Forces

Do a project on movement.  Look at how things move.  What makes your bike go quicker or slower - think about the surface you are riding on?  What is moved by wind and water?  Look at objects falling - which objects fall the quickest and the slowest?  How to planes fly without falling out of the sky?  How do boats stay afloat?

Year A Autumn Term - Seasons and Electricity

Some ideas for activities at home:

Make a weather chart for home (season, month, day of the week and weather picture).  There are lots available online to print off or simply make your own.

Make a washing line by pinning some string to a wall – can they hang winter clothes on it from a choice of winter and summer clothes?  Either print off pictures of clothes, use a catalogue or draw your own clothes for your child to use.

Go for a walk and look carefully at the trees – talk about the number of leaves on the tree and he colour of them – do this regularly and notice the changes.

Pick blackberries and bake a cake/crumble with them.  Help them realise blackberry picking happens in the autumn.  Talk about other autumn events – bonfire night, Halloween.

Look around your home for items that use electricity.  Can they count which room has the most electrical items in?  Talk about how electrical objects give out light/heat/cold or move.

Pack away summer clothes/footwear  with your child and explain why they won’t need them for a while. 

Let your child help you hang up the washing and use pegs – the crocodile clips we use when they are older, work in exactly the same way.

Look at the berries and nuts growing on trees at the moment – collect some and try to describe them.  You could create some artwork using them.

Look at the plug sockets in your home – does your child know when the socket is on/off?  Can they identify plug, socket and switch?  Show them the mains oven switch on the wall.  Do they know not to put objects in to the sockets?  Can they count the sockets?

Look at any electricity poles/pylons/substations/railway lines when you are out and about.  Explain that the yellow warning triangle is there because the electricity can be dangerous.

Turn all electricity off – what is the biggest problem for each person in your home?

Year A Spring Term - Materials

Talk about what things are made of e.g. our table is made of wood.  Children often mix up the object (table) with what it is made of (wood).

Describe objects as hard, soft, strong, weak, rough, smooth, see-through.... 

Create a feely-bag and ask your child to guess the object or describe how the object feels.

Do a taste testing as describe the taste and texture e.g. sweet, sour, bitter, lumpy, smooth, gritty, crunchy.....

Play 'guess the object' by smelling them e.g. shampoo, flowers, crisps ...

Talk about why objects are made of specific materials e.g. bath toys are made of plastic because it is light, waterproof and safe for children.

Get crafty - make things e.g. Hamma beads (the plastic melts to stick the beads together), wooden models, clay models, aqua beads, plaster of paris figures...

Lot of making ideas are available online.  Eden Rivers Trust have some nice nature-based activities (link below).

Year A Summer Term - Animals

Find out about a range of animals from the different groups, can you create an information booklet all about a specific group e.g. book all about mammals. 

Year B Autumn Term - Seasons

Create your own seasons wheel. Label the seasons and draw pictures for each season. 

Choose one of the seasons and create a simple senses poem all about your chosen season. 

Year B Spring Term - Light and Dark

Identify sources of light in your own home. 

Can you create a poster with all of the light sources that you have found e.g. torches, candles. 

Year B Summer Term - Living Things and their Habitats including Plants

We will be looking at the lives of living things and why they choose to live where they do. Research your favourite animal and find out about its habitat, its eating habits and what else lives around their habitat.