, it’s all too easy for us to skip out on teaching practical, hands-on life skills for kids. Which is a shame, because basic life skills are one of the most important parts of your child’s education!
These are the kind of learning experiences that spark creativity and curiosity, and help kids grow into independent, adventurous adults.
Case in point, did you know that close to 60% of kids aged 3-5 can use a smartphone, but only 15% can make their own breakfast? Yikes!
These lessons generally aren’t taught in school. Which means it’s up to parents to provide the kind of enrichment activities kids need to develop crucial life skills.
But if you’re like most parents, finding the time to come up with creative ideas to pull off this type of learning can be a challenge.
That’s why we’re always on the lookout for shortcuts to help make quality family time possible.
If you’re on the hunt for fun learning and life skills activities to do with your kids, and really, who isn’t? We’ve rounded up some of the top-rated options.
All these tools are designed to help teach life skills for kids along with key concepts that support them. But more importantly, they make teaching life skills easy and fun!
5 Activities That Teach Life Skills For Kids
1. Green Kids Crafts – STEAM
Like so many of the best children’s products, Green Kid Crafts was created by a mom (and environmental scientist) whose personal experiences taught her how important it is for children to exercise creativity and learn about the world around them.
Green Kid Crafts is a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) subscription kit for children aged 2-10.
Everything you need for hands-on science and art projects is right there in the box, which is awesome.
“My kids get super excited when it shows up in the mail, and I save the time and energy of having to run to the store for supplies.”
When doing the projects you get some quality bonding time with the kiddos, and the only work you have to put in is reading the instructions. Fabulous and stress free!
The kits are also eco-friendly, made out of recycled and recyclable materials.
Each Green Kids Craft box is themed, exploring topics like ocean science, volcanoes, or music.
All instructions, materials, and information you need to build the projects are included, easy-peasy.
2. KidStir – Cooking
KidStir is another great subscription service started by moms, of course. This one is all about teaching your kids their way around the kitchen, which can spark a lifelong love of food and good eating habits.
Cooking is almost a lost art, but it’s such a valuable life skill to have.
In each KidStirs box you get kid-friendly step-by-step recipes, educational food pages, kid-sized cooking tools, shopping lists, and food themed games and puzzles.
Some of our best memories are of time spent in the kitchen learning how to cook with mom. Now you can make those kind of memories with your own kids!
Even if you’re not a great cook yourself, you can totally pull this off. The instructions are really easy to follow.
You might even pick up some new cooking skills along with your child!
3. Little Passports – Travel
Instill a love of travel in your children and deepen their understanding of cultures around the world with the Little Passports program.
Most families don’t have the funds to fly across the country, let alone the whole globe. But that doesn’t mean your children shouldn’t learn about who and what’s out there.
Little Passports is another great mom-founded subscription service. Each month your child will receive an age-appropriate package. You can choose kits with either a geography or science focus.
The activities included, which range from maps, to destination-specific activities, travel souvenirs and their very own “passport”, help your child think to places beyond their own backyard. They can explore new cultures, recipes, and ideas.
Don’t be surprised if your kids develop a love of travel and adventure as a result!
4. FamZoo – Money Management
Want your kids to learn how to manage their money? FamZoo is a virtual family bank that helps insanely busy parents (like you!) teach their kids good money habits with minimal hassle through hands-on practice.
FamZoo is designed to help you teach your kids to earn, save, spend, and give money wisely. You’re the “banker,” and your kids are the “customers.” Neat, right?
You can manage your kids’ funds in either IOU accounts or prepaid cards. Your kids sign in separately to access their individual accounts, while you maintain control and visibility through an online dashboard.
You define the rules of your FamZoo private banking system in whatever way matches your family’s values.
You can set up any combination of automated allowances, rewards for chores, “payroll” withholding for saving or charitable giving, penalties for missed work, parent-paid interest on savings, expense sharing, matching contributions, budgets, loans, and more.
Start super simple for younger kids and then add more complex transactions as they get older.
Seriously, these kind of budgeting and money management skills are so important. Many kids never learn them, and end up making all kinds of mistakes when they get out into the real world.
With a tool like FamZoo you can help your kids understand how money works so they can make good financial choices.
5. I See Me!- Reading
One of the best life skills you can teach your kids is a love of reading. Reading opens so many doors!
Children who continue reading into adulthood have better memories, empathy, cognitive abilities and language skills than folks who don’t read.
Reading out loud to your kids from a very young age is one way to encourage lifelong reading. So is choosing great books with stories that draw kids in. That’s where I See Me! comes in.
I See Me! creates customized books that not only insert your child’s name into the pages, but they also contain bright bold illustrations, entertaining stories, and even your child’s photo. Kids will not want to put these books down!
These books make kids feel special and uniquely attached to the plot, which will make them want to read the stories again and again.
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