10 School Holiday Activities with a Twist

Below is a snapshot of 10 of my favourite School holiday activities with a twist. You can find out more about each activity and areas of development for your children from the previous 10 posts with the same title. Happy holiday!

1. Treasure Hunt (aka getting rid of old toys!). 

2. Toy Shopping (aka swapping toys with other mums).

3. Water play (aka kids helping you wash the toys!)

4. Fashion parade (aka clothes swap!)

5. Secret destination (aka make an ordinary trip extraordinary!)

6. Master Chef (aka kids helping you cook dinner!)

7. Movie and popcorn with friends (aka mums can have a cuppa and adult conversation!). 

8. Boogie morning (aka dance the morning away!)

9. High tea (aka kids to serve mums morning tea!)

10. Little Olympics (aka get kids use up their energy and go to bed early!)

School Holiday Activity with a twist - Treasure Hunt

1. Treasure Hunt (aka getting rid of old toys!). 

Old toys that have been sitting at the bottom of the toy boxes can become another little boy or girl’s treasure. Choose toys that are clean and still in good condition.

Tips: Take your kids with you when you drop off the toys at charities so they know where their old toys are going to.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Sense of self

Tips: Speak about how you as a family are helping kids in other families can help your kids develop an awareness of themselves as a member of the family as well as a member of the community.

* Physical wellbeing

Tips: When your kids are picking up small toys with their fingers or bigger toys with their hands and placing them in boxes they are developing their balance and gross and fine motor skills.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Toy Shopping

2. Toy shopping (aka swapping toys with other mums).

Tips: Group similar toys together. Agree with the other mums the number of “new” toys each child can take home. Give each child the same number of coupons and they can use the coupons to exchange for a “new” toy.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Emotional wellbeing

Tips: Explain to all the kids the rules and expectations for everyone in the group. This provides an opportunity for kids to develop a sense of belonging and an understanding of expected behaviour in a community.

* Sense of self

Tips: Giving kids the power to choose what they like (in a controlled environment) can help kids develop a healthy sense of self.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Water Play

3. Water play (aka kids helping you wash the toys!)

Tips: Set up play area in the backyard/courtyard. Bring out toys that need a bit of wash, e.g. blocks, dolls, soft toys etc. Wash toys with your kids and have fun water playing together.

Important tips: As with all water play, careful observation is important. 

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Emotional wellbeing

Water play is an excellent activity for kids. When they pour, stir, swoosh and squeeze, they are relieving tensions and releasing their emotion.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Fashion Parade

4. Fashion Parade (aka clothes swap!)

Tips: Organise with mums with kids of different age groups so all mums can benefit from the activity. Set rules and expectations, e.g. clothes must be in good order and clean; mums to help sort clothes on arrival and help set up etc. Be creative; make a runway for the fashion parade using tapes and make sure you clap and cheer for the models. Take turns to host this event.

Pre fashion parade: once clothes have been sorted, mums and kids to pick clothes together.

Showtime: kids to wear their new clothes/shoes and parade on the runway.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Sense of self

Tips: Giving kids the power to choose what they like (in a controlled environment) can help kids develop a healthy sense of self.  Their confidence can be enhanced when they parade in front of others and being cheered for.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Secret Destination

5. Secret destination (aka make an ordinary trip extraordinary!)

Tips: The trip can simply be a visit to the park or beach or a friend’s house or anywhere you and your kids like to visit. Don’t tell the kids the destination. Give them hints so they can spend time guessing on the way. It will be fun! Hints can be: “we have been there before”; “we ate ice cream when we were there last time”; “we saw Harry there last time” – which could be Harry’s home; the park where your kids played with Harry last time: or the swimming pool that Harry also went for a swim last time”.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Language skills

Tips: When your kids are discussing with you or one another where they are heading their language skills are being enhanced.

* Sense of self

Tips: When your kids are teaming up together to guess correctly the secret destination their self-confidence are enhanced and you are helping your kids develop an awareness of themselves as individuals and as a member of the family.

* Cognitive skills

Tips: When your kids are given the opportunity to interact with the natural world (e.g. the park, the beach etc) you can enhance development of their thinking, investigating, exploring and problem-solving skills.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Master Chef

6. Master Chef (aka kids helping you cook dinner!)

Tips: Choose easy dinners to prepare with your kids e.g. pizza (pineapple, grated cheese and ham with tomato paste, use frozen pizza base or you can easily make one with your kids helping you knead the dough). Chicken salad (buy roast chicken the night before at a discount available at some supermarkets). Your kids can help you tear off the meat with their fingers and wash and mix the greens together in the bowl.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Maths and Science skills

Tips: When your kids are helping you measure the ingredients e.g. 1 cups flour, 2 cups water, they are learning about counting. When they are helping you mix water and flour to become a dough they are learning about Science.

* Physical and Healthy wellbeing

Tips: When your kids are using food from different food groups (e.g. fruit, vegetables, meat, flour) to prepare a meal they are learning about balanced and healthy eating. When they are tearing off the meat from the roast chicken; washing the vegetables etc they are gaining confidence and developing control of their fine motor skills.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Movie and Popcorn with Friends

7. Movie and popcorn with friends (aka mums can have a cuppa and adult conversation!)

Borrow a movie from the library or rent a DVD and share the cost with other mums. Make it a special event for every School holiday and lock in the date for next School holiday. Take turn to host.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Social skills

Tips: When your kids are sitting down quietly and watching a movie with other kids they are learning to display socially acceptable behaviours in a group setting and you are helping them develop their social skills to participate as a member of a group.

Tips: Discuss with other mums to choose a movie suitable for the group.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Boogie Morning

8. Boogie morning (aka dance the morning away!) 

 

Tips: Mums to each bring a few children music CDs or borrow some from the library. Involve the kids to choose the CDs whether from home or from the library and they will be more interested to join in the dance. On arrival,at the designated venue get kids to decorate the room with confetti etc. Make it a special event for every School holiday and lock in the date for next School holiday. Choose a different theme every time to dress up or collect old scarves or bring costumes to share. Take turn to host.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Physical wellbeing

Tips: Dancing can help your kids develop gross motor skills and gain confidence in their body movements.

* Emotional wellbeing

Tips: Dancing can be a way for your kids to express their feelings; relieve tensions and release their emotion.

Tips: Dancing can improve kids’s self-esteem; their confidence can be enhanced when they dance in front of others who are also dancing confidently in front of them.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - High Tea

9. High tea (aka kids to serve mums morning tea!)

Tips: Make it a special event for every School holiday. Take turns with other mums to host. Everyone brings something to share. Depending on the number the host, allocate say 2 other mums on the roster will help kids in the kitchen whilst the rest of the mums sit down to have a chat and a cuppa first. Kids can help place cupcakes on the cupcake stands; fold the napkins and set the table etc.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Sense of Self

Tips: Preparing and serving mums morning tea with other kids can help your kids develop an awareness of themselves as individuals and as a member of a community and help them develop a healthy sense of self-esteem. 

* Physical wellbeing

Tips: When your kids are picking up the cupcakes and placing them on the cupcake stands; when they are folding the napkins and placing them on the table, they are developing their fine motor skills.

* Maths skills

Tips: When your kids are counting the number of napkins and how many spoons they need to set the table with they are developing their math skills.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

School Holiday Activity with a Twist - Little Olympics

10. Little Olympics (aka get the kids use up their energy and have an early sleep that night!)

 

Create an obstacles course. Here are some suggestions: boxes to crawl through; hula hoop to jump in and out; an old bed sheet to roll across; a skipping rope to skip 5-10 times; a box full of clothes and footwear to find something green to put on, it can be a cap, a shirt or a pair of thongs!  Here’s a fun obstacle: think of actions kids have to do and write them on cards and put the cards in a box for kids to pick from e.g. to clap and jump 10 times at the same time; to bark like a dog for 10 seconds; to fly like a butterfly for 10 seconds etc. 

Time how long the obstacles take and mark it on a white board or a piece of butcher paper so kids can revisit the obstacle course in order to improve their own record (not to beat another child’s record). 

Get kids to cheer for one another to make this activity about encouraging one another and not about winning.

This activity can help nurture a child’s:

* Physical wellbeing

Tips: This activity can help your kids develop their balance and gross motor skills and gain confidence in their body movements. Buttoning up or tying the shoelaces can help your kids develop their fine motor skills.

* Sense of self

Tips: Cheering for other kids and being cheered for can help your kids develop an awareness of themselves as individuals and as a member of a community and help them develop a healthy sense of self-esteem.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2015

FREE Save The Environment Colouring Pages

Dear parents and educators,

We love to help.

You can download our free printable “Save the environment colouring pages" from our website www.rainbowballs.com.au and use this activity to teach children how they can help save the environment.

Happy colouring!

Till next time....
Simone 

2 Full Bellies

As a child I loved going to the park and one of my favourite activities was to look for butterflies. I would head towards the shrubs and flowerbeds straightaway to look for them and as soon as I found them I would follow them quietly, completely mesmerized by their beauty.

The beautiful colours and intricate patterns on the butterflies and the way they fly fascinate me. When they fly they resemble beautiful ballerinas dancing on stage; the flowerbeds are their performing stages where they dance freely without a care in the world. 

The story of Draw and Tell Bella was written simply because I love butterflies. I didn’t have a clue what the story would be about when I decided to create it. I named the main character Bella and created a younger brother for Bella because I want readers to be able to imagine 2 butterflies dancing together in the story. Bit by bit as I drew the butterfly the storyline emerged. I am not going to give too much away here except that you will find 2 full bellies in the story! The story also has a humorous side to it because I want readers to feel happy after reading the story. I once wrote that it is good for adults to read a children’s book because it always has a happy ending and many adults resonated with me.

My hope is that when you read this story with your children you will be able to imagine yourself dancing in the park; looking for that one special creature that intrigues you; walking around the colourful flowerbeds; enjoying the scent of the flowers and the beauty of nature. My hope is that when you read this story it will take you back to your childhood; perhaps you are like Bella, or maybe you are more like Brian who was fortunate enough to have a sibling like Bella. My hope is that after reading this story, you will take your children to the park to look for butterflies together and get to experience the sheer joy of nature simply by observing one of the most beautiful creatures in the world. My hope is that you will enjoy the simplicity of the story; appreciate the teaching messages hidden within the story; and laugh at the humour side of it; and simply feel good after reading the story - the story with a happy ending.

Happy reading and dancing!

Till next time....

Simone

A 21-day challenge

Draw and Tell is really a fun way to read with your children; and my draw and tell eBooks have been uniquely designed so that parents and their children can read together, draw and tell together, listen together and even colour in together (available in draw and Tell short stories series). I sincerely hope parents will take up of challenge of spending simply 10 minutes a day to read with their children. It is said that a habit usually takes 21 days to form. I hope you are up for this challenge in the next 21 days!

The benefits of reading with your children 10 minutes daily are enormous. Let me share just a few with you:

Benefits to you:

* The 10 minutes you spend focussing on reading the story is a simple way to help you unwind after a busy day

* Children’s stories are enjoyable to read and always have a happy ending. Reading a happy story after a busy day can help you relax and put your focus back on the family.

* Spending quality time together can help strengthen relationships

* Just 10 minutes a day reading together can make your children feel they are important to you and can help you navigate the relationships for the rest of the day

* This 10 minutes can provide a wonderful opportunity for you to bond with your children and have quality one-on-one communication with one another

Benefits to your children:

* Their sense of wellbeing can improve because they feel they are important to you when you give them one-on-one attention

* Reading sparks your children’s imagination and stimulate curiosity which is essential to learning

* Learning how a book works is an important part of learning to read

* Being able to predict is an important skill in learning to read

* It helps develop their language and listening skills

* It helps increase their attention span and develop their ability to concentrate

So far, I have published 15 draw and tell eBooks which include 7 short stories, 7 long stories and 1 personalised story. If you would like to preview my eBooks please go to http://www.rainbowballs.com.au

Happy reading, bonding and previewing!

Simone

1 red delicious apple, 1 granny smith apple, 1 orange, 1 slice of watermelon, 1 bunch of banana and 1 pineapple – what’s their story?

I love fruit. Australia has such a great variety of fruit we get to enjoy throughout the year. The government has been promoting healthy eating in schools and daycare centres/preschools jumped on the bandwagon by partnering with parents to encourage children to pack fruit in their lunch boxes. I felt it necessary to write a draw and tell story about fruit but the story turned out to be much more than just fruit.

Whilst drawing the fruit I realised how different they are to one another. They all have different appearances, colours, tastes and shapes. When eaten individually they taste delicious but when we mix them together as a fruit salad they complement one another and taste even better.

Identity and respecting one another’s uniqueness are important concepts to teach children from an early age. It is not too early to teach children as young as 3 years old about the concept of healthy sense of wellbeing and the importance of embracing one another’s uniqueness. No matter what our appearances, backgrounds and cultures are, we all have gifts and talents to contribute. When we unite and pool together all our gifts and talents we can contribute so much more to those less fortunate than ourselves and to the world at large.

Amy, the red delicious apple, is the main character of this story hence this eBook is called Draw and Tell Amy. The story is about Amy spending her School holiday at her grandma’s and one by one her ‘fruit’ friends appeared.

Draw and Tell Amy is one of the chosen stories I present at daycare centres/preschools. After storytelling we usually set up an activity where children prepare seasonal fruit together and learn about turn-taking and team work. Children also get to share the fruit salad afterwards. Feedback from the teachers so far have been positive in that after listening to Draw and Tell Amy the children were interested in participating in this activity and eating the fruit.

You can preview Draw and Tell Amy by visiting our website www.rainbowballs.com.au

Happy reading and healthy eating!

Till next time....

Simone

It all began with a 4 years old boy from France

The idea to create draw and tell stories for children was conceived after I met a 4 years old boy from France. He had been brought up speaking French at home and only understood a little bit of English. The first time he ever sat with other children on the mat to listen to a story was when it was being told using the draw and tell concept. When studying towards my Bachelor degree in early childhood teaching I learned about the enormous benefits of parents reading with their children. One of the benefits was that it helps strengthen parent/child relationship. These two events have been the catalyst for my passion to create draw and tell stories to foster a love of reading in children and to provide parents with a simple and fun way to strengthen their relationships with their children.

The name Rainbowballs has been chosen to illustrate the many colours I use to create draw and tell stories. My eBooks are created with a combination of colours from the rainbow. Each colour has its own characteristic and represents a distinctive emotion. Yet when we put various colours together it depicts another emotion and tells a different story.

Visual images help children, especially those from the ages of three to six years old, to better understand a story. My Draw and Tell series have been created with this in mind. I use lines, colours and shapes to create images that attract young children’s attention to listen to the story.

My website www.rainbowballs.com.au was launched in June 2012. I have since released fifteen eBooks of my Draw and Tell series which includes one personalised story, seven short stories for ages 3+ and seven long stories for ages 4+. Other eBooks from the Draw and Tell series are in various stages of development and will be released when they become available.

Till next time.....

Simone

About DID YOU KNOW

DID YOU KNOW is a popular article with helpful tips and creative and fun activities for parents with preschool-age children and it is published regularly on my facebook page called Rainbowballs Children’s eBook.

If you would like to receive upcoming articles please visit www.facebook.com/officialRainbowballs and LIKE the page.

All previous articles are published on this blog. You can find them under the label called DID YOU KNOW.

Happy reading!

Simone

Learning Styles - Part 8

Did you know....

It is suggested that we learn in a combination of styles, but with a preference to one. 

We should, however, encourage children to use their less preferred modes.

Tips: Our draw and tell stories have been specially designed to help children develop their preferred learning styles as well as their less preferred modes.

Let me give you several examples:

Auditory learners can develop the skills to learn visually. They can listen to the story by clicking the audio button on each page and see the stories being unfolded on the screen at the same time.

Auditory learners can develop the skills to learn with movement when you encourage them to draw and tell the stories with you.

Kinesthetic learners and visual learners can develop their listening skills when they use the audio feature to listen to the stories. They can practise talking aloud when you ask them questions about the stories or when they talk about the colourful images or repeat the sounds of the different characters in the stories.

Visit www.rainbowballs.com.au to find out more.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2014

Learning Styles - Part 7

Did you know....

Denise is one of our much-loved characters in the Draw and Tell series and it is a FREE eBook that many parents all around the world have been reading with their children.

Tips: Draw and Tell Denise is an excellent story to read to auditory learners. Visit www.rainbowballs.com.au to download your free copy today.

Copyright © Simone Yuen 2014