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Science investigations that can be completed at home.

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Science investigations that can be completed at home.

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A range of different investigations that can support the use of scientific vocabulary and critical skills.

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If there is one thing that is guaranteed to get your students excited, it's a good science experiment! While some experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals, there are plenty of cool projects you can do with regular household items. We've rounded up a big collection of easy science experiments that anybody can try, and kids are going to love them!

Jump to:

Easy Chemistry Science Experiments

2. Crystallize sweet treats

Crystal science experiments teach kids about supersaturated solutions. This one is easy to do at home, and the results are absolutely delicious!

Learn more: Candy Crystals

23. Mummify a hot dog

If your kids are fascinated by the Egyptians, they'll love learning to mummify a hot dog! No need for canopic jars, just grab some baking soda and get started.

Easy Physics Science Experiments

Easy Biology and Environmental Science Experiments

45. Use glitter to fight germs

Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs-it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage and show kids how soap fights glitter and germs.

Learn more: Glitter Germs

50. Experiment with limestone rocks

Kids love to collect rocks, and there are plenty of easy science experiments you can do with them. In this one, pour vinegar over a rock to see if it bubbles. If it does, you've found limestone!

Learn more: Limestone Experiments

Easy Engineering Experiments and STEM Challenges

Plus, sign up for our newsletters to get all the latest learning ideas straight to your inbox.

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Jill Staake, B.S., Secondary ELA Education

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70 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand

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Science doesn't have to be complicated! Try these easy science experiments using items you already have around the house or classroom.

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A range of different resources to support science at home

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A range of different resources to support science at home

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Encourage young people to develop important life skills through enrichment and engage with the wider community in practical, enjoyable, and meaningful ways.

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Great games to support phonics at home FS1 & FS2

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Great games to support phonics at home FS1 & FS2

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Topmarks: teaching resources, interactive resources, worksheets, homework, exam and revision help

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Searchable site of thousands of quality teaching resources, interactive resources, homework, exam and revision help. Useful for teachers, pupils and parents.

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Writing in Year 2 - explore hundreds of pictures with questions and prompts, to support creative writing. 

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Writing in Year 2 - explore hundreds of pictures with questions and prompts, to support creative writing. 

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 3.

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 3.

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JOLLY PHONICS blending group 3 |  Sounding, blending, reading, goulfb words ukg lkg grade 1 (part 2)

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 2.

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 2.

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JOLLY PHONICS GROUP 2 Blending, sounding , reading | ckehrdm | How to blend words

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 2.

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 2.

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JOLLY PHONICS GROUP 2 Blending, sounding , reading | ckehrdm | How to blend words

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 1.

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Jolly Phonics, blending in Early years GROUP 1.

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JOLLY PHONICS blending group 1 |  Sounding, blending, reading, satpin words ukg lkg grade 1

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Times Tables Rock Stars is a maths program that takes all the worry out of learning times tables and has a proven track record of boosting children's fluency and recall in multiplication and division.

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What is Times Tables Rock Stars? Parents and Carers Guide

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Writing in Year 1 - How to support your child?

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Writing in Year 1 - How to support your child?

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There are lots of ways you can help your Year 1 child with writing. Here are our top ideas.

1. Read to your child

At this age, your child will only be able to read quite simple books by themselves. You can help expand their vocabulary and their understanding of language by reading them books that they can't read independently yet.

Be sure to keep your child engaged. You would be surprised at the difference putting on funny voices, asking the occasional question, and pointing out interesting pictures makes to your child's enjoyment of reading!

For books to read with your child, take a look at our free eBook library.

2. Have your child to read to you

Making time to hear your child read isn't just good for their reading. Seeing words in print helps them to understand the words, to spell them, and to see how grammar and punctuation are used to make meaning.

When you read, occasionally talk about why the author has decided to include something and how they written it. For example:

'I wonder why the author has chosen to describe the castle as "gloomy"? I wonder what that tells us about what might happen there?'

3. Try some real-world writing

Writing for a real purpose can be a great way to fit in practice. Writing cards, shopping lists, or letters to relatives can be motivating real life reasons for writing, and can show children how useful it is to be able to write well.

At this age, it is a good idea to keep writing sessions short but frequent. For example, you could get writing into your child's daily schedule by asking them to write down their favourite part of the day before they go to bed.

If your child keeps a diary like this over an extended period, it won't be long before you can both see some real improvement in their writing (and you'll have a lovely record of them growing up too!).

4. Tell stories aloud

Giving your child the opportunity to tell stories orally is a great way to get them used to structuring their ideas and using adventurous language.

If they're not sure where to start, see if they can retell a story that they already know well, like Little Red Riding Hood or Three Little Pigs.

For more practical tips on helping your child improve their storytelling confidence, watch our storytelling skills video with Suzy Ditchburn:

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Writing in Year 1 (age 5-6) - Oxford Owl for Home

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There are lots of ways you can help your Year 1 child with writing. Here are our top ideas. At this age, your child will only be able to read quite simple books by themselves. You can help expand their vocabulary and their understanding of language by reading them books that they can't read independently yet.

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Name writing supporting SVS Starters & FS1

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Name writing supporting SVS Starters & FS1

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Great ways to support your child is learning to form the letters in their name.

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Early Writing Activities fro SVS Starters to FS2

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Early Writing Activities fro SVS Starters to FS2

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Great ways to support writing at home for younger students.

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Learning to Write | Early Writing Activities

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Math tips - How to support your child in FS & Primary

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Math tips - How to support your child in FS & Primary

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Math gets a bad reputation with being tricky or children will often think they aren't very good at it. How can you support your child at home if you don't feel very confident? Have a peek at some of these great tips.

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7 Tips for Helping Your Child with Math at Home (When You Hate Math)

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Explore advice for parents, caregivers, and teachers to help children with math when they don’t feel comfortable or competent in the discipline.

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Reading - How to support listening to your child read FS1 to Year 1

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Reading - How to support listening to your child read FS1 to Year 1

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Great tips on how to support your child with their leveled reading books. It is important your child is reading as much as possible each week to support in their reading progress. If you are not sure how you support your child to read from segmenting and blending words then this short video will help.

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Home Reading - How Do I Best Support My Child?

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Reading to your child SVS Starters to Year 2

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Reading to your child SVS Starters to Year 2

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Reading to your child, what questions to ask and when? Simple steps on how to get the most out of bedtime reading.

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Reading is Fun: A guide for parents to reading at home with young learners

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Support your child through Foundation Stage 2 

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Support your child through Foundation Stage 2 

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Some useful tips and tricks to support your child through their final year in Early Years. A guide to what to do to ensure they are working towards meeting their goals.

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10 Tips to Support Your Child Through the Reception Year

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Laura @inspiremyplay Founder of @inspiremyplay, Early Years teacher for 11 years and mummy to three gorgeous girls. I’m passionate about about the benefits of play in early childhood. This post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and go on t…

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Phonics - support your child at home FS1 to Year 2

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Phonics - support your child at home FS1 to Year 2

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A simple walk through how to support your child with phonics at home.

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Sort your phonemes from your graphemes, decoding from encoding and digraphs from trigraphs with our parents' guide to phonics teaching. Our step-by-step explanation takes you through the different stages of phonics learning, what your child will be expected to learn and the vocabulary you need to know.

What is phonics?

Phonics is a method of teaching children to read by linking sounds (phonemes) and the symbols that represent them ( graphemes, or letter groups). Phonics is the learning-to-read method used in primary schools in the UK today.

What is a phoneme?

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. The phonemes used when speaking English are:

Print out a list of phonemes to practise with your child or listen to the individual sounds being spoken with our phonics worksheets.

Phonics learning step 1: decoding

Children are taught letter sounds in Reception. This involves thinking about what sound a word starts with, saying the sound out loud and then recognising how that sound is represented by a letter.

The aim is for children to be able to see a letter and then say the sound it represents out loud. This is called decoding.

Some phonics programmes start children off by learning the letters s, a, t, n, i, p first. This is because once they know each of those letter sounds, they can then be arranged into a variety of different words (for example: sat, tip, pin, nip, tan, tin, sip, etc.). While children are learning to say the sounds of letters out loud, they will also begin to learn to write these letters (encoding).

They will be taught where they need to start with each letter and how the letters need to be formed in relation to each other. Letters (or groups of letters) that represent phonemes are called graphemes.

Phonics learning step 2: blending

Children then need to go from saying the individual sounds of each letter, to being able to blend the sounds and say the whole word. This can be a big step for many children and takes time.

Phonics learning step 3: decoding CVC words

Children will focus on decoding (reading) three-letter words arranged consonant, vowel, consonant ( CVC words) for some time.

They will learn other letter sounds, such as the consonants g, b, d, h and the remaining vowels e, o, u. Often, they will be given letter cards to put together to make CVC words which they will be asked to say out loud.

Phonics learning step 4: decoding consonant clusters in CCVC and CVCC words

Children will also learn about consonant clusters: two consonants located together in a word, such tr, cr, st, lk, pl. Children will learn to read a range of CCVC words (consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant) such as trap, stop, plan.

They will also read a range of CVCC words (consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant) such as milk, fast, cart.

Phonics learning step 5: vowel digraphs

Children are then introduced to vowel digraphs. A digraph is two vowels that together make one sound such as: /oa/, /oo/, /ee/, /ai/. They will move onto sounding out words such as deer, hair, boat, etc. and will be taught about split digraphs (or 'magic e').

They will also start to read words combining vowel digraphs with consonant clusters, such as: train, groan and stool.

Phonics learning step 6: consonant digraphs

Children will also learn the consonant digraphs (two consonants that together make one sound) ch and sh and start blending these with other sounds to make words, such as: chat, shop, chain and shout.

Encoding, or learning to spell as well as read

Alongside this process of learning to decode (read) words, children will need to continue to practise forming letters which then needs to move onto encoding. Encoding is the process of writing down a spoken word, otherwise known as spelling.

They should start to be able to produce their own short pieces of writing, spelling the simple words correctly.

It goes without saying that reading a range of age-appropriate texts as often as possible will really support children in their grasp of all the reading and spelling of all the phonemes.

Phonics learning in KS1

By the end of Reception, children should be able to write one grapheme for each of the 44 phonemes.

In Year 1, they will start to explore vowel digraphs and trigraphs (a group of three letters that makes a single sound, like 'igh' as in 'sigh') further.

They will begin to understand, for example, that the letters ea can make different sounds in different words (dream and bread). They will also learn that one sound might be represented by different groups of letters: for example, light and pie (igh and ie make the same sound).

Children in Year 2 will be learning spelling rules, such as adding suffixes to words (such as -ed, -ing, -er, -est, -ful, -ly, -y, -s, -es, -ment and -ness). They will be taught rules on how to change root words when adding these suffixes (for example, removing the 'e' from 'have' before adding 'ing') and then move onto harder concepts, such as silent letters (knock, write, etc) and particular endings (le in bottle and il in fossil).

Free phonics worksheets and information for parents

For more information about the phonics system look through our phonics articles, including ways to boost phonics confidence, details of the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, parents' phonics questions answered and more.

We also have a large selection of free phonics worksheets to download for your child.

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Sort your phonemes from your graphemes, decoding from encoding and digraphs from trigraphs with our parents' guide to phonics teaching. Our step-by-step explanation takes you through the different stages of phonics learning, what your child will be expected to learn and the vocabulary you need to know.

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Kerry Smith - Mon 1st Feb 2021

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Activities to support development of fine motor skills

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Activities to support development of fine motor skills

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Here is a collection of 40 fine motor skills activities for young children that are easy to set up and promote a whole range of skills. They're creative, open-ended, appropriate and varied with ideas for practising motor skills through art, sensory play and simple manipulative games, and there are so many to choose from!

One of the most important ways we can help our children while playing with them at home or in a childcare/ classroom setting is through setting up simple activities that help to develop fine motor skills. Young children need to be able to hold and use scissors and pencils appropriately before using them in a classroom context. We cannot expect them to be able to write if they haven't yet developed the strength needed in their hands and fingers.

There are plenty of easy ways to strengthen these muscles, practise co-ordination and develop hand:eye co-ordination using simple, everyday materials and a bit of creative fun! Here are 40 that we have done over the past few years with babies to 5 year olds. There are a million variations you could make from each of these to cater for your own child's particular interests and learning dispositions. Use these as a springboard and pin it for future reference too!

[ Herbal play dough with natural materials to explore]

My personal favourite tool for developing all fine motor skills is the humble ball of homemade play dough. It can be used in SO many ways by adding other combinations of materials to it, and automatically strengthens little hands as they roll, squeeze, twist and build with it. Here is a whole post about the benefits of playing with play dough and a handy guide to starting out with building your own play dough tool kit. Of course, baking with real dough is another wonderful way to play and learn simultaneously!
The many benefits of play dough (and a tool kit)
Other activities we have loved have included exploring sensory play materials, transporting small parts, threading beads, hands-on art projects, cutting and sticking, tearing and scrunching papers, opening and closing fastenings and countless others. Here is a selection of some of those favourites, all of which can be adapted for different age groups and abilities.
Threading with beads onto pipe cleaners Threading, posting and slotting toys for babies and toddlers Poking straws into holes Pasta necklaces Monster play dough Weaving around cardboard Fairy sparkle playdough Pipe cleaners and colanders Beads on spaghetti Hair rollers sticky construction First sewing basket Edible fingerpainting Making marks in fairy dust Decorating play dough eggs Mark making and scooping in lavender sensory salt Building 3D models Sorting and pattern making with shells Patterning with lego Lid posting game Snipping and doodling sticky stained glass windows Whisking up coloured sensory soap Salt dough alphabet modelling Pebble sorting Stacking cups Play dough cupcakes Foam and water window art

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40 Fine Motor Skills Activities - The Imagination Tree

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Here is a collection of 40 fine motor skills activities for young children that are easy to set up and promote a whole range of basic learning skills.

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10 Tips to Support Children's Science Learning

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Enjoy discussing the questions your child asks. Encourage her to share her perspective and observations.

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Quran for Kids: Learn Surah Quraish - 106 - القرآن الكريم للأطفال:  تعلّم سورة قريش

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Quran For Kids Surah Al-Asr to Surah An-Nas -

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Quran For Kids Surah Al-Asr to Surah An-Nas -

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Quran For Kids Surah Al-Asr to Surah An-Nas - القران للأطفال - سورة العصر إلى سورة الناس

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تعليم قراءة جملة بسيطة - تعليم القراءة للاطفال | أسهل طريقة لتعليم القراءة للصغار مع زكريا

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Learn Colors in Arabic for Kids - تعليم الألوان للاطفال باللغة العربية

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الحروف والمدود

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الحروف والمدود

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long and short sounds

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تعليم حروف المد والحرف الممدود للأطفال بسهولة

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ALL the Basics You Need

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Learn Arabic in 30 Minutes - ALL the Basics You Need

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For non native

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Learn Arabic - How to Introduce Yourself in Arabic

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When kids and adults learn to read, they're connecting how words sound to how those sounds are represented by letters. Phonics instruction helps make those connections.

Phonics instruction also teaches spelling patterns and spelling rules. It teaches about parts of words called syllables. Learning common syllable patterns can help people become better readers and spellers.

To thrive in both reading and spelling, here are 15 important rules to know.

Every syllable of every word must have at least one vowel sound. A vowel can stand alone in a syllable, as in u●nit and an●i●mal. It can also be surrounded by consonants, as in jet, nap●kin, and fan●tas●tic.

Vowels can make different sounds. The sounds they make depend on where they are in a word. For example, is the vowel followed by a consonant? This helps determine if the vowel makes its short or long sound: go vs. got, she vs. shed, hi vs. him.

When there's only one vowel in a syllable and it is followed by at least one consonant, the vowel usually makes its short sound. Examples include on, itch, mas●cot, and Wis●con●sin. This pattern is called a "closed syllable" because the consonant "closes in" the short vowel sound.

When there is only one vowel and it is at the end of a syllable, the vowel makes its long sound, as in he and ban●jo. This pattern is called an "open syllable."

When e is the last letter in a word, and there's only one other vowel in that syllable, the first vowel in that syllable is usually long and the e is silent, as in sale and in●side. This syllable pattern is called "vowel-consonant-e."

Some teachers call this the "silent e" rule. Some call it the "magic e " rule. The e gives all its power to the other vowel and makes that vowel use its long sound ("say its name").

4. Consonant blends and digraphs

Digraph is a fancy word for two letters that represent one sound. In a digraph made of consonants, the two consonants work together to form a new sound. Examples include chap, ship, thin, whiz, and photo. Consonant blends are different. These groups of two or more consonants work together. But unlike digraphs, their individual sounds can still be heard as they're blended together. Examples include clam, gra sp, and scr ub.

In a vowel digraph, two vowels are side by side. The first vowel is long and says its name. The second vowel is silent, as in b oat, p aint, and b ea ch.

Sometimes, two vowels work together to form a new sound. This is called a diphthong. Examples include cl oud and b oi l.

When a syllable has a vowel that is followed by r, the vowel is "controlled" by the r and makes a new sound. Examples include car, bird, germ, form, and hurt. This rule is sometimes called "bossy r" because the r "bosses" the vowel to make a new sound.

Any vowel can make the schwa sound; it sounds like a weak uh or ih. Words like fr om and fin al have the schwa sound. Some words have more than one schwa sound, like apartm ent and b anan a. It's the most common sound in the English language.

When the letter c is followed by the vowels e, i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound. Examples of that are cent, circus, and cyclone. With other vowels, the letter c makes a hard sound, as in cat and co t.

Likewise, when the letter g is followed by the vowels e, i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound. Examples of that are gel, giant, and gym. With other vowels, the letter g makes a hard sound, as in gas, gorilla, and yo gu rt.

9. The "fszl" (fizzle) rule

The letters f, s, z, and l are usually doubled at the end of a one-syllable word immediately following a short vowel. Examples include st uff, gr ass, f uzz, and sh ell. Exceptions include qu iz and b us.

When a one-syllable word ends with the /k/ sound immediately following a short vowel, it's usually spelled with ck, as in d uck and tr ick. When the /k/ sound follows a consonant, long vowel sound, or diphthong, it's usually spelled with k, as in t ask, c ake, s oak, and h awk.

11. The /j/ sound and the /ch/ sound

In a one-syllable word, when a /j/ sound immediately follows a short vowel, it's spelled dge as in b adge, h edge, br idge, d odge, and sm udge. (The d "protects" the vowel from the "magic e " rule.)

In a one-syllable word, when a /ch/ sound immediately follows a short vowel, it's usually spelled tch as in c atch, f etch, st itch, bl otch, and cl utch. The exceptions to this rule are such, much, rich, and which.

When words end with a silent e, drop the e before adding - ing. Examples: bike/biking, give/giving, and dodge/dodging. This rule also applies to other suffixes that start with vowels, like - ed, - er, - able, and - ous. Examples: grieve/grievous, excite/excitable, and hope/hoped.

In a one-syllable word like win where one short vowel is followed by one consonant, double the consonant before adding a suffix that starts with a vowel. Examples: wi nner, wi nning, wi nn able.

For most words, add s to make them plural, as in cat/cats. But when a singular word ends with s, sh, ch, x, or z, add es to make it plural, as in class es, brush es, and fox es.

To make plural a word that ends in a vowel immediately followed by y, just add s, as in toy/toys. When y immediately follows a consonant, change the y to i and add es. Examples: family/famili es, pony/poni es, and treaty/treati es.

Suffixes follow a similar set of y rules. When there's a vowel right before y, keep the y and simply add the suffix. Examples include play/play ing and annoy/annoy ing.

When a word ends with a consonant followed immediately by y, change the y to i before adding suffixes like - ed and - est. Examples include carry/carri ed and happy/happi est.

But when the suffix begins with i, keep the y and simply add the suffix, as in fly/fly ing and baby/baby ish.

Most words in the English language follow phonics rules. But any exceptions to these rules need to be taught and memorized for reading and spelling. These words are often found on lists of sight words or high-frequency words.

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15 Phonics Rules for Reading and Spelling

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When kids and adults learn to read, they're connecting how words sound to how those sounds are represented by letters. Phonics instruction helps make those connections. Phonics instruction also teaches spelling patterns and spelling rules. It teaches about parts of words called syllables. Learning common syllable patterns can help people become better readers and spellers.

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When a child struggles with spelling a word, the classic advice is "sound it out." Unfortunately, this doesn't always work. That's why we sometimes see kids spell words like two as too, every as evry, and does as duz.

Of course, phonology (the relationship between sounds in language) has an important role in spelling. But the English writing system is based heavily on meaning. For example, see and sea sound the same, but see means to look with the eyes, while sea means a body of water. When your child writes "I see the sea," she must correctly spell the word that matches the meaning so it makes sense.

That's why it's important for kids to learn spelling by understanding meaning, too. Here's a four-step framework I suggest using when your child is learning to spell a word.

First, ask your child what the word means. The purpose here is to make sure she understands the word. No one should be asked to spell words they don't know the meaning of.

For instance, with two, make sure your child understands that the word refers to the concept of the number two. Once meaning is understood, head to the next step.

Second, unpack the actual spelling of the word. It's important to meet kids where they are. If a word comes up that can easily be spelled based on its pronunciation, like cat or slip, then you're done. Move on to a new word.

However, many words aren't so simple. For these, it's important to ask your child what's unusual or different about the spelling. With two, for example, most kids will say the w doesn't seem to belong.

Third, ask your child to think of other words that share similar characteristics. Look for words with a shared meaning, or similar sound or spelling.

Again, using two as an example, many kids will say that it sounds like too, but has a different meaning. You can further guide your child with hints like, "What do we call two babies born on the same day to the same woman?" Twins. Your child may then start coming up with other examples like twelve, twenty, between, twice, and so on.

Once you've identified related words, ask her to tell you what they all have in common. The answer is that they all share a meaning related to the number two, and they all share the tw letter string. This will bring home to her why two is spelled the way it is.

Step 4: How are the letter strings in the word pronounced?

Now your child is ready for the last step, which is to talk about pronunciation. In this case, we don't pronounce the w in two. This process will cement her understanding of the word.

The key here is to help your child understand that English spelling has a connection to meaning. Encourage your child to ask questions about other words she doesn't understand or know how to spell, like every and does. Once kids start seeing the relationships between words, they can become little linguists. And that boosts not just their spelling, but also their understanding of the English language, which can help with reading as well.

Kelli Sandman-Hurley, Ed.D., is the cofounder of the Dyslexia Training Institute. She is a certified special education advocate who helps families through the IEP and 504 plan process.

Any opinions, views, information and other content contained in blogs on Understood.org are the sole responsibility of the writer of the blog, and do not necessarily reflect the views, values, opinions or beliefs of, and are not endorsed by, Understood.

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Teacher Tip: Improve Spelling by Making Your Child a "Little Linguist"

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When a child struggles with spelling a word, the classic advice is "sound it out." Unfortunately, this doesn't always work. That's why we sometimes see kids spell words like two as too, every as evry, and does as duz. Of course, phonology (the relationship between sounds in language) has an important role in spelling.

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In school, kids have to read all day. So they might not want to read traditional books at home, especially if reading is hard for them. But there are lots of other things kids can read to get their practice in-and even have fun doing it. Here are six ideas.

1. Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Illustration rules when it comes to comics and graphic novels. But words still carry the story along. For kids who have trouble with reading, images and graphics make it easier to follow the action. Plus the text is broken down into bite-size segments.

Comics and graphic novels are entertaining, too. If your child is drawn to them instead of traditional books, don't stand in the way. They offer lots of reading practice-and great illustrations, too.

2. Social Media and Websites

You may not realize it, but kids who love spending time on social media are already doing a lot of reading. Even if the posts or tweets are short, they still count. Turn that interest into a fun assignment. For example, if your child is into sports, make giving you a daily highlight an assignment. Have your child follow a website like Sports Center, or a sports blog to give updates. You'll send the message that reading is everywhere.

Everyone loves a good laugh. And if kids can get that by reading, it's a big plus. For struggling readers, joke books (or kid-friendly websites about jokes) can be a cool way to practice. Jokes are also an exercise in reading accurately with the right expression or tone (called reading fluency).

Explain that comedy is all about timing. This can encourage kids to read jokes and practice for a perfect delivery. Then have your child share the jokes with friends and family.

4. Cookbooks, Menus, and Online Recipes

If your child loves cooking and food, menus and recipes are a great way to practice reading. Help your child have fun with it. Come up with a cooking project together and read through some recipes for ideas. Or have your child research menus online to create an ideal menu for a future restaurant.

5. Magazines and Newspapers

Kids who resist books may not be as wary of a shorter format like news articles, whether it's the paper version or online. Even browsing headlines or TV listings is good reading practice.

Model this by reading newspapers and magazines yourself. Or read out loud together. You can each find a news item each day to share.

Listening to audiobooks and reading digital books is just as valuable for kids as reading traditional books. If your child loves technology, download a few books. Sometimes, just the difference in format is exciting enough to be engaging. There are lots of free digital book apps, but you may have to pay for the books themselves.

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Beyond Books: 6 Fun Things for Kids to Read

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In school, kids have to read all day. So they might not want to read traditional books at home, especially if reading is hard for them. But there are lots of other things kids can read to get their practice in-and even have fun doing it. Here are six ideas.

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Pobble 365

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Access a free inspiring image, story starter and short burst writing activities, every day! Inspire your most reluctant writers and improve writing stamina

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Pie Corbett, Talk 4 Writing on Today's Schools

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EYFS Practical maths ideas to use at home

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EYFS Practical maths ideas to use at home

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Math is so fun to teach to preschoolers because there are a lot of daily activities that incorporate math. Preschoolers don't need worksheets for math...they should learn through play and hands-on activities.
1. Patterns with Bears
I created some pattern cards to help with this. The first page is an AB pattern, meaning two colors alternate in the pattern. The second page is an ABC pattern, meaning three are three colors in the pattern. For this activity, your preschooler will set the colored bear on top of the matching color to create a pattern. On the ABC pattern cards, the last circle is left empty. That is for your child to tell you what color it should be.
You can get the color patterns printable at the bottom of this post. Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships
You can find more pattern activities here.
2. Sorting Colors with Bears
Sorting is a skill preschoolers should work on a lot. One way to sort is by color. We do this with our counting bears and a sorting mat.
You can get the sorting mat printable at the bottom of this post.
You can even use colored tape and pom poms to practice sorting! Add in some tweezers for some extra fine motor practice.

We also love counting mats! These are great for learning to count and working on one-to-one correspondence.
Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships 3. Money Muncher
A fun way to work on sorting is with the Money Muncher! It's also a great activity for fine motor skills. To see all the fun details, click here.
Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships 4. Sorting Jelly Beans
Anytime we work with candy, my kids love it! You can sort M&Ms or jelly beans or whatever! To see how we did this with jelly beans, click here.
You can get the jelly bean sorting printable at the bottom of this post.
One more idea for sorting is by using toy animals. Have them sort by different characteristics, such as land animals and sea animals.
Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships 5. Graphing
Graphing is always good to introduce to preschoolers. It doesn't have to be complex, but you can do a simple activity like graphing the types of transportation on a bar graph and use small pictures or toys (or I used erasers from The Dollar Tree).

Make graphing hands-on using apples! Even young preschoolers can begin learning about graphing with this activity.

Check out this free gumball graphing activity right here.
Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships
This is a fun activity for learning shapes! Just print this shape wheel and draw the same colored shapes onto clothespins. Have your child match the clothespin to the shape on the wheel. This is great for working on fine motor skills!
6. Shape Wheel You can get the shape wheel printable at the bottom of this post. Math Skill: Geometry
An easy way to practice shapes is with a Shape Sorter! I bought these shapes at Michaels Craft Store many years ago, but these 3D geometric shapes would be a good option if you're interested in creating a Shape Sorter. Check out this post for details on how to make this easy math activity.
7. Shape Sorter Math Skill: Geometry
A neat sensory activity and a fun way to learn shapes are with noodles! See the post here to download the free shape cards.
8. Noodle Shape Cards Math Skill: Geometry
Learn shapes in the tub with these foam sticks! You can see how we did this here.
9. Foam Sticks
Another fun way to practice shapes is with the cookie shapes matching activity!

And my favorite way to teach about shapes is with my shape rhymes!

10. Dice Game
This is a really fun game! I took this Melissa & Doug wooden toy

and put white circle stickers on the top of the pegs. I wrote numbers 1-6 and had 2 stars. I had my son roll the dice and whatever number it landed on, he would pound with a toy hammer. If the number he rolled was already down, he hit the star. Not only was this fun for him, but he was able to "subitize", which simply means to recognize numbers instantly without counting the dots.

Practice counting and recognizing numbers with star number cards. This one is great for working on one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills.
Math Skill: Number Concepts 11. Star Number Cards You can get the star number printable cards at the bottom of this post.
We made these adorable ladybugs and they were a hit! Not only were they fun to play with, but we did a lot of counting and sorting with them. Read all about it here.
Math Skill: Number Concepts 12. Ladybug Math
Learn the order of numbers with this really fun game involving balloons! Check out the details here.
Math Skill: Number Concepts
Math Skill: Number Concepts
13. Balloons
We learned about estimation with a dropper with some fun, hands-on water activities.
14. Estimating with Water
We practiced pouring skills with rice into these beakers. Then I had my son line them up from biggest to smallest. Using comparative words like big/small or empty/full help teach preschoolers about simple concepts of measurement. This is simple and you could elaborate on this activity.
Math Skill: Measurement
One more easy way to practice measurement is with Unifix cubes. Place different lengths of tape on the floor or poster board. Then have your child use Unifix cubes to measure the lines. This is a simple way to practice counting, measuring, and comparing lengths.
15. Pouring and Comparing
Lastly, check out this really easy and fun way to practice counting!

Math Skill: Measurement
If you're looking for digital math activities, make sure to check out my counting activities using Google Slides.

If you'd like to download the 5 free printables I shared in this blog post, just click on the button below!

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Hands-On Math Activities for Preschoolers

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15 Hands-On learning activities for preschoolers, including lots of free printables.

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Using a trampoline is a great activity to improve balance. It can also be part of a sensory diet. Indoor trampoline parks are a fun place to socialize with other kids. But if you're not confident your child will follow directions or if your child isn't old enough for a trampoline park, you can also get a mini-trampoline for supervised use at home. Keep in mind that it's important to follow safety rules, like having a jump bar.

Hopping and jumping require strong gross motor skills, balance, and coordination. Hopscotch is a simple way to practice those skills. (As a bonus, it can help practice number skills, too!) If you don't have a sidewalk to draw on or a playground nearby, you can set up hallway hopscotch using painter's tape.

Playing on the playground can have many benefits for kids. Swinging on a swing set can help kids develop balance. It also helps them learn how to coordinate shifting their weight and moving their legs back and forth. You may also want to encourage your child to use "unstable" playground equipment like rope ladders and wobble bridges. While they can be scary before kids get used to them, they help work trunk muscles.

5. Balloon and bubble play

Balloons and bubbles are a unique way to build gross motor skills because you can't predict where they're going to go. Kids can chase bubbles and try to pop as many as possible. While chasing them, they have to run, jump, zigzag, and move in ways that require sudden shifts in balance and weight. The same goes for throwing and trying to catch or kick balloons. For more structured play, you can set up a game of balloon volleyball.

6. Tricycles, scooters, and pedal cars

Some kids who struggle with gross motor skills may learn to ride a trike or bike later than their peers. But there are alternatives they can use to get places and practice balance. Some tricycles come with handles so you can push while your child practices pedaling. Or you could invest in a sturdy scooter or a pedal car. They're all stepping stones to riding a bike. Once your child gets the hang of it, you can even set up an obstacle course or draw a track with chalk. (Just don't forget the helmet!)

Whether it's a dance class or an indoor dance party, dancing is good gross motor practice. It helps kids develop balance, coordination, and motor sequencing skills. It also helps build your child's awareness of rhythm. For little kids, try using songs with lyrics that add movement, like "I'm a Little Teapot" or "The Hokey Pokey."

Obstacle courses get kids moving and give them a goal to accomplish. For an indoor course, use furniture, pillows, and blankets to create areas to crawl on, under, and through. Outdoors, you can use things like hula-hoops to jump in and out of, jumping jacks, belly crawling, bear walking, and other creative movements that challenge your child to balance, crawl, jump, and run.

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Keri Wilmot is an occupational therapist who works with children of varying ages and abilities in all areas of pediatrics.

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8 gross motor skills activities for kids

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Using a trampoline is a great activity to improve balance. It can also be part of a sensory diet. Indoor trampoline parks are a fun place to socialize with other kids. But if you're not confident your child will follow directions or if your child isn't old enough for a trampoline park, you can also get a mini-trampoline for supervised use at home.

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Gross Motor Skills vs. Fine Motor Skills: What’s the difference?

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When do kids start using crayons? Tying shoes? Riding a bike? All kids develop coordination and motor skills at slightly different rates. But kids tend to reach certain milestones at certain ages.

See when kids typically develop coordination and motor skills.

Creep, crawl, scoot, and may start to pull to standing position

Point at things

Reach for and grab a toy

Start picking up small pieces of food

Toddlers and Preschoolers

Ride a bike without training wheels

Show sports skills like catching a small ball

Do chores like sweeping or making the bed

Tie shoes and button and zip independently

Middle-Schoolers and High-Schoolers

Refine movements like those used in team sports

May try to develop strength and endurance due to increased muscle mass-especially in boys

May be clumsy because of growth spurts

Become more agile and less clumsy, making it easier to do things like type on a keyboard and build complicated projects

Refine visual-spatial coordination to help judge distance and speed and react quickly when driving

If your child isn't on track with all of these milestones, don't panic. All children develop differently. Talk to your child's health-care provider about what you're noticing to get a better sense of how your child is doing.

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Coordination and Motor Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages

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When do kids start using crayons? Tying shoes? Riding a bike? All kids develop coordination and motor skills at slightly different rates. But kids tend to reach certain milestones at certain ages. See when kids typically develop coordination and motor skills.

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Fine Motor

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Play dough exercises for Fine motor skills 

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Play dough exercises for Fine motor skills 

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ALL Jolly Phonics songs in alphabetic order

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ALL Jolly Phonics songs in alphabetic order, inc qu PLUS digraphs ch,th,sh,ai,ee or, oi