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.)