At this age he will really love playing with water in the bath. Not only does he find out 'how'and 'why' but he’ll also be practicing eye-hand co-ordination.
* Give him something to pour water from like a jug, and something to pour in to, like a plastic cup
* Also give him something that floats when empty but sinks when full, like a plastic bottle.
* Give him a selection of sponges that soak up water.
* Give him floating ducks that he can send away, with a wave of water
* Let him explore what he can do with these objects and he’ll have great fun
Making butterfly prints
This is a simple painting activity that works like magic and its one that is a real classic. It teaches children to work towards an end, that creating is fun and of course improves hand-eye coordination too.
* Take some thickened paint in two or more colours
* Take small pieces of paper and fold down the middle
* Show him how to put paint on one side of the paper
* Gently fold the paper over and press to get paint on both sides
* Open up to show him the beautiful butterfly he made!
Tip!
*How to make your own thick paint*
To make your own thick paint put a desert spoon of flour into a saucepan with a little water, whisk, bring to the boil and add a little colouring.
For older children you could add powder paint rather than food colouring.
Sorting the socks
Get some help with the laundry and help him to learn very basic maths principles and matching too!
* Put all the socks in a bag
* Ask him to sort them in to pairs!
Heads and bodies
Another pairing game that helps teach basic maths ideas.
* Take about 5 – 10 small pieces of card and on to each stick pictures of animals cut from magazines
* Cut each card in two, so that the head is on one side and the body on the other
* Ask him to pair them up with the right head and right body
* Ask him to do mismatches – what is the silliest animal he can make and what would he call it?
Picture match
On a variation on the game above, this pairing game encourages him to look for what objects have in common – this encourages early maths and also as he will be looking for the detail, this also helps develop early reading.
* Take 10 – 20 pieces of card and stick objects on them, there should be two of each different kind of object – so for example two cars, two mugs and two sofas. Some pairs should be identical pictures but some can be the same sort of object but different pictures
* Ask him to form the pairs – this will help him understand that things can have something in common even if they are a different size or colour for example.
Find the sticker
This is a simple hide and seek game that helps him look carefully - an important skill for early reading.
* Take some sticky backed shapes or cut them out from sticky backed paper
* Ask him to wait outside the room while you stick these to various objects around the room
* Tell him how many you have hidden and let him have fun looking for them
* If he needs help, give him hints when he is getting 'warm'!
Games and Activities to Stimulate Learning 3–5 years
Sink or float?
A game for the bath that encourages her to categorise, investigate and to look for what objects have in common.
* Give her a variety of objects including
- Ones that sink straight away – keys, spoons etc
- Ones that float – wooden lolly sticks, plastic toys
- Ones that float then sink when they fill with water – plastic cups and bottles
- Ones that gradually sink – like sponges, flannels etc
* Let her experiment with the objects in the bath
* When she’s had a chance to play, you can try offering her the objects one at a time and asking before she puts them in the water what she thinks will happen.
Splash and blow painting
Here are some simple but messy painting techniques which produce interesting pictures.
* Paint flicking. Fill a brush with paint (thin rather than thick) pull back the bristles aim at the paper and let go.
* Paint blowing. Put some thin paint onto some paper, using a straw blow the paint across the page.
* Paint dropping. Drop thickened paints from varying heights onto a sheet of paper.
* Paint diluting. Make a line of thickened paint at the top of the page, use a brush dipped in water to work this down the page.
Growing cress
This is a simple but sustained activity which she must think about over a period of a week or two. This also builds the idea of nurturing and creates a sense of ’I can do it’.
* Sprinkle cress seeds on a bit of dampened kitchen paper
* You can do this on a plate or even inside half an egg shell to grow an egg head!
Weather Presenter!
As children grow up they need practice with the sort of sustained activities they will have to get used to at school. This is a simple one which you can carry out for a week - or even longer if she enjoys it.
* Divide a sheet of paper into eight rows each about 1 inch wide and three columns
* Write the days of the week in the first column.
* Across the top write the time of day (morning and afternoon)
* Every morning after breakfast she looks out and decides on the weather. This is entered on the chart.
* She does the same after lunch.
* You can make this more fun by using symbols to indicate the weather on the chart instead
* She can play at presenting the weather and telling you all about what the weather was like this week
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 0 - 6 months
It takes time to get to know your baby and the meaning of his cries, but you soon will, just as he will soon learn the meaning of your touch, voice and smell. In these vital early months your interactions help his social and emotional development as you both learn about each other and form a strong bond.
Here are some general tips for your interaction with your baby in the early months:
*Relax- The best way to make him feel relaxed is to be relaxed. He cannot understand what you say- but he will understand your body language and tone of voice. In the first weeks it is not easy to feel relaxed, especially as you quickly come to understand just how much you have put your heart on the line, and how completely it would break should anything happen to him.
*Accept that your life has been turned up-side down- your time is not your own and that no one really copes very well in their first weeks of parenthood, especially if they are the carer of a new baby. It is stressful, at times it is an enormous strain. You would be a saint if you did not sometimes want to shout “This is not what I wanted when I thought of being a mum!”
*Love and soothe, carry and cuddle but don’t expect success every time- Babies cry for many reasons: hunger, pain, tiredness and loneliness and however hard you try you will not always manage to guess what is wrong and calm him. You’re not the only one!
*Establish a routine- Structure makes a child feel safe. A regular bedtime sets a pattern for childhood, so does a regular meal-time. There is a happy medium between keeping to a strict schedule and feeding more or less continuously on demand. It’s sometimes hard to find a routine in the early weeks- but most children do settle into one.
*Don’t pander to his moods- except his good ones! If you tip toe around his bad moods you are likely to increase them.
Games
In the early months, as he learns about the world around and indeed, about his own senses and body there are some simple ways your play interaction with him can help;
0-3 months
*Show me how* We tend to think of toys as things children use for independent play - but that is not always so! In the first year your children will love to share their toys with you. Show him what his toys can do. Hand them to him rather than let him always select his own, and talk about the toys as you play.
*Here’s looking at you * Make eye contact. He will copy you and looking at each other will make you both feel more secure.
*Show him things * Take him out to see the world and talk about it all the time.
*Snuggle buggle- Hold him rock him, kiss him and tell him that you love him. He will recognise the sentiment even if he doesn’t understand the words.
3 – 6 months
By now he will have uncurled, he is able to focus and will meet your eye with a smile.
*Play with me * Toys are not just for independent play- children love to share them and play with you. Show him what to do. If the toy has a little surprise- make it happen.
*I love you* Hold him in your arms and tell him you love him.
*Conversation * Talk to him and let him answer, even if his answers are just little sounds or eye contact. Always respond when he communicates.
*Meet the neighbours * Take him out and let him meet other people- especially other children.
*Copy cat* Copy what he does - and he will reward you by doing the same.
*Hup two three* Hold him under the arms and march around the room together- left right, left right, hup two- three (on the three lift him up in the air).
*Dance a baby* Dance him on your lap and enjoy a little song.
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 1 - 2 years
Toddlers are much more emotional than babies, he now knows his own mind and boy do you know it. As he approaches the ’terrible twos’ he might become more and more wilful and obstinate, however, by the same token this period is one during which he will show you enormous love.
To help you in your interactions with him in these twelve months, particularly on the social and emotional front, here are some day to day tips :
Don’t pander to his moods- Pay attention to behaviour you want to encourage - not to behaviour you would rather discourage. Remember he’ll do almost anything to get your attention so if you give him that when he’s moody, he’ll do it more often.
Eat together as a family- go on outings. Make clear to him that you are a special social unit.
Test if he recognises himself- Put some lipstick on a finger (or your lips) and smudge it onto his forehead while he is not looking. Hold him in front of the mirror. Does he reach for his forehead? If he does, he is now realising the person in the mirror is the same person that you talk to.
Games
* Song of love *
Build the emotional bond between you by sharing a loving song or two in quiet muments. Touch is very important so as you sing stroke or soothe him.
* A book to share *
Cuddle up together and read a book. This is great on all levels. It helps with social and emotional development as well as building an early love of books.
* A toy to share *
He plays all the time, but make sure you take the time to join in, if he’s playing with his toy kitchen ask if you can have a cup of tea.
* Chase a baby *
He can now walk so crawling becomes a fun time activity. Get down on hands and knees and chase him about.
* Feed a baby *
Practicing to nurture and care for others is often one of the earliest pretend games. Encourage him to care for his teddies or dolls, feeding them with bowl and spoon, or putting them to bed. This kind of play is great for social and emotional development as it helps him to put himself in others shoes and think about someone elses needs.
* If you’re happy and you know it *
Enjoy action rhymes together, they’re great fun!
One of the best is “If You’re Happy and You Know It!” You just can’t help but be happy!
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you are happy and you know it clap your hands
If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it stamp your feet
If you’re happy and you know it stamp your feet
If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re happy and you know it stamp your feet
* Hippity hoppity *
Activities and play that you do together are great for stimulating social and emotional development, because these games reinforce the bond between you, helping him to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that you care.
When out for a walk you could both
Creep like a mouse
Hop like a rabbit
Trot like a horse.
Or he could go on your back while you carry out the actions!
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 2 - 3 Years
His social development will come in leaps and bounds when he is old enough to play with other children. Although children like being with other children before they are two it really isn’t until the third year when their lives extend beyond family and carers.
He will start being more considerate of people when they are upset, to learn to read moods a little more. Although this is great, he might also start to worry more too! During this time, he might start to be frightened of things that he wasn’t at all worried about before. During this time things like ghosties and monsters might start to feature in his concerns!
By the second half of this year, he will have become more easy going, more caring and more social. His tantrums should hopefully be on the decline too!
Games
* Finding faces *
This kind of play helps reinforce ideas of other people’s feeling and emotions.
Flick through a magazine together
Count how many smiley faces you can see?
How many sad faces are there?
Play at drawing faces and seeing if he can tell how they feel
Stories
Children love stories they can join in with and reading books together is great for your together time - look for books which have repeated phrases such as “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down “ from the three little pigs. Read these often and get him to join in. The three Billy goats Gruff, Chicken Licken and Red Riding Hood are obvious examples.
Whispers
A good game for a child who always shouts!
* Whisper to your child what he should do next.
* He then does it.
* Then he whispers to you.
Here we go round the mulberry bush for one or two
Imitating is a social skill and games that encourage this are good choices. Here we go round the mulberry bush is a classic...
You can play this by dancing round in a circle but you don’t have to;
“Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush the mulberry bush,
Here we go round the mulberry bush on a cold and frosty morning.
(Then he stops and mimes as you sing)
This is the way we brush our hair, brush our hair, brush our hair,
This is the way we brush our hair on a cold and frosty morning
(You can now add any action you like!)
Snap
Cards and board games are good social games but lots are too difficult for the under threes.
A whole pack of cards is probably too much for him now, but you can take a chunk of the pack. Shuffle them and deal them out and play a game of simple Snap!
You could also try a simple game of lotto.
Copy cat
Play a game of copying faces!
* You pull a funny face - he copies.
* He pulls a funny face you copy.
Helping
At this age he doesn’t know the difference between work and play so he will be more than happy helping you with the housework!
He could
* Wash the salad greens
* Dust a coffee table.
* Collect the post or newspaper.
* Post a letter.
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 3 - 5 years
According to a recent survey, around 10% of school children don’t have a friend. As families are spending less time discussing things over meals and safety concerns mean children spend less time playing out with friends, it is more important than ever to practice social and emotional skills through play and daily routine.
Games
* Monsters *
Children play through their worries by incorporating them into games. A child who is afraid of monsters will love to dress up as one.
- Take an old pillowcase, cut out eye holes and put it over her head
- Make sure you also cut holes for her arms!
- Use a head band to keep the costume place
- Now all she has to do is scare people!
* No hose pipe ban! *
Children love to be silly and get really excited. One way to guarantee laughter and fun is a to get the hose pipe out on a hot day. This is a good game to break the ice between children and ensure laughs.
- Let the children run in and out of the water
- Or chase them round with the water
- Or both!
* Shark infested waters *
Another game that is great for more than one child to play, that is guaranteed to break the ice.
- Lay out paper plates in a path on the garden.
- The children must step from one plate to the next without falling in the shark infested waters!
* Duck duck goose *
This is a good game for at least four children.
- Children sit in a circle
- One is picked to be ’it’
- The one who is ’it’ walks around the circle tapping them on the head saying ’duck’, ’duck’, ’duck’
- Without warning she suddenly says ’goose’ instead and then starts to run around the circle
- The child she picked to be goose must run after her and try to make it back to her space in the circle first.
- Whoever is left standing is ’it’
* Baby clinic *
Role play is great for developing social skill. Playing at 'baby clinic' is a good one for more than two children.
- Set up a waiting room with chairs
- Scales to weigh the baby
- Tape measure to measure her
- Dolls and teddies to act as babies
Playtime tips and games to encourage communication and language.
As a newborn, your baby can’t make any obvious vowel or consonant sounds, but you can tell he’s trying to communicate with you all the time. Toys and games have a part to play in communication development even at this young age, because they help provide a talking point, to create an ongoing dialogue between you and baby. All the while you’re playing with baby, you’ll have an ongoing chat with him even though his responses aren’t verbal.
This selection of game or activity suggestions can help encourage baby to develop communication skills.
Look and say
All through the day, everything you do, tell him what you’re doing, have a conversation with him. It’s really important to hold eye contact with him.
* While you feed him
* While you wash him
* While you change him
* As you pick him up
* As you put him down.
Always make a pause after you’ve said something to let him have his turn, that way he learns that communication is a two-way street!
I will know what you mean
Talking to him constantly will help him learn the building blocks of language. When baby’s start babbling they explore all the sounds that it’s possible for them to make – you might realise this but many of these very strange sounds actually do feature in foreign languages, even the clicks and raspberry noises. The more you talk to your baby, the more he notices which of these sounds do and don’t feature in his native language and so he begins to drop the strange sounds!
Over the top!
He is slow to respond, finds it difficult to see and cannot locate voices very well. You don’t need to be loud but in other respects you need to be rather “over the top” - more changes of voice tone, more extreme facial expressions, getting in closer. Don’t worry about this - you will find that you do this quite naturally because babies are more likely to listen and respond if you do. He is teaching you!
* Exaggerate the pitch of your voice. Babies like high pitches best- his heart rate increases when he hears a high pitched voice.
* Sing a song in a high pitch and then a low one. He will recognize the difference.
* Try talking with a flat facial expression, then pull out all the stops- eyebrows raised, mouth wide open and watch the difference.
Where did you go?
* When your tiny baby is lying in his bouncer talk to him and when you are sure he has locked onto your gaze walk slowly round him holding his gaze and talking as you go.
* As he becomes more able to “find” you call to him from different parts of the room.
* Start to play peek-a-boo
* Show him toys that you move from side to side (slowly at first). In time he will enjoy playing peek a boo with the toys.
Mouth music
As a parent you sometimes find yourself making very strange noises with your baby! Why? Because babies love them, this is probably because explosive noises blend a mixture of high and low tones that babies find really exciting.
Try these:
* Blow raspberries at her tummy
* Click your tongue as you jiggle her
* Smile and growl, lift you eyebrows and squeak, gurgle coo- if there is a sound she does not like leave it out.
* Blow your lips as you imitate a car (initially just rock her – once she has more control over her head you can drive her through the air)
* Kiss and smooch (of course)
* Whistle and hum and sing.
Follow my leader
You might notice your baby will sometimes copy your facial expressions. Why not have a ’conversation’ like this?
* Poke out your tongue and wait for her to copy.
* Speak and watch her lips
* Smile and wait for that smile.
If you’re happy and you know it.
When she is lying in her bouncer or you arms look at her, take her hand and hold it gently, play with her hand and stroke her fingers while you sing “If your happy and you know it”.
Playtime tips and games to encourage communication and language.
By now he is very responsive to you and you’ll feel even more that you’re having ’conversations’. He is babbling more and more.
Old MacDonald.
Small children love animal noises- so much so that the majority of children probably have more than one animal sound in their first 50 words!
Old McDonald is one of the all time favourites. At 3 months he’ll just love the silly sounds but by 6 months he’ll enjoy being shown pictures of the animals in his books too.
Old McDonald had a farm
Ee-i,ee-i oh
And on that farm he had some cows
Ee- i,ee-i oh
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there
Here a moo, there a moo everywhere a moo moo
Each verse introduces a new animal, and these are all listed at the end of the verse so after a couple more verses you would end up something like this:
With a meow here, and a meow there
Here a meow, there a meow everywhere a meow
With a quack quack here and a quack quake there
Here a quack there a quack everywhere a quack quack
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there
Here a moo, there a moo everywhere a moo moo
Children love the repetition and its easy for them to pick out the often repeated sounds.
Tummy talk
This is a game that you’ll naturally find yourself playing with baby, especially when their tummies are out after bathtime or nappy changes. All you need to do is press your lips against his tummy and do something like one of these:
* Blow raspberries
* Say gobble gobble
* Hum
* Talk - "how are you tummy"
* Sing/kiss/recite nursery rhymes – there are no rules to this game!
Pitter Pat Pony
Babies love you to play with their hands and feet. What all those traditional songs for playing with a babies hands and feet tell us is that generations of parents have found that babies love these games.
This song is great and will really get baby excited!
bq. Pitter pat pony, (pat the soles of your baby's feet)
Look at her toes. (hold baby's feet and wiggle them)
Here a nail, there a nail, (poke the bottom of baby's feet)
Giddy-up and go! (pat the soles of your baby's feet again).
Gobble gobble goose
Long before your baby understands words, he’ll start to recognise actions – things like waving bye-bye, or clapping hands. You can start teaching action words by giving his soft toys an action.
* Goose goes gobble at his tummy
* Penguin goes peck at his nose
* Teddy says “ah” and wants a cuddle.
* Tiger nibbles his toes.
In this kind of play, baby is developing his memory, in a couple of months, he’ll start to remember and anticipate the action of the teddy before it happens. Even though he’s knows whats about to happen, he’ll get just as excited, if not more!
Playtime tips and games to encourage communication and language.
At the beginning of this stage, you’ll probably notice her trying to ’tell’ you things with particular actions. She’ll continue to babble and smile in conversations. By 12 months your conversations together will probably include some very distinct signals like pointing, waving and even a word or two!
Lets gossip!
It’s important to keep engaging baby in conversation, the more she experiences conversation the more she is picking up. Always give her a chance to give her answer!
* Talk when you sit together, while you change, bath and feed her * Play together and talk as you play.
* Use toys as conversation starters- talk about what the toy does. Play games together.
* Answer when she talks to you, let her draw you into her conversation and in turn draw her into your conversation
* Talk eye-to eye and face to face, and where necessary get down to her level but also call to her across the room to reassure her you are there and thinking about her
* Be her mirror. Reflect back what she does and says. Interpret her actions with words- “you want picking up” when she lifts her arms.
* At other times she will want you to interpret
* Copy her facial expressions and laugh together.
Party piece.
You’ll probably have noticed by now that small children are real show offs and love to demonstrate anything new they’ve learned, which is okay except if it’s a naughty word!
Its great for children to have a party piece that makes them the centre of attention. An easy one is a question they know the answer to and can either say the word or do an action to show you.
* What does the cow say? (he answers moo, or maybe oo oo)
* How tall are you? (he lifts his arms up above his head)
* Where’s daddy? (he points)
Children can learn to answer questions like these before they are one, but only if you - so point, show and make the sounds over and over again.
Where did it go?
Hide and seek games are a big draw for children of this age. They guarantee lots of laughter and excitement. As you play hide and seek games with them, these are a great opportunity to enhance communication.
* Hide a small object in your hand. Show her something small- like a piece of cheese or a chocolate button - then close your fingers over it, put your hand behind your back and ask "where is the cheese" - when she finds your hand let her see and play again. At six months you may have to keep showing her the cheese as you play.
* Hide a bigger object under a cloth
* Hide yourself behind a door and ask "Where’s Mummy?"
* Hide behind the sofa or inside a big packing box and ask "Where’s Mummy?"
Touch and tell
As you carry her around the house point out and name everyday objects
* This is the door.
* This is Molly’s cot
* Here is baby (looking in a mirror)
* Here is Daddy’s coat.
Show and tell
Do the same when you’re out and about. On a walk to the park get down to her level and show her things.
* Look Molly it’s a flower
* Look Molly there is a Dog, Woof woof”
As you start to talk, you look her in the eye and as you mention the word you look at the object it names. From about six months you’ll find that baby naturally follows your gaze and so starts to understand what you’re talking about.
Ride along horsey.
The sounds and movements of action games help baby to learn and remember speech patterns. Ride Along Horsey is a good example:
Ride-along horsey
Don’t you stop Just let your feet go
Clippity Clop
My dog Rags
When your baby is approaching her first birthday, she’ll be able to start to copying simple actions. Try this simple action rhyme.
I have a dog his name is rags,
He eats so much his tummy sags
His ears flip flop (put hands up to ears and wave them)
And his tail wig wags (wiggle hips or body)
And when he walks he goes zig zag. (cross arms in front of body)
My dog rags he loves to play,
He rolls around in the mud all day (hands rotate)
I whistle but he won’t obey
He always runs the other way (on ’runs’ fingers walk)< br/>
"Action songs for fingers hands and toes":articlesmaction-songs-for-fingers-hands-and-toes
Discovering books.
Picture books are a great source for early words. As you look through books together, point at and name objects. As you do this, especially if you look at the same book often, she’ll start to associate sound with object.
You’ve started having proper conversations now! At the start of this stage your baby is probably turning into a talkative toddler, but by the end she’ll have as many as 200 words and there is no stopping her continual chatter!
Talk
* Parentese is the name given to the language parents use when they talk to children- and to the way they talk- using a high pitched voice, simple language and repeating and expanding on what the child says. You will probably do this automatically- but check!
* Talk to him at every possible opportunity. Tell him what you are doing and ask him what he is doing. Use simple language.
* Get down to his level and talk face to face and look away at the things you are talking about.
* Expand his sentences voicing what he is trying to tell you. If he says “Gone” answer “Yes, Daddy has gone to work” with the emphasis on Daddy and Gone.
* Over the next months and years he will gradually expand his language filling in the little gaps. First “Gone” expands to “Daddy Gone” and then perhaps “Daddy gone work” before finally producing the whole sentence.
Play and show
* Play together - use toys as starting points for conversation.
* Talk as you bath, feed and change his nappy.
* Play simple predictable games - like blowing on his tummy as you dry him after the bath. If he knows what is about to happen he is better able to show you that he can join in the interaction.
* Show him things. Get down to his level and talk, when you mention something, look and point to it.
* Read books - both picture books and simple rhyming books.
Rhyme and rhythm
* Rhyme and rhythm emphasises the little sounds that make up words, as he struggles to understand and produce clear sounds hearing your emphasis on rhyming words helps him.
Body parts
Your baby might actually understand the word before she can say it, so you can practice with a simple game of naming.
Where is Molly’s foot?
Yes there’s Molly’s foot
Where is Molly’s nose?
Yes there’s Molly’s nose
Repeating the name – especially when she has shown you that she knows it- rewards her and tells her you understand what she means.
Where is the Dog? – A Naming Game
* Cut out six pictures – one of a dog and five of some other objects she knows the names of,
* Put each in a different envelope and number them 1 – 6
* Ask her to pick an envelope and look inside
* Ask to her to name the object.
Whisper and shout
This game helps her practise using her voice in different ways.
* Whisper in her ear - something secret.
* Let her whisper back to you.
* Shout something loud
* Let her shout back
Chatter, chatter, chatter all the time! At three she probably has about 1000 words but by 5 it is likely to have doubled and she’ll be making pretty complex sentences.
Talk
* Talk to her at every possible opportunity. Tell her what you are doing and ask her what she is doing. Sit down and discuss things.
* Encourage her to talk and allow time to construct more complex sentences- don’t just rush in and finish them for her.
* Gradually introduce more complex language to her
* Pay attention. It rewards her for talking.
* Going out to do something special gives you a topic of shared conversation and helps improve language and memory.
* Stories expand her horizons, and offer more complex and complete language than is normally used in conversations.
Play and show
* Play together- use toys and activities as starting points for conversation.
* Do things together, go on outings and talk about what you have done.
* Read books- both picture books and story books. They are an important source of new words.
* Encourage her to play with little people and animals- pretend games where she moves characters through a story help her to talk about things in more abstract ways.
Rhyme and rhythm
Rhyme and rhythm help her to listen to the sounds that make up words – this is not only good for communication but also an important pre-reading skill.
* Play traditional games with songs and rhymes
* Sing and listen to songs and dance along to music.
What would you do if?
This is a simple story telling game that can be as sensible or as silly as you like. You know your little one better than anyone, so you’ll know what gets her going!
* What would you do if you were a rabbit?
* What would you do if you could fly? * What would you do if you had wheels instead of feet?
* What would we do if you do if someone stole our beds?
What would happen if?
This is another simple story telling game that again can be as sensible or as silly as you like.
* Money grew on trees
* We were giants?
* Today was Sunday
Chinese whispers
You need a few people for this game - one person whispers a message into the ear of the person next to her- who then whispers the message on to the next person. At the end compare the first and last message. They will be very different and quite often really silly.
And the winning letter is
A good game to stimulate communication and pre-reading skills. Start by choosing two letters that have very different sounds, such as M and D. Divide the paper into two columns and write M on top of one column and D on top of the other (both in lowercase letters).
* Take a catalogue or a magazine and search for things beginning with the letter. Once she finds an item ("Yes! m-m-m- milk begins with the m sound!"), help your child cut out the picture (include the name of the item) and glue it onto her shopping list in the correct column. Which letter wins?
* Look around the house for things beginning with the letter. Put a tick or a line in the column each time you find something. Which letter wins?
* Look around the garden for things beginning with the letter. Have an M box and a D box and put a leaf in the right box each time you find one. Which letter wins?
* When out on a walk take it in turns to search for things beginning with the two letters.
What if pictures
* Cut out pictures of various animals. Stick them to cards and put these face down. Each time a card is turned over you take it in turns to say what you would do if you were the animal on the card.
* Instead of animals use cards with pictures of objects and say what you would do with them.
Easy peasy I spy
* Collect a group of items and put them on a tray. Each one should start with a different letter. Select carefully so the letter sound is clear, typical of the letter sound and not a blended sound like sh, or th (carrot not cereal, tin not thread, sock not shoe). Then you say I spy on my little tray something beginning with...
* Easy-easy peasy. I spy on my little tray something to eat that begins with * I spy on the bathroom shelf something beginning with...
* I spy in the toy cupboard something beginning with...
*
Play & Learn activities reprinted from "Preschooler Play & Learn" with permission of its author, Penny Warner, and its publisher, Meadowbrook Press (2000.)
