Forums  •  Classifieds  •  Events  •  Directory

 
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

HK: 14 days no school: Day #02

  1. #1
    blumenelf is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    29

    HK: 14 days no school: Day #02

    Well, we got a case of H1N1 in our building complex. So, seems like no more playground option for us for now. :(

    Here are our plans for today:

    1) Kids currently play with "little toys". They are normally packed away but got them out this morning, so it's a big hit! :)
    2) Play dough (it's always fascinating)
    3) homework
    4) TV (maybe Wallace and Gromit - The Curse of the Were Rabbit)

    LUNCH + NAP (we actually have reservation for a lunch buffet today, but I am not sure we will follow through. Any thoughts if we should go or cancel would be appreciated).

    5) Spend some time on our balcony (outdoor time)
    6) Get out the Thomas train set?
    7) TV (Heidie, girl of the alps)

    Today is Saturday, so thanks goodness there will be also lots of "Papa"-time. LOL

    Looking forward to see your posts and suggestions!


  2. #2
    Bumps Guest

    Here are a few suggestions to keep parents and children occupied – some may/may not be age appropriate for your child:

    Sorting beads, buttons by shape and colour – if you don’t have these, substitute with different colour socks – they have to find their partners

    Playdough is always a hit. But please either make it yourself and dispose of it when finished or only use the store bought ones a couple of times and then buy a new lot. You can not clean playdough and it carries germs. Why not add some glitter or essential oils to your playdough to make in more interesting?

    Get children interested in cooking. Even if it is as simple as them using a cookie cutter to cut shapes out of their sandwich.

    Now is an appropriate time to teach children about germs. There are a few good books out there. One is called “I Don’t Want to Wash My Hands.” By Tony Ross. A good way to explain germs spreading is to pretend to sneeze in you hand and them show them your hands where you have placed some coloured glitter…. “Ew yucky germs.” Then start touching them – and they will get the ‘germs’ (glitter will transfer) - then go and wash hands to get rid of the germs.

    Another good lesson is to bath a baby doll together – talk about hygiene.

    Google colouring pages and get them to choose a picture of their favouite character.

    Now is a perfect time to go through their clothes and see what fits and what can be donated to charity.

    Children love playing with shaving cream – you could add paint to make it more appealing. You can writer letters in it, draw pictures in it – etc. The best idea I know is to use those aluminium cooking pans. Buy a couple of big ones – they are great for sensory and messy games. You can always make ‘music’ with them by banging them together and they don’t hurt and are re-usable.

    If you have a balcony – have a picnic out there and they can bring along a ‘friend’ (a special teddy) – interact with the teddy as if it was real. They love that. Gets them conversing and using their imagination.

    Other balcony ideas include blowing bubbles – you can add paint to the bubble liquid and get them to blow the bubbles onto paper to make a bubble painting – look really good. Also, you could use one of your aluminium trays and fill it with water, paint and dish detergent. Using a straw blow to create lots of coloured bubbles. Then place a piece of paper on top gently and remove and you have another way to make bubble paintings.

    Children love playing with uncooked pasta, beans – put them in your aluminium tray and give them a plastic spoon, a plastic cup and another empty aluminium tray for them to transfer the pasta and beans across. Good for fine motor development. Rice is another good sensory tool but a good idea is to have a small vacuum cleaner handy. And try not to stress if they make a mess. If they are enjoying it – great. It can all be cleaned up!
    Other sensory things they love to play with include: coloured rocks from the live fish stores that you put in tanks, shells, Styrofoam, packing bubble to pop the bubbles, cotton balls and cornstarch mixed with water and paint – this is a balcony activity – messy but they love to feel the way the goo goes though their fingers.

    Get into the habit of story time – make it for example 10 am. This gives them the habit of looking at the clock and gives them the sense of time.. Read them a chapter a day – for example my favourite is all Enid Blyton books!

    Make a habit of singing and movement time “oh, look at the clock – it is 11 o’clock – it is singing time.’ Sing some songs – make some props or get them to act out the song. Dance – great way to get rid of energy.

    Get them to pretend to be animals and you have to guess what they are.

    Make a surprise box – use an old shoe box and cut a hole in the lid big enough for their hand to fit through as well as some of their favourite toys. Tape up the box and decorate it. They put their hands in and have to guess what is inside.

    Another balcony idea is paining, leaf rubbings – go for your morning walk with them and collect some leaves that have fallen and when you get home place them under paper and rub with crayons – looks good – you can see the details of the leaf – you could also paint a rock and stick on googly eyes and make a pet rock. Handpainting, feet painting.. Get them to decorate their name. Show them how to mix primary colours to make other colours.

    Buy them a disposable camera and teach them how to take photos. Get them developed and make a scrap book. They love this. Take their camera when you go for walks or are doing projects like mentioned above and get them to take some photos.

    Blow up some balloons and play with them.

    Play hide and seek with them. Or hide something and they have to find it in the house.

    If you have the space create a cubby house out of lounge cushions and blankets – a huge hit!

    Get them interested in food preparation – make pancakes for example and show them how to measure how much milk you need. Get them to help mix.

    Give them a tape measure and with supervision show them how to use it. They love to go around the house and find things that are bigger than other things…….Measure how tall they are and get them to compare.

    Teach them opposites – big/small, happy/sad, day/night etc.
    Teach them propositional words “Put Teddy on the table, now put teddy under the table. Put teddy in the box, beside the box – you get the idea.

    Plant some seeds and watch them grow – you could use a bean – or even an onion or potato that has been hanging around for too long and watch it transform.

    Anyway, these are just some of my ideas. I am an educator who is off work for two weeks so I too need to find something to occupy my time. If you need more ideas or have any questions, pls. PM me.

    Isobel


  3. #3
    Neha is offline Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Mid Levels, Hong Kong
    Posts
    1,337

    Blumenelf if u dont mind can u tell me which area u live in


  4. #4
    blumenelf is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    29

    Hello.

    Would you like to know which are I live in to know about the Swine Flu virus? Well, we live in Sui Sai Wan. But if you want to know exact WHERE the swine flu cases are located you should check out:

    Centre for Health Protection


  5. #5
    0ze_Kid's Avatar
    0ze_Kid is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    DB, Hong Kong
    Posts
    453

    Bumps. Thanks for sharing the list, it is great and not just for the next 14 days!


  6. #6
    Bumps Guest

    You are welcome! This time off can be turned into a positive experience - when given lemons - make lemonade :)


  7. #7
    Neha is offline Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Mid Levels, Hong Kong
    Posts
    1,337

    Thanks just wanted to know which areas have the flu thanks for the link


  8. #8
    somebodyfamous's Avatar
    somebodyfamous is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    390

    Bumps! What amazing ideas! Thank you!


Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. HK: 14 days no school: Day #03
    By blumenelf in forum Education
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 06-14-2009, 10:33 PM
  2. HK: 14 days no school: Day #01 - what to do today
    By blumenelf in forum Education
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-12-2009, 02:45 PM
  3. No poo for 2 days?
    By crystal88 in forum Baby's Health
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-11-2009, 10:15 PM
  4. Days off this weekend
    By SS@HK in forum Helper Forums
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 03-20-2008, 12:02 AM
  5. No poo for 3 days already. HELP!
    By ELT in forum Baby's Health
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 07-14-2007, 04:04 AM

Tags for this Thread

Scroll to top