Family Natters

Teddy bear, teddy bear, dance on your toes
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your nose
Teddy bear, teddy bear, stand on your head
Teddy bear, teddy bear, go to bed
(Shhh! with finger to lips)
This nursery rhyme should be sang whilst moving a teddy bear through the actions.
It helps children:
- associate sounds with actions
- learn action words
- listen and […]

If you wish to teach your children how to form letters before they start school, click here to see free examples of how it should be done.   So as not to confuse them it is best if they are shown the correct method from the beginning.  The black dots and arrows show where to start and in which direction to move in.  […]

Click on and print out this free frog template: Kids Art: Free Spotty Frog Template Foundation Stage (do this by right-clicking your mouse, print, then changing the page scaling option to ‘fit to printer margins.’)
 You can then photocopy it on to green card, or cut it out then use it as a template to reproduce others on […]

 War is a children’s card game for 2 + players, (approx age 4+ ). It can give children practice of comparing numbers and deciding which is more or less.
Aim:
to collect the entire deck of cards
Rules of play:

shuffle and evenly deal out the cards so each player has a face-down pile
each player turns over his […]

Kids card games are useful because they:

develop social skills

give children motivating practice in mental maths

provide hours of entertainment in a small package

 
Below are links to popular children’s card games and their rules:

Snap

Crazy Eights

Go Fish

Happy Families

Old Maid

War

Concentration

Slapjack

Patience

Sevens

New Market

Cheat

Happy Families is a children’s card game for 2 to 6 players, (approx age 5+ ).  It is similar to Go Fish.  It is best if you buy a pack of special Hppy Family cards, but if not a deck of regular cards can be used.  Possibly some people may disagree with this game on the grounds that all the […]

Go Fish is a children’s card game for 2 to 6 players, (approx age 5+ ).  It is similar to Happy Families.
Aim:
to make the most matching card sets
Rules of play:

shuffle and deal 6 cards to each player facedown
put the remaining cards in the center of the table to form the drawer pile
everyone looks at their cards […]

Cruz Shuz, Wheelies and Heelys are different brands of kids trainer skates.
What are they?
They are like trainers but have one or more wheels in the heel, so you can skate on your heels and stop by putting your toe down.    In most types you can take out or retract the wheel so it becomes almost like […]

Activities that develop fine motor skills and control in children aged 4 to 8 are listed below:

cutting out shapes
drawing a person with head, trunk and legs
jigsaws with more than 12 pieces
using a computer keyboard and mouse
stickle bricks
playdough
junk modelling
tracing letters
sewing
writing
tying laces

Activities that develop fine motor skills and control in children aged 2 to 4 are listed below:

feeding with a spoon
zipping and buttoning
putting rings on a stacker
putting shoes on
drawing circles and dots
threading and lacing
blowing bubbles
12 piece jigsaws
bead patterns