Find or filter activities
Activities
Playing with a big block of ice can keep your child interested for a long time.
What can you do with a big cardboard box? Next time you have a large cardboard box give it to your child to play with. Encourage them to use their imagination. I wonder what this big box could be. What does it look like to you? Turn a box on its side with the opening facing out. If you add a cushion or rug you’ll have a cosy nook just right for reading or dreaming.
Hop, hop, hop and stop. Help your child to draw a hopscotch course with chalk on cement. You can make the course as long as you like, but it usually has about 8 or 10 squares. Draw a set of single and double squares - like a ladder, but with extra bits. Write a number on each square of the course. Let’s write 1 on the first square and 2 on the next square. What number comes next?
There are many different activities that you can do at the beach and talking to your child about what they would like to do will help you to decide what type of beach you will go to. The beach can be a very relaxing and restful place where you can talk, read, build sandcastles and lie on the sand. It can also be very active and involve going for long walks, running, playing or swimming.
Jump like a kangaroo, hop like a frog. Next time your child is up and moving around, challenge them to a game of imagination. Can you jump like a kangaroo? How does a frog jump? How many different animals can you and your child pretend to be?
Your baby could hear you talking even before they were born. They recognised your voice right from the start. They might not understand the words that you say, but they will be listening and learning. You can talk about what you are doing right now and what you are going to do.
Most children love to challenge themselves physically and explore the different ways they can move around, through and over different objects. You might find your child likes to try and balance on or along lines or other surfaces. Next time you are outside with your child or walking somewhere, encourage them to try a bit of balancing.
Blowing bubbles can be a fun activity to do on a very windy day. Watch the wind catch the bubbles and lift them high into the air. Try and track an individual bubble. As the wind catches the bubble and lifts it higher make predictions as to how high it will climb.
Let’s build. What shall we create? Will it be a zoo for the wild animals or a house for the snails from the garden to hide in? Maybe we can stack and stack and stack the blocks until they reach the sky!
A cardboard box car can be as simple or as fancy as you like. You’ll need a cardboard box that is big enough for your child to get inside. Which box can you fit in? Is it too big, too small or just right?
