Engaging English

March 14, 2018

You might hear the children groan when you suggest some educational activities outside of school, but there are plenty of ways you can engage them with learning without them realising!

Encouraging creativity can give your child the space to unlock their imagination and discover the magic of words. Here are some fun and engaging ways you can bring English and literacy to life at home.

Make up a joke

Is your child a budding comedian? Take it in turns to make up a joke – what makes them funny? Are they a play on words or is it the imagery used that makes you chuckle? Here are a couple of examples to get you started:
“Long fairy tales have a tendancy to dragon”
“What did the buffalo say when his son went to university? ‘Bison’”

Become a journalist for the day

Going to the park, the library or simply out to the shops? Before you head off, set your child the challenge of becoming a journalist to make the day more fun! They have the exciting responsibility of writing the front page news for tomorrow’s paper, reporting on the activities of the day. Can they use descriptive language to bring the news to life? What headline would they choose to grab people’s attention?

Watch a film

If your child is a reluctant reader, why not choose a book that has also been made into a film? Often as an adult this can spoil the surprise of the story, but it can help to engage a child in the story and make a book more accessible. You can also chat about the differences between the film and the book, and decide which version you prefer!

Un-jumble the story

This is a fun and quick activity to engage children with storytelling. Write a short story in 10 sentences or so and then cut it into strips so each sentence is separate from the next. Pop them in a jar (or a hat will do) and then challenge your child to piece the story back together! It’s a great way to get them thinking about the structure of a story and checking that the sentences all make sense.