Teaching your kids things like how to read, write, and understand words doesn't have to be boring [1]! You can use things like idioms [2], which are groups of words that come together and establish a new meaning different from the definition of the individual words. For example, your kids will probably love learning that "a piece of cake" doesn't actually mean a piece of cake but rather when something is easy to do. Plus, they'll probably enjoy spreading the word to their friends at school. Check out some of the best idioms to practice with your kids [3] to help ignite their interest in learning.
- Piece of Cake - Means: when something is easy to do; Example: writing essays is a piece of cake for me.
- The Icing on the Cake - Means: when something makes a good thing even better (greater); Example: the icing on the cake was the delicious apple pie that finished off the feast.
- Easy-Peasy, Lemon Squeezy - Means: when something is easy to do; Example: math is an easy-peasy subject for me.
- Keep Your Cool - Means: stay calm in the situation; Example: keep your cool even when he's getting upset.
- When Pigs Fly - Means: something that is impossible; Example: you can have an iPhone when pigs fly.
- Get Your Act Together - Means: behave properly; Example: you need to get your act together when we have company over.
- Jump For Joy - Means: to be happy; Example: I almost jumped for joy when I saw that cute puppy.
- Read Between the Lines - Means: to find the hidden meaning in something; Example: read between the lines when I say we'll talk about it later.
- To Not Hurt a Fly - Means: to be gentle and not hurt anyone; Example: she's so sweet, she wouldn't hurt a fly.
- Raining Cats and Dogs - Means: it's raining very hard; Example: don't go out today, it's raining cats and dogs.
- Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill - Means: to make a big deal out of something small; Example: it was just a joke, don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
- Kill Two Birds With One Stone - Means: get twice the result with half the effort; Example: you can kill two birds with one stone and grab both items at the grocery store.
- Easier Said Than Done - Means: when something is harder to do than initially said; Example: driving to Utah is easier said than done.
- Go With the Flow - Means: to go along with what everyone else wants to do; Example: he is easy to please and goes with the flow.
- Have the Guts - Means: have courage; Example: you have to have guts to stand up for what's right.
- Rain or Shine - Means: regardless of the weather; Example: rain or shine, we'll go to the zoo.
- Think Outside the Box - Means: think in an unconventional way or find a new way of thinking; Example: think outside the box to find the solution to this science experiment.
- Speak Your Mind - Means: to say what you really mean; Example: speak your mind freely because we are all friends here.
- What a Small World - Means: what a coincidence; Example: what a small world that we ran into his aunt at the carnival.
- Don't Sweat It - Means: don't worry about it; Example: don't sweat it, the test wasn't that hard.