18/03/2020
Dear Parent’s/ Guardian’s
From the ParentChild+ Team, we wish you well and good health during this difficult time.
Please find enclosed a guide of activities that will help keep your toddlers busy over the next few weeks, we hope this is of some support to you.
Kind regards
Debra Grennan Keighery
ParentChild+ Coordinator
Mob: 089-2362889
Email: parentchildballinasloe@outlook.c.om
Here’s a fun packed play, art activities ideas and child friendly educational website links to get you through the next few weeks, there is plenty of fun learning opportunities for the child during these activities.
Remember: You are the child’s first and best teacher! We are only here to help.
Sticker Line-Up
Materials needed:
- Dot stickers or poster paints to finger paint the line.
- Paper (whatever size you have at home will do).
- Pencil
Draw a mix of zig-zag, curly, loopy, and swirly lines down the center of the paper.
The aim is:
- To use the stickers or paint to “trace” the line.
- Promote Visual tracking
- Promote Hand and eye Coordination
- Promotes pre-writing skills
Sorting & Colour Matching
Material needed:
- Cardboard Box
- Crayons or markers (to colour around the rim of cut out shape)
- Mega blocks/wooden blocks/ chunky shape puzzle (either of these will do)
This activity will promote on the
- Development of fine motor control, coordination, concentration and learning about colours and shapes.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a box, if you have already received our stacking cups and mini coloured animals, you can encourage colour matching and sorting through the use of these toys.
Materials needed:
- Paper
- Pencil/Crayons
- Childs toys
This activity will promote:
- Concentration..
- Increase attention to detail.
- The ability to find similarities and differences in objects.
Pasta Threading
Materials Needed:
- Thread/Straws
- Playdough to stick straw into for balance.
- Pasta/ Cheerios or equivalent
This activity will promote
- building fine motor skills,
- hand-eye coordination,
- creativity,
- concentration
- sense of achievement.
Draw a Face on the Leprechaun
This activity will promote:- Fine motor skills
- Pre writing skills
- Conversations around emotions and feelings
Lego Bath
We can make bath-time fun with building blocks in the bath.
Floating and sinking is a fun science concept for children to explore. Setting up a Floating and Sinking Learning Tray will invite them to play, experiment and explore how and why different objects float and sink when placed into water.
Click on the link below for the fun idea:
https://www.learning4kids.net/2014/04/15/floating-and-sinking-science-activity/
This activity will promote:
- Language development: Talk about the shapes and colours of the lego, explain they are floating and not sinking)
- Make connections with real life experiences.
- Hand-Eye Coordination and Control
- Concentration
Shapes Hunt
If you have our chunky shape puzzle, any other shapes around the house or cut your own shapes this will do for this activity.
Materials needed:
- Rice/Flour
- Bowl
- Shapes
Tell the Child “We’re going on a shape hunt to get them to engage.
This will promote:
- helps the child to tie together different skills such as recognising and identifying shapes and using words and pictures to describe their location
(Rectangle- the door Is a rectangle shape. Circle – the mirror isa circle shape etc)
- Children’s sense that they know something important, making it highly likely that their shape-hunting skills will continue long after the game is over!
- Fine motor skills
- Colour recognition
Rice Bin
https://busytoddler.com/2019/10/rice-bin-toddler-activity/
Kids love to search for small toys hidden in the rice!
Scoops, empty bottles, trucks, toy animals the options are endless! Filling a rice sensory bin with items for play doesn’t need to be expensive. Items from the kitchen like funnels, pots, and wooden spoons are also good for entertaining for children!
This will promote:
Language Skills – Children are able to expand their vocabulary and language skills as they describe their play experience.
Fine Motor Skills – Fine motor skills are improved by manipulating small objects, dumping and scooping.
- Social Skills – Social skills are worked on by learning about sharing, playing and communicating with others while engaged in their sensory play.
- Science and Math Skills – Children are also using skills useful for science and math in measuring, guesstimating and learning about cause and effect while manipulating sensory materials.
Free printable Recourses online and (fun learning online interaction games links If you don’t have a printer at home) below to keep the little ones busy, these sites have age appropriate activities for toddlers and primary school children
http://www.communication4all.co.uk/
https://www.learning4kids.net/category/2-3years/
https://www.crayola.com/crafts/ great craft ideas
https://www.crayola.com/featured/free-coloring-pages/ chose any picture you child may want to print
Information on the COVID-19 Virus, Stay safe!
