Seven key activities that can stretch a child’s mind
To support parents in providing a good home learning environment research in the EPPE study (Sylva et al, 2004) has shown that the following seven key activities ‘stretch a child’s mind’ and have a marked impact on children’s learning. These are:
Going on visits
Take time to really listen to what your child is trying to tell you. Tune into their non-verbal gestures as well as their language. Talk to them and use language with a high information content to develop their vocabulary.
Top tip… create ‘phone free time’: put mobiles away and concentrate on interacting with your child.
Have you tried… joining in with local community activities, e.g. school fair, carnivals, village fete, open days.
Reading to and with children
Use a variety of books and repeat favourite stories.
Provide opportunities for storytelling and using props to make stories come alive.
Top tip… include all family members, make story time part of your family routine.
Have you tried… bedtime stories with Dad? Using props with stories, e.g real fruit with ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’?
Painting and drawing
Encourage children’s own ideas, provide choice and encourage independence.
Top tip… praise children’s early attempts at mark making and writing.
Have you tried… painting and drawing outdoors using a variety of media, e.g. paintbrushes and water on the path, or sticks in mud? In the snow use squeezy bottles filled with warm water—it will warm cold hands and create patterns in the melting snow.
(With many thanks to Community Play Things)
Going to the library
Give your child time to choose books about things they are interested in, and involve them in the process of taking them out.
Borrow a mix of fiction and non-fiction books.
Top tip… make sure you encourage parents to pick up their child’s ‘Book Start’ pack.
Have you tried… taking part in a ‘Wriggly Readers’ session?
Creating opportunities to play with friends
Make use of ‘stay and play’ type sessions: do you know what your local children’s centre offers?
Top tip… arrange for children to have friends round to play.
Have you tried… meeting friends at the park to play group games like ‘tig’ or ‘duck duck goose’?
(With thanks to Community Play Things)
Playing with letters and numbers
Make numbers and letters part of daily life. For example looking at house numbers on the way to the park, spot letters whilst shopping.
Top tip… play with underwater crayons at bathtime, or add foam numbers to the bubbles.
Have you tried… including your child when you write a shopping list?
Singing songs, poems and nursery rhymes
Find songs and rhymes to match experiences as they happen, e.g. ‘Dr Foster went to Gloucester’ when you are splashing in puddles.
Top tip… get the whole body moving by using action songs and finger rhymes.
Have you tried… making up your own silly rhymes and songs?
Top tip: Use these ideas to support the completion of the ‘at home’ section of the Progress Summaries.
How do you make sure that parents know how to incorporate these activities into the wider range of early home learning experiences that parents provide at home?