Activity Ideas for School Bigs
- Attend a class field trip, a school open house, a school play or a musical. Make sure your Little knows you're there!
- Complete a list of "Things I Like" (food, movie, hobby, sport, school subject, color, etc.) These are great conversation starters.
- Eat lunch in the classroom or cafeteria. Make a treat to share with your Little (esp. holiday treats around a special day like Halloween or Christmas)
- Play with your Little at recess. When was the last time you jumped rope?
- Read! Take turns reading a book from the library that you pick out together. Or, a magazine works too.
- Bring a camera to school and take pictures of each other, the playground, the school, ravens, anything!
- Develop the film and make a scrapbook or other keepsake.
- Write and illustrate your own short story.
- Make a card for each other or a relative. Use crayons or markers.
- Work on a puzzle. Remember you will have to take it in pieces over several trips if it's a big one.
- Play a board game or card game.
- If access is available, ask your Little to teach you a computer game that he enjoys in the library or classroom.
- Do web research on a common interest or have your Little show you a computer project that her class worked on recently.
- Talk! It's the quickest way to get to know each other.
- Take a walk around the playground.
- With the teacher's approval, start a small aquarium or plant. Keep notes on the project.
- Put together a scavenger hunt for your Little using things found on the playground or accessible from school.
- Go in the morning and politely ask the office staff to deliver a short note or a treat for your Little on a day when you do not normally meet, just so he/she can get a nice surprise. (See you tomorrow! Etc.)
- Work on a model or other longer-term project that you can either store at the school or bring with you for several weeks in a row (perhaps making a birthday or Christmas gift for a parent or other relative could be fun).
- Create a list of interview questions you and your Little can ask his or her teacher, librarian, or other school faculty, helping to build respectful friendships with teachers and other adults.
» Next Page