TalkingPencil

Before primary school

Things to do together from age 2 to 6, built around the Education Bureau's Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (2017).

Why there are no quizzes here

  • · The guide says no form of examination should be used to assess young children.
  • · K1 children should not be asked to hold a pencil and write. K2 and K3 children should not be set mechanical copying or calculation.
  • · It recommends simple parent-child tasks that are relaxing and fun, so that is what you will find here.
  • · The Department of Health advises that children aged 2 to 5 spend under an hour a day on screens, with an adult. These cards are for you to read, then put away.
  • · For a child under 2 we have nothing here, on purpose: the Department of Health advises avoiding screens at that age.

The guide sets one set of expectations for the whole of kindergarten. Grouping these cards by age is our own judgement.

Before K1 (age 2 to 3)

Early mathematicsAbout 3 minutes

Counting steps

  1. Hold hands on a few stairs or a kerb.
  2. Say one number for each step, up to three.
  3. Cheer at the top, then do it again if your child wants to.

Why this helps: Hearing number words in order, one for each step, is where counting begins.

Works towards: Notices numbers and quantities around them

Early mathematicsAbout 3 minutes

Big spoon, small spoon

  1. Put a big spoon and a small spoon on the table.
  2. Let your child hold each one while you say 'big' and 'small'.
  3. Try it again with two shoes or two cups.

Why this helps: Holding two things side by side makes 'big' and 'small' something a child can feel.

Works towards: Compares shape, size and weight with their senses

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

Find the other sock

  1. Take three pairs of socks out of the washing.
  2. Hold one up and ask your child to find the one that matches.
  3. Put each pair together and say 'the same'.

Why this helps: Matching is the first step towards sorting.

Works towards: Sorts, orders and sequences things

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

Round things

  1. Show your child a ball and run a finger around it.
  2. Walk around the room looking for other round things.
  3. Say 'round' each time you find one.

Why this helps: Finding one shape everywhere teaches a child to look at the shape, not the object.

Works towards: Compares shape, size and weight with their senses

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

In the box, out of the box

  1. Find a box and a favourite toy.
  2. Put the toy in, on, and under the box, saying each word.
  3. Let your child move the toy and say the word for them.

Why this helps: Moving a toy is how position words come to mean something.

Works towards: Explores position, such as front, back, left and right

Early mathematicsAbout 3 minutes

Full and empty at bath time

  1. Give your child a cup at bath time.
  2. Fill it and say 'full'. Pour it out and say 'empty'.
  3. Let your child pour while you say the words.

Why this helps: Water makes 'full' and 'empty' easy to see, with no teaching needed.

Works towards: Uses words such as more, less, long and short

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Clap along to a rhyme

  1. Choose any short English rhyme you know.
  2. Say it slowly with your child on your lap, clapping gently.
  3. Repeat it on another day. Familiar is better than new.

Why this helps: Rhythm helps a young child tune in to the sound of a new language.

Works towards: Enjoys English songs and rhymes

EnglishAbout 2 minutes

Hello and bye-bye

  1. Wave and say 'Hello!' when your child wakes up.
  2. Wave and say 'Bye-bye!' when someone leaves.
  3. A wave back is a perfect answer. No need to ask for words.

Why this helps: Greetings are the first English a child can use for real.

Works towards: Responds with simple English

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Touch your nose

  1. Sit facing each other.
  2. Say 'nose' and touch your nose. Do the same with eyes, ears and mouth.
  3. Say a word without touching and see if your child can find it.

Why this helps: Children understand words long before they say them.

Works towards: Understands everyday English words

EnglishAbout 4 minutes

Point and name

  1. Sit together with a picture book.
  2. Let your child turn the pages, in any order they like.
  3. Point to pictures and say one English word for each.

Why this helps: Turning pages together teaches how a book works, before any reading.

Works towards: Develops ideas about print and books

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Red things

  1. Pick one colour for today, such as red.
  2. Say 'red' whenever you see it: a bus, an apple, a shirt.
  3. Choose a different colour another day.

Why this helps: A single word repeated in real moments sticks better than a list.

Works towards: Understands everyday English words

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

What does the cow say?

  1. Find animals in a book or among toys.
  2. Say 'The cow says moo.' Make it fun and loud.
  3. Pause before 'moo' to let your child join in.

Why this helps: Animal sounds are the first words many children enjoy repeating.

Works towards: Enjoys listening to English stories

K1 (age 3 to 4)

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

One for you, one for me

  1. Put a few pieces of fruit on a plate.
  2. Let your child give out one each: 'One for you, one for me.'
  3. Look together. Does everyone have the same?

Why this helps: Sharing out one at a time shows what 'the same number' means.

Works towards: Links numbers to quantities and compares them

Early mathematicsAbout 5 minutes

Tidy-up sorting

  1. At tidy-up time, set out two boxes.
  2. Agree a rule together, such as cars and blocks.
  3. Ask your child why a toy belongs in that box.

Why this helps: Deciding what goes together is real mathematical thinking.

Works towards: Sorts, orders and sequences things

Early mathematicsAbout 6 minutes

Shape walk

  1. On your way out, choose a shape: circle, square or triangle.
  2. Look for it on signs, windows and tiles.
  3. Trace it in the air with a finger when you find one.

Why this helps: Shapes learned outdoors are shapes a child keeps noticing.

Works towards: Compares shape, size and weight with their senses

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

Long and short

  1. Find two ribbons, strings or shoelaces.
  2. Line them up at one end, side by side.
  3. Ask which is longer, then find something shorter than both.

Why this helps: Comparing directly comes before any measuring.

Works towards: Uses words such as more, less, long and short

Early mathematicsAbout 3 minutes

Clap, stamp, clap

  1. Clap, stamp, clap, stamp, slowly.
  2. Stop and ask, 'What comes next?'
  3. Swap, and let your child make a pattern for you.

Why this helps: A pattern you can hear is one a child can predict.

Works towards: Explores and copies patterns

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

Morning, afternoon, night

  1. At bedtime, talk about what happened today.
  2. Ask what came first: breakfast or dinner?
  3. Say what will happen tomorrow morning.

Why this helps: Time starts as the order of a child's own day.

Works towards: Builds a sense of time, days and seasons

EnglishAbout 4 minutes

Teddy says

  1. Hold a soft toy and say 'Teddy says, stand up!'
  2. Try 'sit down', 'jump' and 'turn around'.
  3. Let your child be Teddy and give you an order.

Why this helps: Doing what a word says shows understanding without any pressure to speak.

Works towards: Responds with simple English

EnglishAbout 4 minutes

English around us

  1. On your way out, look for English on signs.
  2. Point to one, such as EXIT or BUS, and say what it means.
  3. Look for the same word on the way home.

Why this helps: The guide starts with the English children already see every day.

Works towards: Shows interest in English around them

EnglishAbout 4 minutes

A rhyme with actions

  1. Choose a rhyme with actions, such as one about a spider or a bus.
  2. Do the actions together while you sing.
  3. Leave out the last word of a line and let your child fill it in.

Why this helps: Actions carry the meaning, so a child can join in before knowing the words.

Works towards: Enjoys English songs and rhymes

EnglishAbout 5 minutes

A story before bed

  1. Pick a short English picture book.
  2. Read slowly and point to the pictures as you go.
  3. It is fine to explain in Chinese and to read the same book again.

Why this helps: The guide singles out shared reading of picture books for English at this age.

Works towards: Enjoys listening to English stories

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Snack-time words

  1. At snack time, name what is on the table in English.
  2. Offer a choice: 'Apple or banana?'
  3. Accept a point or one word as a full answer.

Why this helps: Words used at a real moment are the ones a child remembers.

Works towards: Understands everyday English words

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Which way up?

  1. Hand your child a book upside down and see what they do.
  2. Talk about the front cover and the picture on it.
  3. Run a finger under the words as you read the title.

Why this helps: Knowing the front of a book and where the words are comes before reading.

Works towards: Develops ideas about print and books

K2 (age 4 to 5)

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

Set the table

  1. Ask how many people are eating tonight.
  2. Let your child fetch that many pairs of chopsticks.
  3. Check together by giving one pair to each seat.

Why this helps: Counting for a real purpose is how numbers start to matter.

Works towards: Notices numbers and quantities around them

Early mathematicsAbout 4 minutes

Heavier or lighter?

  1. Choose two things that look different, such as a book and an orange.
  2. Ask your child to guess which is heavier.
  3. Hold one in each hand to check. A big thing can be light.

Why this helps: Guessing, then checking, builds a sense of weight.

Works towards: Compares shape, size and weight with their senses

Early mathematicsAbout 5 minutes

Two towers

  1. You each build a tower from blocks.
  2. Stand them side by side. Which has more blocks?
  3. Ask how you could make them the same.

Why this helps: Standing towers side by side shows which has more at a glance.

Works towards: Links numbers to quantities and compares them

Early mathematicsAbout 5 minutes

Find the hidden toy

  1. Hide a small toy while your child closes their eyes.
  2. Give clues: in front of the sofa, behind the door, on the left.
  3. Swap, and let your child give you the clues.

Why this helps: Following position words in a game is how they become useful.

Works towards: Explores position, such as front, back, left and right

Early mathematicsAbout 3 minutes

What day is today?

  1. At breakfast, say what day it is.
  2. Name one thing that happens on that day.
  3. Ask what day tomorrow is, and what you will do.

Why this helps: Linking days to events gives the week a shape.

Works towards: Builds a sense of time, days and seasons

Early mathematicsAbout 6 minutes

Make a pattern

  1. Collect two kinds of small things, such as buttons and blocks.
  2. Start a pattern: button, block, button, block.
  3. Ask your child to carry on, then to invent a new one.

Why this helps: Inventing a pattern asks more of a child than following one, and it is more fun.

Works towards: Explores and copies patterns

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

The first letter of my name

  1. Show your child their English name in large letters.
  2. Find the first letter and say its name.
  3. Look for that letter on a cereal box or a sign.

Why this helps: A child's own name is the most interesting word there is.

Works towards: Gradually gets to know letters and simple words

EnglishAbout 5 minutes

The little shop

  1. Set out a few toys or fruit as a shop.
  2. Be the customer and say 'An apple, please.'
  3. Swap roles, and say 'Thank you' each time.

Why this helps: Role play gives a child a reason to use a whole phrase.

Works towards: Responds with simple English

EnglishAbout 5 minutes

Tell it back with pictures

  1. After reading a story, go back to the first page.
  2. Ask your child to tell you what happens, picture by picture.
  3. Mixing Chinese and English is fine. Add one English word yourself.

Why this helps: Retelling shows a child has followed the story, in any language.

Works towards: Enjoys listening to English stories

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Cat, hat, mat

  1. Say three rhyming words slowly: cat, hat, mat.
  2. Say them again and ask if they sound alike.
  3. Make up a silly one together. It need not be a real word.

Why this helps: Hearing that words end alike is a step towards reading them.

Works towards: Enjoys English songs and rhymes

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

Two-step instructions

  1. Give two simple instructions: 'Touch the door, then come back.'
  2. Show the actions first if your child is unsure.
  3. Let your child give you two instructions.

Why this helps: Holding two instructions in mind stretches listening.

Works towards: Understands everyday English words

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

How do you feel?

  1. Make a happy face and say 'I am happy.'
  2. Try sad, tired and hungry.
  3. Ask 'How do you feel?' and accept one word.

Why this helps: Feelings are real things worth a real answer.

Works towards: Responds with simple English

K3 (age 5 to 6)

Early mathematicsAbout 6 minutes

The $1 shop

  1. Label a few toys with prices from $1 to $5.
  2. Give your child some $1 coins.
  3. Let them count out coins to buy something, then swap roles.

Why this helps: Real coins connect a number to what it can buy.

Works towards: Links numbers to quantities and compares them

Early mathematicsAbout 8 minutes

A dice game

  1. Play any simple game with a dice and a path.
  2. Let your child count the dots and move the piece.
  3. Talk about who is ahead and how far there is to go.

Why this helps: A board game gives a child a reason to count again and again.

Works towards: Notices numbers and quantities around them

Early mathematicsAbout 3 minutes

Counting down the days

  1. Circle a special day on a calendar, such as a birthday.
  2. Each morning, cross off a day together.
  3. Count how many days are left.

Why this helps: A calendar makes sense when something exciting is on it.

Works towards: Builds a sense of time, days and seasons

Early mathematicsAbout 5 minutes

Measure with your hands

  1. Choose a table or a bed.
  2. Measure it in hand spans and count them.
  3. Measure it with your own hand. Why is your number smaller?

Why this helps: Using the same small unit again and again is the idea behind a ruler.

Works towards: Uses words such as more, less, long and short

Early mathematicsAbout 5 minutes

Sort it two ways

  1. Tip out some buttons, toys or blocks.
  2. Ask your child to sort them, and to tell you the rule.
  3. Mix them up. Can they be sorted another way?

Why this helps: Sorting the same things differently shows there is more than one way to think.

Works towards: Sorts, orders and sequences things

Early mathematicsAbout 5 minutes

A growing pattern

  1. Build rows of blocks: one, then two, then three.
  2. Ask what the next row will look like.
  3. Let your child build it and tell you how they knew.

Why this helps: Spotting how a pattern grows is early algebraic thinking.

Works towards: Explores and copies patterns

EnglishAbout 4 minutes

I spy a sound

  1. Say 'I spy something that starts with /b/.'
  2. Look around for a ball, a book or a bag.
  3. Say the sound of the letter, not its name.

Why this helps: Listening for first sounds prepares a child for phonics in P1.

Works towards: Gradually gets to know letters and simple words

EnglishAbout 4 minutes

Reading signs on the way

  1. On the MTR or in a shop, look for short English signs.
  2. Read one together, such as OPEN, PUSH or EXIT.
  3. Ask what the sign tells people to do.

Why this helps: Reading something real tells a child that English does a job.

Works towards: Shows interest in English around them

EnglishAbout 8 minutes

Make a little book

  1. Fold two sheets of paper into a small book.
  2. Your child draws a picture on each page.
  3. You write a short English caption they tell you. Then read it together.

Why this helps: A book a child helped to make is one they will want to read.

Works towards: Develops ideas about print and books

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

What do you like?

  1. Ask 'What do you like to eat?'
  2. Help with 'I like…' if your child needs it.
  3. Let your child ask you the same question.

Why this helps: A real question gets a real answer, and that is conversation.

Works towards: Responds with simple English

EnglishAbout 5 minutes

Alphabet cards

  1. Use letter cards or magnets, or write a few letters on paper yourself.
  2. Find the letters of your child's name and put them in order.
  3. Mix them up and try again. Stop while it is still fun.

Why this helps: Handling letters as objects is gentler than writing them.

Works towards: Gradually gets to know letters and simple words

EnglishAbout 3 minutes

I can…

  1. Say something you can do: 'I can jump.' Then do it.
  2. Ask your child to show you what they can do.
  3. Help them say it: 'I can run.' 'I can sing.'

Why this helps: One useful sentence pattern gives a child a lot to say.

Works towards: Understands everyday English words