F.A.Q.

...because learning together is fun!

Family Theme Days

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Family Theme Days?

Family Theme Days are learning activities based around a theme that families can do together regardless of age.

Your family picks the topic you would like to explore. Pick themes according to your child/children’s interests, the time of year, or what your children are learning in school. You then choose the activities that your family would enjoy from my activity plans and share in the fun as you spend a day or days exploring the theme as a group.

If you don’t have the time to devote an entire day to your chosen theme then try a Theme Week and do a few activities each day. The key is working together as a family to learn and explore a topic.

Why Family Theme Days?

Family Theme Days promote togetherness, inquisitiveness, and Family Literacy. They combat boredom on weekends, rainy/snowy days, holidays etc.. They encourage children to explore the world with their parents. They help parents to become actively involved in their children’s education and inspire learning. When you have a Family Theme Day you will learn a lot about your children as well.

Does it cost a lot of money to have a Family Theme Days?

Another great thing about Family Theme Days is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money or any money to do them. My Family Theme Day plans are FREE and include Printables for your family to use. From the plans you can pick and choose the activities you want to do based on the materials you already have on hand at home so you don’t have to spend any money at all, or you can buy a few extra materials or ingredients at minimal prices, or you can spend a bit more and take the family on a related field trip to a zoo or museum if it fits your budget. It’s fun to be frugal with Family Theme Days.

What age are Family Theme Days for?

Family Theme Days are for any age as each basic activity plan can easily be adapted depending on your children’s age, skills, abilities or interests. I provide a number of ideas and you choose which ones your child/children would like to do.

Family Theme Days work great with families that have sibling age gaps because every Theme Day Plan can easily be adjusted to meet each child’s age. By doing this all siblings can work together to learn about a specific theme regardless of their age or level. There is a 4 and a half year difference between my boys and one of the things I like about our Theme Days is that the age difference doesn’t matter; my sons work together but at their own level and my youngest is even encouraged to try more simply by viewing what his older brother is doing.

Do I have to be artistic to enjoy Family Theme Days?

No, you do not have to be artistic to enjoy Family Theme Days. I took special care in making sure the crafts were simple and not complicated. I personally was tired of searching for crafts in craft books to do with my sons only to see that the crafts were complex and involved materials we didn’t have on hand. I wanted our Theme Days to encourage families to create things together not frustrate them. Our crafts can be adapted according to artistic ability as well. If you or your children are very artistic there is plenty of room for creativity and expansion of the crafts, but if your family isn’t very crafty these art projects are pretty straightforward. Plus, you could always just skip the crafts and explore the Theme Day subject with books, science experiments, recipes, music, field trips etc., or whatever best fits your family.

Do I have to do every activity provided for each Family Theme Days?

No, you don’t have to do every activity, in fact you get to customize each Theme Day to suit your own family! You can choose to do all the crafts, one craft or no crafts! You could choose to skip the word search and colouring pages or include them. If you or your kids really enjoy cooking and baking you will probably want to include all the food and recipe ideas, but if the kitchen makes you quiver in fear, just skip those activities. If your child is very inquisitive and hands-on you may want to try all the learning activities. I have provided a number of different activities all related to a specific theme to give you easy choices to create the Family Theme Day that is perfect for your family! You may want to do several activities at different times and create a Family Theme Weekend or Week or even a Family Theme Month! The key is that you and your kids are spending time together and are learning together.

What materials do we need to have a Family Theme Day?

The most important material required is one on one time with your child/children.

Materials vary because each Family Theme Day is different and can be adapted according to what you want to do with your family. Read the activity plan a few days before you decide to have your Family Theme Day and decide what activities you will do. This will determine what materials you need and whether you need to buy anything ahead of time.

A good thing to have (although certainly not required) is a large coiled notebook or any other type of scrapbook. This can be a family keepsake of these days spent together and can be used to glue in pictures, crafts, journal entries, photographs, souvenirs or anything related to the themes.

Keep some basic craft supplies on hand as well: child-safe scissors, glue sticks and white glue, crayons and markers, paints, and coloured paper.

A library card is very useful, too.

Have Fun!

Some examples from past Family Theme Days.