Hands-on Holiday Learning Activities

Kia Orana Families and Friends,

We hope you are enjoying the different learning opportunities offered to your children over this extended holiday period. There are months (if not years) of rich learning activities in the four websites shared last week and it is great to see a number of our families register and engage in these lessons already.

Some senior classes already have a number of other intuitive learning websites and different projects on the go which is also great to see.

We understand not all families have devices for their children to use at home which is why we have added our new daily challenges. However, if your child completes the daily challenges quickly and would like more to do during their day, here are a few ideas which you can use to keep them stimulated and provide valuable learning opportunities. LIST OF IDEAS FOR LEARNING AT HOME WITH CHILDREN - Have each child pick a topic they'd like to learn about and spend 30 mins each day on that topic - Spend time reading every single picture book you have in the house - Bake something every day - Have each child write a different letter and/or emails to a different friend or family member each day - Use all of your building toys on one giant structure - Races of various kinds in the backyard (hopping on one foot, crabwalk, walking backwards, etc.) - Try a stop motion animation on 'I Can Animate' with playdough or Lego - Facetime grandparents a lot - Inventory the plants & wildlife (starting with bugs) in your yard - Write a short story and illustrate it - Have the kids help with yard work in between playing games outside. They may be little, but they like getting dirty and "working" in the garden - Getting the garden ready, we need to weed and work the ground. Plant some seedlings donated free from the Ministry of Agriculture - GoNoodle! A website with dances for kids - Great for guided movement, relaxation, etc. Check out gonoodle.com - Board games, card games, Scrabble, Monopoly and Chess - Play Lego or create something from the challenge - Lots of reading - Card making/scrapbooking projects - Make tents and reading caves (flashlights, snacks, books, and pillows!) - Make shadow puppets in the reading tent (use blankets over chairs or a table) - Practice handwriting (give your child a letter and a number to focus on each day) We hope these are useful. Have a great day!