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Wonderful resources for playing at home.

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Here are some ideas for play that cost very little:

There are lots of things around most people's homes that can be played with. Although you might think play means games and toys, children can play with lots of things that encourage their imagination and ingenuity. For example, things like cardboard boxes or old sheets can be played with in different ways.

Here are some ideas of things you can find around the house for your child to play with:

You can also offer your child some of the things that are often thrown away or recycled.

Here's a link to the First 5 parents page for ideas on play and learning for younger children.

Here's a link to the NCN Play Hub on Facebook for daily ideas on play and activities.

You might want to record this time in your family using the COVID-19 Time Capsule.

Here are great resources from our friends in Play Scotland:

Messy Play Book 1

Messy Play Book 1

Messy Play Book 2

Messy Play Book 2

Loose Parts

Loose Parts

Experimental Play

Experimental Play

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Here are some ideas for play that cost very little: There are lots of things around most people's homes that can be played with. Although you might think play means games and toys, children can play with lots of things that encourage their imagination and ingenuity.

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Some great phonics videos that support the teaching of phonics.

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mr thorne learn phonics alphabet letters teacher learning reading literacy english abc preschool read geraldine giraffe does nursery stories grammar spelling school education "early years"

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Over 600 videos from the educator who is teaching how to read using phonics, grammar, spelling and punctuation! Chosen as the #1 website to make your child s...

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http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html

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Watch, read and listen to 100+ nursery rhymes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-a-to-z-index/z4ddgwx

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ICT games suitable for 5-8 year olds that help with phonics and are tablet & desktop friendly.

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Free educational games aimed at children between 5 and 8 years old. Made by a UK teacher with 20 years of experience in education.

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https://www.starfall.com/h/
Interactive Phonics activities and games for early readers.

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Great maths related activities, activities to do from home & design & make projects suitable for 4-7 year olds to keep us busy from the Science foundation of Ireland!

https://www.sfi.ie/engagement/discover-primary-science-and-maths/activities-search/index.xml#result

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Collins Big Cat eBooks are now available online for free, along with a selection of downloadable worksheets to use alongside the books at home.
Follow the instructions and register via the teacher portal
Username: parents@harpercollins.co.uk
Passwork: Parents20!

https://connect.collins.co.uk/school/teacherlogin.aspx

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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLopF--XaHxpbBsuFwePLfvIRtZLJK1z5k

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A great website where celebrities read from picture books!

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Here is a blog that has some fun and easy gardening ideas for little fingers at home.
https://blog.countrylife.ie/gardening/childrens-gardening-project/?utm_source=paid_social&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=Traffic_April2020

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A fun way of keeping an eye on the birds that visit your garden. Tick off the birds that you see ✅

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Easy science ideas for young minds 🧪 🧫

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These science experiments Key Stage 1 are great for school or home and perfect to sit alongside science in the classroom for Key Stage 1 in the UK or for children aged between around 4 and 7 who love science!

I've also got a FREE printable experiment sheet you can print out to use with the investigations. Huge thanks to Mrs Mactivity for creating it.

If a science challenge is more your thing, we've got some easy STEM challenges using newspaper to try. You might also like our Science Fun at Home ideas created in association with the Primary Science Teaching Trust.

Plants and Animals

Flower and Plant Investigation Ideas

Grow a sunflower and measure how tall it grows. Position two sunflowers so one is in the shade and one in the sunshine and compare the differences as they grow.

Our cress caterpillar is a great longer term investigation which covers the conditions plants need to grow and what happens if they don't receive enough sunlight.

Grow a bean in a jar to learn about germination.

Find out why plants need water.

Dissecting a flower is a great way to introduce the different parts of a flower and their function to children. Another way to do this is to set up a flower sensory tray.

Wildlife Watch has some great plant and animal spotter sheets which could be useful for this topic too.

Animals Including Humans

Identify Body Parts

Teach children to identify and name body parts by drawing around themselves on a large sheet of paper, or with chalk outside and draw and label as much as they can.

Add the 5 senses ( smell with nose, taste with tongue, touch with fingers, hear with ears and see with eyes ) to the body diagram.

Taste science investigations

Eat a coloured sweet and look at the tiny bumps ( tastebuds ) on the tongue!

Try to eat something while holding your nose. You should find you can't taste as well without your sense of smell to help. When people have a cold they often lose their sense of taste as they have a blocked up nose.

Smell Science Investigations

Chose several smelly foods and place a small amount in a paper cup. Cover the cup with foil and ask a friend to lift the foil up a tiny bit and guess the food from the smell. Garlic, lemon, orange and other herbs work well for this.

Importance of exercise and a healthy diet

Nutrition activities for Key Stage 1

Create a healthy lunchbox containing fruit and vegetables, a source of protein, fibre and a source of energy.

Sort real foods into the following groups, a fun way to do this is to draw circles in chalk outside for each group.

Fruit and Vegetables

Protein - nuts, meat and dairy

Fats - butter and vegetable oil

Fibre - bread, rice

Energy - pasta

Importance of Hygiene

The good old glitter and hand cream activity is great for showing small children why they should wash their hands, but remember to use bio glitter.

The Human Skeleton

Find out why we have bones by making easy models of the spine, finding out the names of human bones and even making a bendy bone!

Human teeth

Learn about the importance of keeping teeth clean with eggs!

Add play dough plaque to a jaw model and clean it off.

Create play dough mouth models showing the different types of teeth. Incisors, canines and molars.

Try some toy sorting, thinking about the properties of the different materials they are made from.

I've also got a huge collection of ideas for learning about materials including making a superhero cape, making a superhero float and even a magnet maze.

If you've got children who like to build, try one of our ideas for learning about materials with a building topic!

Another idea is to make a raincoat for a doll or an umbrella for Incy Wincy.

Try some sinking and floating!

Consider changes of state by melting chocolate and letting it set again.

Seasonal Change

Model the changing seasons with LEGO or try one of our weather science experiments.

Learn about electricity with play dough circuits. These are great fun and very easy once you have the right equipment.

Forces and Motion

Learn about forces by making a friction ramp and testing how long cars take to travel down it.

Lollystick catapults are easy to make and also a great way to demonstrate forces.

Make a shadow frame or shadow puppets using cardboard and contact paper or try to make a human sundial.

If you've got any other science experiments for Key Stage 1 we might like do let me know and if you try any I'd love you to share and tag me on social media ( @sciencesparks )

More Science for Kids

Try my HUGE collection of Early Years science experiments and investigations. There are ideas for Pirates, Under the Sea, People Who Help Us and Nursery Rhyme themes.

I also have a couple of science books you might like too! This IS Rocket Science contains SEVENTY fun space themed experiments for kids and Snackable Science 60 fun edible experiments and tests!

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These science experiments Key Stage 1 are great for school or home and perfect to sit alongside science in the classroom for Key Stage 1 in the UK or for children aged between around 4 and 7 who love science! I've also got a FREE printable experiment sheet you can print out to use with the investigations.

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The PDST team are releasing videos and activities for children to practice their fundamental skills at home, e.g. balancing, running & throwing!

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Beyond the Classroom

Beyond the Classroom resources can be used by teachers to help engage parents in their child's physical literacy journey. Learning undertaken within physical education class can be consolidated and enhanced outside of school. This resource is arranged into 15 sections - one for each of the fundamental movement skills. Children are encouraged to practise what they have learned in the PE lesson at school by completing the corresponding activities at home. Each activity is accompanied by a video clip and contains a warm-up, an opportunity to practise the fundamental movement skill, a home challenge and a task to complete in the child's PE journal. This resource is available in both English and Irish

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Official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland. Curriculum focused resources and support for primary and post primary teachers.

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A great website that is offering a song a day for free.

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Primary School Songs | Songs For Schools | Out of the Ark

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Buy Primary School Songs, Music for Schools, Assembly Resources, Nativities, Musicals, Songbooks and Curriculum Resources for KS1 and KS2

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https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

Username: march20
Password: home

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Learning numbers the fun way!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgdVMbnqLpHQ7bfSLHdTkKq2-RaAzfdsW

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Great simple problem solving activities for 5-7 year olds.

https://nrich.maths.org/11341

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Simple counting games, shape match and pattern work.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-
years/counting

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A huge variety of rhyming games, sight words games, and counting games suitable for Junior Infants.

https://www.abcya.com/

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Reading Bear is a free interactive programme that allows children to blend and read words. It is a fun way to practice all the sounds that they know.

https://www.readingbear.org/

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We love using this in school. The characters are very funny and teach us their sound in an exciting way.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSW2D61TnopRQvq83gqgHcOAs8WtAA5XC

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Roinnt scéalta i nGaeilge do phaistí atá ar fáil le éisteacht leo saor in aisce ar líne:

https://soundcloud.com/search?q=walker%20eireann

Picture books in Irish are available for children to listen to on soundcloud.

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Díríonn siad ar aithint focal, ar thuiscint agus ar fhorbairt stór focal.
https://www.seideansi.ie/naionain-bheaga.php

Lots of fun Irish activities on this website ☘️