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MONDAY
Feeling the music
It’s time to get active and move to the beat!
What you need…
A selection of different types of music – from classical to rock, disco to pop, world music to jazz
What to do…
This is a great activity for the two of you to do together. Set up the music player in a space that allows room for movement. Make sure it’s an area where your child can jump, spin and move around with her arms out. When each song starts take a moment to ask your child how the music makes her feel (Happy? Excited? Silly? Angry?), discuss how it makes you feel and dance in a way that reflects this.
This activity helps your child learn how to identify and express emotions. It puts her in touch with how different emotions can feel inside her body and how she can get them out.
TUESDAY
Building bridges
Imaginative play will help fire up creativity while building on language skills.
What you need…
- Plastic animals or small figurines
- Rulers or smooth planks of wood
- 2 chairs
What to do…
Balance the wood or rulers between the chairs. Put the animals or figurines onto one chair. Show your child how the animals can walk between the chairs using the ‘bridge’. Once the game is going, your child will be able to play by herself, creating stories for what is going on with the animals.
Playing out scenes like this builds on language skills, as well as creativity and imagination. Imaginative play in general allows your child to play out social scenes she witnesses in real life, helping her to make sense of social roles and rules.
WEDNESDAY
Weaving
Get those little fingers moving with a little ‘manipulative’ play.
What you need…
- A sheet of white A4 paper, placed on its side with slits cut down it at 2cm intervals. The slits should stop around 2cm from the top and bottom of the paper
- Another sheet of coloured A4 paper, cut into 2cm strips
What to do…
Show your child how to weave strips of the coloured paper through the slits of the white paper, backwards and forwards, to make a pattern (“Put the strip on top of the paper, now underneath it”, “See how it goes in front of the paper, then behind it?”).
This is an activity that you may need to sit at for a while until your child gets the hang of it. Encourage your child to look at the pattern she’s making and introduce other coloured strips to shake things up.
Weaving paper builds dexterity and hand-eye coordination. The small muscles in the hands get a great workout, too. It’s also an opportunity to learn about sequencing and patterns, and helps to develop concentration and perseverance.
THURSDAY
Print and press
Time to unleash creativity with a little art and craft.
What you need…
- An art smock, apron or old shirt for your tot to wear
- Kid-safe paint in a range of different colours
- Styrofoam trays or large plastic lids for each paint colour
- A collection of differently shaped objects that can be dipped in paint (think corks, plastic animals, cars, egg rings, pieces of sponge, yoghurt containers, milk bottle lids and pegs)
- Paper
What to do…
Once your child is in her painting gear (and perhaps once newspaper is protecting the table and floor), pour a small amount of paint into each tray and demonstrate how each item can be dipped or rolled into the paint then pressed onto the paper to make a shape. Once you think your child has the hang of it, let her try it. Stay close by to talk about colours and shapes.
This activity works fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, while helping to build language skills and teach concepts such as colour and shape.
FRIDAY
Coffee shops
Help your child learn about the world with a touch of dramatic play.
What you need…
- A small table and some chairs
- A tablecloth
- Plastic cups
- A toy kettle or teapot
- Some teddy-bear patrons
- A notepad and pencil for taking orders
What to do…
Help your child arrange all the items together in a small space to resemble a coffee shop and help her pull together some finishing touches: she can draw the day’s menu, for example, and pick some flowers from the garden for the table. Put your child in charge of making the coffee and serving the soft-toy customers.
Once you’ve sampled the coffee on order, leave your child to it. You can check in every now and then, asking questions to encourage the play such as, “What’s Teddy ordering?”, “How many customers do you have today?” and “What’s the most popular thing on the menu?”.
Dramatic play scenarios such as this one allow your child to be in charge and run a social situation. This can boost her self-esteem and self-awareness, and provides a great opportunity for developing language skills.
SATURDAY
Nature collage
Take some time today to get outside and focus on nature.
What you need…
- A bucket or container
- Paper
- PVA glue
- Felt-tip pens
What to do…
Head out on a nature walk around your neighbourhood or down at the local park. Encourage your child to look for interesting gumnuts, seed pods, leaves and other natural bits and bobs. Once you’ve got plenty, bring your treasures home and spread them out on a table along with the paper, glue and pens.
Encourage your child to put together a picture using what she’s found. Glue the items onto the paper and then when the glue is dry, use the pens to add in extra details. Ask open-ended questions as you go, such as, “What does this look like?” and, “Where do you think this could go?”.
Walking around and looking for treasure is a great way to get your child in touch with nature and to take notice of the environment around her. Gluing what she finds onto paper builds on spatial awareness, creativity and imagination.
SUNDAY
Building garages
Building and construction play will get those problem-solving juices flowing!
What you need…
- Any type of building equipment (blocks, cardboard boxes, tubes and trays)
- Toy cars
What to do…
Clear some space to allow for building. Working on a hard surface, such as the kitchen or coffee table, will work best.
For bigger children, leave the materials on the table so they can build something themselves, to encourage independent creative thinking.
For smaller children, build one garage for a car to demonstrate. Once you are done making the first one, ask questions such as, “Can you make a garage that would fit this car?”, “How tall does it need to be?” and, “Where could we park this one?”.
This is a great activity to set up, go and do a couple of things and come back to see how the play is progressing.
Building garages for toy cars helps your child explore concepts of fit and size. It also encourages problem-solving skills and builds fine motor skills.
