Fun learning activities for 6-year-olds

Your little one will probably now be starting to read independently, but games and activities are still
a fun way to help with phonic skills, word recognition, and general language development.
Your child may become more aware of signs, notices, posters, newspaper headlines, TV adverts,
and so on… so make the most of this new reading opportunity!
We’ve pulled together twelve ideas here for ways to reinforce learning at home and in your every
day activities together. have fun!

Games and activities

1. Tongue twisters and language games
• Make up and play with tongue twisters like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers or
Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.
• Find poems and rhymes that play with language, like Michael Rosen’s There’s mustard in
the custard.
• Make up guessing games during meal times. For example, ‘I’m thinking of an animal. It can
gallop. You can ride it. What is it?’ Take it in turns.

2. Phonic games
• Use the levelled reading books your child brings home from school to see how many words
your child can find with a particular sound – for example, the sound ai even if it’s spelled in
different ways: ay, a-e – in two minutes!
• Play full circle! Use magnetic letters to make a word. Change one letter each time to make
a new word until you get back to the original. For example, ‘park-part-tart-dart-dark-park’.
Activity: Vowel sounds

Practise phonics by matching the pictures to the vowel sounds.

Activity: Phonics guidance
Learn how to say all the phonics sounds (phonemes) and letters.

3. Memory games
• Find songs and mnemonics to help your child remember the days of the week/months of
the year/colours of the rainbow (for example, ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’).
• Use flashcards to learn words which your child finds difficult and play a matching game to
find words beginning with the same letter.
• Play ‘Kim’s game’. Put some objects on a tray, talk about them with your child, then cover
them up and see how many they can remember.

4. Listening games
• Write and read out a list of rhyming words that have the same sounds such as ‘rain’, ‘brain’,
and ‘main’, and then write another word that is different, such as ‘the’. Ask your child which
one is the odd one out.
• Play ‘Simon says’ with slightly more complicated instructions than ‘Stand up/Sit down’. Try
to jiggle on one leg, flap your arms and hop, rub your tummy and smile!
• Play yes/no games. Your child chooses an object, person or animal and answers yes or no
to your questions until you guess what they are thinking about.

5. Action games
• Set up treasure hunts or challenges and encourage your child to read the clues to find the
treasure.
• Play games such as charades or What a Performance and make sure you encourage your
child to read the instructions.
• Play timed word games like Boggle. Set an egg timer to one or two minutes and tell your
child a sound, such as a short-vowel o, and ask them to think up as many words that use
that sound before the timer goes off.

6. Tactile games
 • Use puppets, dolls and construction toy characters to build a story setting.
• Put a dollop of paint onto a piece of paper and help your child to blow tricky words or letter
patterns that have to be learned, using a straw!
• Play dice games by changing the dice faces to letters and asking your child to roll dice to
see if he or she can make a word from the letters. Say the sounds out loud when making
the word.

7. Screen games
• Play computer games together and ask your child to read the instructions and explain the
rules to you.
• Watch educational programmes together such as Alphablocks or Numberjacks. Talk about
it and join any linked online clubs.
• Read a book, see the film, play the game! Make links between books and films – which is
best?

8. Car journey games

• ‘Where do you think that truck is going?’ Make up a story together about the journey of the
truck, each telling a sentence at a time.
• Encourage your child to read the signs and to ask questions.
• Play audio tapes of favourite stories and songs.
Video: Car journey games
Get ideas for fun and educational car games for kids! Educational author and parent Isabel
Thomas shares her ideas to relieve the boredom of long car journeys.

9. Practical games
• Read letters/invites/cards, recipes when cooking and instructions for new games.
• At breakfast, read the back of a cereal packet or the funny jokes on products like Innocent
yoghurt drinks.
• Use books/websites to find information about the school topic or hobbies and sign up to
clubs.

10. Reading together

• Make books together for younger siblings or grandparents.
• Sometimes try reading books to your child that are above their reading age so they can
listen and enjoy your reading and expression.
• What child doesn’t love hearing a good story? Watch our story time YouTube
playlist for videos of storytellers reading favourite traditional stories.
• Why not choose a book from our free eBook library to share on-screen together?
11. Maths games
• Try these fun games with your child to practise maths skills and help to build your child’s
confidence. Most children love playing games and it’s an easy way to support their learning.
o Add to 20: practise your addition skills with this game
o Roll the dice: roll the dice and practise your addition, subtraction and multiplication
skills with this game
• Take a look at our other fun maths activities, designed to help you enjoy maths with your
child.

12. Cooking together

• Cooking with your child is an excellent way to practise and talk about key maths
skills – counting eggs for a cake recipe, measuring and weighing ingredients
together. Best of all, you both get to enjoy a tasty treat at the end! Why not try
our banana bread recipe?

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/kids-activities/learning-activities-age-6-7/
Need to create a daily schedule for a 6 year old at home? Learn what to include in your morning
and after school routine for a smooth day!

For one reason or another, you know that you need some sort of structure for
your 6 year old.

Maybe all she wants to do is play video games or watch television, scorning
any chores or responsibilities you remind her to do. Perhaps she has trouble
getting ready in the morning—she still needs your help putting on a shirt and
needs multiple reminders to get her shoes on.

And even though she’s now in school for most of the day, that still doesn’t
make the mornings or afternoons and evenings any easier. You’d think that
fewer hours together meant a more solid routine, but you end up dreading
pick up time knowing how hectic this time can be.

What to include in a daily schedule for a 6 year old

I’ve long been a fan of routines and schedules. They help us know what to do
on any given day (or time of day). Kids don’t have to ask what they should do
because everything feels so automatic. And they can even take initiative and
do these tasks on their own.
Everyone’s daily schedule will look different, of course. Some families have
parents who work a full day and whose kids are in after school care. Some kids
attend extracurricular activities a few or all the days of the week.

That’s why I want to suggest different ideas you can include in your daily
schedule, not so much break your day down hour-by-hour. These are some of
the “building blocks” of your schedule and often take place no matter your
circumstances.

Take a look at what to include in a daily schedule for a 6 year old child:

1. Morning routine
Mornings can be rough when you know you have to get to school or work (or
both) by a certain time. And if school starts early, this can really cut those
mornings short and make them extra hectic.

Give yourself plenty of time to get ready, even if it means waking up earlier. To
start, wake your child at the same time every morning so that his body starts to
adjust to waking up around that time. Then, here are a few things you can do
to make your mornings smooth:

• Prepare and eat breakfast. I like to prepare breakfast before the

kids are awake so that they can start right when they get up. Have
the same breakfast (or at least a weekly menu) to make buying and
preparing easier. For instance, oatmeal on Mondays, cereal on
Tuesdays, and so forth.
• Brush teeth. Have him to brush his teeth on his own.
• Get dressed. Give him a choice on what to wear, so long as the
options are reasonable given the weather. For instance, he can
choose from any long sleeves and pants to make sure he’s not cold
in the winter.
• Pack school bags. Show him how to pack his own lunch and choose
the snacks he’ll eat. Make sure he has everything he needs for school
in his backpack.

2. Empty backpack
The first thing we do after my kids get home is to empty their backpacks.
Before they even eat, I have them place their lunch dishes in the sink or
dishwasher and hand me any folders or paperwork from their teachers.

Then, they hang their bags on the coat rack so they’re exactly where they’re
supposed to be for the next morning.

3. Snacks
Once your child has emptied her backpack, have her eat an afternoon snack.
One option is to have something already prepared, especially if she doesn’t
know how to make that particular snack yet. Another is to place a few snacks in
a “snack area” that she can choose from.

I have my kids eat snacks before they start on any homework. This can often
avoid any grumpiness that might come from being hungry, and it’s a great way
to have a conversation and hear about their day.

4. Homework
It’s not unusual for kids to have homework even in kindergarten or first grade.
Thankfully, most are review or work that can be done within 10 minutes or so.
Doing homework after snack can be a good time since your child has just
eaten and had a quick break at home.

See if he can do his homework on his own with you nearby. For instance, you
can put dishes away while he sits at the kitchen table to work on a few writing
exercises. That way, you’re giving him autonomy to complete his work but still
making yourself available should he need help.

5. Play time
With homework done and out of the way, give your 6 year old a chance to play
however she likes. Having down time during the day allows her to be creative,
tinker with toys, and make her own choices. This doesn’t mean you can’t
encourage her in some way—you just have to let her lead the play. For
instance:

• Bring out a few art supplies she can use to draw and create, like
paper, crayons, and playdough.
 • Encourage outside play, like bouncing a ball in the backyard or
playing in the garden.
• Work through puzzles or bring out a board game you can play.
• Do something together, like baking cookies.

6. Outings
I rarely go on outings on weekday after school hours, but this can be a weekly
tradition, especially if your child has a half day every week.

Since he had already been in school for hours, keep your outing simple and
low-key. You can go to the library to attend a craft event and check out books
to take home. Perhaps you’ll visit a local park so he can ride a scooter or climb
on the playground.

And once in a while, you can sneak in errands as well, though I try to do these
when the kids are at school or on weekends.

7. Dinner
I’m a fan of having family dinners at the same time every night if possible. We
have an early dinner at 5pm, but that allows us a chance to still have some
time after dinner and put the kids to bed somewhat early, too.

You might eat dinner depending on when you or your partner get home from
work. Perhaps you have some nights when you have dinner late because of
one child’s violin lessons. It won’t always be perfect, but aim to have dinner
around the same time so that your child gets used to eating around that time.

8. Chores
Even at 6 years old, your child can do plenty to contribute to household
chores. A good place to start is with his own items, like putting dishes in the
sink or cleaning up toys he played with. He can help load his laundry in the
washing machine or pack his backpack for the next morning.

Once he’s comfortable doing chores for himself, expand his responsibilities so
that he’s doing tasks for the whole family. That could be helping you spray the
dining table so that you can wipe it down. He could tidy up the living room
coffee table, help feed the dog, or wipe the bathroom mirrors.
Doing chores now helps make them a normal part of contributing to the family
so that he doesn’t resist them so much down the line. He also learns life
skills and can feel proud for doing a good job and helping others.

9. Screen time
Not all families allow screen time, especially during the weekdays. Find a
balance that you’re comfortable with, whether that’s zero screen time at all, or
a mix that allows for more leeway on weekends.

Maybe that’s watching 30 minutes on school nights but letting your child
watch a longer movie on weekends. Perhaps you don’t let her use the tablet
during the week, but she can play a few games on half days or weekends.

And set a timer so that stopping screen time doesn’t fall on your shoulders.
She’s more likely to shut the computer down when she hears the timer than
when someone tells her to.

Learn how to limit screen time for kids.

10. Bedtime routine

Does your 6 year old struggle with ending the day? A consistent bedtime
routine can definitely help. For many of us, our patience and willpower wear
thin toward the evening, so bedtime can take a hit. Tantrums, stall tactics, and
multiple wake-ups are telltale signs of bedtime problems.

Prevent many of these issues with a solid bedtime routine. A few activities you
can do include:

• Brush teeth
• Use the potty
• Take a bath
• Dress in pajamas
• Read a set number of bedtime books
• Kiss good night
• Turn off the light

To help the bedtime routine flow smoothly, start at the same time every night
and do the same activities in the same order. Soon, he won’t have to wonder
what’s next or why you have to start now. It feels automatic and normal, and
he’s more likely to take initiative as well.

Best practices for creating a daily schedule

Now that we’ve gone over a few activities to include in a daily schedule for a 6
year old, let’s take a look at a few best practices:

• List a routine chart or checklist. I like to list all the things my kids
should have done in the morning before heading to school. That
might be brushing their teeth, packing lunches, and getting dressed.
By having a checklist or a visual chart, your child can double-check
that she has done everything she needs to do. You can have a list for
mornings, after school tasks, or bedtime.
• Be consistent with rules and responsibilities. Being wishy washy
sends the message that rules can fluctuate and doesn’t give her the
predictability she craves. Yes, evaluate rules if you need to adjust, but
do so with purposeful intent, not because you’re letting it slide this
one time.
• Give your child something to look forward to. Finding it difficult
to motivate her to do the next step in the schedule? Remind her of
something she can look forward to. The “reward” is a perk or activity
she gets to do once this next step is done. For instance, you can say,
“Let’s get you bathed so we can put on those new pajamas you
picked out today!”
• Schedule plenty of down time. Kids need time to be able to do
what they want to do instead of being shuffled from scheduled
activities and tasks.
• Guide, don’t hover. Autonomy can help your 6 year old feel
confident and capable of tasks you ask her to do. First, show her how
to do a task step-by-step, then ask her to help you do it together.
Later, have her do it on her own with you nearby to guide. At some
point, she can ideally do the task completely on her own.

Conclusion
Whether your child plays video games all day or is always late to get ready in
the morning, a daily schedule for a 6 year old can help.
Start with a solid morning routine, from waking up at the same time to getting
dressed for school. Once he’s home, have him empty his backpack and lunch
bag. Offer a snack to avoid crankiness and hunger before tackling homework.

Give him plenty of time to play, and if the need or opportunity arises, go on an
outing like an errand or trip to the park. Eat dinner together, preferably at the
same time every night. It’s never too early to introduce chores and
responsibilities like putting dishes in the sink or wiping the dining table.

If you allow it, he can spend some time watching television or playing on a
tablet or computer, but set a timer so he expects it to end at some point. And
lastly, cap the day with a consistent bedtime routine.

With consistency, a daily schedule can help your days flow smoothly—even,
perhaps especially, if he’s in school all day.