Peekaboo & Hide-the-Cloth
Well-being
0-1 1-2
Grows: Object permanence, secure attachment and social anticipation (learning that people and things still exist when out of sight)
You need: A soft cloth, nappy or your own hands. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Sit facing the baby, close enough to make eye contact.
- Cover your face with the cloth, pause, then pull it away with a warm 'Bhoo!' or 'Nangu!'.
- Wait each time for the baby to react before repeating.
- Next, hide a favourite object under the cloth and let the baby pull it off.
Watch for: Baby smiles, laughs, or looks toward the cloth expecting you to reappear; older babies lift the cloth themselves to find the toy.
Easier: Shorten the hide, add more sound and exaggerate your reappearance so the wait is very short.
Extend: Hide the object fully under one of two cloths and let the child remember which one.
Tummy-Time Mirror Play
Well-being
0-1
Grows: Neck, back and core strength (the gross-motor base for sitting and crawling) plus early self-recognition
You need: A blanket on the floor and an unbreakable mirror or a clean shiny pot lid. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Lay the baby on their tummy on a clean blanket.
- Prop the mirror or shiny lid upright just in front of them.
- Talk, sing and point to the baby's reflection to keep them lifting their head.
- Keep sessions short (1-3 minutes) and stop before the baby is upset.
Watch for: Baby lifts head and chest, pushes on arms, holds the position a little longer each week, and looks at the reflection.
Easier: Roll a blanket under the chest for support, or lie down face-to-face so your face is the reward.
Extend: Place a favourite object slightly out of reach so the baby stretches, twists or starts to pivot toward it.
Handwashing Song Routine
Well-being
1-2 2-3 3-4
Grows: Self-care hygiene, following a familiar sequence and building a health habit
You need: A jug of water, a basin, a bar of soap, a drying cloth. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Set a fixed handwashing time before meals and after the toilet.
- Sing a short home-language washing song that lasts about 20 seconds.
- Guide the steps: wet, soap, rub palms-backs-between fingers, rinse, dry.
- Praise each child by name as they finish.
Watch for: Child moves toward the basin at the right times, rubs both hands, and needs less physical help each week.
Easier: Do hand-over-hand and let the child copy just one step (rubbing palms) while you do the rest.
Extend: Let the child lead a small group and 'check' that friends washed between their fingers.
Feelings Faces on Bottle Tops
Well-being
1-2 2-3 3-4
Grows: Recognising and naming basic emotions (happy, sad, cross, scared) - the first step of self-regulation
You need: Bottle tops or a paper plate with faces drawn on in koki/charcoal. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Draw 3-4 simple feeling faces on bottle tops or plates.
- At circle time hold up one face and name it in the home language.
- Ask the children to make that face with their own faces.
- Ask 'When do you feel like this?' and let a few children answer.
Watch for: Child points to or makes the matching face and starts using feeling words instead of only crying or hitting.
Easier: Use just two strong opposites (happy / sad) and lots of your own modelling.
Extend: Add 'in-between' feelings (shy, excited, frustrated) and ask what would help each feeling.
2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Self-regulation and calming down safely instead of melting down or lashing out
You need: A quiet nook with a cushion or grass mat, one soft toy, a feelings picture. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Set aside a small, soft, low-stimulation corner away from busy play.
- Introduce it calmly as a nice place to rest, never as punishment.
- Teach one calming action there: hug the toy, or 'smell the flower, blow the candle' breathing.
- Let children choose to go there and welcome them back gently when ready.
Watch for: Child begins to take themselves to the corner when overwhelmed and returns calmer, with fewer long tantrums over time.
Easier: Walk with the child to the corner and breathe with them until settled.
Extend: Ask the child afterwards to say what upset them and what they could try next time.
Button, Zip & Dress-the-Board
Well-being
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Self-dressing skills and the fine-motor control needed to look after oneself
You need: Old shirts/jackets with buttons, zips and press-studs stitched onto stiff cardboard. Free from donated clothes.
How to run it ↓
- Cut worn clothing and stitch pieces with fasteners onto cardboard boards.
- Show slowly how to push a button through the hole or pull a zip up.
- Let each child practise at their own pace during free play.
- Link it to real dressing at bathroom and going-home time.
Watch for: Child manages buttons/zips with less help and starts dressing themselves.
Easier: Start with the biggest buttons and widest holes, and steady the board for them.
Extend: Time a friendly 'dress the doll' race or add small buttons and laces.
Helping-Hands Job Chart
Well-being
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Responsibility, belonging and self-esteem through a real classroom role
You need: A cardboard chart, children's photos or name symbols, bottle-top markers. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- List simple daily jobs: door monitor, plant-waterer, snack helper, tidy captain.
- Each morning move photos/symbols to that day's jobs.
- Teach and let the child do the real job, only stepping in if needed.
- Thank each helper by name at the end of the day.
Watch for: Child remembers and completes their job with pride and volunteers to help others.
Easier: Pair a shy child with a confident buddy and choose an easy job first.
Extend: Give a two-part job (water plants AND count how many needed water) and let them train a friend.
Smell-the-Flower, Blow-the-Candle Breathing
Well-being
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Self-regulation: using breath to calm the body when upset, excited or before rest
You need: None, or a real leaf/flower and a finger 'candle'. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Gather the children sitting comfortably.
- Hold up a hand: one finger is a candle, the other hand is a flower.
- Breathe in slowly through the nose to smell the flower, out slowly through the mouth to blow the candle.
- Do it 3-5 times before rest time or after an upset.
Watch for: Child slows their breathing on cue and uses it independently when frustrated.
Easier: Do it with them, exaggerating your own slow breaths so they copy the rhythm.
Extend: Let the child lead the class and invent their own calm-down move to teach the group.
Healthy Plate / Good Food Sort
Well-being
4-5 5-6
Grows: Health and nutrition knowledge - which everyday foods help us grow strong
You need: Real local foods or pictures cut from old magazines, a paper 'plate'. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Collect or draw local foods: pap, spinach/imifino, beans, fruit, sweets, chips.
- Talk about 'grow foods' that make us strong versus 'sometimes foods'.
- Let children sort the pictures onto a healthy plate.
- End with everyone naming one grow-food they will eat.
Watch for: Child sorts most foods correctly and can name a few healthy choices from home.
Easier: Sort just two piles: 'everyday' and 'sometimes', using real food they can see.
Extend: Plan a whole balanced day of meals or link to the garden vegetables they grow.
Conflict Puppets - What Could We Do?
Well-being
4-5 5-6
Grows: Social problem-solving, empathy and using words instead of hands to resolve conflict
You need: Two sock or paper-bag puppets. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Act out a common squabble with the puppets (two want the same ball).
- Freeze and ask the children 'How does each one feel?'.
- Ask 'What could they do so both are happy?' and collect ideas.
- Replay the scene using the children's best solution.
Watch for: Child suggests fair solutions (share, take turns, ask) and starts using them in real disputes.
Easier: Offer two solutions and let the child pick the kinder one.
Extend: Let children run the puppets and act out their own real playground problems.
Germs on Our Hands (Flour Test)
Well-being
5-6
Grows: Health knowledge: understanding why we wash hands and how germs spread
You need: A little flour, mielie meal or ash; water and soap. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Sprinkle a pinch of flour on each child's hands to stand for germs.
- Let them shake hands and touch a few objects - the 'germs' spread everywhere.
- Try to rub it off with dry hands - it stays.
- Now wash with soap and water and see it disappear; talk about real germs.
Watch for: Child explains in their own words that soap removes germs and washes more carefully afterwards.
Easier: Just show spreading and washing on your own hands while they watch and comment.
Extend: Ask the child to teach a younger class why we wash before eating.
Name Song & Mirror Greeting
Identity & Belonging
0-1 1-2
Grows: Responding to own name and early self-recognition - the roots of identity
You need: An unbreakable mirror or shiny lid, your voice. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Hold the baby near the mirror.
- Point to their reflection and sing their name warmly.
- Touch their nose, hands and tummy naming each part and 'This is YOU'.
- Repeat daily so the name-song becomes familiar.
Watch for: Baby turns to their name, looks at the reflection and later points to themselves.
Easier: Use an exaggerated sing-song voice and lots of touch.
Extend: Add family members' names and photos to greet in the mirror too.
Family Faces Cloth Book
Identity & Belonging
0-1 1-2 2-3
Grows: Recognising familiar people and feeling secure and connected
You need: Photos (or child's own scribbles of family), clear plastic sleeves or stitched cloth. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Ask each family for a photo or let the child mark a page for each person.
- Slide them into plastic sleeves or stitch a soft cloth book.
- Look through it one-to-one, naming each person.
- Keep it where the child can fetch it when missing home.
Watch for: Child fetches the book, points to and names family, and settles when looking at it.
Easier: Use just one or two faces the child knows best.
Extend: Ask the child to tell you something each person does at home.
This Is Me - Body-Parts Song
Identity & Belonging
1-2 2-3
Grows: Body awareness, naming body parts and a sense of self
You need: Just voices and bodies. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Sit in a circle and sing a home-language body song (head, shoulders, knees).
- Touch each part as you name it, slowly at first.
- Speed up for fun once children know it.
- Let a child stand up and point to a part for others to name.
Watch for: Child touches the correct part on cue and names several parts.
Easier: Name just 3-4 parts and touch them together on the child.
Extend: Add less-common parts (elbow, ankle, chin) and let a child lead the song.
My Symbol - Peg, Cup and Mat
Identity & Belonging
2-3 3-4
Grows: Personal identity and belonging through a symbol that is 'mine'
You need: A simple picture symbol per child (sun, tree, cow) on their cup, peg and mat. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Give each child a personal picture symbol and a matching one on their belongings.
- Show them where their cup, peg and mat are.
- At routines, let children find their own symbol.
- Use symbols on the attendance and job charts too.
Watch for: Child finds their own symbol reliably and shows pride in 'my' things.
Easier: Place their symbol first and nearest, and walk them to it.
Extend: Let the child match symbols for the whole table or hand out cups to friends.
My Family Collage
Identity & Belonging
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Family identity and talking about the people who belong to me
You need: Cardboard, old magazines, family photos or crayons, homemade paste (flour + water). Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Give each child a piece of cardboard.
- Let them draw, or stick photos/magazine pictures of their family.
- Sit with each child as they tell you who is who.
- Display all the collages at child height and celebrate the different families.
Watch for: Child names family members and talks about them with pride.
Easier: Help the child stick pre-cut pictures and name one or two people.
Extend: Ask the child to draw what their family likes to do together and tell a short story.
Greetings in Our Languages
Identity & Belonging
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Respect for the different home languages in the room and cultural belonging
You need: None. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Each morning greet the class in one South African language.
- Teach 'hello' and 'how are you' in isiZulu, Xitsonga and siSwati.
- Ask children which language they speak at home and honour each one.
- Rotate who chooses the greeting language each day.
Watch for: Child greets in more than one language and shows curiosity about others' languages.
Easier: Focus on just one word (Sawubona / Avuxeni) and repeat it daily.
Extend: Let children teach the class a word or song from their own home.
Me Portrait & Skin-Tone Mixing
Identity & Belonging
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Positive self-image and noticing that we are the same and different
You need: Paper/cardboard, mud/clay in different shades or a little paint, mirror. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Let each child look in a mirror and describe their own face and hair.
- Mix mud, clay or paint until it matches their own skin.
- Paint or draw a self-portrait.
- Display them together and talk about what makes each child special.
Watch for: Child draws recognisable features and speaks positively about themselves.
Easier: Offer a pre-drawn face outline to add hair and eyes.
Extend: Ask the child to add what they are good at and wear, and write their name.
Traditional Games from Our Elders
Identity & Belonging
4-5 5-6
Grows: Cultural heritage and belonging through games passed down at home
You need: Stones (diketo / upuca), or nothing for singing-clapping games. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Ask families or elders which games they played as children.
- Teach one, such as the diketo/upuca stone-throwing game or a clapping game.
- Play it in small groups.
- Talk about who taught it and where it comes from.
Watch for: Child plays the game and can say who in their family knows it.
Easier: Slow the game down and play cooperatively rather than competitively.
Extend: Let the child teach a game their own family plays and lead a group.
Where I Come From - My Story Book
Identity & Belonging
5-6
Grows: Narrative identity: telling the story of my home, family and place
You need: Folded paper stapled into a booklet, crayons. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Give each child a small blank booklet.
- Talk about home: who lives there, favourite food, a special place.
- Let them draw one thing per page and dictate or write words.
- Each child 'reads' their book to a small group.
Watch for: Child sequences several pages about themselves and speaks confidently to the group.
Easier: Do two pages only (my family, my home) and scribe their words for them.
Extend: Add a page about what they want to be and let them attempt their own writing.
Ubuntu Circle - I Am Because We Are
Identity & Belonging
5-6
Grows: Shared values, cooperation and belonging to a group
You need: None, or a 'talking stone' to hold. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Sit in a close circle holding hands or passing a talking stone.
- Each child says one kind thing someone did for them or they did for a friend.
- Introduce the idea 'I am because we are' - we help each other.
- Agree one class kindness to practise that week.
Watch for: Child gives real examples of kindness and follows the agreed class value.
Easier: Offer sentence starters ('Today I helped...') and let them point to a friend.
Extend: Ask the child to notice and report acts of ubuntu they see during the week.
Serve-and-Return Babble
Communication
0-1
Grows: Turn-taking conversation and the foundation of all spoken language
You need: Just your voice and attention. Free.
How to run it ↓
- When the baby makes a sound, copy it back warmly.
- Pause and wait for the baby to 'answer'.
- Take turns like a real conversation - your sound, their sound.
- Add a real word for what they look at ('Yes, dog!').
Watch for: Baby makes more sounds, waits for your turn and eventually copies your sounds.
Easier: Get very close, exaggerate your face and keep turns slow.
Extend: Turn babble into simple words and short back-and-forth 'chats'.
Naming Walk
Communication
0-1 1-2 2-3
Grows: Receptive vocabulary - understanding many words before saying them
You need: The yard, the room, anything around you. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Carry or walk slowly with the child around the centre or yard.
- Point to and name real things: tree, dog, water, ball.
- Let the child touch what you name.
- Repeat the same words often across the day.
Watch for: Child looks at or points to the named object and starts saying some words.
Easier: Name just a few favourite things over and over.
Extend: Ask 'Where is the...?' and add describing words (big tree, wet grass).
Story Stones
Communication
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Narrative, retelling and expressive vocabulary
You need: Smooth stones with simple pictures drawn on (sun, dog, house, girl), a cloth bag. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Draw simple pictures on 6-10 stones.
- Pull stones out one at a time and build a story together.
- Let each child add the next stone and a sentence.
- Retell the whole story at the end.
Watch for: Child adds ideas that follow on, uses new words and retells parts of the story.
Easier: Use 3 stones and start the story for them to finish one line.
Extend: Let the child make up and tell the whole story alone, then draw a new stone.
Rhyme & Clap Our Names
Communication
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Phonological awareness - hearing the syllables and rhythm inside words
You need: None. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Sit in a circle.
- Clap out each child's name by syllable (Si-ya-bo-nga = 4 claps).
- Let the child clap their own name.
- Add favourite rhymes and clap the beats.
Watch for: Child claps roughly the right number of beats and enjoys rhyming words.
Easier: Clap short names together, hand-over-hand.
Extend: Sort names into short and long, or find names that rhyme.
Sound of the Day / I-Spy Sounds
Communication
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Phonological awareness moving toward initial letter sounds
You need: Everyday objects, a basket. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Choose a sound of the day (e.g. 'mmm').
- Say words that start with it and stretch the first sound.
- Play I-spy: 'I spy something starting with mmm' (mat, milk).
- Let children find objects that begin with the sound.
Watch for: Child hears the first sound in words and offers matching words.
Easier: Use very different sounds and hold up the object as a clue.
Extend: Ask for the last sound too, or the sound in the middle.
Print Walk - Signs Around Us
Communication
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Print awareness - understanding that marks carry meaning
You need: Signs, labels, food packets, shop bags around the centre. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Walk around noticing print: the door label, a maize packet, a taxi sign.
- Point out that print tells us something.
- Find the first letter of children's names in the print.
- Make labels together for areas of the room.
Watch for: Child points out print, knows it means something and finds familiar letters.
Easier: Focus on the first letter of their own name wherever it appears.
Extend: Ask the child to 'read' a familiar packet and guess what a new sign says.
Mark-Making in Sand & Mud
Communication
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Pre-writing control and the idea that we can make our own marks
You need: A tray of sand, wet mud, or a patch of smooth earth and sticks. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Smooth out sand or wet earth.
- Show big arm movements: lines, circles, zig-zags with a finger or stick.
- Let children copy and invent their own marks.
- Talk about what they 'wrote'.
Watch for: Child makes controlled lines and circles and gives meaning to their marks.
Easier: Guide the child's hand for big circles and lines.
Extend: Ask them to copy letters of their name or draw a picture and label it.
Draw & Tell - Dictate My Story
Communication
4-5 5-6
Grows: Composing meaning and linking spoken words to print
You need: Paper/cardboard, crayons. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Let the child draw something that happened or a made-up story.
- Ask them to tell you about it.
- Write their exact words under the picture as they watch.
- Read it back, pointing to each word.
Watch for: Child tells a connected idea and watches their spoken words become print.
Easier: Accept one sentence and scribe it; point to the words as you read.
Extend: Encourage the child to attempt some words themselves and add more sentences.
Interactive Read-Aloud with Big Questions
Communication
4-5 5-6
Grows: Listening comprehension, prediction and inference
You need: Any picture book, or a Nal'ibali story supplement, or an oral story. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Read or tell a story with lots of expression.
- Stop to ask 'What do you think happens next?' and 'Why did she do that?'.
- Let children answer and predict.
- At the end, ask how a character felt and why.
Watch for: Child predicts, explains characters' feelings and connects the story to their own life.
Easier: Ask simple 'what' and 'who' questions and point to the picture clues.
Extend: Ask 'why' and 'what if' questions and let the child retell from memory.
Bottle-Top Letters - Make My Name
Communication
5-6
Grows: Letter recognition and letter-sound links (emergent decoding)
You need: Bottle tops with a letter written inside each. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Write single letters inside bottle tops (make several of common letters).
- Give each child the tops to build their own name.
- Say the sound of each letter as they place it.
- Progress to building short words (mat, sun).
Watch for: Child finds the letters of their name in order and links some letters to sounds.
Easier: Provide their name card to copy and only the letters they need.
Extend: Let the child build new words by changing the first letter (mat, cat, sat).
Robot Talk - Blend the Sounds
Communication
5-6
Grows: Phonemic blending - joining sounds into a word, a key reading skill
You need: None, or simple picture cards. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Explain that the robot talks in slow sounds: c-a-t.
- Say a word in separate sounds and let children blend it into the whole word.
- Use their names and classroom objects.
- Let a child be the robot for the group.
Watch for: Child blends 3 separate sounds into the whole word.
Easier: Use two-sound words (at, up) and stretch them slowly.
Extend: Move to four-sound words and let the child both segment and blend.
Fill & Empty Containers
Exploring Mathematics
0-1 1-2
Grows: Capacity, cause-and-effect and the spatial base of number
You need: Tins, cups, small bottles, sand or water. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Give the baby/toddler containers and things to put in them (safe, big).
- Show filling up and tipping out.
- Use the words full, empty, in, out, more.
- Let them repeat it as long as they are interested.
Watch for: Child fills and empties on purpose and reacts to full/empty.
Easier: Use one big container and large safe objects.
Extend: Ask 'which holds more?' and let them pour between different sizes.
Bottle-Top Posting Box
Exploring Mathematics
1-2 2-3
Grows: Shape and hole matching, hand-eye coordination and 'one at a time'
You need: A box or tin with a slot cut in the lid, bottle tops. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Cut a slot in a box lid just big enough for a bottle top.
- Show posting one top at a time through the slot.
- Count each one as it goes in.
- Open the box and start again.
Watch for: Child posts tops one by one and starts to join in the counting.
Easier: Make the slot bigger and hand the tops over one at a time.
Extend: Cut different shaped holes to match different objects, or count how many fit.
Bottle-Top Colour Sort
Exploring Mathematics
2-3 3-4
Grows: Classifying and sorting by one attribute - the base of data and number
You need: Bottle tops of different colours, tins or drawn circles to sort into. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Mix up a pile of coloured bottle tops.
- Show sorting reds into one tin, blues into another.
- Let children sort the rest.
- Talk about which group has more.
Watch for: Child groups tops correctly by colour and notices which pile is bigger.
Easier: Sort just two very different colours and start the piles for them.
Extend: Sort by two things (big red vs small red), or count and compare the groups.
Pattern Threading
Exploring Mathematics
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Recognising, copying and extending patterns (AB, then ABC)
You need: String/wool and threadable items: bottle tops with holes, macaroni, rolled paper beads. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Start a simple pattern: red, blue, red, blue.
- Say the pattern out loud and point to each bead.
- Ask 'what comes next?' and let the child continue.
- Wear the finished string with pride.
Watch for: Child continues an AB pattern and later makes their own.
Easier: Do an AB pattern with big beads and place the next one together.
Extend: Move to ABC or ABB patterns and let the child invent one for a friend to copy.
Count the Stones - Number Rocks
Exploring Mathematics
3-4 4-5
Grows: Counting objects with one-to-one correspondence and knowing the last number is 'how many'
You need: Small stones and cards/tops marked with dots or numerals 1-10. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Lay out number cards 1 to 5 (then to 10).
- Count stones onto each card, touching one stone per number.
- Stop and ask 'so how many altogether?'.
- Mix the cards up and try again.
Watch for: Child touches one stone per number word and says the total correctly.
Easier: Work only to 3, counting the stones onto the card with them.
Extend: Count to 10 and beyond, and match the amount to the written numeral.
Shape Hunt
Exploring Mathematics
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Recognising and naming 2D shapes in the real world
You need: The room, yard and objects around; shapes cut from cardboard. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Show and name circle, square, triangle cut from cardboard.
- Go on a hunt: the clock is a circle, the window a square.
- Let children find and name shapes around them.
- Sort found objects by their shape.
Watch for: Child names basic shapes and spots them in everyday objects.
Easier: Hunt for one shape at a time, holding the card as a guide.
Extend: Add rectangle and oval, and ask how a square and rectangle are different.
Ten-Frame Bottle Tops
Exploring Mathematics
4-5 5-6
Grows: Number sense, subitising and seeing numbers as parts of ten
You need: A card with two rows of five squares drawn on, bottle tops. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Draw a ten-frame (2 rows of 5 boxes) on card.
- Place tops one per box and count them.
- Show quick amounts and ask 'how many?' without counting.
- Ask 'how many more to make ten?'.
Watch for: Child recognises small amounts at a glance and sees how numbers make ten.
Easier: Use a five-frame first and count each top.
Extend: Flash amounts fast, and ask which two numbers make the amount shown.
Market / Spaza Shop Play
Exploring Mathematics
4-5 5-6
Grows: Using number in real contexts: counting, matching money, adding and taking away
You need: Empty clean packets/tins, stones or bottle tops as 'money', a table. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Set up a pretend spaza shop with priced items (1-5 stones each).
- Children take turns as shopkeeper and customer.
- Count out the stones to pay and give change.
- Talk about how many items, how much money, how much left.
Watch for: Child counts money accurately, matches price to amount and works out simple change.
Easier: Price everything 1 or 2 stones and count together.
Extend: Add real adding and subtracting problems and let them keep a tally of sales.
Add & Take Away with Stones
Exploring Mathematics
5-6
Grows: Early addition and subtraction through acting out word problems
You need: Stones/bottle tops and a cloth to hide them under. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Tell a short story: 3 goats in the kraal, 2 more arrive.
- Act it out with stones and count the total.
- Then a take-away story: 5 mangoes, we eat 2.
- Let children make up their own stone stories.
Watch for: Child models the story with stones and says the correct total.
Easier: Keep numbers under 5 and count the whole set each time.
Extend: Move to 'how many more?' problems and let them record with tally marks.
Our Favourite Fruit Graph
Exploring Mathematics
5-6
Grows: Data handling: collecting, showing and reading simple information
You need: Card, bottle tops or drawn blocks, koki. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Ask each child their favourite fruit from 3 choices.
- Each child adds a bottle top / block to that column.
- Look at the graph together.
- Ask which has the most, least, and how many more.
Watch for: Child adds their data and reads 'most', 'least' and simple differences from the graph.
Easier: Use two choices only and compare which is taller.
Extend: Add a third and fourth column and ask total children and difference questions.
Sensory Treasure Basket
Creativity
0-1 1-2
Grows: Exploration, sensory discovery and making choices (creative and cognitive foundation)
You need: A basket of safe natural objects: smooth stone, wooden spoon, pine cone, cloth, gourd. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Fill a basket with safe, interesting, clean objects of different textures.
- Sit with the baby and let them choose and explore freely.
- Name what they pick up and describe it (rough, smooth, cold).
- Refresh the objects every few days.
Watch for: Baby reaches, chooses, mouths and explores objects in different ways.
Easier: Offer fewer, larger, very different objects.
Extend: Add objects that do something (a shaker, nesting cups) to explore further.
Tin & Seed Shakers
Creativity
0-1 1-2 2-3
Grows: Rhythm, cause-and-effect and early musical expression
You need: Clean tins/bottles with a few dry seeds or stones, sealed tightly. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Seal dry seeds or small stones inside tins and bottles.
- Shake to make sound and let the child copy.
- Shake fast, slow, loud, soft.
- Shake along to a song.
Watch for: Child shakes on purpose, copies rhythms and changes fast/slow.
Easier: Use one easy-to-hold shaker and shake together.
Extend: Keep a steady beat to a song, or make patterns of loud and soft.
Homemade Playdough Modelling
Creativity
2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: 3D making, imagination and fine-motor strength
You need: Homemade dough: flour, salt, water, a little oil (colour with beetroot/spinach/ash). Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Make dough together: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, water, a spoon of oil.
- Let children squeeze, roll, pinch and flatten it.
- Invite them to make anything they like.
- Talk about what they made - never correct it.
Watch for: Child manipulates the dough with growing control and invents their own creations.
Easier: Focus on squeezing and poking; let them explore with no product expected.
Extend: Suggest a challenge (make an animal, make a snake longer than your arm).
Nature Printing & Stamping
Creativity
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Art, exploring texture and pattern, expressing choices
You need: Leaves, halved okra, cut potato, mud/beetroot/ash paint, paper or cardboard. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Make simple paint from mud, crushed beetroot or ash mixed with water.
- Dip a leaf or cut vegetable and press it onto paper.
- Let children print freely and notice the shapes left behind.
- Display the prints.
Watch for: Child prints on purpose, notices patterns and combines shapes.
Easier: Offer one stamp and hold the paper still for them.
Extend: Let them plan a repeating border pattern or mix their own colours.
Home Corner Role-Play
Creativity
2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Imaginative and dramatic play, storytelling and social skills
You need: Old pots, cloths, empty clean packets, dolls, a mat. Free from donations.
How to run it ↓
- Set up a home corner with real-life props.
- Let children cook, look after babies, host visitors freely.
- Join in only if invited, following the child's lead.
- Add new props (a doctor's bag, a shop) to spark new stories.
Watch for: Child takes on roles, invents scenarios and plays cooperatively with others.
Easier: Model one simple role (feeding the baby) and hand over.
Extend: Add a problem to the play (the baby is sick) to deepen the story.
Paint With Everything
Creativity
3-4 4-5
Grows: Exploring art techniques and free self-expression
You need: Grass-bundle brushes, sponges, fingers, sticks; mud/natural or a little paint; paper/cardboard. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Set out different 'brushes': grass bundles, sponge pieces, fingers, sticks.
- Let children paint freely with each tool.
- Talk about the different marks each tool makes.
- Dry and display the work.
Watch for: Child experiments with tools, makes deliberate marks and enjoys the process.
Easier: Offer one tool and lots of space; focus on the doing, not a picture.
Extend: Ask them to plan a picture or make a big group mural together.
Instruments We Make
Creativity
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Sound, music and simple design thinking
You need: Tins (drums), bottle-and-seed shakers, string on a box, sticks. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Make a few instruments together from junk.
- Explore the sound each one makes.
- Play them to a song, keeping the beat.
- Form a class band and take turns leading.
Watch for: Child keeps a beat, chooses instruments for effect and plays with others.
Easier: Give one easy instrument and clap a slow steady beat to copy.
Extend: Create loud/soft or fast/slow patterns, or add a simple tune.
Junk Construction Challenge
Creativity
4-5 5-6
Grows: Design, spatial creativity and problem-solving in 3D
You need: Clean boxes, tubes, tops, tape or flour paste. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Collect clean junk materials in a construction box.
- Set a friendly challenge: build a house, a car, a tower.
- Let children plan and build, solving problems as they go.
- Let each child show and talk about what they made.
Watch for: Child plans, joins materials and adapts when something does not work.
Easier: Offer fewer, bigger pieces and build alongside them.
Extend: Add a rule (it must stand up / hold a stone) to push their thinking.
Shadow Story Theatre
Creativity
4-5 5-6
Grows: Dramatic arts and storytelling - and it needs no electricity
You need: Sunlight or one torch, a light-coloured cloth/wall, cardboard cut-outs on sticks. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Cut simple character shapes from cardboard and tape them to sticks.
- Use bright sunlight or one torch to cast shadows on a wall or cloth.
- Act out a familiar story with the shadow puppets.
- Let children make their own puppets and tell a story.
Watch for: Child moves puppets to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end.
Easier: Provide ready-made puppets and tell the story together.
Extend: Let children write and perform their own shadow play for the class.
Print & Pattern Cloth
Creativity
5-6
Grows: Design, repeating pattern and cultural craft
You need: Cut potato or carved bar of soap stamps, cloth or paper, mud/beetroot paint. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Carve a simple shape into a potato or soap.
- Talk about patterned cloth (like shweshwe) from home.
- Stamp a repeating pattern across cloth or paper.
- Compare the different patterns children make.
Watch for: Child creates a deliberate repeating pattern and talks about their design.
Easier: Give one stamp and mark where each print goes.
Extend: Ask for a two-colour or two-shape repeating pattern.
Reach, Grasp & Dangle
Physical & the World
0-1
Grows: Reaching, grasping (early fine motor) and cause-and-effect
You need: Safe objects (cloth, wooden ring, spoon) hung on a string within reach. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Hang a few safe objects low over the baby on their back.
- Encourage them to reach and bat at them.
- Let them grasp, pull and feel the movement they cause.
- Change the objects to keep interest.
Watch for: Baby reaches with aim, grasps and repeats to make things move.
Easier: Bring the object right to the hand and help them touch it.
Extend: Place objects to one side so they reach across the body and roll.
Texture Discovery Tray
Physical & the World
0-1 1-2 2-3
Grows: Sensory exploration and early scientific thinking about the world
You need: A tray with sand, water, grass, smooth and rough stones, leaves. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Put different natural textures in a tray or on a mat.
- Let the child touch, squeeze and explore each one.
- Name the textures: soft, rough, wet, cold.
- Watch what they do with each material.
Watch for: Child explores each texture differently and reacts to wet/dry, rough/smooth.
Easier: Offer one texture at a time (just water, then just sand).
Extend: Ask them to find something rough / soft, or sort by texture.
Obstacle Course - Over, Under, Through
Physical & the World
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Gross-motor coordination, balance and understanding position words
You need: Tyres, planks, boxes, a rope, chairs. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Lay out a simple course: crawl through a box, step over a rope, walk a plank.
- Show the way through, saying over, under, through, around.
- Let each child go at their own pace.
- Change the course to keep it interesting.
Watch for: Child moves through with growing control and understands the position words.
Easier: Make it shorter and lower and go alongside the child.
Extend: Add balancing, jumping and timing, or let a child design the course.
Threading & Peg Boards
Physical & the World
2-3 3-4 4-5
Grows: Fine-motor pincer grip and hand-eye coordination (base for writing)
You need: Bottle tops with a hole punched, string; or pegs on the edge of a tin/cardboard. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Give children string and holed bottle tops (or macaroni) to thread.
- Or let them clip clothes pegs around a tin rim.
- Encourage using thumb and first finger.
- Count what they threaded or clipped.
Watch for: Child uses a neat pincer grip and threads/clips with growing control.
Easier: Use big holes and thick string, or larger pegs.
Extend: Thread to a pattern, or clip pegs to match a number or colour.
Plant a Seed Garden
Physical & the World
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Living world knowledge, life cycles, responsibility and observation over time
You need: Beans/seeds, soil, old tins/containers or a small patch, water. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Plant fast-growing seeds (beans) in tins or a garden patch.
- Give each child a plant to water and watch.
- Check and talk about changes every few days.
- Draw the plant as it grows and measure it.
Watch for: Child cares for the plant, notices growth changes and talks about what plants need.
Easier: Grow one class plant everyone watches together.
Extend: Keep a growth chart, compare plants in sun vs shade, and predict what happens.
Ball Skills - Throw, Catch, Kick
Physical & the World
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Gross-motor coordination and control of a moving object
You need: A homemade ball (plastic bags tied tight, or stuffed sock), a bucket/target. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Make a soft ball from tied plastic bags or a stuffed sock.
- Practise rolling, throwing and catching in pairs.
- Aim at a bucket or between two stones.
- Try kicking to a target too.
Watch for: Child throws with more aim, catches a big soft ball and kicks with direction.
Easier: Roll and catch close up with a big soft ball.
Extend: Increase the distance, add a moving target or a simple team game.
Cut & Snip
Physical & the World
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Fine-motor tool control and hand strength for writing readiness
You need: Safe scissors, old paper, magazines, dry grass, straws. Low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Show how to hold scissors, thumb up.
- Let children snip strips of paper, grass or straws.
- Progress to cutting along a thick drawn line.
- Use the cut pieces for a collage.
Watch for: Child holds scissors correctly and cuts with increasing control.
Easier: Snip thin strips that cut in one clip; steady the paper for them.
Extend: Cut along curved and zig-zag lines, then cut out simple shapes.
Ramps & Rolling - What Goes Fastest?
Physical & the World
3-4 4-5 5-6
Grows: Cause-and-effect, prediction and testing (early scientific reasoning)
You need: A plank or piece of cardboard as a ramp, balls/tins/stones/toy cars. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Prop a plank to make a ramp.
- Roll different objects down and watch what happens.
- Ask children to predict which will go fastest / furthest.
- Test it, raise the ramp higher and compare.
Watch for: Child predicts, tests and notices that steeper ramps and rounder objects go faster.
Easier: Just roll things down and enjoy the effect; name fast and slow.
Extend: Change one thing at a time (height, object) and let them explain why.
Sink or Float Experiment
Physical & the World
4-5 5-6
Grows: Scientific method: predicting, testing, observing and reasoning
You need: A basin of water and objects: stone, leaf, bottle top, stick, tin. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Fill a basin with water and gather objects.
- Before each one, ask 'will it sink or float?'.
- Test it and sort into two piles.
- Talk about what the floaters and sinkers have in common.
Watch for: Child makes predictions, tests them and starts to reason about why things float.
Easier: Test very obvious objects (stone vs leaf) and sort together.
Extend: Ask them to find a rule, then test a tricky object like a tin that can do both.
Mini-Beast Safari
Physical & the World
4-5 5-6
Grows: Living-world knowledge, careful observation and classifying
You need: The yard, a jar or clear cup, a magnifying glass if available. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Go outside to gently look for small creatures: ants, beetles, worms.
- Observe carefully without harming them.
- Count legs, notice colour, where they live.
- Draw what you found and let them go.
Watch for: Child observes closely, notices features and groups creatures by what they see.
Easier: Look for just one easy creature (ants) and count them together.
Extend: Sort creatures by number of legs or where they live, and ask what they eat.
Fundamental Movement Circuit
Physical & the World
5-6
Grows: Locomotor and stability skills (jump, hop, balance, crawl, throw) for school readiness
You need: Ropes, tyres, stones, a beam/plank, a target. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Set 5 stations: jump over rope, hop on spots, walk the beam, crawl under, throw at target.
- Demonstrate each station.
- Children move around the circuit in small groups.
- Repeat so skills improve and add a friendly challenge.
Watch for: Child performs each movement with control and coordination on both sides of the body.
Easier: Reduce to 3 easy stations and go alongside the child.
Extend: Add speed, sequences to remember, or let children design a station.
Grow a Bean in a Jar
Physical & the World
5-6
Grows: Observing a life process over time and recording change
You need: A clear jar/plastic cup, cotton wool or wet cloth, a bean seed. Very low cost.
How to run it ↓
- Put a bean against the side of a jar on damp cloth so children can see it.
- Keep it moist and in the light.
- Observe daily as roots and shoot appear.
- Draw the stages in order over two weeks.
Watch for: Child observes and describes the stages of growth and puts them in order.
Easier: Watch one class jar and talk about the changes together.
Extend: Compare beans with and without water/light and predict the outcome.
Build a Bridge / Tower Challenge
Physical & the World
5-6
Grows: Engineering thinking, spatial reasoning, problem-solving and testing
You need: Blocks, boxes, sticks, stones, cardboard. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Set a challenge: build a bridge a toy car can cross, or the tallest tower.
- Let children plan and build.
- Test it - does it stand, does it hold?
- Talk about what worked and rebuild to improve it.
Watch for: Child plans, tests, learns from failure and improves the design.
Easier: Give big stable blocks and build together.
Extend: Add rules (must span a gap, must hold three stones) and ask them to explain their design.
Sorting Waste - Caring for Our Place
Physical & the World
4-5 5-6
Grows: Environmental knowledge, responsibility and classifying
You need: Clean waste items (paper, tin, plastic, food scraps), separate boxes. Free.
How to run it ↓
- Talk about keeping our centre and village clean.
- Show the different bins/boxes for paper, tins, plastic, compost.
- Let children sort clean waste items into the right box.
- Use food scraps to start a compost for the garden.
Watch for: Child sorts waste correctly and talks about looking after the environment.
Easier: Sort two groups only (food scraps vs rubbish) with you.
Extend: Add recycling ideas (reuse tins for planting) and let them lead a clean-up.
No activities match.
