after school play activities

Days 286 – 292 of Project 365

October 19, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 24 Comments

286-292 of 365

286. Bubble Catcher (Blowing and catching bubbles in Leigh Woods with Capture by Lucy and her family. The graininess of the background might give a little hint as to just how torrential the rain was. )

287. Angels (Boy Cousin and Girl Cousin came over for tea tonight, and The Boy played for around an hour outside with them. The two boys play so nicely together and really adore each other.)

288. Proud Moment #1 (Tonight was parents' evening and while we were waiting, we read through the book of work bound together from when they went to the church for a Harvest festival the week before. Of the 18 children who each coloured in a sheet and 'wrote' something underneath, The Boy's was the only one which wasn't translated by the teacher; that's a 'd' not a 'b' by the way. Can you read what it says? Apparently he didn't copy the words out, he sounded them out with the teacher and wrote each letter independently. Words failed me.)

289. Proud Moment #2 (This is at the Harvest Assembly where each year group took a 'turn' on stage. Reception sang 'Big Red Combine Harvester' and it's fair to say that the teacher and I were both concerned that he'd refuse to get on stage due to fear. He did and, while he didn't sing, he did all the actions whilst fighting off the urge to cry. I was so proud of him for being so brave.)

290. Proud Moment #3 (The Boy came home with a certificate of achievement having featured in the Golden Book during the school's praise assembly. He was picked out for always being a kind friend at playtime.)

291. I Am A Shape (I bought The Boy a Melissa & Doug pattern board set which has pictures made up from different coloured shapes, and he has to match the picture from spare blocks. He loves it and it's just the ideal activity for after school.)

292. Determination (We went to Roath Park late this afternoon and fed the geese and ducks. The Boy was determined to climb this wall, and after working out how to reposition himself, he managed to find a foothold and pulled himself all the way up. Children are amazing!)

—

5 Easy After School Play Activities

September 27, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 25 Comments

Ever since The Boy started school, I've missed many parts of our daily routine especially the spontaneous play sessions. Once home from school, he tends to collapse on the sofa with a snack and drink, watching television for a little while, and I realised quite quickly that it would be very easy for it to suddenly be tea time and not have had any time together doing anything.

As a result I have started setting up a play invitation for him to explore, nothing challenging or requiring any detailed levels of concentration, more activities that allow sensory exploration. I think he finds them quite therapeutic, exploring different textures, drawing patterns and allowing his mind to wander as he plays.

5 Easy After School Play Activities

Play Activities

Tiddlywinks: I used transparent counters, painted some wooden numbers and place them in different sections. Each tiddlywink that lands in that section scores that point. The Boy loved working out his score after we'd played, and yes he beat me.
Decorate The Line: I drew a wavy line on a piece of A4 paper and provided a choice of different coloured sands, beads and sequins to decorate the line as he saw fit.
Pom-Pom Pick-Up: Pom-poms of different sizes amd colours, and large tweezers. This gives the potential for the child to sort them (if they want to) into colours or sizes.
Coffee and Cinnamon Sensory Play: Based on this sensory play activity, I let The Boy explore the different scents from the coffee, cinnamon and dried oranges.
Curious Conkers: It's Autumn and that means conker season. Would work well at any time of the year with flowers, seeds etc.

All of these items are resources that we had lying around the house (or garden). The partitioned plate is one of three that I bought for The Boy's birthday party food last year from Asda. The large tweezers are from Amazon and the coloured counters for tiddlywinks from eBay.