Hello from #CMSMatHome! Have you ever made a guessing box? Let’s create one today! Find a box, big or small, and make a hand-sized hole in it. Gather your mystery items (or have someone else do it), and place them inside the box. Make sure to hide a variety of items, from shapes to materials

  Good morning from #CMSMatHome! Let’s think about how habitats protect animals from rain, wind, sun, or snow. We’ll venture outside today and gather some materials: sticks, small and large rocks, dried leaves and grasses, moss, seed pods. Choose an animal figurine that can go outside and take it for a walk as you explore

Let’s make a puzzle today! Gather some crayons, colored pencils, or markers (or watercolors or tempera, if you’d like) and make a colorful drawing. Glue your artwork onto a thin piece of cardboard or poster board and let the glue dry.   Examine your artwork and determine how many puzzle pieces you would like to

Create a set of juggling balls with #CMSMatHome! Find some fabric scraps (woven fabric will work best, but any will do), scissors, sewing thread and needles, and some dry lentils or rice. Cut your fabric into rectangles (6″ x 3″ is a good size), fold it in half, and stitch it up inside out, leaving

It’s time for a Toddler Wednesday session, at home! Let’s collect balls, tubes, small boxes, paper bags… then cut holes into their sides. Fit the balls through the holes, and place boxes and other items inside one another. Engage your toddler with the words of in and out, and look for the balls and other

Today’s challenge is a doodle challenge. Take a piece of paper and fill it with doodles. Just draw and scribble whatever comes to mind. Start a project and doodle for a few minutes every day, and observe how your creations change over time. Does your mood affect your doodles? Color in your doodles, make a

Are you familiar with alliteration? It’s a sequence of words starting with the same sound, usually a consonant. A well-known example is below–but can you come up with your own? Create a poem with words that all start with the same letter. Write it down. Recite to the rest of your household and share with

We’re going outdoors again with #CMSMatHome! Gather a plastic cup, some water, baking soda, dish soap, washable paint, white vinegar, and measuring scoops. Find a good spot for making a mess… err, science. Place your cup on the ground and fill with water, about two-thirds full. Add five tablespoons of baking soda, one teaspoon of dish

Today, let’s take a walk in our neighborhood as we become bark detectives. Some trees will have thin bark that peels, while others have thick, cracked bark. Some will be smooth. There might be hole or a foreign object embedded into a tree, with bark growing around it. Has any tree been pecked away by

To ease into the weekend, we’re rolling out a simple prompt that could keep the whole family busy for as long as you’d like. We’ll go on an alphabet hunt inside the home, as well as outdoors if/when the weather permits. To play this game, simply call out the letters of the alphabet and challenge

Today, we’ll work on a color collage. You can start by picking a color, then gathering your supplies: old magazines or newspapers, scissors, markers, paper, and glue. Search your magazines for pictures in the color of your choice, cut them out, and glue to your paper or thin cardboard. On a separate piece of paper,

It’s time for a #CMSMatHome Toddler Wednesday session! Children always have fun with parachute play, and it’s a super-easy activity to do at home. Use a light blanket or sheet, gather some soft toys or balls, and all members of your household (the more, the merrier!). Place your toys on the sheet and have each