Tag: maths

Making tracks

~ bumps2bairns

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

Click here for ideas!Download

Bouncing balls

~ bumps2bairns

Something active for what looks like another cold day.

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. And if you still have a lot of snow about, then making and throwing snowballs is just as good

Ball Bouncing PatternsDownload

Awful Orchestra

~ bumps2bairns

You don’t need expensive equipment to make music. Any household object has a playful tune in it if only we look or listen hard enough.

Music can express our deepest feelings and draw us together as families and communities

It is also an excuse to make a racket and have fun!

Today’s idea is all about children playing with rhythm and different sounds. Without even realising, this will develop their coordination and attention skills

It is also a great way to feel close, take turns and enjoy being together

Almost anything can be a musical instrument – some ideas in the sheet below. Make sure you keep an eye on your child so they are playing safely!

Click here for some ideas (earplugs not included)Download

Three Craws

~ bumps2bairns

Burns Night will be a bit different this year. Singing a song can cheer us all up and children can have fun hearing and using the words

You could even sing this together with loved ones you can’t be with on a video chat or the phone

The tune can really stick in your head – if you don’t know it, then the downloadable sheet has some links to a video and an audio track

Lots of learning here – the rhythm of language and the beat of the tune (try clapping along!). There are number words, and your child might want to find out more about the birds.

Click here for words, tune and play ideas!Download

Rainbow Snow!

~ bumps2bairns

Today we have a way to unleash the creativity of the whole family, and for young children it is a chance to try out mark-making, creating works of art and experimenting with shapes

Snow can be lovely at first, but it can quickly get a bit patchy and tired.

By using coloured water to draw on the snow, children are also playing with ideas about “how much”, “how far” and also practising making plans

It will probably also be quite a laugh – try not to mind if it gets rather silly too.

Click here for how to play!Download

Or if you’ve still got lots of fresh snow, why not make a snowman, a snow dog, a nice snow-anything!

Snowman fun!

~ bumps2bairns

Snow is forecast for today and tomorrow, so hopefully you will get some (but not too much!)

We don’t often get enough for a full size snowman, but that does not matter. There are smaller things to make – how about a mini snowman, snow cat, snow dog, snow mouse, snow “not sure what it is”?

A chance to explore and see what you can find to decorate – sticks, pebbles, leaves …

It is fun, and there is lots of learning about different feels and textures and how we describe them. Also about estimating, and talking about concepts like more, enough or less. And lots of maths too as we explore the shapes we make and chat about them.

And a final part can be watching your creation melt in the next few hours or days, saying goodbye – it may not seem much, but this can helps build resilience to change and loss too.

But mainly it is about having fun in the snow. Just make sure you find somewhere clean and safe to play.

Click here for some play ideas!Download

Water wall

~ bumps2bairns

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. 

Click here for how to play!Download

Bouncing balls

~ bumps2bairns

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

Ball Bouncing PatternsDownload

Making tracks

~ bumps2bairns

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

Click here for ideas!Download

Sharing our Stories

~ bumps2bairns

Every family has its ups and downs, but most have some happy or funny stories that children love to hear

Today is all about helping your child learn about the past, to practise asking questions. They will learn about how stories work too, and develop their understanding of sequences – great for later literacy and maths

But it is really all about feeling close and safe and cosy together. All you need are a few photos – about you, the family, your child when they were smaller – anything you’d like to tell your child about

This is a great thing to try during video chat with grandparents, family, friends – anyone your child might be missing who can show them a photo from the past and tell them about it

Or, make a photo diary of the day with your child to tell everyone about later!

Click here for ideas how to play!Download

Spot the Difference!

~ bumps2bairns

Adults have two really important skills that we almost never think about. But they underlie nearly every decision we make.

Think about how we choose where to go on holiday – we compare different options (sunshine or shopping?) To do this we have to put things into categories and compare them.

The other skill is seeing things from more than one perspective. This is all about understanding other people, and situations. It’s also a really important part of maths and problem solving

So how do we learn these skills? Through playing and talking of course!

Today’s idea is all about spotting the difference between any objects you have in the home. You can play it online too once your child has got the idea of it

Click here for how to playDownload

Plop Bucket

~ bumps2bairns

Today’s idea is very simple – all you need is a bucket of water and some cleaned coins

But from this play, children can learn about taking turns, can develop their hand-eye coordination (really useful for writing later on, not to mention sports)

And they can count out their winnings, learn about different coin values – all the while doing some science as they watch the way coins float and fall in water!

All the family can play – you can even challenge the grandparents over a video-call …

Click here for how to play & extendDownload

Tiny Treasure Chest

~ bumps2bairns ~ Leave a comment

Who would have thought your home was full of treasure!

And treasure that can help your child learn all about exploring, how to be curious, how to count and categorise and how to learn about stories and history

This is a really simple game that all the family can play, and that grandparents or others can join in on Skype or FaceTime or similar

The trick is you have to use a really, really, really small treasure chest

Click here for how to play!Download