Easter Holidays

The staff of St.Philips J.N.S. would like to wish all parents and children a very Happy Easter.

Over the Easter holidays we would like children to relax, focus on playing and not forget their reading.

Reading

For reading we would encourage children to keep reading everyday. It is good to read a variety of books and if you get a chance, check out these online stories

https://www.storylineonline.net/

https://www.oliverjeffers.com/abookaday - author Oliver Jeffers reading some of his books

https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses-catch-up  - audio stories by David Walliams

https://www.wizardingworld.com/collections/harry-potter-at-home - for all the Harry Potter fans!!

Perhaps the children could record themselves reading a few pages from a book or their own story!

Play

Here are a number of useful ideas for play at home

 1. Charades An all-time classic. Flex those miming skills by getting family members to guess what - or who - you are acting out. Whether it's a film, book or famous celebrity - you'll have a few laughs together trying to figure out the answer.

2. Use a pencil and paper Simply picking up a pencil and paper opens up a world of options to keep yourself entertained. Hangman, x’s and o’s and Pictionary are quick and easy games that require this most basic of equipment

3. Card games There are hundreds, if not thousands, of variants of card games out there.
Beggar my neighbour, 25, rummy, bridge - there are plenty of options to choose from.

4. Board games Monopoly, snakes and ladders, ludo, chess or backgammon.

5. Baking and cooking Now's the time to work on those cooking skills in the kitchen and collectively whip up a tasty meal. For children, weighing ingredients and following a recipe can also help develop their numeracy skills.
We all deserve a treat or two in the current uncertain times, so now could be the time to find your inner Bake Off skills.

6. Have a singalong Music has the power to be uplifting, and singing or playing together may help raise spirits. You can find one of several karaoke videos on YouTube.

7. Making Salt Dough Making salt dough is a really fun and easy activity for kids and the chances are you will have all of the ingredients in the cupboard ready to go on a rainy day. Children will love using their imaginations to create all sorts of exciting objects (although simple shapes do seem to work best) and hours of fun painting their creations, but do take care to remind little ones that the salt dough is not edible.

Makes 1 ball
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 3 hours

• 1 cupful of plain flour (about 250g)
• half a cupful of table salt (about 125g)
• half a cupful of water (about 125ml)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and stir until it comes together into a ball.

3. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and shape into your chosen model. You can roll it out and cut out shapes, numbers or letters using biscuit cutters, or make any kind of model you can think of, egg shapes for Easter maybe

4. Put your finished items on the lined baking sheet and bake for 3 hrs or until solid.

5. Leave to cool and then paint.

8. Blow Bubbles If you have some bubbles blow them up into the air and try to catch them or try making your own bubble mixture using washing up liquid and water

9. Play hopscotch If you have some chalk go out and draw a hopscotch grid and have a go at playing hopscotch

10. Play skipping Get your skipping rope out and see how many skips you can do. Try to beat your record!

11. Simon Says Have a game of Simon Says and try to trick others out by not saying Simon Says!!

12. Treasure Hunt Hide things around the house and make a treasure map for someone to find them

13. I spy I spy is another classic game for everyone to take part in. It is as simple as saying the first letter of the object you are thinking of and getting those around you to guess what it is.

14. Put on a play Up the drama in your home by taking on the challenge of staging your own play.
Devising a plot, making costumes and creating a stage to perform on will keep children (and adults!) busy for hours. Let's hope the family critics are kind to your show.

15. Jigsaws Jigsaws are a great way to pass the time. See how many pieces you can put together!

16. Teddy Bears Picnic Bring all your teddies to a place where you can have a picnic

17. Indoor Bowling Put up some plastic bottles and try to knock them down

18. Lego If you have Lego/blocks at home, why not try the 30 day challenge (see below)

19. Simple Home Activities If you haven’t completed this challenge, maybe give it a try over the holidays (see below)

20. Continue to keep your eyes on RTE 2 weekdays at 11am for some nice lessons and use www.twinkl.ie for Easter activities

We wish you all a peaceful and healthy Easter.