One of the most common concerns of busy parents everywhere is, “What can I do with my child when he/she comes home from school?” Here is a list of daily activities that your child may enjoy. They are especially beneficial activities for younger children to do while their older siblings are doing homework. The duration of these activities should be about 20-30 minutes, unless your child asks for more.
Compliment your child on a job well done. Championing your child’s efforts yields immeasurable lifelong benefits. Making your child’s growth a major priority will help your child feel your ongoing support and encouragement.
Monday
Computer Fun – Instead of your child sitting at the computer to play a game by himself, go to wholesome, family-friendly websites that you may enjoy together. One of my favorites is www.metmuseum.org. Your child can hear a story about Cezanne’s Apples, as well as see interesting exhibits that you may enjoy viewing together. Another favorite is www.animalplanet.com. You will learn more about the animals that you are familiar with, as well as some unusual animals. There are fun games on this site as well.
Tuesday
Letter Detective Day – Write capital and lower case letters, one group at a time on a paper. Example: Aa Ask your child to find a picture book with large words. Make a copy of this page so that your child may write on the page rather than in the book. First ask your child to find the upper case letters and circle them in one colored marker or crayon. Then ask him the name of the letter and the sound that it makes. Next, ask your child to take another colored marker or crayon to circle the lower case letters. The letters can appear in the beginning, middle or end of the words.
Check you child’s “answers”, and read the words that he circled. Point out places where your child missed a letter. When he completes the task, put a sticker or smiley face on top of the page and keep championing your child’s efforts!
Wednesday
Clay Fun Day –Supply your child with clay. (If you do not generally allow clay in your house, giving your child a tray or plastic placemat to work on will alleviate some of the concerns that you have about this medium). On a typing sized sheet of paper, write letters or make shapes, one on each sheet of paper. Instruct your child to first roll out long snakes. Then ask your child to place the snakes onto the desired letters or shapes, molding the clay to the letter. This may be a challenging task at first, so it would be great if you modeled how to do it before he starts. Upon completing the task, he should call over a parent to see how well he formed the letters or shapes. Then review the sounds of the letters or the names of the shapes. Let your child know what a great job he is doing. In the weeks to come, let him know that he is progressing and that he should be very proud of himself.
Thursday
Word Detective Day – This activity is similar to Tuesday’s letter detective activity in that we are encouraging your child to scan and find whole words. By asking him to locate sight words, we are further encouraging his pre-reading skills, and making him feel more comfortable with the written word. This skill will also help him for years to come, when he has to write a research paper or to read reports at work.
Friday
Recyclable Art Day – Check your recycling bin for non-breakable items. These may be magazines and newspapers, plastic bottles, paper towel rolls, etc. If you have old clothes, or fabric scraps, string or yarn, creating can foster your child’s imagination. You supply the glue and tape, and watch the magic unfold!
Having fun together, while, at the same time, building skills is a wonderful pastime to share with your child. You will both look forward to this special time. Use these activities as a springboard for some of your own ideas!