H is for Homes: Themed Activities

🏠Your home, Structures, Animal Homes

World Knowledge:  Name famous buildings around the world with a focus on those that are 'Homes". For example, the Taj Mahal is the home of deceased wife of an emperor in India, the Louvre in Paris is the home of the famous painting of Mona Lisa, the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto is the home of the Raptors, Buckingham Palace is the home of the Queen of England, Vatican Palace is the home of the Pope and Mackenzie House was home to Toronto's first mayor to suggest a few.

Mapping (Math):  Draw a map to your home or draw the layout of your home. Draw to scale for added challenge.

Vocabulary:  List as many types of homes as you can think of.  Examples are teepee, tent, townhouse, condo, mansion, farmhouse, trailer, tiny house, apartment, shelter, cabin, bungalow, cottage and so on.

Discussion:  What type of home do you live in?  What do you love about home?

Writing activity:  Home is....   Where I live....  If I could live anywhere.... Animal homes in my yard...

Art: Design a house or decorate a room using paper, writing materials, doilies, wallpaper samples, sticks, glue, paint cards, boxes, basically just be free to create!

Snack;  Build a gingerbread house. Make a house structure with pretzel sticks and/or shaped crackers.

Book:  Read Hansel and Gretel.  Connect to the gingerbread house and/or ask what other fairy tales have a house in the woods (ie. Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and more)

Book:  For older children, suggest the Little House on the Prairies series.  What is different about houses one hundred years ago compared to today?

Science: How do beavers make their home?  birds? rabbits?  snakes?

Animal Trivia:  Answer questions about animal homes such as where does a shark live?  A bird?  A fox?  Who makes their home with sticks?  With twigs?  With mud?  Who lives in a log? In the ocean?  Underground?

Matching game:  There is a free file folder game where you match the animal to its home.

Activities: Build a home with blankets (fort), Lego (varying designs), sand (sandcastle), popsicle sticks (house or birdhouse), boxes (dollhouse), playdough or clay. 

Seasonal:  Create or go to a 'haunted house' if that fits your interests.

Dramatic Play:  Be Bob the Builder and construct a home.  Play house/family and dress up as the parents, make meals, put the 'children' (dolls) to bed and so forth.

Book:  The 3 Little Pigs:  They built different kinds of homes.  Recreate them as you tell the story.

Music:  Song about the wise and the foolish man who built their homes on rock vs. sand.  

Science: What is the importance of a strong foundation?  What happens to buildings in the event of earthquakes, tsunamis or floods?

Community:  Go for a walk in your community...look at houses and see homes under construction too.

Craft:  Make a "Home Sweet Home" sign.

Treasure Hunt:  Create a treasure hunt to go through the rooms of your home.  1. Go to the room where you brush your teeth. (Clue 2 is in the bathroom) Look under the pillow where daddy sleeps etc.  

Science Activity:  Create a bug hotel as a home for the bugs in your garden using materials on hand.


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