Resources - Activities
NON-LITERAL LANGUAGE:
Some children struggle with abstract, non-literal language such as idioms. Below is a list of some common idioms that you can talk about and have fun with at home. As with other types of vocabulary development, consider having an "idiom of the week" at home.
School Idioms:
- On the right track
- Pick your brain
- Hit the books
- "A" for effort
- Buckle down
- Nose in a book
- From the old school
- Draw a blank
- Put two and two together
- Gray matter
- Read between the lines
- Learn the ropes
- Brainstorm
- Saved by the bell
- Teacher's pet
Food Idioms:
- Piece of cake
- Couch potato
- In a pickle
- Apple of your eye
- Good egg
- Bread an Butter
- Wake up and smell the coffee
- Bring home the bacon
- In a nutshell
- Upset the apple cart
- Big cheese
- Cool as a cucumber
- Worth his salt
- Hot potato
- Spill the beans
Head and Face Idioms
- Tongue tied
- Big mouth
- Use your head
- Under my nose
- Long face
- Put your foot in your mouth
- Play it by ear
- See eye to eye
- Face the Music
- Eyes in the back of her head
- All ears
- Keep your chin up
- My eyes were bigger than my stomach
- Give him a piece of my mind
- Keep my head above water
- Head in the sand
- Keep an eye on
- Out of my hair
- Hold your tongue
FALL ACTIVITIES
Write an acrostic poem about Autumn. Start each line with a letter from the word "Autumn."
Word a Week
Choose one word a week that has to do with the fall season (harvest, pilgrims, cornucopia, acorns). Write it on a piece of paper and hang it on your refrigerator. Discuss its meaning. Try to use the word during dinner time. Add a new word each week, but don’t forget to continue using the previous weeks’ words.
What’s falling?
Go on a walk and look for signs of fall. Gather acorns, leaves, pinecones, etc. and put them in a bag. Bring back inside and talk about each item (colors, shape, texture, definition). If you collect more than one item of each (two leaves, two acorns), you can discuss similarities and differences between them.
Mr. Pumpkin Head
Materials: Pumpkin and Mr. Potato head pieces.
Using a medium sized pumpkin, poke some holes where the eyes, nose and mouth should be (include hat and ears). Let the children decorate "Mr. Pumpkin Head" using Mr. Potato Head pieces.
The Leaves Are Falling Down
(Sang to “The Farmer in the Dell”)
The leaves are falling down.
The leaves are falling down.
Red, yellow, green and brown.
The leaves are falling down.
SPRING ACTIVITIES
Draw a daisy with 8 petals. Within each petal, write an adjective that describes the flower.
Can you think of and write down a word related to spring for each letter of the alphabet? For example: April, Butterfly, Carnation….
Take a nature walk. Look and observe signs of spring. Take the walk again a few weeks later. What changes do you see?
SPRING THEMED BOOKS
The Spring Equinox
by Ellen Jackson
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
by Gail Gibbons
My Spring Robin
by Anne Rockwell, Harlow Rockwell (Illustrator)
It's Spring!
by Linda Glaser
Dandelion Adventures
by L. Patricia Kite
POINT and CLICK PRONOUN PRACTICE
If you are looking for a fun and creative way to help your child practice pronoun usage, just pick up your camera and head out to your favorite public place. Poloroid or mini-Poloroid cameras (like the I-Zone) can add to the fun as pictures develop before the photographer's eyes.
- While pretending to be on a secret spy mission, encourage your child to take pictures of people going about their daily activities.
- Once your child finds the subject(s) for the picture, ask questions about what he, she or they are doing. Help your child generate the appropriate pronouns and sentence structure by providing models and feedback. For example, in response to the sentence "Her is eating ice cream." you can say "Yes, SHE is eating ice cream."
- Pictures can be mounted to construction paper or poster board as part of a sentence fill-in activity that addresses pronoun usage and sentence structure.
