Find or filter activities
Activities
There’s something in the letterbox! Junk mail that arrives in your letterbox might look like rubbish to you, but children love it. Next time you find catalogues in the mail take some time to look at them with your child.
Many cultures share and tell their stories through the colour, designs, placement and patterns printed or woven into their fabric and cloth. The fabric can tell you the story of where a person lives, what animals or food can be found in the environment and who they are connected to. It can even tell you the age and status of the person wearing the cloth.
Drawing and writing doesn’t just happen inside. Outside can be a great place to draw and write too. Give your child some chalk to draw with when they are outside. They could draw on cement, walls or fences. When your child is drawing or writing outside they are able to make very big pictures or letters.
Reading can happen anywhere and everywhere. We read signs, recipes, information on packets and tins, bus timetables and menus. A love of words and language can be encouraged by reading books together.
There are many different ways that we share stories. It can be by talking, reading a book, showing a painting, drawing, weaving or design or by using the natural environment. One way to share stories with your child is to tell them - using memory or imagination.
There are many ways to tell a story, not only by reading a book. Many cultures share and tell their stories through painting. The colour, symbols, design and patterns included in a painting will tell you a story about that person and what is important to them.
Every day many different things happen. Some of them are planned and predictable but others just pop up. Make time with your child at the end of each day to talk about the different things that happened. You might talk about events that you did together, ones that suddenly came up or things that happened to your child while they were at kindy or childcare.
Learning to write begins with children noticing writing around them and trying to create their own words. You can help your child to begin to write by encouraging them to scribble and draw with a variety of tools and materials. You could set up an area with drawing materials they can access at any time or encourage them to help you with everyday writing tasks.
