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Children need to move all the time. After sitting for a long time, my son starts behaving uncontrollably, resorts to destructive actions and aggression, etc. So when we play quiet games or learn for some time, I always try to make him move for at least 5 minutes every half an hour. It can be energetic games, action songs, or movement stories. I will share 5 of our most favourite movement stories and rhymes.
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Letter formation activities
I started teaching my son phonics when he was 3. It has been really challenging so I tried to incorporate lots of games and crafts. To help him memorize letter formation I use different creative ways.
5 movement games which my 4 year-old adores
In winter we tend to spend less time outdoors because it's chilly, windy, etc. The less active walking time, the more energy for misbehaving. Today I want to share some indoor games that help me survive.
Roleplay "At the airport"
My son has always liked flying by plane so I decided to organize a pretend play. The weather was very cold and icy, Tony caught a cold so I needed something to entertain him with. I was inspired by Pinterest posts but I tried to keep everything simple to save time for preparation. So I spent no more than 20 minutes setting it up.
How we learn bugs in English
Youngsters love observing bugs outside and playing with them indoors. Plastic bug figurines give much scope for creativity. Lots of games for learning can be organized. It is very convenient to take them everywhere you go since they don't take up much space.
5 roleplays based on Peppa Pig books
Peppa Pig books have become favorites since my son turned 2 years old. The language is simple and there is not too much text on each page. Besides, toddlers and preschoolers can easily understand the plot of each book. Our games are often based on books about Peppa. In this post, I will share some of them.
Where is Goldbug? A game based on Richard Scarry's book
The book "Cars and trucks and things that go" by Richard Scarry is a real treasure for young vehicle lovers. My son has been enchanted by it since 2.5 though we started reading it much earlier. It is a great book for developing speaking skills and stimulating imagination. In this post I want to share an idea for a game based on this book.
Ice cream activities for kids
Everybody loves ice cream, especially in hot weather. Summer-themed activities for kids are really motivating for children. We offer some tasks that can engage your preschoolers and help to develop useful skills. All activities are DIY and can be easily organized without buying expensive toys.
Roleplay "At the cafe"
Dramatic play is popular with children of any age. Such games teach kids to communicate, help to explore the world around us, promote creativity and of course, for bilingual learners it's a great way to pick up lots of new expressions. I have already described our roleplays, the links to the articles will be below. And today post is about a pretend play "At the cafe".
Rainbow rice activities
Rainbow rice is a superb sensory activity that improves your child's fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, enriches senses, and promotes creativity. This material offers a variety of activities in different contexts.
Roleplay "At the petrol station"
Anton started being obsessed with cars at 2.5 and almost all of our games are based on this topic. I have already shared how to learn with transport and today want to show how we play at "Petrol station". We like two variants of this game: using a push car and Lego.
6 ways to learn with toy cars
Most of the children adore playing with toy cars. Just push them around the room will become dead boring very soon. So why not play and learn something new. In this post, I'm sharing our favorite activities with little toy cars such as hot wheels, matchbox, and majorette.
5 amusing games for learning numbers 1-10
Your child can easily learn to count on nature walks when you encourage him to count sticks or stones. But if you prefer to teach him indoors and are ready to make the effort, try out some engaging ways of learning numbers 1-10. If your child isn't able to count to 5, read this article.
33 favourite role plays for 2-3 years olds
Role play or dramatic play is very beneficial for children because they learn about their environment, and develop cognitive and communicative skills. Toddlers and preschoolers have limited knowledge of the world around them so it is advisable to base games on familiar situations, books, or films. Here is a list of role plays if you don't know how to occupy your kids.
5 activities to learn spring vocabulary
Spring is in the air! Children observe nature awakening and learn about the things associated with spring on their walks. So relating lessons to the real world will make them more meaningful and engaging. If you are looking for theme-based activities, try these ones.
Role play "Birthday party"
Role plays can really save the day when you don't know how to entertain your child. I have already described the benefits of role plays in my blog. They are one of the most important activities that help kids develop. Today I want to describe how we play at the "Birthday party". It is suitable for kids starting with 2 years old.
Role play "Fire emergency"
When my son was 3 years old he developed an interest in fire trucks and firefighters. First, he started playing with toy fire trucks reproducing familiar plots from favourite books and TV series. Then he began acting like a firefighter. This roleplay was beneficial for enlarging his vocabulary on the topic of putting out the fire.
Role play "Vet clinic"
Children like treating people and animals. During dramatic play, young learners act out real-life situations, stimulate imagination, and practice speech structures in English. In this post, I want to share some useful vocabulary that will help to organize the game. Anton likes reading "Zog" by Julia Donaldson so most of the health problems come from this book.
5 games for phonological awareness
Raising phonological awareness is the first step in teaching reading. Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of spoken language: identify the rhyming words, segment words in the sentence, count syllables in a word etc. In other words, before we start learning ABC children need to be able to work with sounds. Here are some games for phonological awareness.
7 indoor movement games for preschoolers
Kids need to burn lots of energy. Anton and I usually go for very long walks but that's not enough to exhaust him. So in this post, I share our favourite games for gross motor skill development and for parents' well-being.
7 outdoors games for preschoolers
Spending time outdoors brings real benefits to kids. If you want to add variety to your walks or make them more educational, try some of these activities.