Activities for home

Learning at home for children in Nursery…

In Nursery, the main focus is learning through play and new experiences.  If you want some activities to do at home, there are some below.

Maths

• Count reliably to 20 and count 10 objects,– in practical activities: count teddies, cups, plates etc. at a tea party; count cars in the race- who comes 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd; count; count each time you catch a ball; count for hide and seek around the house; count the numbers on a dice when playing board games
• Bake and cook using simple instructions! Use weighing scales to measure out ingredients, think about weight E.g. 20g butter compared to 20g flour (Heavier, Lighter- Heaviest, lightest). Make different sized cakes- which is the smallest, largest etc. Learn to follow a recipe- think about instructions, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd… First, next, then, after, finally.
• Make playdough- use it to make cupcakes, sausages, foods, snakes, animals etc for counting, adding, measuring lengths, height or size. E.g. Can you make me 3 small cupcakes and 4 big/large cupcakes? How many cupcakes altogether? Give 2 away to brother/sister (take away 2), how many left?
• https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/3-5-years/counting There are some good interactive games on this site for all areas of maths development including counting, ordering and sequencing, measure, money and shape. A great resource for one short game a day, although general/practical play is the most beneficial.

English

• Read, read, read! Share a book with your child in the morning, relax after lunch and read a book together, read your child a bed time story. Use their imagination to create and act out their own stories or put on their very own sock puppet show. Develop their own stories and character speech through imaginative play. Develop new language through listening to stories and talking about the meaning of unknown words. Develop reading by asking children to identify sounds of the alphabet or reading simple phonetically plausible words (words similar to those in their school reading books/reading games).
• Practise copying and writing their full name regularly (First name and surname).
• Write a diary together, noting down all the fun things you have done together during this time. The child can dictate as you write.
• https://worldbook.kitaboo.com/reader/worldbook/index.html?usertoken=Mjk5MzQ6MTpJUjA5MjAxNjoyOmNsaWVudDE2OTc6MTY5NzoyMjE2Mjg4OjE6MTU4NDM4MDExMzA2Mjp1cw== Interactive stories (Free) Also some interactive stories on Twinkl.

Physical Development

• Enjoy time outside playing in the garden where possible, running, jumping, skipping making mud pies/magic potions etc.
• Enjoy a walk or bike ride while social distancing, make sure you are not around other people, unless new guidance states otherwise.
• Set up exercise activities in your house, e.g. step ups on the stairs (count to 20), disco dancing room, hide and seek etc. Joe Wicks- PE with Joe every morning 9am. (YouTube)

YouTube does have some great exercise activities for children. E.g. Kids Zumba, Wake up, shake up, Just Dance Kids, Cosmic Kids Yoga (Child friendly Yoga, using with a story as a theme). https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cosmic+kids+

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=just+dance+kids

Creative Development

• Messy play- playdough, cornflour and water, shaving foam, thick custard and Jelly, making slime etc. Facebook group, ‘Tuff Tray ideas’ is fantastic. Alternatively, try junk modelling with recycled materials.
• Exploring- there are lots of easy science experiments for young children on YouTube- look at patterns and changes, make predictions, have fun!
• Create an art project based on your children’s interests. There are lots of ideas online, and many on Pinterest. Just type in a theme and art/craft ideas and you will find hundreds of great ideas.
• Practice drawing techniques (again, many on YouTube/ find a drawing book).
• Practise colouring within the lines. (Lots of colouring sheets on Twinkl, who are also offering a free membership at this time).
• Practice cutting and making collages from magazines/newspapers. Make shape pictures from cutting out basic shapes-e.g. square, rectangle, circle, triangle.
• Make cards/pictures for people in nursing homes/ elderly neighbours or grandparents who are self-isolating.
• Learn to play an instrument if you have one lying around the house. Make an instrument from recycled materials/ make a drum kit from pots and pans.

On a final note, to reiterate again, please do not worry about formal education at this time. Children should learn new things through play, learn a new skill, and learn how to use their imaginations. Try to remain positive through all of the uncertainty, and we will get through this together! We hope to see you all soon, from all of the Nursery team.