5 + 5 Activity Resource (No. 16) – 10 Learning Activities on the theme of Connection

Welcome to the 16th 5+5 Activity Guide. This week we will continue to base our activities on the Children’s Art Week theme of the week which is ‘Connecting Across Generations.’

If we have learned anything about living through a pandemic, it is about the importance of connection. Whilst many countries are loosening restrictions this week, others have had to lock down once again, suggesting this may be a pattern in the weeks and months to come.

Whether our connections are face-to-face or via video calls in the coming weeks, it is important we maintain them. This week’s guide offers several fun suggestions for doing just this. Legacyproject.org and the Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook are the sources of many of today’s activity ideas. I have chosen a few I really like, but there are many other ideas you may wish to explore.

As the theme of the week is connection, there are few independent activities as connection relies on communication and interaction.

Oral Language – Discussion

What is Old?

Look at this optical illusion – what do you see? A young woman or an old lady? Use this as a stimulus for a discussion – how old is old? At what age are you old? Is it the same for everyone?

What you see when you look at someone may not be what another person sees. To someone who is 10 years old, a 30-year-old looks “old,” while that same 30-year-old looks “young” to a 70-year-old.

We have to be aware that our perceptions aren’t reality, but our view of reality.

Draw the Memory Game

Gather all family members together and ask each to draw a few of their favourite family memories. Reveal the images one at a time. Can others guess what memory has been depicted? Is there any overlap in favourite memories? Are there any memories of days out or adventures that you can plan to relive during the summer holidays?

Family Cookbook

What recipes and dishes are favourites in your family? Encourage your child to gather and publish some special family recipes in the coming weeks. When talking to other members of the family about such recipes, the Legacy Project recommends asking questions such as:

What’s the recipe? Are there any special hints for preparing it?
Where did the recipe come from?
Can you remember a time when the dish didn’t turn out the way you expected?
What recipe are you famous for?
What would you prepare for a small group? A large group?
What cookbook do you use the most?
What foods do you remember from your childhood?
What’s the most delicious meal you’ve ever had?
Are you allergic to any foods?
What foods do you dislike?
Do you know any food proverbs or sayings?

Interview
Can your child interview a grandparent or older relative to learn some new things about them? This Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook recommends using questions to stimulate memory sharing (rather than simply asking tell me about your life). Here are some of their prompts:

Did you ever . . .
● see a lion?
● go swimming?
● go on a boat?
● take a cruise?
● go to a beach?
● visit an art gallery?
● stay on a farm?
● sleep in a cabin or tent?
● go to a county fair?
● go berry or vegetable picking?
● see a circus?
● act in a play?
● see a really scary movie?
● get a bad grade?
● win a prize?
● have a good luck charm?
● make something you were really proud of?
● move to a new house?
● travel overseas?
● live in a foreign country?
● stay in a fancy hotel?
● drive in a convertible?
● have a pet?
● bake bread?
● play an instrument?

The ‘Getting to Know You’ cards on page 29 of the book also offer great conversation prompts too.

Genealogy

Can your child investigate their family tree? You may wish to use this template as a starting point.

Family Photographs

Children typically love looking at photos and hearing the stories behind them. Can you find time this week to look through some photo albums together?

With many of us storing photos digitally and never printing them, this could be a good week to get some printed. Your child could make some frames (see ideas here) and display the photos in their own gallery or create an album/scrapbook of family photographs.
Can your child take some photographs of family members this week to include in their album?
Your child may be interested in creating a Generations Scrapbook using this template.
You could take this a step further by helping your child to create a Family History Museum, displaying objects of significance to your family. See page 40 of the Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook for more details on this idea.

Genetic Ingredients

Another great activity is to have your child study photographs of their parents, grandparents and perhaps great grandparents to look for similarities. Simply give them a mirror so that they can study themselves carefully and compare their face to those of older generations. Discuss their strengths and talents and explore who these may have been inherited from.

Writing Notes

Write a note to someone in your family telling them all the reasons you love them. You could use this template or make one of your own.

History

Write down the birth date of various family members. Can your child find out an event in history that occurred on each person’s date of birth? You can just look at the day of birth if you prefer. Some useful websites for this activity are Onthisday.com and history.com.

Another interesting topic Legacy Project suggests is to explore then and now, comparing what was popular in the past with what is popular today. Have members of each generation think for a minute about the following categories. What was popular when each person was younger (choose a time frame)?

Lockdown Letters

This sounds like a fun project your child may be interested in being involved in. Alternatively, you may wish to use the idea of recording living history and have each family member record their thoughts to be placed in a family time capsule to be opened in the future. If you are interested in creating such a capsule, you will find advice here and here.

I hope this post has given you some nice ideas for building connections this week and beyond.

Take care & stay safe all!

Welcome to the 16th 5+5 Activity Guide. This week we will continue to base our activities on the Children’s Art Week theme of the week which is ‘Connecting Across Generations.’

If we have learned anything about living through a pandemic, it is about the importance of connection. Whilst many countries are loosening restrictions this week, others have had to lock down once again, suggesting this may be a pattern in the weeks and months to come.

As the theme of the week is connection, there are few independent activities as connection relies on communication and interaction.

Oral Language – Discussion

What is Old?

Look at this optical illusion – what do you see? A young woman or an old lady? Use this as a stimulus for a discussion – how old is old? At what age are you old? Is it the same for everyone?

What you see when you look at someone may not be what another person sees. To someone who is 10 years old, a 30-year-old looks “old,” while that same 30-year-old looks “young” to a 70-year-old.We have to be aware that our perceptions aren’t reality, but our view of reality.

Draw the Memory Game

Family Cookbook

What recipes and dishes are favourites in your family? Encourage your child to gather and publish some special family recipes in the coming weeks. When talking to other members of the family about such recipes, the Legacy Project recommends asking questions such as:

What’s the recipe? Are there any special hints for preparing it?

Where did the recipe come from?

Can you remember a time when the dish didn’t turn out the way you expected?

What recipe are you famous for?

What would you prepare for a small group? A large group?

What cookbook do you use the most?

What foods do you remember from your childhood?

What’s the most delicious meal you’ve ever had?

Are you allergic to any foods?

What foods do you dislike?

Do you know any food proverbs or sayings?

Interview Can your child interview a grandparent or older relative to learn some new things about them? This Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook recommends using questions to stimulate memory sharing (rather than simply asking tell me about your life). Here are some of their prompts:

The ‘Getting to Know You’ cards on page 29 of the book also offer great conversation prompts too.

Genealogy

Can your child investigate their family tree? You may wish to use this template as a starting point.

Family Photographs

Children typically love looking at photos and hearing the stories behind them. Can you find time this week to look through some photo albums together?

With many of us storing photos digitally and never printing them, this could be a good week to get some printed. Your child could make some frames (see ideas here) and display the photos in their own gallery or create an album/scrapbook of family photographs.

Can your child take some photographs of family members this week to include in their album?

Your child may be interested in creating a Generations Scrapbook using this template.

You could take this a step further by helping your child to create a Family History Museum, displaying objects of significance to your family. See page 40 of the Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook for more details on this idea.

Genetic Ingredients

Writing Notes

Write a note to someone in your family telling them all the reasons you love them. You could use this template or make one of your own.

History

Write down the birth date of various family members. Can your child find out an event in history that occurred on each person’s date of birth? You can just look at the day of birth if you prefer. Some useful websites for this activity are Onthisday.com and history.com.

Another interesting topic Legacy Project suggests is to explore then and now, comparing what was popular in the past with what is popular today. Have members of each generation think for a minute about the following categories. What was popular when each person was younger (choose a time frame)?

The categories are:

Films

Film Stars

Songs

Bands and Singers

World Leaders

Famous Sporting Events/Achievements

Popular Sports Stars

Popular Cars

Popular Sweets and Treats

Popular Toys

Headline News/Historical Events

Natural Disasters

Lockdown Letters

I hope this post has given you some nice ideas for building connections this week and beyond.

Take care & stay safe all!

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What you see when you look at someone may not be what another person sees. To someone who is 10 years old, a 30-year-old looks “old,” while that same 30-year-old looks “young” to a 70-year-old.

We have to be aware that our perceptions aren’t reality, but our view of reality.

Interview
Can your child interview a grandparent or older relative to learn some new things about them? This Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook recommends using questions to stimulate memory sharing (rather than simply asking tell me about your life). Here are some of their prompts: