5 – 7

Days of the week

Activity

Days of the week

What to do with this activity?

It's not easy for a child to get a handle on time - they gradually learn to understand time units over a long period. Talk with them about the days of the week - the five days a week that they go to school, and the two days off at the weekend. Five and two add up to seven days a week.

Gradually get to know the names of all seven days. Talk about what day it is today and what happens on that day. Do you have any regular activities like football, dancing, or scouts on particular days? Draw a chart together of the seven days and fill in what happens regularly on each day of the week. Write the days of the week onto a card each, then shuffle them and see if your child can get them back into the right order. Notice with your child how the names of the days always end in "-day". Only the first part of the name changes each time.

If it's helpful, here's a video of the days of the week from Super Simple Songs.

   

  • Why am I doing this?

    The written word is everywhere and by pointing out words around you everyday, your child will realise the usefulness of reading and how it brings information and knowledge of the wider world into your lives.

    Reading together shows your child that you think reading is important. It helps your child to link the words on the page to how they are spoken and to begin to recognise words.

  • How can I do more?

    Encourage your child to read by giving them books or information about what they are interested in, for example, if they are interested in cars, give them books about cars – it’s a great motivator. Use comics, magazines and newspapers to provide lots of new words and facts. Your child can use the pictures for information about the words they are reading.

    Read longer books to your child. This will help with memory.

    You could do ‘paired reading’ – your child chooses a book or comic to read.
    -  At first, both of you read aloud together. When the child is ready, they carry on reading alone.
    -  If they don’t know a word, you say it for them and both of you continue to read together until they are ready to read alone again.
    -  No pressure is made to get them to read by themselves. They only do it when they are ready. This is useful with older children when they find text books difficult.

    Your child might like to practise their reading skills by reading to younger children.
    Discuss with your child’s teacher if they are having difficulty reading.

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