Ideas Bank
The ideas bank has been created by our Family Support Officers with fun and enjoyable learning ideas to do at home as a family
Scroll through all the categories below to find many great family engagement resources
Enjoy 🙂
Nursery Rhymes
PLAY IDEAS
Nature Trail
Why not go for a walk in your local area and look for different trees, wildlife and under stones, what can you find? Its great way to explore your area as a family.
What birds are in your area?
Take a walk around your neighbourhood, local park or just have a look in your garden, what birds can you spot? Here is a checklist of birds you can find in Wales.
Duck Race
Lets have fun outside in the puddles or at bath time.
if you have some bath ducks / floating animals and straws, set up a race and see who wins.
Ready Set Ride
Want ideas to help your child learn to ride a bike, visit British Cycling Ready Set Ride Resource on their website for free, easy games to help your child how to pedal while having lots of fun along the way. Games include balance activities to get your child ready before they try activities with a bike.
Jumping Jade Activity Game
Set out equipment for children to jump over in a variety of ways (i.e. ropes, imaginary puddles, cushions, toys
- Encourage children jump and land with both feet and do a variety of shapes in the air
- Create a jumping path around the house or garden for them to jump around like monkeys / frogs / kangaroos
Pebble Plop Fun Activity Game
Pebble plop is a great game to explore throwing various objects at or into various sized targets a set distance away.
- Use different objects in the house as a target such as a bin, shoe box, a mat, hoop etc.
- Set objects at different distances, in a row, or randomly across a room
- Use different object to throw such as a ball, sock, rolled up new paper, bean bag etc.
- Game can be played indoors or outdoors
Crazy Capers
Is a fun activity game to do indoor and outdoor by
- placing a range of objects e.g. teddies and dolls, bean bags and quoits, vegetables and fruit etc. on the floor.
- your child then pick up one object at a time, carry it and place it in a designated area/hoop on the other side of the room/garden
- return to the start to go again/for next child to go
- your child can run, hop, skip, jump, crawl, etc. and move in different ways to get the objects
- help children to create a points system based on time to complete, accuracy of sorting, etc
- you can also get your child to place the objects in a pram/trolley or cart and then pushing the pram to a designated area, unload the object and then return the pram and then return to the start
Playing at home guide
Playful Childhoods have a Playing at Home Guide, with fun play ideas to allow children learn and grow and have a happy and healthy childhood. Click below for a look.
Everyone likes to play with bubbles
Meg our family support officer guide to making bubbles and a bubble wand at home to have fun outside with the family
Click here to find out how to have fun with bubbles
Let’s get wet and splash in the muddy puddles
Puddles are a great way for children to have fun
Simply put on some wellies and a coat, take your little ones out to play in the rain, and find some puddles.
Endless fun!
Let’s go out exploring and head out on a family treasure hunt
Click below for a great way to explore your village / area and go on a Square Mile Treasure Hunt
Can you find whats in your local area? and tick them off as you go along, a great famliy outing. Enjoy 🙂
Click here for a copy of a family treasure hunt
Have play fun with jelly and let’s get messy
For Messy Play with Jelly
- Buy or make some jelly
- Spread the jelly on a tray
- Hide some objects you have at home in the jelly
- You can use anything you can find at home e.g.spoon, toys etc
- Let your little ones enjoy the texture and help develop their fine motor skills by finding the objects in the jelly
STORY TIME
Story Time with Gaynor from Carmarthenshire Libraries
Listen to Gaynor from Carmarthenshire Libraries, telling the story on My Pet Star by Corrinne Averiss and Rosalind Beardshaw (Booktrust Cymru)
My Pet Star is a tale of friendship and learning to let go: a little girl finds a fallen star and playfully nurses it back to health (Click on the photo to access clip)
For more wonderful story time visit Carmarthenshire Libraries Facebook Page @CarmsLibraries
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Giraffes Can’t Dance is a great story time book to read to toddlers and this is a great book that you can bring alive
How to paint Gerald the Giraffe
Click on the link to see a great way to use your hand and paint to create Gerald the Giraffe
Using your toys at home to bring a book alive
Using your toys at home to bring a book alive How about making story time a bit more exciting by using some toys, food or materials you have around the house that links in with what you’re reading.
If age appropriate you’re child can name the objects or copy you as you name them.
A great way to bring stories alive and read with your child
THEME ACTIVITIES
St David’s Day Resources
Here are some St David’s Day (March 1st) great resources, have fun with your child/children and create homemade Daffodils Cards, Colour in the Welsh Flag (too print out) and create a Daffodils with your hands. Click on each photo for the instructions/colourings
St Dwynwen’s Craft Time
Take a look at a St Dwynwen’s Craft Time, which can be used for Valentine’s day, made by Carmarthenshire Libraries.
Snowman craft
Snowman craft Here is a great snowman craft with some card, paint and pens
Give it a go and enjoy
Click here snowman craft instructions
Lets use acorns to practice counting
Lets use acorns to practice counting During the autumn it’s great to get outside and to look for acorns, you can usually find lots of them!
Collect acorns and use them to help your child learn to count
Click here counting with instructions
WEANING AND COOKING RECIPES
Weaning
Take a look at, NHS Wales, Start 4 Life and NHS England for some great weaning tips and Recipes / Meal ideas
- Getting Ready – https://111.wales.nhs.uk/livewell/pregnancy/Weaningsolidfoods/
- What to feed your baby- https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/around-6-months/
- Safe Weaning – https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/safe-weaning/
- Recipes and Meal ideas – https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/recipes-and-meal-ideas/
Here are some other links
- BBC Good Food – Weaning recipes – BBC Good Food
- Lidl – Weaning (lidl.co.uk)
- Annabel Karmel – Guide to Weaning | Weaning Tips | Baby Led Weaning |
Santes Dwynwen Biscuits
Why not bake some tasty biscuits over the weekend to celebrate Dydd Santes Dwynwen, using this resource (in welsh) created by Carmarthenshire Welsh Development Team, click here to follow the instructions
Veggie Mix
Using some fridge favourites, from a mix of different vegetables including swede, peas, and carrots, blend to make a baby veggie puree
First Fruit Puree Recipe
A simple weaning recipe to try fruit with your baby for the first time
Recipe for Fridge Leftovers
Do you find that you have lots of leftovers in the fridge? This is a great recipe for fridge leftover to make for toddlers
Cheesy Pasta with hidden vegetables
A quick and simple recipe for the whole family to enjoy
Recipe to make pancakes at home
Everyone loves pancakes… here is a easy recipe to do at home
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Easter Crafts
Easter is a great time of year to have fun with crafts, take a look at our craft ideas to make Easter Bunnies and Easter Eggs Easter Crafts
Once you have made them, place them in the garden to have a great family fun easter egg hunt –
Enjoy 🙂
Follow the line
Using colourful lines, whether you draw them on paper or use chalk outside, draw as many lines at one, and then get an object and follow the lines with the object and see what patterns have been created. Your child can learn their colours at the same time.
Fork Flowers
A great Mother’s Day arts and crafts idea.
Create flowers using paint, a fork and paper/card create your own Mother’s Day cards. This idea could also be used for birthday cards as well.
How to create flowers with forks
Cerdyn Cwtsh heb dwtsh – Dydd Santes Dwynwen
Can you create a Cwtsh heb Dwtsh picture or card to send to a friend? Using this resource (in Welsh) created by Carmarthenshire Welsh Development Team, click here to follow the instructions
Get creative with colourful pipe cleaners
Click here for a great activity with pipe cleaners and craft your own animals
