Social-Emotional Development
Kangaroo & Elephant Mommies & Babies
Using pictures from the Internet, talk about mommy and baby kangaroos and elephants. Tell your child that a baby kangaroo is called a joey and a baby elephant is called a calf. Discuss how joeys ride in their mother’s pouch until they are big enough to hop around on their own.
Cognitive Development
Elephant Trunk Transfer
Gather a lightweight sock, some small toys and two bowls. Encourage your child to put the sock on their hand to make an elephant’s trunk. Start with all the toys in one bowl. Your child can practice their problem-solving and fine motor skills as they use their “trunk” to move the items from one bowl to the other. For an added challenge have them try with the opposite hand.
Language Development
Hop, Hop, Stop
Help develop your child’s listening skills by playing this simple game. Say the word hop several times (four or five) and then say stop. Your child listens for the stop command and follows it quickly. Practice it several times and then change the word hop to another animal movement, such as sway.
Physical Literacy
Kangaroo Hop
You will need a dish towel and a small stuffed animal (kangaroo, if you have one) for this activity. Fold the dish towel in half lengthwise. Tie the towel around your child’s waist with the open side facing up to create a pouch. Place the stuffed animal into the pouch. Encourage your child to hop across the room like a mother kangaroo with their joey in their pouch.
Creative Activity
Draw Like an Elephant
Show your child how to move like an elephant. Bend over at the waist and swing one arm back and forth across your body like a trunk. Once they have the movement down, place a large piece of paper or cardboard on the floor or ground outside. Encourage your child to draw like an elephant with a washable marker by bending over and swinging the marker from side to side on the paper.
Additional Resources:
https://www.storylineonline.net/ - Running out of books to read? Visit this website for a selection of books read aloud by actors and actresses.
http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/index.php - This Centre for Early Literacy Learning website has some posters for parents on simple ways to enhance literacy learning through everyday activities and routines. From the home page click on products and then choose CELLpops and posters from the drop-down menu for ideas to use with your infant, toddler or preschool child.
Learning at Home Pre-Kindergarten Week 6
Learning at Home Pre-Kindergarten Week 17
