Talking Matters would like to wish all their families and colleagues a safe and happy Christmas. We would also like to say farewell to our favourite Christmas elf Jess, and thank her for the sparkle that she has brought to the team over the last few years. We wish her well for the future.
We would like to share one last Christmas activity idea that you family can enjoy together to bring some extra sparkle to this special time. Like our previous Christmas posts, these activities are fun but are also a way to help your kids learn valuable language and communication skills.
Have your kids seen some Christmas lights? If they have they will love these fun activities which are also great ways to talk together about all kinds of things. If they haven't see any yet there are still a few more days. One year my children had chicken pox at Christmas so we could not do all the usual Christmas things. Instead we did the Lobethal lights three nights over! No one had to get out of the car and spread germs but it still felt like a fun Christmas outing. Whether you make the trip to Lobethal or look for something closer to your home Google maps shows all the Christmas light displays for South Australia.
Remember to talk together as you look at colours, shapes, size and movement. It is a great way for kids to learn concepts. Take the chance to expand your child’s vocabulary with some describing words.To keep the fun going at home add a string of lights or two to your tree as they are quite inexpensive at supermarkets and hardware shops. Also try some of the great craft activities below.
Help young children to name the colours. Working along the string naming each colour in turn gives the chance for lots of repetition which helps your child learn.
Older kids could make some cool Christmas light pictures and use the activity to develop understanding of procedural language. Draw strings of lights on paper with crayons then paint over with black paint, or try florescent textas or wet chalk on black paper. You could also try cutting out shapes from a sheet of black cardboard then sticking coloured cellophane on the back and hanging it in a window.
Here are some more Christmas lights crafts from some great sites on the web.
Here a link to a site with a tutorial on how to make these lovely pictures which would also make great last minute cards or place mats for the Christmas dinner table (laminated so they could be used again).
Here is an easy one to print for younger children to paint
This site has a personalised way to put your child's name up in lights! These would be great to hang up to remind Santa where to leave the presents!
And this page has links to loads more Christmas light activities including this fun printable colour sorting game for preschoolers. Something to keep them quiet while you prepare lunch perhaps.
The Talking Matters team wishes all our families, friends and colleagues a wonderful, safe and happy Christmas and looks forward to sharing with you all in the new year!
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