I promise more fun stuff coming soon, y'all (even though most of my readers do not live in DC!). I'm just super stressed in these last few weeks at work and I'm trying to do an extra good job this final week. Since my week in Florida will consist mostly of putting off novel writing while hanging out in coffee shops, I'll definitely do more research and post more stuff and try to attract more nannies here then. Thanks, y'all. <3

The National Zoo

The National Zoo can be a good opportunity to talk about ecosystems and different environments. The children should be encouraged to talk about the environments which are created for different animals, how they are different and the same. Which animals might live with the panda? How is the panda's home different from the giraffes? What are some characteristics about the giraffe that help it live in its environment? Once at home, the caregiver can help the children look at a globe or map and perhaps label places where different animals live.

Library Time

Before a trip to the library, the caregiver can have a conversation with the children about something they're interested in (firetrucks? tae kwon do? plants? pirate stories?). Once at the library, the caregiver can help the children use the computers to find age-appropriate books on the topics, both fiction and nonfiction. Though I have my doubts about whether children growing up now will ever have to know how to really use a library, it's still a good skill if in principle only, to know how to take an interest and use resources to learn more about it/enjoy it more fully.

Bookmaking

The caregiver can help the children write and illustrate their own stories using several bookmaking methods, from stapling together construction paper, to more elaborate experiments in pop up books. Some possible prompts:

-Who are the members of my family?
-What do I do to get ready for school?
-What would I do if I could fly?
-What would I do if I were a puppy?

This can be a good opportunity to discuss what "fiction" and "nonfiction" mean. The caregiver will also encourage the children to read their books out loud to one another (with help, if needed) and talk about how we take care of books, by handling them nicely and keeping them on a shelf.

Weather Chart

Using a large piece of poster board, create a one-month calendar with large squares for each day. Each day, ask the children questions about the weather:
What does it look like outside today?
What does it feel like?
Is it cold or hot?
Is it raining?
What should we wear today to be comfortable?
Do we need sunblock, hats, jackets, umbrellas?
What would be a good activity to do today. Would we want to play outside, inside, or both?
Is today the same or different than yesterday?

The caregiver can also show the children the weather report in the newspaper (or on an iPhone...), noting the "number" temperature, and the little pictures that denote rain, clouds, sunshine, etc. Using age-appropriate terms and examples, the caregiver can discuss "chances," as in "what does it mean when the weather report says a 50% chance of rain?"
The caregiver should be prepared with several sunshines, clouds, raindrops, snowflakes, etc. cut out from construction paper. With her help, the children will select the right picture(s) for that day and tape them to the appropriate day on the calendar. As a part of a daily routine, this can also be a good chance to learn days of the week/months of the year/seasons.

Farmer's Markets

Several farmer's markets operate in the District during the week, including:

Capital Harvest on the Plaza Farm Market
Woodrow Wilson Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC
May-September
Fridays, 12-5 p.m.

Georgetown Market in Rose Park
26th & O Street, NW, Washington, DC
(202) 333-4946
April-October
Wednesday, 4-7 p.m

Historic Brookland Farmers Market
10th & Otis Streets, NE, Washington, DC
(202) 526-4848
May-October: Sunday, 10a.m.-2p.m.
June-October: Tuesday, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.

Penn Quarter Freshfarm Market
North end of Eighth NW, (between D & E Sts.) Washington, DC
(202) 362-8889
May-October
Thursday, 3-7 p.m.

Farmer's markets can be fun in a lot of ways. The caregiver can use this opportunity to talk about where fruits and vegetables come from, and possibly give each child an allowance of a few dollars to choose a healthy fruit for a snack, using it as a teachable moment for decision making (i.e. "you can get two apples and have one later, or one watermelon to share with everyone"). A lot of discussion questions could come from a trip to the farmer's market

Where does this food come from? How does it get to the city? Do the farmer's drive trucks? How did the plants grow? How many different colors of fruits/vegetables do you see? Is that a fruit or a vegetable?

Canal Ride in Georgetown

From The Washington Post:

"At the Georgetown Visitor Center, you can take an hour-long trip back in time on a replica of an 1800s canal boat, led by a park ranger. The mule-drawn Georgetown shows visitors the lifestyle of the canalers, passing along the old towpath and through a historic lift lock. The kids, or adults, can bring fruits or carrots to feed the mules.The boat usually operates from April until October.

During the summer months, the visitor center offers Georgetown walks every day at noon. Topics on these walks range from the architecture of Georgetown to Civil War history.

Activities for families and children are held each weekend -- nature walks, bike rides of Georgetown and "meet the mule" programs"

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

At The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, kids and caregivers can take a free, 45-minute tour and see money be made. This can be a good opportunity to discuss how the children earn their money (or points) and talk about how you can spend points or save them, and the pros and cons of each.

National Building Museum

Building with Legos and playing with bulldozer toys at The National Building Museum can be a nice way to spend a rainy day, or any day.

According to the Washington Post:
"Designed for visitors between the ages of two and six, the exhibition offers kids a chance to learn about architecture, construction and design through play. Legos and building blocks are available, as are bulldozers and toy trucks. Visitors can try on hard hats and tool belts and flip through picture books on building."

Kids' Music at Sticky Fingers

DC musician Liz DeRoche, also known as The Singing Lizard, will perform every 1st and 3rd Wednesday from 10-11 am at Sticky Fingers Vegan Bakery.

According to the release, "The Singing Lizard writes original songs for kids as well as takes the children songs we all know and love and infuses them with a fresh new sound. These songs will have children and adults alike laughing and dancing with joy!" Sounds like a good event for those with kids looking for something fun to do. Adults also get a 10% discount on cafe drinks.

-from New Columbia Heights Blog

Columbia Heights Splash Pad

The new splash pad/fountain in Columbia Heights plaza is always busy with children in their bathing suits on sunny, warm days. It can be a nice way to incorporate a water activity when there aren't enough adults to safely supervise children in a swimming pool. There is parking available at Giant nearby, and the splash pad has the playground-like benefit of hosting lots of kids to meet and interact with.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salad

In The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as we know, the caterpillar eats through a lot of different foods before he turns into a butterfly. His Monday through Friday foods are, conveniently enough, all fruits, and could make a good fruit salad together. After and while reading the book, the caregiver and the children can practice counting, reading comprehension, and kitchen skills using the following fruits:
-1 apple
-2 pears
-3 plums (perhaps dried prunes)
-4 strawberries
-5 oranges (maybe clementines or another tiny citrus)

While the caregiver does the cutting, the children can sort and compare piles of the cut fruit, making more than/less than comparisons. It can also be interesting to discuss what happens the last day when the caterpillar eats a lot of junk food (hint: he gets a stomach ache) and how he felt better (he ate some leaves) and what happened after he ate all his healthy foods (he grew up and turned into a butterfly).

A little bit of lemon juice on the fruit will help keep it from turning brown while stored in the fridge, so it should keep for at least a day. If the kids eat the fruit salad again the next day, it can be a good opportunity to review the story.

Letter of the Day

Going from A to Z, have a letter for each day. Get some big label stickers and draw large, clear letters on them, giving five to each child. Throughout your time with the child, help them find and point out things that being with the Letter of the Day, and, if it's appropriate for the object, put the sticker on it. It can also be useful to write out the name of the object. If the children are in a disposition where competition will be helpful instead of hurtful (this can depend on the day, their moods, and the distance between their letter-recognizing skills), it can be a contest to see who can get rid of their stickers the fastest. However, when one child is significantly older, he or she will probably "win" every day, which can make a competition frustrating, so this activity might best be used non-competitively.