Twinkl Half Term Activities - How did we do?!?

Well, we had great fun this week - a couple of days out in Bristol (Tyntesfield & At Bristol) and one a bit closer to home (Danger Point) along with plenty of activities indoors too!

We used the 'Weekend Activities' decision mat to help us to decide what to do through the week... my children closed their eyes and pointed randomly on the decision mat. We covered going to the countryside, sleepover, visiting a museum, writing, drawing and cooking!

The mat was really useful to stop any arguments about what to do - you can find the 'Weekend Activities' mat here. There are other words mats available to print too; why not have a browse and use them yourself?

 

My youngest really enjoyed making the Astronaut from the Twinkl website (link to instructions here) - he managed to complete it himself with just a little bit of help piercing the holes for the split pins. Actually, he wanted to (and was pretty sure that he could!) do this himself but it was me who decided the 'piercing job' was mine to do!

To get a bit of reading/writing/drawing into our half terms days, we used the 'At Home I See...' writing frames. These are ideal to use for any theme and for any age. We used each room as a theme but you could ask your children to find things that are blue, or begin with a certain letter - the scope for this activity is endless!

Lastly, we had great fun with the Science Sparks experiment sheets. I have to admit, I love the science of how things work and why but it's often difficult to explain to a child. With these experiments, you can actually SEE the science and so my children were fascinated by the experiments, so we felt that these worksheets were really engaging.Pictures to follow as we had a bit of a glitch with the camera!

There are plenty of other great ideas on the Twinkl website - make sure you explore the site and start planning your Easter break!

Deciphering the code - helping your child to read!

Not many adults can remember when or how they learned to read. It's just something that happens over time - there's no definitive day or milestone marker because it's a gradual process in which everyone is different!

My children go to a bi-lingual school where from an early age they are immersed in the Welsh language and English is only introduced into their school life at age 6 when they start Class 2 (the least academic year of Key Stage 1). At home though, we read both Welsh and English books - fact and fiction!

I thought I'd share with you some of our tips to help you to help your child to read - the calm and relaxed way!

1. When your child is reading to you, develop a 'secret code' for the times when they get stuck on a word. Not many children like to say that they don't know something and if you jump in with the correct word each time there's a pause your child will become frustrated that you are just reading the book for them, so when my son is stuck on a word, he does a little *cough* and I know that's the sign to help 'sound out' the word.
2. When you are 'sounding out' a word or spelling something for them to write, use the phonetic alphabet rather than the 'traditional' alphabet sung in the song, 'A, B, C, D, E, F, G....' and join letters together that belong together, e.g. 'ph' 'tr' 'bl', etc.
3. Talk about words in other places not just books. When out and about, read sign posts, names of houses, letters/numbers on car registration plates - you can even read the backs of food packets like cereal boxes at breakfast time!
4. Play 'I Spy'! With younger children, it's easier to start with 'I spy with my little eye, something that is coloured red!' as this still develops their language skills, then move on to letters once they have got a grasp of the phonetic alphabet although you may have to be a bit lenient with words such as 'phone' and 'knife to start with!
5. Let them choose the same old book time and time again; familiarity is good for your child as they will learn the story pattern and then match the words to the story as they become familiar and recognizable to them. 'Slinky Malinki Open the Door' is a firm favourite in our house, for both children! (Although I love 'Stick Man'!)

I hope these couple of tips help you on your journey with your children - have you got any tips of your own to help others? Share below!