More Activity Ideas
- Have your child write or dictate a letter to a friend or family member. Read the words back as he illustrates the letter. Address and stamp the envelope; then take the letter to the mailbox together.
- Play “stop and start” games such as “Red Light, Green Light” and “Simon Says” during your regular routines, for example say, Simon says, “Jump to the bus stop.” This will help your child learn to follow directions and control her movements.
- Set up a regular time for your child to call or Skype with a family member. You may want to suggest an evening or afternoon quiet time when a grandparent or aunt can read a story to your child.
- Help your child think of five questions that she would like to ask a family member or a friend who lives far away. Help her write and mail the questions or call the family member.
- Make a family/friend paper chain. Cut out a doll shape for each person. Talk about how the shapes are all the same. Then decorate each shape to resemble a family member or friend. Talk about how the decorated shapes are the same and how they are different (skin color, hair, eye color). Tape the dolls together and hang up the chain.
- Have fun with family math: investigate and measure family members and record the results. Who has the biggest shoes? Who has the shortest arm? Record measurements on a graph using a different color for each family member.
- Make a feelings poster to help your child understand and express his feelings. On a large sheet of paper glue pictures of facial expressions. Point to a picture and take turns sharing times you felt that way. [Watch the video together Between the Lions “But, Mama, But . . .” and see how Leona the lion feels when her Mama goes away for a few days. Type in the Search window: Watch Together: But, Mama But.]
- Use a cardboard box to make a “Family and Friends Books” box. Borrow books from your local library or get them from second-hand stores. Place the box where your child can reach it. (Some “family and friends” books you might look for include Jonathan and His Mommy by Irene Smalls; On Mother’s Lap by Ann Herbert Scott; The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant; and A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom.)
- Children love making friends. Help your child learn how to become a good friend by acting out different friend situations together. For example, help a friend build a tower, show empathy, or problem solve when both friends want same toy.
- Play board games, charades, or picture card games the next time family and friends get together. These types of activities will help children learn to socialize, adjust their feelings and behaviors, wait for their turn, etc.