Day-by-day Calendar of Activities for the Holidays:

Day-by-day Calendar of Activities for the Holidays:

Day 1                                                                                                                                                

Wings

Ask your child to name as many different living things with wings as he/she can think of. Write each one as your child says it. For example: Bee, Robin, Crow and Butterfly. Let your child draw a picture of his/her favourite creature.

Day 2

Reading together

Ask your child to choose a favourite book for you to read aloud. The child can join in with the parts he/she knows and remembers.

Day 3

Sing together

Sing some favourite songs together. Use your arms and hands to show the actions of the particular words in the song.

Day 4

Sort and count

Put five and six items of different kinds on a table. Mix them up and have the child sort the items and then count them. Ask, “Which group has more?”

Day 5

Story time

Before reading a story to your child, let him or her ‘read’ the pictures to you. Then you read the story and find out how close your child’s story was to the actual story.

Day 6

Looking carefully

Take a walk with your child. Point out the details in things. When you return home, ask your child draw something he/she observed.

Day 7

Remember

Show the child some of his/her baby pictures. Place them in order of age. Talk about how your child has grown and changed.

Day 8

Puff and Puff

Let the child pretend to be the wind. Put a piece of paper on a table and count how many puffs it takes to blow the paper off the table. A feather, leaves and other items can also be used.

Day 9

Play ball

Play ball outside with your child. Play ‘bounce and catch’ or roll the ball and catch it. Help your child to learn various ball skills: throwing, rolling, bouncing and catching the ball.

Day 10

Tunnel ball

Stand about four feet from each other with your legs spread apart. Roll a ball through each other’s legs.

Day 11

Salt name

Print the child’s name in large letters on a sheet of paper.

Spread salt on a baking tray. Let the child use his/her pointer finger to copy the name in the salt. Give help if needed and then allow the child to draw anything he/she chooses in the salt.                         

Day 12

Artist at work

Ask your child to draw or paint a special picture. Let him/her explain what the picture is about.

Day 13

Reading time

Let the child choose a story or book to read today. After reading together, each of you talk about your favourite parts of the story.

Day 14

What’s up? What’s down?

Go outside with the child. Ask him/her to look up and name all the things he/she sees. Then ask him/her to look down and name all the things he/she sees there!

Day 15

Cooking together

Cook or bake something special with your child. Have the child help with measuring, counting and mixing the ingredients.

Day 16

TV programme

Choose a special programme that you and your child can watch and enjoy together. Answer any questions your child may have about the programme.

Day 17

Reading Time

Read some simple comic strips from the newspaper to your child. Talk about why the comic strips are so funny. Ask, “What funny things happened?”

Day 18

Following Directions

Take turns being the leader in the ‘direction’ game. Start with two directions and then go on to three. For example: “Count to three and then hop three times.”  “Scratch your head, then sit on the floor, then wiggle your toes.”

Day 19

Magazine puppets

Let your child cut out pictures of animals or people from old magazines. Tape each picture to a stick and let your child use these as puppets.

Day 20

Shape it

Make modelling/play dough and let your child experiment by moulding the dough into whatever shapes he/she wants. Get creative!

Day 21

Library

Take your child to the library. Look at the magazines that are written for young, foundation phase children. Choose some magazines to take home and then select some books together.

Day 22

Hot and Cold game

Hide an object inside a room. Play a game of “Hot and Cold”. When your child moves closer to the object say, “You’re getting hot,” and when the child moves further away from the object say, “You’re getting cold.”

Day 23

Fly a Kite

Take your child to an open safe area away from any power lines. Fly a kite together.

Day 24

Animal Noises

Take chances making animal noises and sounds with your child. Guess the name of each other’s animals.

Day 25

Simon Says

Play ‘Simon Says’ with your child. Use the words: over, under, left, right, back and forward. For example, “Simon says, Take one step forward and two steps backwards, kick your right leg up.”

Day 26

Nursery Rhymes

         Take turns saying a favourite nursery rhyme.

Add some hand and body actions as you say the words.

Day 27

Using the calendar

Starting today let your child count how many days are left in this month. (The child can touch each calendar day with his finger as he/she counts.) Count how many Saturdays there have been in the month.

Day 28

New growth

Take a walk with your child. Look for plants, bushes, trees, gardens or grass that show signs of new growth i.e. sprouting leaves and budding flowers. Touch them, smell them, talk about the colours.

Day 29

Board Game

Play a simple board game with your child. If the game uses a spinner that points to a number help your child to read and count the number.   

Day 30

Singing fun

As you sing familiar songs together, march, clap your hands or stamp your feet in time to the music.

(Make a drum from a pot or box and two wooden spoons.

Beat out the tune as you sing.)

Buzzi Brains perceptual exercise for kids

“Buzzi Brains” Perceptual Exercise

SENSES (Perceptual Development)

·        Feel (Tactile sense)

·        Smell

·        Taste

·        Hear

·        See

Use concrete objects to play a game using all the senses!

1.     Feel ~ Allow the child to feel different household objects: Sponge, candle, tin foil plate, steel wool, cotton wool, fluffy toys, etc. (Describe them: rough, smooth, soft, hard, cold, bumpy, scratchy, ridged, etc.)

2.     Smell ~ Let the child handle and smell different fresh herbs: Mint, Lavender, Basil, Lemon balm, Marigold, Penny royal, Rosemary. Vanilla essence, cinnamon, etc. (Discuss the way they smell and what they are used for= cooking, baking cakes, making soap, perfume, tea, etc.)

3.     Taste ~ Let the child taste sugar and salt – and other things that are safe to taste! (Discuss what each is used for = flavouring.)

4.     Hear ~ Listen to and describe noises in the environment. Crush paper, tin foil, egg shells; bang on a pot, a cup, the door, etc.)

5.     See ~ Look at different objects. Describe the colours, texture, size.

MATHS SKILLS:

1.     Classifying ~ Allow the child to sort a variety of concrete objects into things that belong together: clothes, fruit, toy animals, toy action figures, flowers, kitchen utensils, etc.

2.     Odd one out ~ Place a few objects onto the table. Ask the child to work out which object does not fit.

3.     Equals ~ Ask the child to choose two objects that are the same (feel, smell, colour, size, taste, etc.)   

A new story - Jessie the Great Dane puppy

Jessie, the Great Dane Puppy - A new story all about a puppy's adventures. Jessie meets lots of new friends and has fun as she discovers new animals in the park.

The theme of the story is "Pets" and part of the Enrichment section at the back of the book includes the following:

1.    To promote gross motor co-ordination.           

        Have fun with your child, copying all the actions and movements described in the story.

•    The splishity, splashity, splosh of the birds,
•    The waddle, waddle, waddle of the duck,
•    The hoppity, hoppity, hop, hop, hop of the bunny,
•    The wiggle, waggle, wiggle of the fish,
•    The slithering of the snake,
•    Swimming round and round like a frog (lay your child on his tummy and show him how a frog kicks his legs when he swims – if you can do this in a swimming pool – even better!

2. Tell your child about which creatures he can play with safely and which are best to avoid.

(This would depend on where you live.)  Make sure he knows what to do if he ever comes across a snake, a scorpion, a wasp, etc.

Show him how to handle a baby animal – a puppy, a kitten, a rabbit – to be gentle and not to harm small creatures.

3. The theme of this story is ‘PETS’.

Let your child care for a pet – dog, cat, mouse, hamster, goldfish, or even a bug from the garden. Talk about feeding it, cleaning it and seeing to it’s needs.

Encourage his/her curiosity, look at picture books together, spend time in the garden or a park, and find new things to pique your child’s interest.    

                  Every experience is an adventure of discovery!

Here is how the story ends: 

What’s this! A long gray slithery snake

curling around the gardener’s rake!

“I won’t play with you, you give me a fright.

With those mean sharp teeth, you just might bite!”

The snake hisses and slithers - and slithers and hisses,

He spits at Jessie, but lucky… he misses.

No - one will play with that snake today!

So off he slithers to hide far away.

A voice from the fence says: “You’re a very good dog!”

You were friends with the birds, the duck and the frog.”

“Who are you, Mr. Bird; you’re so fluffy and fat?

You’re not gold like the fish or striped like the cat!”

“I am an owl, I can see in the dark,

I hoot, hooty, hoo, and fly over the park.”

Jessie is happy, she wags her tail and goes: “Hoo!”

She has lots of fun friends and now a wise old owl too.

READING WITH YOUR OLDER CHILD

Even up to and even in the teen years, parents should continue reading with their children. 

Reading with older children is so beneficial because...

• 1.    It stretches out the close bond you enjoyed in the earlier years. This is not just about staying close on an interpersonal level. It’s about keeping trust and communications open through stages when children want to naturally withdraw.
• 2.    It lets you monitor his reading skills. You’ll be listening in a non-threatening scenario and catching reading weaknesses as they occur. Gentle corrections can be made that aren’t possible in a classroom setting. Improvements occur much rapidly in this private, one-on-one trusted setting.
• 3.    It lets you “in” on what your child is interested in. Letting your child choose topics and stories will keep you tuned to his interests. You get the privilege of sharing this interest.
• 4.    It gives you an opportunity to urge your child to advance. You can steer your child toward higher level books to progressively add learning challenges. Again, being right there listening is the best way to “coach” your child toward more sophisticated reading without the pain or embarrassment of experimenting with a classroom audience.
• 5.    It will help your child build a habit and a passion for reading. What better role model than a parent? By taking time from your busy day and expressing pleasure at the routine will help your child appreciate reading as a past time and not a chore.

The proven benefits of reading to a child

READING TO VERY YOUNG CHILDREN IS NEVER A WASTE OF TIME!

Here are some of the proven benefits of reading to a child:

• ·         It’s the ultimate QUALITY TIME. Reading to children is probably the simplest, least expensive, and most pleasant way to bond with your young child. You get the luxury of cuddling while doing something as worthwhile as reading to a child!
• ·         It builds routine. Young children especially look forward to activities they can count on day to day. Reading for children who are difficult sleepers gets them into a routine that “tells” them when to relax and settle down for sleep.
• ·         It improves language and speech skills. Reading for children naturally makes us slow down and pronounce the words correctly and clearly. We also tend to use intonations to match the characters and story line, which makes young children pay more attention to our speech and words.
• ·         It builds an early love for reading. Reading to a child opens him up early to reading as a pleasurable activity. Especially with young children, who crave the cuddling and nurturing that comes with reading with children, their early love of reading will turn into a lifelong habit.
• ·         It builds early reading skills. Reading for children is optimized by pointing at words as they’re read aloud, which builds letter and word recognition well before even being introduced to a preschool program.
• ·         It has benefits for you as a parent too! Reading to children often gives a parent a much-needed break from what’s otherwise a hectic and sometimes frantic schedule. It can remind you how important it is to spend real time with your children. It even takes you back into the wonder of children’s stories and the simplistic and magical beauty of them. (Reading with children is as much about meeting your needs as theirs.)

Why children need Physical Education

1.     Why Children Need Physical Education

Physical education is an integral part of the total education of every child.

Quality physical education programmes are needed to increase the physical competence, health-related fitness, self-responsibility and enjoyment of physical activity for all children so that they can be physically active for a lifetime.

Physical education programs can only provide these benefits if they are well-planned and well-implemented.

Benefits of BUZZI BODIES:

Improved Physical Fitness ~ Improves children's muscular strength,                                                       flexibility, muscular endurance, body composition and cardiovascular endurance.

Skill Development ~ Develops motor skills, which allow for safe,                                                               successful and satisfying participation in physical activities.

Regular, Healthful Physical Activity ~ Provides a wide-range of                                        developmentally appropriate activities for all children.

Support of Other Subject Areas ~ Reinforces knowledge learned                                             across the curriculum, and serves as a lab for application of content                                                        in science, maths and social studies.

Self – Discipline ~ Facilitates development of student responsibility for health and fitness.

Improved Judgment ~ Quality physical education can influence moral development. Children have the opportunity to assume leadership, cooperate with others; question actions and regulations and accept responsibility for their own behaviour.

Stress Reduction ~ Physical activity becomes an outlet for releasing tension and anxiety, and facilitates emotional stability and resilience.

Strengthened Peer Relationships ~ Physical education can be a major force in helping children socialize with others successfully and provides opportunities to learn positive people skills. Especially during late childhood and adolescence, being able to participate in dances, games and sports is an important part of peer culture.

Improved Self-confidence and Self-esteem ~ Physical education instills a stronger sense of self-worth in children based on their mastery of skills and concepts in physical activity. They can become more confident, assertive, independent and self-controlled.

Experience Setting Goals ~ Gives children the opportunity to set and strive for personal, achievable goals.