P2 Read Write Count Activity Bag

There are a LOT of penguins in this book! Can your child count them all?

At first they might all look quite similar, but there are different sizes and shapes, just like penguins in real life. Why not take a look at this guide to penguin species together on the Penguins International website? What are the differences between them? Your child could then draw their favourite penguin.

Can your child remember how many snowmen were built in the book? You could ask them to draw their own snowman, and think about the different shapes it’s made up from, like circles for its body, a triangle for its nose and maybe a square hat?

We were feeling pretty hungry by the end of this book! You can find lots of great, low-cost recipes for cakes and muffins in our recipe section – why not have a go at baking them together? Baking is a great way of teaching your child about weights and measures and how to follow instructions – and of course it’s fun!

In the book, the little dragon tries to make her own wings. Ask your child if they can make some wings out of things they find in the house, like newspaper, cardboard or a towel. Then you could head out to the park to try them out (spoiler alert, they probably won’t work!)

In the book, the little dragon is worried there’s something wrong with her because she’s different from her brothers and sisters. When you’ve read the book, you could talk to your child about what makes them different and special, and how everyone being different is what makes the world so interesting.

This could be a good time to talk about the different way people’s brains work too – our page on talking to your child about neurodiversity has tips for this.

The young dragons go through changes in the book as they grow up. Why not have a look at some old photos with your child and see how you’ve both changed? 

This could also be an opportunity to talk to them about the changes their body will go through as they grow up – our page on talking to your child about their body and puberty has tips to help.

A tangram is a Chinese puzzle made up of seven polygons or ‘tans’, which can be put together to make different shapes. You could start by looking at the different shapes and seeing if your child can name them. They might know square and triangle, but what about the parallelogram?

How many different shapes can your child make with the tans? If they need some inspiration, you could have a look at this online tangram game together.

The tan pieces are all different colours – can your child name the colours, and think of something else that’s the same colour?

Shuffle and deal the cards. Put one card each at a time face up onto the pile in the middle. You can only use a card if the shape or number matches the card at the top of the pile. For example if the card has 5 squares you could play another 5 card or another square card next. If you can’t play, take a card from the pile. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins!

Some shapes are easier than others, but why not turn over the number card and see who can name the shape first?

Use the cards for a quick game of snap. Just try and match the cards with the same numbers.