Homeschooling activities for 4 to 8 yr olds
When Coronavirus first struck and our schools closed, I decided to create a new page on my website full of Fun Stuff to Download. I hoped it would play a small part in helping parents and children through the weeks and months that were to follow.
Although all activities relate to my books, you won’t have to have read them to join in. My books, and therefore, the activities are aimed at 4 to 8 year old’s…hopefully I have provided a varying mix to cover the varying ages.
So far, I have added a series of colouring sheets with images from within my books and fairy finger puppet making for the very little ones. For the older children, there is a selection of word searches, criss-cross puzzles, mazes, copy & colour and a wonderful little article I’ve created to encourage primary children to read… they will be writing by creating their very own SKELETON!
There’s plenty to choose from…and more on the way. A selection of activities added so far can be found below but you can keep an eye on my website by clicking here.
You can let me know what you think, share pictures of your children’s finished work or place comments on any of my social media platforms. I would love to see what your little ones do with the activities I upload.
ACTIVITIES
Session 1
Click on the links below to print colouring sheets from The Fairy in the Kettle and The Fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical. We’ll save the Christmas sheets for later in the year.
Leona – The Fairy in the Kettle
Robbie & Leona’s precious kettle – The Fairy in the Kettle
The Grumpy Fairies – The Fairy in the Kettle
Leona awakes with a start – The Fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical
Mischievous pixies – The Fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical
The elders – The Fairy in the Kettle gets Magical
Toby and the fireflies – The fairy in the Kettle Gets Magical
My stories have been brought to life beautifully by the brilliant Debbie Bellaby Illustration.
Session 2
Here we have a mixture of Criss Cross puzzles, Word Searches, and Mazes. There is a selection of abilities and all, of course, are about fairies. Just click on the links below…
Word Search – For the little ones
Word Search – It’s all about the fairies
Word Search – from The Fairy in the Kettle’s Christmas Wish
Maze – Playing with the swallows
Maze – Elders searching for the fairies
Session 3
For younger children, there are fairy finger puppets to be made. You will need:
- colouring pencils
- children’s scissors or an adult to help cut out your puppet
- a glue stick
- a lollipop stick – this is optional as they will fit on the end of your finger
- Click here to download your very own fairy finger puppet template
- now follow the instructions on the template
There are some finished puppets in the pictures below, taken during one of my Waterstones events.
And for older children…
Session 4
As an author, I often visit primary schools where I read my books and talk to children about writing. Children are always full of wonderful questions and we talk about both their writing and mine. I can guarantee that at some point during the visit I will be asked how I write my stories and my answer is always the same…I create a skeleton!
This response always results in a mixture of confused faces and giggles, but it’s true. I create a skeleton and by downloading my Becoming an Author article, your little ones can see exactly how I do it and create their own skeleton and unique story as they go…just click here to download my Becoming an Author article.
