Are you a parent or carer looking for ways to keep your pre-schooler entertained? Wanting to help prepare your child for school? Hoping for more activities to encourage independent play? We understand how hard these things can be, so we’ve prepared a bundle of 10 fun, tried and tested activities to support you with all of the above.

Initial sounds cards: these cards encourage children to think of the initial letter sounds of different words. There are three images per card (so three images per letter sound), encourage your child to sound out the word and listen to the initial sound. Print these cards out and either use the printable letters provided or use any wooden or magnetic letters you may have. You could even encourage your child to write the letter if this is something you feel they are ready for, you know your child best!
This activity doesn’t cover the whole alphabet, instead it supports teaching of Phase 2 phonics and introducing the following letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u. Also available for purchase individually here

Counting 1 – 20 road map: these fun road maps are a really fun way to encourage counting from 1-10 and 1-20. Using a toy car (or whatever toy your child likes) encourage them to follow the renumbers on the map in the correct order. Once they have mastered this, they can cut out the numbers from 1 – 20 and place them on the blank road map, creating different pathways for themselves or for you. Also available for purchase individually here.

Cutting skills practise: using scissors is a great way to encourage development of fine motor skills. It’s also important as children will use scissors a lot once they start school, so practise makes perfect. These four sheets of cutting practise are perfect for developing scissor skills, they have simple lines and patterns for children to follow as they improve their cutting skills and develop their fine motor skills. Also available for purchase individually here.

Play dough shape cards: who doesn’t love play dough? Ok, maybe not everyone… but these 16 photo cards are a great way to encourage your child to create with play dough independently. They have a variety of play dough shapes and patterns for children to recreate.
If making play dough is your thing, we love this recipe.
Available for purchase individually here.

 

Number recognition colouring: we know colouring in can be a firm favourite, these fun colouring sheets provide children with the opportunity to find and recognise numbers 1 – 20 whilst colouring. Or as my three-year-old son used to say, find those ‘cheeky numbers’. Also available as part of this bundle or for FREE here.

Colour by number: if your child really loves colouring, then this activity could be perfect. It contains two simple colour by number pictures, supporting recognition of numbers up to 5. Only available as part of the bundle.

Jigsaws: these jigsaws of five different images (the tractor was always my son’s favourite) are each cut into 4, 8 and 10 pieces so you can choose the challenge most appropriate for your child. They are also numbered so continue to support their number recognition and counting. Only available as part of the bundle.

Matching numbers to objects: this activity contains cards with the numbers 1-10 and cards with a number of objects on, children have to match the correct number to the correct amount of objects. A great independent activity to help them with number recognition and counting! Extend this by asking them to find a certain number of objects from around your home or when you’re out and about. Only available as part of the bundle.

Colour matching: match the colours of the objects in the images to the colour card, extend this activity by allowing children to find objects that match the colour.

Weather matching activity: in this activity, encourage children to match the item of clothing to the weather. A fun sorting activity which can help with school readiness. Only available as part of the bundle.

Find the whole bundle here, happy playing!