At home with SCARF - Activities for 3 to 5 year olds

What your child will be learning about

• What makes me special
• People close to me
• Getting help

What you can talk about together

Explain that we are all different - sometimes we like the same things as each other and sometimes different things. This makes us special.

• What makes us the same?
• What makes us different?
• Who's in your family?
• How are our families the same?
• How are our families different?

What you can do together

Activity 1 - Something special

Begin with some questions that focus on things that are important to your child: 

Tell us about your special object:

• A favourite book
• A favourite activity
• A favourite place

Why is it important to you? You could share your favourite item with your child. Maybe something you’ve had since a child. Talk about why it is important to you.

You could make a treasure box to keep your favourite things.

Activity 2 - Who's in the mirror?

Look in a mirror together and notice eye colour, hair colour, and other features. Smile, make faces and play. Perhaps your child would like to draw a self-portrait in the mirror below, with (or without) your help - let the child choose. Or you may decide to stick a favourite photo in the mirror space. Learn the rhyme together.

look in the mirror and who do I see? Me, me, me! I see me! (Write the name of your child on the dotted lines. Other family members can take a turn to say the rhyme using their own names) My name is ............................................ I am ............................. And ................................................ is who I see.

If you have a printer at home, you can use this version:

(Click on the image to make it bigger or to print.)

Activity 3 - Who can help me?

Children draw around their hand which should be pressed palm down onto a piece of paper, fingers and thumb spread out. 

In or around the five digits, draw the faces of 5 people they can turn to for help at home or at school.

With adult help, children can draw or write more information, as appropriate.

Activity 4 - My special people

Begin with a discussion:

• Who’s in your family?
• What makes us the same/different from people in our family?
• How do we help each other in families?
• What do we like to do with our families?

Use this discussion to introduce the concept of having a network of special people.

Start by talking with the children about all the people that they think of as special to them. How do they help you? How can you help them to help you?

Draw a picture of your special people - write (with help) what makes each of them special.