6. Readiness Activities

The Whole Child - Week 32-33 Activities- printable pdf

Week 32

Auditory perception

Make up rhyming riddles for your child to complete, like these: I can think of something that rhymes with make. When it’s a birthday we bake a …… (cake)

I can think of something that rhymes with sky. When you can’t reach up to something it is too ……..( (high)

I can think of something that rhymes with boy. A thing a child plays with is called a ……..( (toy)

I can think of something that rhymes with fox. The thing we buy cereal in is called a ……. (box)

Perhaps your child might like to ask you some riddles too!

Mathematical skills – volume, weight

Let your child play with two plastic tumblers or jugs in the bath. Fill them with different amounts of water and talk about concepts like, full, fuller, empty, heavy, heavier, light, lighter, little and much heavier etc.

Language and thinking

Begin a habit of reading good literature aloud to your child regularly and let her narrate back to you afterwards. As avid fans of Charlotte Mason, I believe that children who practice the skill of narration, from living books, are not only able to repeat facts, but they learn to process and assimilate information and absorb it into their memories, making it a part of their unique knowledge of the world.

“But one who tries this method on himself will find that in the act of narrating every power of his mind comes into play.” (Charlotte Mason Original Homeschooling Series, Volume 1, Home Education.)

A comprehensive yet easy to read book about Charlotte Mason is A Charlotte Mason Companion (links to Amazon.com)

Gross motor skills

Play this game with your child: Tell her to lie on her back on the floor and pull her legs up to her chest and hold them with her arms, so that she is huddled in a ball. Tell her she is an egg and you are an egg-eating monster. When you come near her, she must straighten out her legs and stretch her arms out above her head and in so-doing turn herself into a stick. When you have passed by she must turn back into an egg, until you come near again! Make scary sound effects and use your imagination to make it fun!

Fine motor skills

Create opportunities for your child to draw and express herself through pictures. Ask her to draw a picture for a grandparent of friend or a card for a special occasion.

You could also draw messages for your child such as reminders to brush her hair, brush her teeth, pick up her toys, wash hands before meals etc. so that she discovers that messages can be communicated on paper.

Faith building

We have enjoyed some Bible memory verse CD’s which are part of our Sonlight curriculum, where Bible verses are set to music and sung by children in a way that aids memorisation - Sing the Word! From A-Z and Sing the Word: A New Commandment.

There are also illustrated printable Bible Memory Verses on my preschool site.

Make Bible Memory Verse Caterpillar.
Cut a number of circles of paper all the same size. Add feelers and a face to one and begin with the head. Paste it on the wall or other visible place. Add a segment each time your child/ren have mastered a new Bible verse, so that they can enjoy seeing their caterpillar grow.
Older children could learn consecutive verses of the Bible so that eventually they have memorised a whole chapter or Psalm.
You might want to jump ahead to next week's Faith Building Activity and focus on some of those verses!

Week 33

Visual perception

Play a matching game using construction toys or building blocks. You and your child should each start with identical pieces. You then add another piece and your child must copy you with her piece. Continue adding pieces and then alternate and let your child be the leader in the game. Take turns for as long as your child can concentrate.

Auditory perception

Tell or read your child a short story. Afterwards, ask her to tell you what happened. If she does not tell you everything, prompt her by asking questions about what happened before or after certain events. Also ask other relevant questions about the characters or events of the story. Initially your child may only tell you the parts of the story that were significant to her, like the climax or the ending. However, in time she will learn to narrate back to you with increasing accuracy.

Mathematical skills

Play a board game that requires using dice, like ludo or snakes and ladders. You can use one, two or three dice, depending on your child’s ability. If you don’t own any children’s board games, then create your own board game on a piece of card. Draw blocks in the form of a race track or create whatever theme would delight your child!

Language and thinking

Since the seasons are changing again, talk to your child about how trees change from season to season. Ask her questions about her knowledge of trees at different times of the year. A lovely story that I have mentioned before to re-inforce this activity is The Little House by Viginia Lee Burton.

The story is about urbanisation and how a house in the countryside becomes surrounded by development and technology before finally being 'rescued', but the theme of the changing seasons and the apple trees can't be missed.

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