Cart (0)Category Archives: Activities & Tips
Avoiding A “Casey Heynes Bullying Incident”
Casey’s bully story could have been any boy’s story. The country is reeling from this video footage because the video speaks volumes more louder than words and what can really happen in playgrounds all over Australia has been now shown to the world.
This story fuelled a great debate amongst parents and professionals as to what Casey did was right or wrong. I’m not entering my own views as that is not what I’m writing this article for.
What would be more productive to...
Simple & Motivating Activities to Encourage Language or Learning
We all know how motivating lollies or toys are to get our children to clean their room up or behave themselves when out somewhere but have you ever thought to use them in games to encourage the development of language and learning?
Children who are having difficulty learning basic concepts or sounds sometimes need extrinsic reinforcement until the ‘inner proudness’ kicks in. As the task becomes easier the extra rewards can be slowly replaced with words of praise.
Always keep the toy...
How To Help Your Child Learn The Alphabet
Any new skill takes time and repetition to learn and it is no different when it comes to ABC’s. So we put together a few ideas on how you can help your child learn the alphabet, especially if they need a lot of repetition because they are having difficulty.
There are many reasons why a child is having difficulty learning the ABC symbols.
– the maturation level of the child in order to concentrate,
– the child’s cognitive abilities to enable them to link verbal sounds...
Lesson Activities for Autumn
When the weather starts to turn, particularly in Autumn, it is a great time to teach kids about weather, seasons, time and change.
The air is getting colder but warmer days can still linger so while teaching your child the vocabulary of all the clothing as they need it is a great way to explain the change of season’s weather and the way it makes us feel.
The leaves on trees are also changing and this is great way to help children understand the growth cycle of a tree or the cycle of...
Creating Crunchy Autumn Craft
This leaf crunching activity is a great alternative to doing leaf rubbings after collecting assorted leaves. It is created in much the same way as sand art pictures. Besides leaves you will also need paper, pencils or crayons, PVA glue (preferably with a squeeze nozzle), bowl, baking tray.
1. First collect brittle leaves as these will break up easily.
2. Place them in a bowl and scrunch them up into small pieces. This is a great opportunity to talk about ‘sound’ words such as...
Become a Weather Man
With the change of seasons comes various weather and is a great time to increase a child’s vocabulary or understanding of weather through natural curiosity. Here is a list of science activities that can be done in the home or classroom.
It’s Raining, it’s Flooding:
Using a sandpit with building blocks and toy cars etc create the scene of a town around a stream or river. At one end of the river create a dam or levy bank using the blocks and sand. With watering cans start to...
As Parents, Are You Guilty of Yelling At Your Kids?
As we know yelling at our children is non productive. Not only does our blood pressure go up but it teaches them the same strategy to deal with anger instead of better resolution strategies, but none of us are perfect right?
So now that we are almost at the end of the summer break in Australia our patience as parents has been well and truly tried and tested with bantering of questions and sibling arguments and to help you get through the rest of the break without ‘losing your...
Creative Ways For Your Kids’ Santa Letter…
Remember when your parents would ask you to write a letter for Santa – listing all the things you wanted for Christmas? You might have asked for the latest toy maybe… or a new shirt or dress…or maybe even a bicycle with the fancy pedals and bell. Writing a letter to Santa is an exciting activity and a great opportunity to teach kids the organization of writing a letter and creating lists e.g. where to place the ‘To, From, Address’ etc. For younger children or those with low writing...
Avoiding the Homework Tantrums
Children learn new things naturally – just like breathing. The most natural way to build in any learning is by following their interests. We all learned new concepts as young children by exploring through our interests. Then as adults our interests have generally led us to our careers where we continue to learn new information and skills. Learning is a life-long process.
If your child is having difficulty learning new concepts try delivering it through their interests – what toys...
Halloween Craft & Cooking Ideas
Here are some great ideas for craft or cooking activities in the classroom or home this Halloween. Instead of buying a heap of lollies how about trying your hand at some of these. Not only is it cost saving but a great learning activity to do with the children. Listing what they need, gathering the items, organising and preparing, following the steps in order – these are just some of the tasks they’ll be required to do! Don’t forget to mention the social interaction and fine...
