Your child's new Read Write Count activity bag is packed with fun items for you to play with together. It’s a great way to make their homework more enjoyable and to help you get involved. It’s free for all kids in primary 3 and they’ll get theirs during the autumn term.
What’s in the bag?
- A notebook and pencil
- Coastal Commotion with time and story activity cards on the reverse
- A parent/ carer guide
- A measuring tape
Two books:
- Wow! Animals by Jacqueline McCann, Emma Dods and Marc Aspinall
- Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola
Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola
Space-mad Rocket wants her big brother Jamal and everyone in the town to be as excited as she is about an upcoming meteor shower. How can she get them to ‘Look Up!’?
Image of a book titled 'Look Up!' with a cartoon of a child looking up at the sky.
Game #1: Meteor facts
Game #1: Meteor facts
There are lots of fascinating meteor facts in the book. Why not get your child to write down their favourite three and see if they can remember them?
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #2: Plan a space expedition
Game #2: Plan a space expedition
Ask your child what they would need to pack for a trip to space, and see if you have what you need at home for an astronaut adventure. Do they have moonboots? Maybe there's a space helmet in the kitchen?
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #3: Mobile numbers
Game #3: Mobile numbers
There are lots of phones in the book. Why not see if your child can remember your mobile number? You never know when they might need it. You could make up a tune together to help them remember all the digits.
Loved it? Let us know!
Wow! Animals by Jacqueline McCann, Emma Dods and Marc Aspinall
How many teeth does a crocodile have? How far can a grasshopper jump? How long can a whale hold its breath? Find out in this book of extraordinary animal facts.
Image of a book titled 'Wow! Animals' with a cartoon of a goose on the cover.
Game #1: Animal facts
Game #1: Animal facts
Get your child to pick their favourite animal, and see if they can find as many facts about that animal as possible. If they're looking up facts on the internet you could ask them which websites they think they can trust to tell the truth, and which might not be so reliable.
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #2: Hear me roar
Game #2: Hear me roar
Why not try some animal impressions? You could have a competition and the one who gets closest to what they really sound like wins! Why not start easy with some cow and sheep noises, then move on to trickier ones - what does a giraffe sound like?
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #3: Height chart
Game #3: Height chart
There are lots of different sized animals in the book. See if your child can line them up in order of height. Get them to tell you which one is the tallest and the smallest.
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #4: Picture time
Game #4: Picture time
Get out the paint brushes and see if you and your child can paint a picture of their favourite animals. If you don’t have paint, you could use crayons, pencils, pens, chalk or anything you have. Or maybe get them to pick their favourite parts of each animal to create a brand new creature - the weirder the better!
Loved it? Let us know!
Coastal Commotion with time and story activity cards on the reverse
Game #1: Get playing
Game #1: Get playing
Image of a colourful pack of cards.
Deal all the cards with each player holding their cards so they can only see the top card. The first player starts by reading out a category. Then the player with the highest number on their top card wins and that player collects all the cards in play. Then their turn again to choose one of the four categories from the next card. The player with the most cards at the end wins!
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #2: See creatures
Game #2: See creatures
Get your child to look at the sea creatures on the cards and see if they can tell you which ones live in the waters around Scotland. Next time you're by the coast, you could see if you can spot them.
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #3: Favourite animals
Game #3: Favourite animals
Ask your child which is their favourite animal and ask if they can draw a picture of it. Where does it live? What does it eat? They could draw this too, and maybe even collect leaves and sticks when they’re outdoors to add to the picture.
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #4: Anything missing?
Game #4: Anything missing?
Maybe their favourite underwater creature is missing. Why not make a new card? If it’s already there, why not see if they want to invent a brand new one?
Loved it? Let us know!
Measuring tape
Game #1: Shoe size
Game #1: Shoe size
Image of a 'Read Write Count' measuring tape.
Your child might know their shoe size, but do they know how long their feet actually are? Why not measure them and find out? Maybe one is bigger than the other!
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #2: Toy sizes
Game #2: Toy sizes
What an opportunity to find out what their tallest toy is! Ask them which one they think it is and then they can go and find out.
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #3: Room measurements
Game #3: Room measurements
See if your child can use the tape measure to measure the length of a room in the house. See if they can keep track of where they are with a piece of scrap paper on the floor.
Loved it? Let us know!
Game #4: Tricky shapes
Game #4: Tricky shapes
Some things are easier to measure than others. A clever way to measure a tricky shape is to put a bit of string around it and then measure how much string you’ve use. See if your child can do this themselves with a funny shaped toy.
Loved it? Let us know!
