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Practical activities to help

your child at home with

reading, writing and maths

KOPUTAROA SCHOOL

Inspiring Minds on the

Journey of Learning

MATHS

Read newspapers where graphs and tablesare used. What is the information tellingyou?

Tell the time with your child: oclock, quarterpast, quarter to. Convert between digitaland analogue time.

Work out number patterns that you havecreated for your child, such as: 1, 5, 9, 13,

17. What is the next number ? What isthe pattern?

Create tables/graphs using programmessuch as Excel or Numbers.

Double and halve numbers to 20, 100,1000

Create simple addition and subtractionproblems.

Provide a number for your child, such as20, and ask them to record as many waysas they can to make 20. For example:6 + 14, 10 + 10, 30 10, 2 + 18, 5 x 4.

Play card games with your child.

Make a pizza and cut it up into fractions.

Talk about the days, weeks and months.Look at how many days in a week, in amonth, in a year.

Make a bead necklace with a repeatingpattern.

Do easy and challenging jigsaw puzzles.

Remember...

Learning at home should be fun and

enjoyable. Be a role model for your child, show them

how you read, write and use maths in dailyactivities.

Support your child to take risks, such asreading or spelling an unknown word.Praise them for their efforts.

MATHS

Find numbers around your home andneighbourhood,letterboxes, clocks, speed signs.

Count forwards and backwards from agiven number. Start off easy andprogressively get harder and harder. Beginat 1, 10, 50, 100

Make patterns when counting, clap 1,

stamp 2, clap 3, stamp 4, clap 5 Make up number stories, If I have 2 apples

and you have 2 apples, how many do wehave?

Ask the number that comes before or aftera given number,what comes before 7? after 12?

Skip count in 2s, 5s and 10s. When this isfamiliar, ask your child the associated timestables.

Discuss and talk about numbers endingwith 9. What number is before? After?What happens to the number after 9?

Practice the basic facts with your child.

Use time connectives everyday: yesterday,today, tomorrow, last night, before, after

Ask your child to predict what the weathermight be like tomorrow, the day after(probability)

Use positional language: on, under, over,around, behind, up, down, beside, heavy,light.

Read recipes together and then make therecipe. Let your child measure theingredients with the scales and/ormeasuring spoons.

Read the car odometer and before driving

add on the predicted km of the next trip. Talk about the sales in town, 25%, 30%,

50%. Look for the best value. Challengeyour child to convert the % to a fraction.

Budget pocket money and/or plan ahead toopen a savings account. Run a balanceledger with money going in and out.

Play board games together.

Play outdoor games where scoring isrequired. Keep a tally of the points.

Draw a repeating pattern (eg: kowhaiwhai).

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READING

Reading at home should be fun and easy,something you both look forward to.

Read a picture book to your child anddiscuss what is happening in the pictures.

Visit the library together and help your childselect a book.

Read emails from family and whanaualoud.

Play card and board games together. If there are any words your child doesnt

quite understand, look them up togetherwith a dictionary or Google the word.

Read songs and waiata together.

Ask your child questions about what theyhave read, such as: What do you think ishappening? Why? How do you think thecharacter was feeling? What might happennext?

Read recipes together and then make therecipe (this will also assist with their maths measurement).

Read the junk mail flyers together.Compare prices between catalogues. Cutout key words and may funny sentenceswith them.

If your child feels comfortable, invite themto read to an audience (a brother or Nana).

Read newspaper articles and magazines,especially on topics your child enjoys (eg:the sports section).

Read articles and/or stories on the internet.A good place to start is www.stuff.co.nz

Read a novel to your child, try a chapter aday.

If your child is older, get them to listen totheir younger siblings. This is a greatopportunity for them to practice their skills.

Get comics for your child to read (boysespecially enjoy reading comics as it hassmaller chunks of text).

When reading stories, see if they can berelated to real life.

Have your child retell the main events ofthe story.

Listen to audio stories or read Kindlestories

WRITING

Let your child see you writing and how youwrite.

Show your child the different purposes ofwhy you writeeg: email, shopping list, greeting card

Help your child write an alphabet letter,then go hunting through your house to finditems that begin with each letter. Help your

child to write each item. Practice writing letters and words on

concrete using largedrawing chalk. Allow your child to write the shopping list.

Write your family members birthdays and atthe right time, let your child write in thecard.

For birthdays, encourage your child to writethe invitations or emails.

Create a family blog and allow your child tocontribute by posting photos and newupdates. A blog could be a good way toshare the family holiday or your childs

learning. Write notes to each other and leave them

in interesting places to find.

Let them email, text or write to a familyfriend or family member.

Set up a diary or journal, either on paper oron the computer.

Encourage your child to write imaginativestories or news articles at home. Share andenjoy their writing with them. Talk to themabout the ideas they have written and whatinformation is contained within the writing.

Play strategy games, word puzzles, wordfinds or crosswords.

Write a Letter to the Editor about acommunity issue or topic.

Take some digital photos, print them offand have your child write a story using thephotos (5 photos is a good number).

Have your child create their own comicusing drawings and graphic design.

Write descriptions about items you maywish to sell online (eg: a descriptive pieceabout the couch that is to be sold).

WRITING

Cut words out of the newspaper and createfunny sentences.

Talk about interesting words with your child,such as hippopotamus or queue, find theorigin of the word.

Make a short play together and help yourchild write the play.

Send postcards to family members or

friends from your home town. By interesting stationery for your child to

use. Coloured pens and pencils can bemotivating to write with.

Talk about your trips, holidays and dailyevents together. Oral Language greatlysupports the development ofwriting.

Helpful Tips

When reading, if your child is stuck on aword, give them a chance to think and havea try If its a picture book, encourage themto use the picture cues to help them. If theystill cant get the word, tell them and praisethem for giving it a go.

When writing, if your child is unsure of aword, encourage them to try first. Whatsounds or letters can they hear? Praisethem for the letters they have correct andthe effort they have made. You could bothcheck the word together in the dictionary oronline.

Reading, Writing and Oral Language are alllinked and development in one, supportsthe growth and development in the others.Talk often with your child about dailyevents, experiences, holidays and trips. Astrong foundation in oral language helpsreading and writing.

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