Rainy day activities in Western Massachusetts to Support Language Learning and Development
When it’s a rainy day in the Pioneer Valley, what can you do to keep your kids busy and communicating?
Have you been to the Springfield Museums?
I highly recommend a day trip, especially the interactive Hasbro Game Land installation on the first floor of the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. Your local library may have museum passes. Call and check!
Support their vocabulary by visiting the Word Play Station where kids can play word search games in English or Spanish on a large touch screen.
Support early literacy skills inside the Word Nook, listening to spoken words and finding the three-dimensional letter that begins each word. Children can also make words by turning large four-sided letter cubes on the Word Wall.
The Coordination Station invites kids to test out their balance as they try to stay standing on raised wobbly disks. At the Racing Station children compete in a race against each other as they pedal as fast as they can to raise balls to the top of a large cylinder. Once the ball reaches the top, they can watch the balls race down a complicated contraption of moving parts that were inspired by the game MOUSETRAP. Target grammatical features like “fast, faster, fastest” spatial concepts, and temporal concepts.
In the Imagination Station, kids can explore an early type of animation, the Zoetrope, by looking into large cylinder painted with images along the inside and spinning it to see the still art turn into animation.Ask them to describe what they see!
At the Memory Station, children watch a series of drums light up and then try to repeat the sequence by tapping the drums with their hands. Working memory is an important cognitive component to language use and understanding. Sharpen those skills and see whether you can beat your children!
Visit the library! Or visit the library in the next town over for a different selection.
Reading books with children helps develop their language skills by:
Increasing their exposure to language. Stories that rhyme are very helpful for teaching speech and language skills and can help children discover a love of language.
Engaging children's imaginations, stimulating imaginative play (a primary way children learn about the world), and introducing children to things and places they may not have a chance to learn about otherwise, such as oceans or dinosaurs.
Helping children work out their feelings about the world. Many children's books are on topics that can open up valuable discussions between a parent and child, such as books about sibling rivalry, nightmares, or dealing with difficult emotions.
Pick up the Mass MOCA pass at the library and head on over!
Kidspace is a child-centered art gallery and hands-on studio presenting exhibitions and educational experiences in collaboration with leading artists. The program focuses on contemporary social issues and expanding notions of art and art materials.
Want to practice language skills at the museum? A simple game of "I Spy" or an art scavenger hunt will make the time more fun and meaningful for all.
Pack a bag of colored pencils and paper and do like the art students do: plop down on the floor and draw. Ask the kids to talk about their favorite work or two and try to draw it in their own sketchbook.
The Eric Carle Museum in Amherst is a gem that helps inspire a love of art and reading through picture books.
Founded in part by Eric Carle, the renowned author/illustrator of over 70 books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is the first full-scale museum in this country devoted to picture book art, celebrating the art that we are first exposed to as children.
The Museum features rotating exhibits of over 1200 pictures by the beloved children's book author and artist, and other authors like Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are.) Drawings are hung at children's eye level.
There is a large art studio where children and adults can make art themselves and an extensive picture-book library designed to look like a comfortable living room. Frequent scheduled workshops and events make this a fabulous way to spend the afternoon.
While it is usually the adults who want to go, Yankee Candle can be a big hit.
Keep your eyes peeled for the trains traveling above you. Practice asking questions: “Where is it going?” and “What will happen next?”
There is a great giant boat for pretend play within the toy shop. Work on imaginative and parallel play skills.
Catching snow and have a snowball fight.
Hand dip candles and talk about the sensory activity.
Every first Saturday of the month the Home Depot offers kids workshop for free from 9am-noon.
Kids develop hands-on skills by gluing, hammering and more.
With help from parents and Store Associates, your child will practice their receptive and expressive language skills, executive functioning, and social skills while making an awesome craft! (All Kids Workshop attendees must be accompanied by a parent or adult at all times.)
Go rock climbing at Central Rock Gym in Hadley
Climbing is a great way to work on joint attention, frustration tolerance, social communication, and is a whole lot of fun.
Physical exercise like Rock Clinging has been shown to support attention, thinking, language, learning, and memory in children and young adults.
Keep your eyes peeled for our founder, Elizabeth Cole hanging from the ropes!
If it isn’t pouring, visit Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens in Deerfield.
Step inside and prepare to be amazed when you find yourself immersed in a world of butterflies.
Practice language skills by answering the following questions and brain teasers:
Birds like to eat butterflies and caterpillars. Find good places for butterflies to
hide!
Butterflies get thirsty. Where can they find water?
Find a butterfly eating. What flower is it? What plant does the caterpillar like
Butterflies come in rainbow colors. Name all the colors you see.
We hope this has given you some ideas for how to incorporate language learning on your next rainy day! What are your favorite things to do on rainy days in the valley?