Week One Parent Ideas
This week's activities for you try at home with your child
This week's activities for you to try at home with your child are about the Areas of Learning -
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development and
- Communication and Language
Remember, young children are learning all the time, and any everyday activity you can share with your child will support their learning and development, whatever stage they are at.
Read the article below or download the PDF to print and keep.
People who love me
Look at photos of remote relatives together. Talk about them, helping your child feel 'kept in mind' by the family members they can't see at the moment.
Send a song
Use any small bits of paper to draw simple faces on: happy, sad, cross, crying, worried. Look at them with your child; help them use feelings words to describe the different faces.
Use them to help your child share how they are feeling at different times.
Feeling faces
Use any small bits of paper to draw simple faces on: happy, sad, cross, crying, worried. Look at them with your child; help them use feelings words to describe the different faces.
Use them to help your child share how they are feeling at different times.
Copy me!
Take turns for one of you to be the 'mover' and the other to be the 'copier'.
Whatever the mover does, the copier has to do too. Move your bodies in weird and wonderful ways!
Today!
Children thrive on routine and predictability; it makes them feel secure and gives them a strong base from which to explore new things. Your child's routine will have changed a great deal recently. If they are very small, can you build some regular things into your day (food time, nap time, story time?).
If they are a little older, can you talk to your child about the day ahead? Use sequencing words like first: 'next' and 'then'.
Finger Gym
Help your child to exercise with their fingers! Wiggle them, touch each finger to the thumb in turn, make their hands look like they are 'talking; stretch the mouth like a starfish, pretend to play a keyboard.
And repeat!
Stories
Sharing books with your child is one of the best things you can do during this time. Talk about the pictures, use silly voices, join in with repeated phrases. If you don't have books at home, you can make stories up. Children love to be the centre of things, so make the story about your child. Add in people they know and some silly things too, like asking a tiger for directions or flying a helicopter to the shops.
Superpowers
You and your child choose a superpower to have for the afternoon. Will you be invisible? Can you fly? Super strength? Super tidy-upper? Then pretend to have that power for the rest of the day, using lots of talk to describe your superpower and what
you can do.
Clapping
With very small children you can clap and they can clap. With slightly older children, see if they can copy a short series of claps - no more than 4 claps.
Or try clapping the beats of your name or your favourite food.
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