early help for children from 0 to 7
A chance to get wiggling at the same time as learning all about words and sounds
Lots to explore too – can you find a worm (be gentle if you do)? Where do different animals like to live?
You can draw wiggly worms (really good outside with chalk or on sand or mud with a stick) or make some out of play dough
If you don’t know the tune or words, they are all on the sheet, with some fun videos too.
If the links on the pdf don’t work, then they are here:
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
If you’ve got some snowy slush or melty mud outside today, this is a great way to make it useful – or you could make some stepping stones across puddles
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
Children learn a lot from copying us – more than we think, and sometimes more than we’d like them to!
A very simple game today. All you do is some simple actions, say what you are doing, and see if your child or children can copy you.
It may not sound much, but it is great for building a bond, developing attention and growing your child’s vocabulary. And they are also developing executive function – the ability to choose and control actions
This is a good game to play on video calls with anyone your child is missing – grandparents, a brother or sister or a parent who is away.
Safety note: make sure you avoid actions that involve touching the face so we all follow the current public health guidance
Did you know that helping you sort the clean clothes can be good for your child’s maths? Or that it helps them learn how to concentrate or learn new words?
This idea is all about how to turn a bothersome daily chore into something you might enjoy together
As with everything, don’t feel you have to, and don’t force your child. Stop when you’ve both had enough!
One of the things people worry about is whether children can sit still. So, how do we learn this? By moving about, of course! As children move, and gain more control, they become more able to focus and be still
But that’s not really that important. Feeling good in your body, feeling in control of it – these are the foundations for resilience, the sense that we can cope with things and can have a go at a challenge
Today is all about moving and laughing. There is counting too, as you have to jump a certain number of times. You’ll need to tailor this to your child as some will know more numbers than others. If your child is secure counting to 2, 3 or 4, then start there and see if you can built another number on.
Or if, like many young children, your child is not that secure with counting at all – then let them jump or kick along with you as you count for them.
If this just turns into random movement, don’t worry – this means your child is developing coordination and that’s what they need right now.
A story today that gets us moving about and dancing – you can do it indoors or out!
But first, settling down with a story, hearing it over and over, and interacting with the pictures – these are great ways for children to learn new words, develop concentration and listening skills
And how to manage feelings. There is a scary fox at one point! But it all turns out OK in the end (I won’t spoil the ending …)
So many play ideas to take the fun and learning further. Pretend to be a rabbit? Dance til someone says “fox” and then be still as you can? Find out more about the instruments the rabbits play – can you make a trumpet out of a cardboard tube or a drum out of, well, anything strong enough?
Another game today that can be played outside at a safe distance of 2 metres with family or friends – or at home just with your child
It is an old favourite that is usually a lot of laughs, but there is a lot of learning too
Your child will be developing the key skill of “not doing” something – stopping ourselves doing or saying something is really hard and games like this help build your child’s control over their actions
Plus, dancing around and laughing at people (safely) falling over is really good for our wellbeing …
The weather forecast for the weekend is good so a play idea today that can be done safely when meeting up with family or friends and following public health guidance
But it is also fun at home too
It is all about helping your child do the same actions in different ways. This will help build coordination and self-control. It is as simple as starting off jumping quickly, and then jumping slowly … Or pretending to brush your teeth as though you are happy, and then as though you are grumpy.
Along the way, they will learn lots of words to describe actions and they may also have fun challenging you or others
Sometimes life just does not make sense, and today’s rhyme certainly doesn’t!
Children enjoy nonsense, and it is a great way to play with language and let off steam at the same time
Hearing different sounds and how they fit together is an important foundation for reading and spelling.
And there is lots of play you can try after. Maybe not over the moon, but can you jump over a stick (how high?) or a puddle?
You can even do jumping contests out and about with loved ones while keeping a 2m distance
Some homes have more cardboard boxes around than usual at the moment as we have to get more things delivered
This may be a nuisance, but cardboard boxes are also one of the most useful resources for play and learning. They can be anything your child wants to imagine them to be – a castle, a boat, a hat, or even just a box to put things in!
Today the idea is simply to give your child some boxes and some decorating materials and see what they do with them. If they are stuck you can help with ideas, but the best learning will come from them taking the lead and you following
Remember to chat about what they are doing – say what you see (try not to ask too many questions!) and wait for a response.
Today’s idea is to make a hot air balloon! Or a small one, at any rate
You can either use a black bin bag, or there is a version for ordinary small balloons. Instructions are on the downloadable sheet – please take care with safety and supervise children at all points.
This can be lots of fun – you can involve older children and family and even have balloon races
Meanwhile your child will learn lots of science, coordination skills and language – and we have some stories to look at too, or make your own
Never mind the Tiger who came to tea, how about an elephant?
We have a couple of elephant songs today that will get your child moving about, learning about words, coordination – but hopefully not knocking things over
Words and music videos are on the sheet and some play ideas to take the learning further – dress up as an elephant, look for big and small things, or see how much you can find out about animals!
Today’s idea uses something we all have – our hands!
We use our hands to do lots of things but how often do we stop to think about how handy our hands really are?
Young children are fascinated by their hands and through play they learn to use them in so many different ways.
You can have fun with your child exploring different ways of using hands and they will begin to understand just how important their hands are.
Have a happy handy hands day! And remember to wash them often.
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
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:
bumps to bairns 
