I have been using parachute games with children aged 3-5 over the last ten years. I have tried literally hundreds of games – some have not been so great. But amongst the hundreds have been some hidden gems! I am listing the forty best ones here! I have done the hard yards for you, and …
Learning to put spaces in between words takes a huge amount of time for most children. It is a really abstract concept for them, and they are getting to grips with lots of other parts of early writing at the same time. When they begin writing, children will be learning the formation of the letters …
All children are passionately excited by bubbles! They create that kind of awe and wonder that is a beautiful thing to witness. They spark curiosity, generate talk, and get children moving, communicating and thinking. Of course blowing bubbles out of pots is one thing; bubble wands are great too! However, there are also a huge …
Getting maths into the outdoors is one of the biggest concerns many practitioners have. It is probably the thing I am asked about the most where maths is concerned. This post is by far the most comprehensive quantity of high-quality outdoor math activities for children aged 3 to 6 that you will be able to …
Geoboards are one of the ultimate resources. They are great for even extremely young children. One of my daughters could use one brilliantly when she was only one. They can be used from that age until they are probably at least eight or nine. They develop great fine motor, concentration, and a range of imagination …
Ball games are fantastic for learning, and can help develop skills across the whole curriculum. Some children are excited by ball games more than anything else, so the more you can tap into this natural enthusiasm the better. These games develop teamwork, coordination, listening, and can also help skills in maths, literacy and investigation. What …
Ever noticed that most counting songs count backwards? For example, in Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer, every time you sing a verse one man flies away. Or in Ten Fat Sausages every time you sing one sausage explodes!? For some reason the culture of counting songs is based primarily around the concept of …
Struggling to find alliteration activities? You’ve come to the right place; and can I just say that these games are spectacularly superb and seriously special! Alliteration is something that children can begin to understand through repetition of enjoyable activities, many of which can just be thrown into your daily routine. How do you teach alliteration? …
Ten frames are becoming one of the most widely used models to teach a range of strategies in early maths. Ten frames are a good tool because they allow children to visualise quantities within the context of ten. Our number system is based around the number ten, for the simple reason that we have ten …
Often when creating fine motor activities, the simplest and the cheapest resources are best. Items that are lying around either at home or in a setting, or things that can be bought for next to nothing can provide quality learning experiences, and provide the starting point for a host of imaginative potentialities. This is definitely …