Dear Parents,
The main theme for Term Two is "World Around Us". It comprises of "Fun With Colours"; "Clothes & Accessories"; "Healthful Food"; "People Around Us"; "On The Move"; "Robots & Machines" and "Places Around Us" etc..
Here are some suggestions* for you to foster these concepts at home :
Fun With Colours :
- You can make almost any meal entertaining by occasionally adding a small amount of food colouring to one of your food items.
- During mealtimes, identify foods that are primary colours (red, blue, yellow). This improves memory, classification and expressive language skills.
- To develop observation skills, look around your house with your child for red, blue and yellow items. Ask questions such as "How many red objects can you find in each room?".
- It would be great fun for your child to make colour dough at home. Here is the recipe :
2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons cooking oil and a few drops of food colouring. Mix and knead to a dough.
Clothings
- To promote independence, begin by placing your child's clothes in a low drawer allowing easy access to the clothes.
- To make outings more exciting, encourage your child to select clothes at night that can be worn the next day.
- If your child has doll clothes, fill the kitchen sink or a tub with soapy water, and let your child wash the doll clothes. This will help your child become aware of the care of clothes.
Healthful Food
- At mealtimes, have your child identify the foods being served that are meats / vegetables /dairy products etc..
- Encourage your child to prepare instant pudding with you for snack.
- Browse through newspaper ads or magazines and have your child identify meats / vegetables /dairy products etc..
- To help develop memory and language skills, ask your child which vegetables or fruit he tried during the week.
- Let your child help you prepare salads or fruit juice at home :
Vegetable Dip : 1 cup of yogurt, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of dill weed, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt. Mix all ingredients and chill. Serve with fresh raw vegetables.
People at Work
- Page through magazines with your child. Discuss equipment and materials that are used in various occupations. Questions such as the following can be asked to stimulate thinking skills : "Who might use a computer to perform a job!"; "What occupations involve the use of a cash register?".
- Let your children help or watch you open the mail. Give your child the "junk mail" to play with.
- Have your child dictate a letter to grandparents or cousin. Take your child to the post office and mail it.
- To ensure your family's safety, talk with your child about what would happen in the event of a fire at your house. You can do this calmly, without frightening your child.
- Practice taking a fire escape route from the child's bedroom, the kitchen, the living room and other rooms of your home.
On The Move /Robots & Machines
- Talk to your child the next time when you need to pump petrol for your car. They are many different types of trucks and cars to observe at the petrol station.
- Provide soapy water and a sponge and let you help you wash the family car.
- Count the wheels on the different types of transportation. Semi-trucks have several, while a unicycle has only one.
- Show your child a lever function by using a pair of scissors, a bottle opener, a stapler etc..
- Talk to your child about pulleys that can be found at home, e.g. blinds.
- Show your child examples of gears at home, eg. a clock, bicycles, drill etc..
Have fun exploring concepts related to the above themes !
*Some of the suggestions above are extracted from Reference Book : Creative resources for the early childhood classroom by Judy Herr & Yvonne Libby.