We encourage families to Read, Yarn, Sing, Draw, and Play with their child every day through activities and books that share the stories, values, and languages of our WA Indigenous communities.
Here are some ideas and activities on how you can Read, Yarn, Sing, Draw and Play every day with your child. These activities will help build the skills that little ones need to get ready for school and learning. These activities also support families to build a strong bond with their little one as their first teachers.
Read
- Have story time each night before bed
- Point out everyday words on signs, at shops, on labels
- Read comics or other sections of a newspaper or magazine together.
Yarn
- Share stories orally
- Talk about features of a particular animal, plant or place
- Talk about the letter bub’s name starts with and find other things that start with that letter.
Sing
- Sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” while getting dressed in first language or in English
- While singing and rhyming, ask your child to move along to actions or use tap sticks as you sing
- Make animal sounds e.g. laugh like a Kookaburra
- Play word matching to figure out words that rhyme with basic English words like “hop” or Aboriginal language words like “koort” in Noongar.
Draw
- Draw and tell sand stories
- Weave to help build up little finger muscles
- Make marks and scribbles in the air, on paper or in sand.
Play
- Act out stories
- Move like animals that your child talks about
- Play “Follow the Leader” using actions from your child’s favourite story.
