UKG Activities

You need

• ✓A basket or box for collecting objects
• ✓One alphabet letter card (start with S, T, M, A — most common initial sounds in Hindi and English)
• ✓A simple recording sheet (draw a box for each object found)

How to do it

1. 1Show the letter card: 'Today we are looking for things that start with the S sound — ssss.'
2. 2Exaggerate the sound at the start of example words: 'Ssssalt. Sssspoon. Ssssock.'
3. 3Say 'Go!' and hunt together through the house.
4. 4For each object found, confirm the sound: hold it up, say the word slowly together.
5. 5Draw or write the objects on the recording sheet.
6. 6Count: 'We found 7 S-things! Can you think of one more we didn't find?'

You need

• ✓Alphabet letter cards (hand-written on index cards or printed)
• ✓A word tray or three small cups labelled C-V-C
• ✓A simple word list: cat, sit, map, bug, hop, dig, web, fun

How to do it

1. 1Review the sounds (not names) of the letters: 'c' says /k/, 'a' says /a/, 't' says /t/.
2. 2Say the word 'CAT' slowly, stretching each sound: /k/ ... /a/ ... /t/.
3. 3Ask your child to find the letter card for each sound and place it in the C-V-C cups.
4. 4Blend: point to each card and say the sound, slowly increasing speed until the word emerges.
5. 5Move to the next word. Let your child try independently.
6. 6Play 'Read my word': you place letters, they decode the word.

You need

• ✓20 seeds, pebbles, or buttons
• ✓Egg carton or muffin tray with 12 spaces
• ✓Number cards 1–20 (hand-drawn is fine)

How to do it

1. 1Count 10 seeds into 10 spaces of the egg carton. Confirm: 'We have 10.'
2. 2Now add 1 more: 'This is 11 — ten AND one more.'
3. 3Continue to 20, naming each as 'ten and one more makes eleven', etc.
4. 4Lay number cards 11–20 face down. Turn one over and race to place that many seeds correctly.
5. 5Ask: 'If we take 3 seeds away from 15, how many will we have?'
6. 6Introduce the words: eleven, twelve, thirteen — practise saying them.

You need

• ✓3–4 types of dried pasta (penne, farfalle, rigatoni, fusilli) or use dal shapes
• ✓A long strip of paper as the pattern track
• ✓Glue (optional — to make a permanent record)

How to do it

1. 1Lay out all pasta shapes sorted by type.
2. 2Make a simple AB pattern: penne, farfalle, penne, farfalle. Ask: 'What comes next?'
3. 3Try ABB: penne, farfalle, farfalle, penne, farfalle, farfalle.
4. 4Try AAB, ABC patterns.
5. 5Let your child create a pattern and challenge you to continue it.
6. 6Ask: 'What is the rule of your pattern? How would you explain it to a friend?'

You need

• ✓Chalk
• ✓An outdoor area with direct sunlight
• ✓A measuring tape or a piece of string

How to do it

1. 1Morning (around 8–9am): stand in a sunny spot. Trace your child's shadow outline in chalk.
2. 2Measure the shadow's length with a string. Mark the length on a wall with tape.
3. 3Return after lunch (around 2–3pm): stand in exactly the same spot. Trace the new shadow.
4. 4Measure again — the shadow is shorter and pointing in a different direction.
5. 5Ask: 'Why do you think the shadow moved? Where did it go?'
6. 6Explain simply: 'The sun moves across the sky during the day because the Earth is spinning — and our shadow follows the sun!'

You need

• ✓Moong dal (a handful)
• ✓A cup or small pot with drainage holes
• ✓Potting soil or garden soil
• ✓Water in a small watering can
• ✓Observation diary (a folded paper book with date squares)

How to do it

1. 1Day 1: Soak moong dal in water overnight.
2. 2Day 2: Check — tiny white tails (the radicle) are emerging. Plant 3–4 seeds in the cup, 1cm deep.
3. 3Water gently every day. Let your child do the watering.
4. 4Each day: draw what they see in the observation diary. The shoot will emerge within 3–5 days.
5. 5Label parts as they grow: seed, root, stem, leaf.
6. 6At Day 7–10: the plant is ready. Eat the sprouts in a salad — the cycle is complete!

You need

• ✓One A4 sheet for the loom (fold in half and cut parallel slits 1.5cm apart — leave 2cm borders)
• ✓Coloured paper strips (2cm wide, cut from coloured chart paper or old calendars)
• ✓Tape or glue to finish edges

How to do it

1. 1Prepare the loom: fold A4 paper, cut 6–8 parallel slits as above. Unfold — you have a grid.
2. 2Show your child how to weave: over the first strip, under the next, over, under, alternating.
3. 3Help them thread the first strip through. The over-under motion requires focused grip.
4. 4Each new horizontal strip alternates: if the first went OVER-UNDER, the next goes UNDER-OVER.
5. 5After all strips are woven, fold and glue or tape the edges.
6. 6Display as a placemat or coaster — use it every day.