Star Wars!

I received a Facebook message from a friend of my sisters, asking if I could make felt Starwars figures, as her husband's 40th birthday was coming up, and he was mad about Star Wars. She had seen some on Pinterest. So I googled felt Starwars figures, and there is quite a variety to look at, lots of different ways people have made them - felt finger puppets, felt key rings, intricately detailed needle felted figures.  My first response was "No way! Too difficult!".  But it is funny how your mind works.  Take a problem, go to sleep, and your subconscious will work on it while you sleep.  There is a book called "Grow Rich While You Sleep" (I forget who the author is) that details how this works.  Waldorf schools also use the power of sleep with stories - tell a story one day and let the children process the story in their sleep that night.

Anyway, I said I would think on it, meaning 'No, I can't do it'.  Early the next morning, in that dream state just before I began gaining consciousness as I started to wake up, I found myself thinking of my pipecleaner figures, which led to imagining how to do Princess Leia. Then once I had made Princess Leia in my head, I began visualising Luke Skywalker. Of course, there is a difference between seeing it in your minds eye, and actually doing it.  So I got up and went into my craft room and began creating a pattern for Princess Leia. She was really fun to make.

Once I had made Princess Leia, I began thinking of how to do Luke Skywalker and tried to figure out how to make his top, which kind of looks like a karate costume.

Unfortunately they don't wear hats, which I use to help hide the top of my pipecleaner figures' hair.  I then made Lukey a removable cape.

Then came Hans Solo. I made his costume slightly differently, and it needed to be sewn around him. I tried to add in all the little details, such as the red stripes down the side of his trousers, the waistcoat, the gun halter and the strap around his leg...

Then came Darth Vader...

followed by...

The next morning, I was off to Spotlight buying brown fur, to make...

From one question with my answer being "No I can't do it", I spent an entire weekend making Star Wars figures, and am pretty pleased with the results! Yes the stormtrooper looks a little funny, I just can't figure out how else to make one at the moment.  Perhaps C3P0 will come next...

These Star Wars figures are available for sale, and you can find me each month at the Mt Eden Village Craft Market.  https://www.facebook.com/Mt-Eden-Village-Craft-Market-338452259534044/

Literacy activities for Primary School - Reading and Spelling ideas

Although I am not currently teaching Primary School, I trained as a Primary School Teacher and taught 5 year olds for 3 years. I also collected and created teaching resources throughout my training and teaching, which I still have.

I have a friend who is about to start her Primary School training, and I told her that I would send her photos of my resources that she may be able to use for ideas and teaching. But then I thought that putting them up on here would be a much better idea, for sorting, organising and sharing.

Feel free to use and copy ideas, or adapt to suit your own classroom.You can find ideas for math resources and games which I have created, here.

Tumble Board Ideas

Some of my Tumble Board activities for literacy.  I had a variety of ways children could practice their spelling words: using magnetic letters, alphabet beads, chalk boards, felt letters, and cut and paste using newspapers and magazines.

Ways for children to practice reading: reading to a puppet, to a buddy, by themselves; reading nursery rhymes.

Ways to practice knowledge: playing reading games such as Bingo, Scrabble, matching games, doing puzzles, etc.

I had created games for different reading levels of words. It was simply high frequency words written on cards, and children could either play Snap!, Memory, or Fish using the word cards.

 

I found children often confused letters p, d, and b.  I created this resource to help support their learning and knowledge about these letters.
It consists of a variety of pictures and words of objects starting with the letters B, D, and P, with the word written underneath.
I made a sheet (we also did this on the wall) where children could sort the pictures by the initial letter,
They then wrote the words out on the corresponding form, to help them practice their letter formation of b, d and p.

Re-Making Sentences

A follow on activity for beginner readers... cutting the words up, and children have to put them in order to make sense.

Contractions.
This activity was created to help children practice their knowledge of contractions. Simple game with a contraction on one card and the full words on another card, and children have to match up the contraction to the words.

Magic E:   Words with 'e' on the end

Learning about Magic E. Can be used with whole class, or small group, or children practicing with a buddy..
Magic e comes along and asks the vowel to say his name.

Simple to create:  Cards with CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words written on them; pegs with 'e' stuck on the end. I used a punch to punch shapes out of card, wrote 'e' on them, laminated them and taped them onto pegs.
When you put Magic E on the end of the word, it changes the word from 'mad' to 'made'.

Word Ending Activity

Activity to support children learning about word endings...
consists of a variety of simple verbs;
cards with a variety of word endings - er, s, ing.

Children put words together with a word ending and write them down on their sheet.

The drawback with this is that some words change according to the word ending, eg swim, swims, swam, swimming; cry, cried, cries, crying.

Making Words

I printed cards with an initial letter on one card (consonant), and a word ending (vowel, consonant) on another card. The animals are either on the beginning or end of the card to show whether it is a beginning letter or word ending.

Children create words by combining an initial letter with a word ending.  They can then write down their words on a recording sheet or in their books.

 Pictures

When I was at University, my English lecturer told us that we needed lots of pictures as resources.  They can be used for oral language, writing prompts, story prompts. I collected pictures from National Geographic magazines, adverts in magazines, and local newspaper photos. I mounted most of mine on card.


I used this box of pictures with my 5 year olds to stimulate oral language. We would talk about what was happening in the picture; use the different thinking hats when looking at pictures; or make up a story about what was happening in the picture.

I also had pictures of animals and objects, and children would play 20 Questions games and "Give Us A Clue" games, where one child would select a picture and the other children had to guess what it was.




 

 
Choices
What do children do if they have finished their work early?
I collected this range of ideas from the various placements that I went on, as well as adding some ideas of my own. This is by no means an exhaustive list of ideas, but it is a start of ideas.
Do not have them all up on the wall - change your Choices for Early Finishers on a regular basis - daily or weekly.

 

  Spelling

Children learn to spell by repetition. I tried to find as many different ways for children to practice spelling their words as possible - I endeavour to find different ways to teach the same thing.

Some ways my children would practice their spelling words would be:
* using felt letters on a flannel board
* magnetic letters
* chalk board
* rainbow writing - writing their words using different coloured pencils or pens
* cut and paste - cut the letters out of magazines and newspapers and paste on their recording sheet.
* writing their words in chalk on the fence or pavement outside

 

 

Spelling Ideas for Older Children
A variety of ways to further practice their spelling words, breaking them down, pulling them apart, using them, and finding out their meanings.  Again, as with the Choices Menu, don't have them all up on the wall for children to choose from - either have a select few on the wall for children to choose from and change on a regular basis, or have a 'hat' where children pull an option out of the hat.

Opposites: Bingo Game

 I have always loved opposites and playing around with words.

I created this Bingo game using opposites.  The teacher says a word, and if a child has the opposite of that word, they cross it out/place a counter on it.  If they fill up their line, they shout Bingo!

The word cards have the opposite word written on them for easy reference when checking.

If teaching about language and the different types of words, you could also make up Bingo games for: onomatopoeia (words such as Splash, bang pop etc); verbs; adjectives; nouns; different words for 'said'; homographs; etc.

These games and activities are ones that I have created to help support my children's learning; but there are lots of fabulous websites with loads of ideas and downloads for supporting learning.

Some of my favourite sites that I have used over and over again:

http://www.carlscorner.us.com/

http://www.kizclub.com/

Click on the link for more of my teaching resources

Storytelling Stones

Storytelling can be scary - when I first began to tell stories from the top of my head, I thought I was not creative enough to be able to make up an interesting (and short) story.  At first I used Enid Blyton's "The Faraway Tree" to inspire me and to help me make up stories - and the kids were enchanted! I noticed the stories that I told, emerging in their play and in their drawings.

But I was still nervous about telling stories.

Then a few years later I went to a workshop with Storytelling Threads - and that was incredibly inspiring and taught me that it is ok to begin a story and not know how it is going to end.  Or what is going to happen.  We did exercises in pairs, where we each chose 5 items, and then built a story around it.  And part way through the story, you get to an "OH" point where suddenly you know what is happening or what the resolution will be.

I went home from that workshop and immediately started gathering things into a basket to take to school... fairies, fabrics, little knick knacks such as a fish shaped comb, a shell, a pebble, a fan.  The next day I took that basket to school, and sat down with a child who asked for a story, and began getting out items and making up a story.  Next minute I had 8 children gathered around me, all as quiet as mice, helping me to tell the story and coming up with ideas.  Then afterwards, they took it in turns to retell the story, using props, and even making up their own stories.  An hour went past and they were still telling stories.

Time and again I have seen 3-4 year old children engaged in listening to stories and telling stories for at least an hour or 2, all of their own free will. I never cease to be amazed by children's capacity for listening to stories and telling stories.  Rudolf Steiner talks about the spiritual and soul connection between the adult and the child when the adult tells a story from their own imagination, from their heart, and there is certainly some kind of magic that takes place when you tell a story (not read a story - there is a big difference between the two).

A while ago a colleague gave me some stones that she had collected from the river, in order to make story stones.  She had a wonderful book on storytelling (I think it was called The Story Sack?) that used hand drawn stones as one method to help tell stories.  The stones were already painted with white acrylic paint, and they had been sitting in my craft room for almost a year waiting for me to become inspired.  Yesterday I became inspired, I made a list of elements that might be incorporated into a story, and drew them onto the stones.  I used sharpies to draw and colour, and coated them in clear nail polish to protect them. Unfortunately the clear nail polish caused some of the pens to run, but I did my best to make them ok.

You do not need to be an artist to make things for children. Items do not need to be perfect. Children just appreciate the effort and the fact that you have made something for them.

 a key, a bird, a paw print, and a basket... What will the key open - a treasure chest, a door, a secret tunnel? Will the bird help you on your quest? What might be in the basket - food and drink to help quench your thirst on your journey, or a baby, or a map, a key, or treasure?

 a necklace, and a door... Who does the necklace belong to? Has it been stolen, lost, or found? Is it magic? What is behind the door - a dragon, a dwarf, a wicked witch, an angry giant, or a good fairy?

 a map

 a castle... who lives at the castle? Is it deserted? Does a dragon guard it? Or does a handsome prince live there?

 a forest and a bridge

 a crown

a well, and a storm.

Imagine the stories that you can create with a set of story stones. They are easy to make, and can be used in a variety of ways,  You might like to select 5 stones to tell a story.  Or you might like to put them into a feely bag, and have children take turns to pull out a stone as you tell the story. You then incorporate the stone into your story.  

Try to think of elements that are open ended, that are able to be used in a variety of ways, when deciding what to draw onto your story stones. Think of some classic childrens stories and common elements - eg a witch, a wolf, a princess, a swan, treasure, a forest, etc.

One thing I learnt from the workshop with Storytelling Threads, is that Three is a classic number when it comes to telling stories... The Three little pigs; Goldilocks and the Three bears; The three billy goats gruff; Three wishes; a quest that involves completing three tasks. Three is a soul-satisfying number when it comes to stories and resolutions.  Think of how to use the number three in your stories - three people that you meet on your journey; three tasks to complete; three items to find.

Story telling does not come easy to many people, including me. I might not be feeling particularly inspired on a particular day. I often have no idea what shape the story will take when I begin. Story telling requires taking risks. It requires a leap of faith that it will turn out ok.  And with children around you who are willing listeners and great imaginations, they will have ideas to share, so you are not on your own. And the results are amazing - so incredibly amazing. And like with all things, the more you do it, the more confident you become and the better you get.

Click on the link for more of my teaching resources

How to make Poi

Getting children to use both hands at the same time helps with brain development, as it helps to reinforce left-right brain connections.  Poi are a great way to do this, and are easy to make.
My 4 year olds help with the plaiting.

You will need:
Plastic bags
stuffing - I used washed wool scraps of fleece, but you could use polyester filling or even paper towels, which I have used in the past when making poi with children.
Wool for plaiting
scissors
squares of fabric
Needle and thread

Begin by cutting lengths of wool. I tend to like using strands about 70cm long (you will be folding the yarn in half when plaiting).

Cut two strands of wool together.

Fold in half.

Tie an overhand knot to create a small loop. This loop can either attach around your toe or a hook or something to help you plait.

Begin plaiting the four strands together. Click here for my previous post on instructions how to do a 4-strand plait... 4 strand plaiting

Gather up a handful of stuffing.

Wrap the plait around the middle of the stuffing, and poke one end of the plait through the loop at the other end.

Pull tight to tighten the plait around the ball of stuffing.

Cut a plastic bag in half lengthwise.

Place the ball of stuffing on top of the plastic bag.

Gather the plastic up around the ball of stuffing, leaving the plait free.

Wrap a piece of yarn around the plastic ball and pull tight.

Tie off.















Trim the plastic around the top, being careful not to snip the plait accidentally!

Place plastic ball in centre of fabric.

Gather fabric up around the ball, and stitch together around the top to fasten it securely.

Poi ready to swing.  Some poi are long, some are short, some are big, some are small.

Christmas Holidays - keeping the kids entertained

The Christmas holidays are 6-8 weeks long in NZ, and can leave some parents wondering what to do (and where to escape).  Here are just a few ideas of things you can do with children over the holidays with minimal cost.


A
Ambury Farm (it's a working farm and is free to visit and walk around; you can also go bird watching there)
Auckland Art gallery - there is a kids section where kids can do their own artwork.
Alphabet hunt - look for things beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
Angels - make an angel - eg paper angel, a sand angel, pinecone angel
Auckland Airport - go to the lookout and watch the planes come in and take off.
Alice in Wonderland
Alphabet numberplate game - this is a great game for long journeys.  You have to look at all the numberplates on the cars around you and try to find the letters from A to Z, before someone else does. Try to get to Z first.
Animal, vegetable or mineral - a question game where one person thinks of an object (either an animal, vegetable, or mineral) and the other person/s have to ask yes or no questions to try and find out what it is.  Eg "Does it have four legs?" is a good question.  "How many legs does it have?" is not a Yes or No question and is not allowed in the game.

B
Baking - Make a batch of biscuits - yum!
Beach - go to a beach, take a boogie board or fishing net and explore the rockpools. Browns Bay Beach has lots of rockpools to explore.
Buttons & beads & bottle caps- get out a box of buttons, beads, or bottle-caps, and play with them, make flowers and gardens, use your imagination.
Books
Bingo - make your own Bingo game if you haven't got Bingo. You could use stickers to make them, or download a Bingo from the internet - and there so many to choose from... Animal Bingo, Dinosaur Bingo, Alphabet Bingo, Number Bingo... anything goes!
If you are going on a long journey, make your own travelling Bingo cards with things that you may see - eg a caravan, mobile home, bicycle, horse, cow, church, road signs, road works, aeroplane, etc.
Boats - go and look at boats, or make your own paper boat
Ball - play catch or try and throw at a target or into a hoop or box. Keep a tally of how many times you got it in.
Bounce a tennis or small bouncy ball against the fence and try to hit it.
Bike
Balloons - fill balloons up with water and throw at targets drawn on the fence or driveway
Botanical Gardens - free to go to, and beautiful to look around.

C
Cooking; bake cupcakes or a cake
Camping
Chalk - get a bucket of chalk and draw on the fence / driveway; write numbers along the fence line - call out a number for the kids to run to.
Circus / Carnival - get out the tablecloths and sheets and create your very own Big Top in the lounge or bedroom, and the kids dress up and put on their own show.
Catch - play catch, either with a ball or beanbag
Create - get out the scissors, glue, magazines, pencils, stickers, pipecleaners, beads, paper, pens, whatever you have, and get creative.
Christmas cards - make your own christmas cards or birthday cards to send to friends and family.
Christmas decorations - make a christmas decoration or paper chain.
Cardboard boxes - turn into cars, trains, firetrucks, ambulance, aeroplanes, rocket ships, hot air balloons, houses, villages, robots, Santa's workshop or grotto...
Chess
Cornwall Park
Cinderella

D
Dens - get out the sheets and tablecoths, rope, pegs, tables and chairs (or trees if outside) and create a den. You could decorate it with battery operated fairy lights to make it pretty.
Dinosaurs - get out the dinosaurs and create a small world with them using rocks, pinecones, blocks, lego, sticks... whatever you can find.
Hide the dinosaurs around the garden and go on a dinosaur hunt.
You could leave a trail of large footprints (use chalk - chalk even works well on carpet and vacuums off easily) for children to follow.
Go to the beach and make large dinosaur footprints in the sand for other kids to follow.
Dragons - make a dragon cave using chairs or trees and old sheets; draw a large dragon on an old cardboard box for children to colour and paint (you don't have to be good at drawing, children are very forgiving of our artwork!).
Dance - put on some fun music to dance to; learn some new dance moves. Get out the fairy lights and a mirror ball and have a disco!
Dalek - make a dalek out of a cardboard box.
Dominoes
Devonport - get the ferry or drive over, and go to Northcote Point. Take a torch and explore the battery and the tunnels there. It's free and it's so much fun!
Dress up - put on mum or dad's clothes!
Domain - go to Auckland Domain, wander around the winter gardens, have a picnic, look at all the statues.

E
Explore
Elves - make santa's elves out of pipecleaners or wooden pegs (or both). Dress up as an elf.
Experiments - do your own science experiments. There are so many you can do at home.  Nanogirl shows you how!  http://www.medickinson.com/nanogirl/  check out her 100 Day Project for some awesome and fun experiments to do at home.

F
Facepaint - get out the make-up or facepaint if you have some, and have a go at painting your own child's face!  Look at some examples of facepainting online to get some ideas. Remember you don't have to be good at art or drawing, just be willing to take risks and make mistakes.
Fairies - make a fairy garden, go looking in the garden for fairies, make fairy bread.
Flowers - plants some flowers.
Flying Fox - go to a park where there is a flying fox - fun!
The Faraway Tree - introduce your child to Enid Blyton's wonderful children's book, The Faraway Tree. Or to The Famous Five - one of my favourites as a child!
Ferry - go on the Devonport ferry
Fishing - go to a wharf with a simple fishing line and have a go at fishing.
Fairytales - choose a fairytale to read together.

G
Gardening
Gallery - visit a local art gallery
Grandparents - visit or call the grandparents
Gingerbread men - bake your own
Give - find, make, or buy some toys to donate as Christmas presents for children in need.
Glue - get out scissors, magazines, paper and glue and get sticking and cutting!
Goat Island

H
Hangman - a classic children's game!
Hopscotch - get out the chalk and draw your own on the driveway or somewhere suitable
Hunt - go an an alphabet hunt, a bug hunt, a treasure hunt. Give your child a list of things to find and let them go and search.
Hammer - get out the hammer and nails and some wood, and get busy. Maybe use driftwood collected on the beach and make something with it.
Hansel & Gretel - read a story.

I
Icecream - make your own icecream and iceblocks.  There are lots of recipes online, or freeze juice or yoghurt into iceblock moulds.
Indians - make your own feathered headbands (simply glue or staple feathers onto a strip of card to fit around the head) and play at native Indians.
Make a teepee in the garden with an old sheet and bamboo sticks.
Ice - make coloured ice by mixing water with food colouring. Put glitter in, or small plastic dinosaurs or toy bugs, and freeze.
Pour water into balloons or rubber gloves and freeze.
When frozen, put salt on the ice and watch what happens.
Put string into tubs of water before freezing, so that you can hang them up outside and watch them melt.
I Spy with my little eye, something beginning with.... a great game for long car journeys.

J
Journal - get a scrapbook and make it into your own journal of the holidays. Draw pictures of what you did each day or put in photos, and write down something that you did each day (or get an adult or older sibling to write for you).
Jokes - go to the library and get out a joke book, and learn some jokes to tell your friends.
Juggle - practice juggling
Jelly - make some!
Juice - make your own!
Jump - create your own backyard obstacle course, with things to jump over, crawl through, balance on... use logs, tyres, chairs, planks of wood, tables, hoola hoops, whatever you might have on hand.
Use chalk to draw stepping stones on the driveway for you to jump in.
Use an old pair of stockings or get some elastic from the $2 shop to make your own elastics.  Loop around two chairs and jump in, out, and over.
Jewellery - get out the beads and ribbon or string and make your own. Make paper beads by rolling strips of paper around a pencil. Use pages from old magazines to create your own paper beads.
Jigsaw puzzles

K
Kim's Game - choose a number of objects, and cover them up. Then try and remember all of the objects on the tray. Write them down if you can. Take away an object and try to figure out which one is missing.
Kite - make your own or get one from the $2 shop, and go fly a kite.
Knit - learn to knit, either with knitting needles or finger knit. Get a book from the library with easy clear to follow instructions. You can often find cheap wool and knitting needles at your local charity shop.
Kings - dress up and play at kings and queens, and knights in shining armour. Make your own throne by decorating a chair; make a crown using card and glitter and pens or crayons. Make a sword and shield using card - old cardboard boxes (especially cardboard boxes that beer comes in, if you drink beer) are great for this.
Kick - kick a ball around the back yard. Make a goal - either use chalk on the fence, or get two chairs and tie a piece of string between them, or up-end an old coffee table.

L
Library - go to the local library and choose some books to read together
Lighthouse - visit Awhitu Lighthouse, on the Awhitu Peninsula. Take a picnic. Stop in at the art gallery there.
Long Bay Beach
Lights - go look at the Christmas Lights when it gets dark
Ludo - this game can last for hours!
Last Card
Listening games - get your child to identify different noises/sounds; Simon Says is a great listening game.
Lego
Lemonade - make your own, it's fun and easy!
Lacing - make your own lacing cards using card and a hole punch, if you don't have any. Or get out beads and buttons and straws and thread string through. Learn to tie your own shoelaces.
Lanterns - make your own
Little Red Riding Hood - tell the story, dress up, act it out.

M
Museum - Auckland museum is always worth a visit.
Maraetai - there are two regional parks at Maraetai which you can visit and walk around.
Monkey bars - go to a park and get on the monkey bars
Monopoly
Mousetrap (the game, I mean)
Memory game - use cards or objects. The card game can be played by one person, so if you have an only child, once they learn how to play, they can play by themselves which leaves you free to do what you need / want.
Magic tricks - get a book out the library and learn some magic tricks to show your friends when you go back to school
Music - learn to play a musical instrument, or put on some fun music to dance to. Listen to a variety of different music - classical, country, jazz, folk, pop, Celtic, drums...
Movie - put on a movie and make popcorn.
Mermaids - get a tub of water and create a small world for mermaids. Use shells and pebbles.
Make a shell necklace for yourself or a friend.
Draw or colour in a mermaid.
Tell the story of The Little Mermaid.
Fill up the paddling pool and pretend to be a mermaid.
Mobile - create a mobile to hang in the bedroom or outside. Use shells with holes in, beads, buttons, sequins, bottle caps, create butterflies or whatever you fancy, cut shapes out of felt to hang up, Attach to a stick or piece of driftwood.
Make masks - use paper, card, or papier mache.

N
Northhead Point, Devonport - take a torch
Neverland - create your own Neverland. Use rocks, pebbles, a mat, sticks, whatever you have to hand. Make it big outside or make it small in the corner of the room.
Nurses - dress up, and play at nurses and doctors. Get out the bandages and plasters, use empty boxes and toilet rolls as bottles of medicine; set up a hospital corner, or a waiting room complete with books or magazines; make a nurses headband using white paper and draw a red cross on the front of it. Get the teddy's and dolls to be patients.
Native birds - go to the library and get out a book on native birds; go for a walk in the bush; make a list of native birds that you might see, and cross them off as you see them. (eg Kereru, fantail, tui),
http://myfamily.kiwi/activities and http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks details many walks around NZ and Auckland.
Numbers - play games that strengthen your child's number knowledge.
Look at numbers on letterboxes, on car numberplates.
Count how many presents under the tree, how many Christmas cards.
Make a number snake using chalk on the driveway for children to jump on, over, run to, count forwards, count backwards. Skip count as kids jump on every second or third number along the number line.

O
Origami - get a book out of the local library to help you.
Op-shops - spend some time wandering around your local charity shops.  They are great places to buy children's books, puzzles, and games, at a fraction of the cost of brand new.
Old Maid (card game)
Otuataua Stonefields
Onehunga waterfront - the reclamation of land is finished and is now a really lovely place to walk, swim, kayak, and take a picnic.

P
Parks and playgrounds
Parnell Rose Gardens
Port Waikato
Picnic
Pinecones - collect pinecones to use in crafts
Paper planes
Postcards - write some postcards and send them off to friends and family
Pirates - dress up, make an eye patch, make a sword out of card (old cardboard boxes are ideal);
make a boat - use blocks or lego or upside down table or the bed;
go on a treasure hunt;
walk the plank.
Poi - make some poi. Stuff two plastic bags with stuffing or paper towels; make two plaits and tie around the plastic balls; cover with a large square of fabric and use a bit of wool or string to tie around the neck of the balls; cut off excess plastic bag and fabric. Put in a couple of stitches to secure the fabric.
Paint - get out the paint and paper. Use your hands, fingers, sticks, feathers, bubblewrap, balloons, plastic forks, combs, leaves or string to paint with.
Playdough - it's easy to make your own. Mix together 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cup salt, 3 teaspoons citric acid, 1-2 tablespoons oil and 3 cups of boiling water. It will look like a hot sticky mess. When it becomes impossible to stir, dump out onto the kitchen bench and start kneading, pushing and smacking the dough on the bench. It will be hot, so watch your hands. The more you knead, the more you release the gluten in the flour and it starts to become stretchy and elastic.  Keep kneading until the dough is nice and soft.  Divide into parts and add food colouring.  I keep my playdough in an icecream container, but some people keep theirs in the fridge. I find this dries out the playdough somewhat, but just add a bit more water as it starts to dry out, and knead through again.
Pom-poms - add googly eyes to make fun creatures. Use green wool to make a frog; yellow wool to make a chick; brown wool to make an owl.  Wrap wool around two cardboard circles with a hole in the middle cut out (just like two cardboard donuts). Keep wrapping around the circle until you are satisfied with the fullness.  Snip around the middle of the donut with scissors; tie a piece of thread tightly around the middle of the donut and slip the cardboard pieces off.  Fluff up to make a nice round pom-pom.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.

Q
Quiz - make your own quiz or find one on the internet. Base your questions on something your child is interested in, eg dinosaurs, animals, vehicles, birds, trivia.
Queen - make a crown, decorate a chair to be a throne, have a high tea with club sandwiches and tiny biscuits, dress up, be a fairy queen, make a wand using a stick and paper stars.
Quilling
Quick - have races - sack race, hopping race, running race, wheelbarrow race; make an obstacle course or hurdles and get mum to time you. Then do it again and try to better your time.
20 Questions - give clues every 5th question. Questions have to be answered Yes or No.

R
Read a book together
Ride a bike
Run - run around the garden, run along the beach, run to numbers / letters of the alphabet written on the fence (get an adult to call them out).
Rugby
Recycle and re-use - don't throw away plastic bottles or caps - collect them and try to think of ways to re-use and recycle. Make plastic bottles into planters or bird feeders. Thread a pile of bottlecaps with string (use a hammer and nail to put a hole through the middle) and make a bottle cap snake. Plant seeds in egg cartons.  What else can you make?

S
Scavenger hunt
Storytelling, Snow White
Sing songs
Sewing
Snakes & Ladders
Snap!
Stamps, stickers, scissors - get them out and get creating!
Sorting - sort out buttons into size or colour; sort shells or stones; sort out toys and put in the right place.
Swings - go to the park and play on the swings
Skype a family member
Star Wars - dress up, make costumes, convert the lounge or hallway to the Death Star, make paper stars and planets to hang up and create a galaxy; make light sabres, play the Star Wars theme music, make masks.

T
Trees - climb a tree
Trivia games
Threading - get out string and buttons, beads, macaroni or pasta, shells with holes
Throwing - throw balloons filled with water at targets; throw beanbags; balls, etc.
Tent - put up a tent in the back yard. If you're brave enough, sleep in it!
Trains - there is a miniature train ride at Centre Park, Robertson Road, Mangere.  http://manukaulivesteamers.co.nz/home-new/
Totara Park - http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/en/parksfacilities/premierparks/pages/totarapark.aspx
Tracking / Trails - make your own trails and tracks for the children to follow. Leave arrows and clues to work out where to go next.
Thank you letters - write thank you notes to friends and family for your Christmas presents.

U
Up, Under, over - make an obstacle course in the back yard.
Unicorns - tell stories about unicorns, pretend to be a unicorn, make a small world play area (use blocks, lego, whatever) for little toy unicorns.
Upside down day - have dinner in the morning, breakfast at night, wear pyjamas in the day and clothes at night!

V
Video - make your own.
Volcano - visit a volcano, climb up the top, learn about how volcanoes were made (get a book out the library), look for volcanic rock.

W
Waitakere Ranges
Walk
Water play - fill up a plastic bag with water, tie up to a tree and put holes in it so that it spurts out.
Get a tub of water and some jugs, funnels and empty bottles.
Make a water wheel using plastic plates, plastic cups and tape.
Put the sprinklers on and jump over them.
 Get out the water pistols.
Wash the car and have a water fight with wet sponges.
Tie string around large car-washing sponges, dunk in water and hang from above so that it drips down - fun to ride bikes through or run through!
Wheels - get out the bikes, skates, or skateboard.
Weird & Wacky - have a weird and wacky day, dress up, put on crazy face paint or makeup, and be silly!
Wind in the Willows - introduce your child to the beautiful stories of Rat and Mole, Badger and Toad.
The Wishing Chair adventure books by Enid Blyton - magical and fun stories to share with your child.

X
haven't got X sorted yet - let me know if you have any ideas!

Y
Yoga
Yahtzee - if you don't have yahtzee, just make up your own dice game.  Throw two or three dice (two dice for children who are still learning to add) and add them up together. The first person to get to 20 (or whatever number you decide upon) wins.
Yogurt - make your own
The Yes or No Game! The question game where you are not allowed to answer with a yes or no! The other person (or people) try to ask questions that make you say Yes or No and you have to answer without saying it.  If you do, your turn is over and it is then someone else's turn.

Z
Zoo animals - go to the zoo; or make your own using blocks / lego and plastic animals; make animal masks; eat fruit and vegetables; paint the lines of a cage using a brush and water on the fence.
Zen sand trays - get a tray of sand (or glitter, or mix sand with glitter; if you mix cornflour with sand it creates a fine, silky texture), a little rake or fork, scoops, (the scoops from baby formula cans are fabulous) pebbles, little shells, and anything else you may have, eg little sticks, small pine cones, acorns, flower petals, leaves.  A large plastic tray/serving dish works well, as does old cake tins - you can find suitable containers very cheaply in your local charity shop.