Materials Needed:
- One (1) Piece of Cardboard (At least 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide)
- Two (2) Empty Shoeboxes
Instructions:
Step 1: Give your child an empty shoebox and tell them they can put four objects of their choosing into the box. Tell them to make sure they put the lid on top before they bring the box back.
Step 2: The adult should also fill up a shoebox with four objects of their choosing, placing the lid back on the box so the child can’t see what’s inside.
Step 3: The adult and child should sit across from each other placing the piece of cardboard in the middle, separating them (so they can’t see each other’s shoe boxes).
Step 4: The adult should take one object out of the box and place it on top of their shoe box, behind the cardboard, so the child doesn’t see it.
Step 5: Tell the child that the piece of cardboard is actually a “door”. We are going to play a peek-a-boo game!
Step 6: The adult will start by knocking on the cardboard, saying, “knock, knock.”
Step 7: Tell the child to repeat the following phrase:
“I heard a knock. I opened the door and __(object)_ was there!”
Have the child state the name of the hidden object the adult placed on top of the shoebox.
Step 8: Now it’s the child’s turn. The child should take one object out of the box and place it on their side of the piece of cardboard so the adult doesn’t see it.
Step 9: The child will start by knocking on the cardboard saying, “knock, knock.”
Step 10: The adult should say:
“I heard a knock. I opened the door and __(object)_ was there!”
Have the adult state the name of the hidden object the child placed behind the cardboard.
Step 11: Repeat steps 4 through 10 until both the adult and the child see all 8 objects.
Step 12: Play again! Go find four more objects to hide!
Learning Objectives
Math/Science
One to One Correspondence
Quantity and Counting
Language/Literacy
Vocabulary building
Imagination and Creativity
Using Words to Form a Sentence
Problem Solving
Imagination and Creativity
Turn Taking
Repetition
Socio-dramatic Play
