Learning through play
Here are some ideas of ways to support children's learning from home. Choose one or two to have a go at over the week:
Sing and share nursery rhymes every day.
Read stories to your child and chat about the story. Make puppets with your child to help you tell the story. Re-enact the story with the puppets afterwards, encouraging your child to use their own words.
Encourage your child to join in with the story and talk about what’s going to happen next.
Food
Take every opportunity to cook together. Discuss what you might make for a meal. Talk about the recipe and ingredients followed by creating your own menu. Talk about how foods are put together and enjoy inviting your child to help you make a meal.
What’s in the box?
Play ‘What’s in the box?’ by placing an item or picture in a box and then encouraging your child to ask questions to find out what the item is. For example, if a teddy bear, they might ask, “Is it a toy?” “Is it hard or soft?” “Does it have arms and legs?” “Can it fly?” “Does it move?” The rules could mean that you will just answer “yes” or “no” to these questions. Aim to have a limit of 10 questions. Consider keeping count using a tally such as adding 10 pegs onto a piece of card, placing 10 pieces of pasta in a bowl, 10 ticks on a piece of paper. Your child will then have to guess after the 10 questions have been asked.
Outside changes
Find out about things that are happening in the outside world. Then go out and see what you can find. Find some buds in your garden or along your street, in the countryside, then identify them in a book or on a computer/IPAD/phone.
Investigating weight – make a coat hanger balance:
Put a coat hanger on a door handle. Attach a plastic bag/small bucket on each side of the coat hanger and you’ve made a balance. Invite your child to put things in each side to see which goes up and down and decide which is heavier or lighter.