We Played with It. Now Let’s Teach With It.The Return of the Cootie Catcher
The 90’s are back and trending this summer and with all the nostalgia in the air, what about some 90’s style learning? Cootie Catchers were all the rage back in the day and now we can put a fun twist on them to help keep the learning going now that school is out!
These are an easy, low prep activity that can be repurposed for all different types of learning goals in mind. With just some paper and markers necessary, you can be ready to learn in just a few minutes! Without even realizing it, they are practicing fine motor skills, following multi-step directions, turn taking and more!
Just a few options you can use them for would be:
Letter Recognition- write letters on the outside and simple words or pictures underneath. Example: “Find the letter C” or “What sound does the letter S make?”
Sight Word Practice- Hide sight words inside the flaps and have kids read them aloud before moving on. This feels more like a game instead of flashcards-which is automatically more exciting!
Feelings & Emotions- “Name something that made you happy today” “What helps when you feel frustrated?” “Who can you talk to when you’re upset?”. This makes a surprisingly good conversation starter.
Movement Version- Write actions inside: Hop 5 times, Do your favorite dance moves, Do 10 jumping jacks. This is especially good for high energy kids who need movement breaks.
Bonus Activity: If you have older kiddos you can also use these to practice math facts, order of operations, etc. and they still get to be included!
If you know exactly how it felt to dramatically open one of these while your friends whispered: “Pick a number” Congratulations. You probably had an awesome childhood!
I’ve included an easy to follow guide for creating your own at home for those that didn’t practice witchcraft in the 90’s!
Happy Learning!
-Victoria