Dear Primary Families

In response to parent feedback from those working with their children at home, Primary will be launching a program that we hope will help support and ease some of the pressures that some families are experiencing with remote learning. 

For students working from home with their parents, for one day of the week, after students have completed the required Literacy and Numeracy components of their lessons for the day, they may continue with the lessons the teacher has prepared for the day. Or, for the remainder of the day may choose from a comprehensive list of activities to undertake (provided), in and at a time that suits the family. Parents and students will continue to be provided with the work as they have been (many are thriving & loving it), but there will also be more options to undertake if this is more suited to the home and family environment.

Those who attend school will complete the work assigned by the teacher for the day, as they have been, supported by teaching staff. These students have the benefit of PE, Stage Arts and Music lessons with their teachers, as well as the company of each other and Recess and Lunch times together to play, so it is quite a different learning environment than it is for families working at home together. This is why we are implementing this program for those working at home.

The following days will be dedicated to this new program for parents working at home with their children during Term 2:

Mellow Monday – Week 5

Chilled Tuesday – Week 3

Wellness Wednesday – Week 4

Thankful Thursday – Week 2

Fun-filled Friday Week 6 

Here are some ideas/ options that children can choose from, on any of the days listed above. Parents and children might like to select one, two or three of these different options, depending on what suits each one’s fancy for the day:

1. Write grandparents or relatives an ‘I love you’ letter

2. Play outside – skip, kick a ball, run laps around the garden – skipping, hopping, jumping & take your pulse after each lap & write the readings down. Do the same thing on another day and compare the readings and talk about why they may be different

3. Collect leaves or stones or shells and make a collage

4. Doodle/colour in

5. Read a book of interest/choice 

6. Cook with mum or dad – make Pizza for lunch? 

7. Journal – write and draw about everything they are grateful for (at least 5 things); pray about these things and thank God

8. Sketch a scene sitting in a chair in the garden and post it to a friend with a letter

9. Do a small job around the house that you wouldn’t normally do (pick out of the hat – created by parent) eg. clean out the cutlery drawer

10. Sew or create

11. Just simply play with toys/lego 

12. Puzzles

13. Draw a cartoon strip about what they did on the weekend

14. Video family or siblings singing a song together, or ask parents to video 

15. Create a play 

16. Learn to use chopsticks

17. Draw a picture for a sibling or parent to colour in

18. Write a speech about what they are grateful for and try to memorise it (record and send to teachers or friends).

19. Play schools with dolls/toys and teach them how to add and subtract (parent to video) – send to teacher 

20. Count the number of items in the living room or bedroom or garden beginning with the first letter of their name, and write these in a list 

21. Pull out 5 weeds from the garden, including the roots!

22. Dress up in a fun outfit/character & take a photo & ask classmates to guess who they are – competition with classmates 

23. Make up a one minute dance & video it

24. Blindfold a family member and do a taste test  (using 3-4 different ‘safe’ foods)

25. Read a devotion to a family member and talk about it 

26. Make a fancy collar for your family pet

27. Make a cubby – inside or out

28. Draw your family pet doing their favourite thing – send to your teacher and friends with a written explanation.

29. Play with your pet with their favourite toys

30. Do your mum’s makeup!

31. Join a paper plane challenge (your teachers can provide details).

32. Read a book and ask a parent to video you reading. Play back and repeat to see if you can make improvements to your expression and enunciation. 

33. Make a mud pie & decorate it (outside!)

34. More to follow…

I trust this helps Primary families working with this ‘new normal’ as we navigate through this together.  

Mrs. Leoni McNeill

Head of Primary