Other Play activities

1.     Draw a picture of your family.

2.     Draw a picture of a place you want to visit.

3.     Draw a picture of your favourite dessert.

4.     Gather recycled boxes and containers. Build something.

5.     Turn an old shoe box into a playhouse or fort for your small toy figures.

6.     Cook a favourite recipe with an adult.

7.     Play, freeze, dance to your favourite music.

8.     Gather pots, pans, and wooden spoons. Make music.

9.     Make a movement pattern using claps and stops. See if others can follow it.

10.   Draw a map of your bedroom.

11.   Look at the flowers and leaves around. What is similar and what is different?

12.   Think of a question you have or an animal you want to learn more about. Work with an adult to research that topic.

13.   Gather objects that can get wet. Fill the sink or tub with water. See which objects sink and which will float.

14.   Play board games.

15.   Do a puzzle.

16.   Make DIY puppets out of basic craft materials.

17.   Create a puppet show.

18.   Play charades.

19.   Listen to music from other cultures. Dance freely.

20.   Play Simon Says.

Play activities to support numeracy

1.     Pick a colour. See how many objects you can find in your home that are the same colour.

2.     Hide an object. Use positional language (above, below, behind, etc. to give clues for your child to find the object.

3.     Sort laundry.

4.     Go on a number hunt. What numbers can you find?

5.     Gather objects (blocks, toys, shirts) of different colours. Sort them by colour.

6.     Gather shoes from different people in your family. Put them in order by size.

7.     Cut a piece of string the length of your foot. Find objects in your home that are shorter or longer than your foot.

8.     Jump on the spot. Count how many times you can jump in a row.

9.     Stand on one foot. Count how long you can balance.

10.   Choose a shape. Find three objects in your home that are the same shape.

11.   Use small snack food to make 2D shapes.

12.   Use small snack food to make patterns. Then eat them!

13.   Collect rocks, leaves, and twigs outdoors. Make patterns with them.

14.   Count how many doors there are in your home.

15.   Count how many windows there are in your home.

16.   Roll a ball. Count how many steps it rolls to measure.

17.   Roll a dice. Do that many of an exercise.

18.   Roll a dice. Count out that many objects.

19.   Roll two dice. Count out sets for each. Then add them together and count how many in all.

20.   Use small toys or animal figures to make up and act out addition and subtraction stories.

Play activities to support literacy

1.     Read together.

2.     Listen to an audiobook.

3.     Use a box to make a puppet theatre and retell a story.

4.     Verbally share family stories from recent and distant past.

5.     Verbally share stories about your own childhood.

6.     Sing favourite songs.

7.     Make up a story, real or make believe. Tell that story       aloud, or write it down and illustrate it.

8.     Staple half-sheets of paper together to create a simple DIY journal. Draw, write, or use stickers to create stories.

9.     Use chalk outdoors to write letters, names, or words.

10.   Say a word. See how many words you can think of that rhyme with that word.

11.   Clap to count the syllables in the names of the people in your family.

12.   Say a word. See how many words you can think of that start with the same sound as that word.

13.   Say a word. Clap, stomp, or jump to count how many syllables are in the word. Repeat with different words.

14.   See how many things you can find in your home that start with the /a / sound. Repeat with the other sounds.

15.   Use markers or crayons to write your name (or letters, shapes, words, etc) in a rainbow of colors.

16.   Brainstorm a list of foods you like to eat.

17.   Look out the window. Make a list of all the things you can see.

18.   Make a card for someone in your family.

19.   Write a letter to someone.

20.   Call someone to talk on the phone.