early help for children from 0 to 7
There are numbers everywhere, and just by pointing them out and chatting to your child about them, they will learn lots about maths and how it works
See how many you can spot – and around you don’t usually notice?
And the different forms – clocks, house signs, addresses, phone numbers, recipes, games …
You might be surprised how often you use counting just running a home – see if you can do some of this out loud with your child!
A story today that will make us laugh, while stretching our memories and showing us how stories and sequences fit together
All poor Hairy Maclary and his friends want to do is explore the town
But they get a terrible fright …
You can listen to and read the story with your child using the link below – and then see how your own explorations go! A chance as well to talk about friends, the things that might scare us, and how we can all be safe together
Sensory play is brain building work for children. It allows them to explore, problem solve and be creative.
It doesn’t always have to be messy! Squishy bags are great way for children and families to enjoy mess-free messy play!
Although glitter and shiny stars make eye catching squishy bags, the use of natural items such as flowers and leaves can spark children’s creativity even more – and they’re free!
This is also a great activity for adults as it’s very calming and will chase worries and stresses away.
With the warm weather this week, we may get some thunderstorms …
But if not, we can still have fun singing about thunder, making a noise and exploring whatever weather we do end up with
Words, tune and videos on the downloadable sheet below – and some ideas how to take this further with chats and play about rain and shine
Something for outdoors today – or inside if you have a suitable space that can get a bit wet!
It is all-day fun, and great for developing concentration, movement skills, vocabulary, understanding of cause and effect, science …
Use empty bottles, cartons or anything else you have around the house to build a water wall. Attach them to something static like a fence using screws, cable ties or garden wire. A basin at the bottom means you can collect the water and refill the containers on the wall. If you keep the lids of the containers you can pop them on and collect rain water to use next time.
Today we have a game about observing and remembering
You can play this with any small objects you have around the home – start with a couple until your child gets the idea. They may even want to challenge you!
Anyone in the family can play, and it is another good one to enjoy with loved ones during a video chat
Something active for the end of the week and hoping for some good weather at the weekend too
This is not “just” bouncing and passing balls. Your child will learn a lot of science and maths – counting, how things move, forces.
Lots of words as well for describing movements, as they also develop their coordination skills. Great for sports, but also for school – hand/eye coordination is really important for writing, and a sense of space is vital for maths
But that’s for the future – click below for some ideas how to have fun, involve the whole family and learn at the same time
We’ve had all the weather the last week – snow, hail, sunshine. And if we are lucky, there are some rainbows about too
Rainbows are even more special right now as a sign of hope and the love and care we have for each other
The great thing is, even if there isn’t one in the sky – you can sing your own!
Today we have a lovely song that helps your child learn about colours and rhythms. But it is also a really comforting one to sing or dance to together
Lots of play ideas for drawing and for finding out too
Scottish Book Trust have done a nice version with Makaton on this link
Something today that you can do indoors or outside and can be done big or small depending on how much space you have to play with
Making and then following tracks is a great way to build spatial awareness, and to learn the words and language connected with it.
There are lots of ways to do this – painting with cars on paper, making stepping stones outside – or just watching as a bike swooshes through a puddle
Bath time is part of the routine, so why not make the most of it?
It is surprising how much your child can learn by having fun with any different bottles and containers you have (make sure these are safe to play with!)
There is learning about quantities and number, how to pour and concentrate – and it is a great way to enjoy what might otherwise be a chore
Many of us have a long weekend, with a public holiday this Friday
It is nice to have the time to spend together, but of course at the moment we can’t spend it with everyone we’d like to
Young children might miss seeing their friends, their grandparents, parents who are away or other family members
If we can, video calls can be a great way to say hello and chat. There are lots of games we can play on a video call too that can make us feel great as we have fun together
So no new idea today, but here are some from the last few weeks that are particularly good for playing through video calls
Please enjoy, stay safe and we will have more ideas for fun and learning at home next week
Make music (well, noise!) with an Awful Orchestra
Test your powers of observation with Spot the Difference
Look out old photos and Share some Stories
Creep and crawl with Incy Wincy Spider
Catch each other out with Copy Cats and Simon Says
Challenge each other to hunt your homes for Treasure
Go silly with some Sock Puppets
Have a sing song with Old MacDonald, Little Bo Peep, Hickory Dickory Dock or Baa Baa Black Sheep!
Some helpful frogs are going to sing along with us today so we can learn about numbers and about nature – and have fun jumping too!
You can act out this song, and take it outside – or move on to looking up facts about frogs and toads
Whether you sing like an opera star or a toad in a pond, it is a great way to have fun with your child while they learn
And some cut out pictures to play with too:
Making a pinwheel is easier than it looks and the fun is in watching them spin once they are finished.
It can also be really therapeutic for you and your children. Pinwheels can be used in mindfulness activities, to help you to concentrate on your breathing. Or just watching the spin and feeling how it changes as you blow helps with focus and calm
The patterns can be as simple or creative as you like. There are a couple of templates on the attachment below, but if you prefer you can start with a plain piece of paper and get arty!
Pinwheels make a super rainy day activity, but if you are lucky enough get a dry day why not take them outside and see if you can get them spinning in a breeze?
Today you’re going to find out what a good imagination your child has – and you too!
As you know, children love listening to and making up stories and they can do both in today’s activity, using only a few interesting everyday items they choose from around the house or garden.
Attaching their items to the sticks will certainly help to develop your child’s fine motor skills as it’s quite tricky!
Talking with you about the different items and describing them together is a great way to grow their vocabulary and ideas too. Then they can start to create their own stories with your help. This will help with ideas of sequence and develop memory too!
It’s also great fun to make up silly nonsense stories! 😊
You don’t need special kit for this – you can make a bowling game out of old bottles and a ball
Be warned this is a game that could last all day – you can do it indoors or out, and involve the whole family in a tournament (but make sure your young child has a chance!)
A great way for your child to learn without even realising – about coordination, concentration, weights, movement, counting and turn taking
If you want, you can make the “pins” more special – your child might want to decorate them.
And there are chances to talk to your child about useful maths words like near and far, quick and slow, in front and behind, left and right, forwards and backwards
But it is mainly about having a happy time and forgetting any worries for a while
bumps to bairns 
