Skype/ Facetime/ Whats App Video Call with a Relative
This can be a nice idea if you have a family member who may have to self-isolate or who you may not be able to visit. It’s a way for children to use oral language and it might be a nice kind of game to play to keep boredom away.
Ideas include:
- Play 20 questions – take turns in thinking of an object and the other person can only ask questions which have a yes or no answer.
- A-Z – Pick a topic and take turns in naming something beginning with A then B then C and see if you can get to Z Without skipping any letters.
- The Big Interview – child prepares 10 questions they’d like to know about the relative and then asks them
- More ideas here: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english/esl-vocabulary-games/
Irish Times! Gaeilge go deo!
Even if you can’t speak Irish, there are some great ways to pick up some vocabulary. One really easy activity is to pick a topic, for example: food, household objects, colours, and so on, then write down 20 words associated with that topic in a list. Next go to https://www.focloir.ie/en/ and translate the words. The great thing is that almost every word on the website has an audio recording of it so you can listen to how to pronounce the words! As a family, you could try and learn a few words every day!
For more advanced speakers, how about doing any of the tasks in the grid through Irish? The news & weather – probably the easiest one to do as Gaeilge.
Don’t forget to watch TG4.
Another idea is to sign up to https://www.duolingo.com/course/ga/en/Learn-Irish to learn some Irish – 5 to 10 minutes a day and who knows how fluent you’ll be when you get back!
https://www.seideansi.ie/ – A lovely Irish website with some activities for each class grouping.
The Daily News
This task can be done with any age from Junior Infants to 6th class. It can be done in a number of ways but here is a suggestion for 2 different age groups:
| Infants to 1st Class | 2nd Class Upwards |
| Child tells you the news they have for the day. Stick to things in their own life rather than focusing on the news on the radio or TV. The day, the date, the weather outside, 1 or 2 things they did yesterday. Write down what they tell you on a whiteboard or piece of paper.Child either types out what you’ve written or copies it down in a journal or copybook.You can create your own little newsroom on the kitchen table or you can use Green Screen apps on an iPad and record your child reading their news. You can upload the video & send it to loved ones to keep in touch. | Child writes/types their news as well as news happening outside the world. You can create your own little newsroom on the kitchen table or you can use Green Screen apps on an iPad and record your child reading their news. You can upload the video & send it to loved ones to keep in touch. |
Read a Book with a Parent
Snuggle up on the couch and spend ten minutes reading for no other reason than the joy of reading a book. Of course, there are loads of benefits to reading every day but what a nice time to drop everything for a short time. Alternative: 1. Read to a younger sibling (& listen to their reading). 2. Read to a grandparent via skype or FaceTime