Enrich your child’s physical, social and cognitive development outside of school with our fun activities for 6-10 year olds. Educational activities can promote both growth and development and most importantly, they make learning fun!
Between six and 10 years old, your little one faces a whirlwind of development. Six-year-olds have the basic foundations and are ready to start exploring their world and expanding on their understanding of the world around them. They’re working on problem-solving, relationship-building and discovering values and beliefs.
Here are five kids’ activities that will enhance their development and make learning fun:
1. Direct a play
Your child’s development will be tested and flexed in so many ways by this fun activity. Get your children to select one of their favourite stories and turn it into a play; alternatively, they could even write a short story of their own first. Working with siblings or friends, or even alone, help them create scenery and costumes. Once they’ve practiced, let them perform to the parents or grandparents. This one activity will encourage teamwork, creativity, imagination, storytelling ability, and confidence talking in front of others.
2. Play Mother May I?
Games like ‘Mother May I?’ teach children patience and that they don’t always get everything they want immediately. Designate one player as the mother get them to stand a few metres away from the other players – the ‘children’ — and turn around. The children take turns asking “Mother, may I…?” with a suggestion to move, such as taking eight steps forward. The mother can reply “Yes, you may”, or she can refuse and offer another suggestion. The children must do whatever the mother asks — even if it means moving farther away. The first child to reach the mother wins the game and takes their place as mother for a new round.
3. Work in some exercises
Exercise helps build more than just motor skills. When children are physically moving, they are constantly learning — cognitively, socially and more. At home, start out with quick bursts of 10-minute activities. Do 10 jumping jacks. Follow this with three burpees and three squats. Then, have the children play Ring-a-Ring ‘o Roses, but instead of falling down, have them do a push up.
4. Intermingle sport and science
Another way to give developmental challenge is to cross over areas — for example, with gross motor activities and physics. In this activity for example, your child will mix football with experiments on water in its three states (gas, liquid and solid). First, give your child a bag of ice cubes. Let them observe how the ice cubes feel and how they retain their shape. Then, have them put the ice in the sun and play a short, fun football game. By the time they get back to the experiment, the ice will have melted. Let them explore the water and see how it changes its shape when transferred to different containers. Leave the water outside overnight, so your child can observe the effects of evaporation.
5. Create a new version of a favourite song
Combining music with movement helps children store information in their brain and recall it later. Take your child’s favourite song and insert the letters of a new spelling word. Incorporate some fun dance moves that your child can help choreograph and practice your new dance routine throughout the day — and your child will likely learn their new spelling word by dinner.
The key to making the most out of kids’ activities is to keep them engaging, using all the senses. Get creative with your ideas, and most importantly, gear them towards your child’s own specific interests.
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