This piece is adapted from an ABC North and West post on June 4.
Have you thought of adding extra meaning to colouring in time? Or a new way to get your kids involved in what is happening in your work life?
While you may be a little tired of selecting a new colour for George’s tractor tyres on our Tractor Colour in Activity, perhaps consider giving the kids an adaptable and hands on approach to drawing time.
Farming mum, Ellen Hardy, introduced a way for her busy boys, Jett, 5 and Bodhi, 3 to get involved in seeding time, without sitting on the tractor next to dad every second!
Through copying a map outline of their farm, she created a colouring-in page for the boys. It was their responsibility to colour in each paddock after their dad had completed seeding the paddock.
This sparked conversations about the type of seed that was being sown and grown in each paddock, as well as understanding how long it took to seed each paddock, and the timing of when each paddock would be finished.
The boys were more heavily involved in the seeding process. They were busy Facetiming their dad to work out what paddock number he was in, and how far through the paddock he was. How’s that for initiative and involvement? The boys asked many questions through the process and felt as though they had an important job to fulfil – a responsibility of their own.
What a great visual! The boys knew exactly when Dad was close to completing seeding and weren’t nagging mum about when he would be home to spend time with them.
How do you get your kids involved with the daily workings in your life?
Our Learn About Wheat and Wool Guide gives kids the opportunity to be involved in a project, giving kids the chance to discover what it takes to produce wheat and wool. This guide is aligned with the Australian School Curriculum, focusing on Foundation to Year 4 levels. The guide covers Science, Literature, Technology and Sustainability. Many of the hands-on activities such as making lumpy glue artworks from wheat are equally achievable and entertaining for pre-primary kids too.