Anouska’s guest blog: Home-schooling your pre-schooler

Activity Ideas

It can be overwhelming trying to find the right materials and establishing a new routine. However, no one expects parents to act as teachers or childcare providers – or to be able to provide all the activities that a nursery might. While children gain a lot from nursery, things that parents do at home can help their development. Try the following activities together:

• Everyday conversations
• Make-believe play
• Games with numbers or letters
• Reading together
• Involving them in the things you are doing, such as preparing dinner, and talking with them about it
• Baking
• Arts and crafts
• Puzzles
• Observation walks
• Den making

Playdough Recipe

Children love making, playing, creating, and building with playdough, and as well as being lots of fun, it also provides opportunities for learning! Why not give our easy recipe a go?

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp table salt
• 60ml warm water
• food colouring
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the water, a few drops of food colouring and the oil.
2. Pour the coloured water into the flour mix and bring together with a spoon.
3. Dust a work surface with a little flour and turn out the dough. Knead together for a few minutes to form a smooth, pliable dough. If you want a more intense colour you can work in a few extra drops of food colouring.
4. Store in a plastic sandwich bag (squeeze out the air) in the fridge to keep it fresh.

Online resources

Finally, try not to feel too overwhelmed as there are so many resources that can help you with home-schooling. Here are some links to explore for yourself:

• Twinkl – Activities, health and wellbeing resources for parents
• Hungry Little Minds – Simple, fun activities for kids, from newborn to five years
• BBC Bitesize – Early years resources for learning at home from the BBC
• Pinterest – Search for activity ideas and you’ll find lots of inspiration