January Learning at Home with HIPPY Halton

New Beginnings, Arctic Animals, Winter Senses, and Cozy Movement

At HIPPY Halton, we believe that children learn best through play, family connection, and simple routines. Each month, we share activities that help preschoolers build important school readiness skills in language, math, science, and social development. These activities are easy to do at home and use simple, everyday materials.

This January, we will explore new beginnings, Arctic animals, winter colours and senses, and cozy indoor movement. Each week focuses on building early skills that help children feel confident and ready for kindergarten, while supporting parents as their child’s first teacher.

Week 1: Hello, New Year!

This week helps children build early language, counting, and goal setting skills while learning that trying new things and talking about ideas is an important part of kindergarten readiness.

Activities to Try

Language and Reading: Read Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller. Talk with your child about small goals or things they would like to try or learn this year. 📘 Story link: Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution

Math: Try Star Counting. Cut out paper stars and number them from 1 to 15. Have your child count them and place them in order.

Science: Do a Bubble Ice Experiment. Blow bubbles outside on a cold day and watch them freeze. Talk about how water can change from liquid to solid in winter.

Social and Emotional: Create a Goal Tree. Children can draw or tell you one thing they want to try this year. This supports confidence, communication, and independence.

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Week 2: Arctic Animals

This week supports early science learning, listening skills, and vocabulary development as children learn about animals, environments, and how living things survive winter.

Activities to Try

Language and Reading: Read Penguin Problems by Jory John. Talk about where penguins live and how animals adapt to cold weather. 📘 Story link: Penguin Problems

Math: Play Iceberg Counting. Cut out paper icebergs with penguins on them. Count how many penguins are on each iceberg.

Science: Try an Ice Fishing Experiment. Place floating and sinking objects into ice water and predict what will happen. This builds observation and problem solving skills.

Social and Emotional: Do Arctic Animal Yoga. Move like penguins, polar bears, or seals. This helps children practice body control, focus, and calm breathing.

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Week 3: Winter Colours and Senses

This week helps children strengthen descriptive language, early math skills, and emotional awareness by exploring colours, textures, and how winter feels.

Activities to Try

Language and Reading: Read Spike the Penguin with Rainbow Hair by C. Sutton. Talk about colours in the story and around your home or neighbourhood. 📘 Story link: Spike the Penguin with Rainbow Hair

Math: Go on a Winter Colour Hunt. Find white, blue, and silver objects and count how many of each your child finds.

Science: Make Snow Sensory Bags using sealed bags and shaving cream. Let children explore textures and shapes using their hands.

Social and Emotional: Create Winter Mood Art. Children draw how winter makes them feel and share their artwork. This supports emotional expression and confidence.

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Week 4: Little Hands, Big Moves 

This week helps children strengthen fine motor and gross motor skills that are essential for kindergarten, such as using hands and fingers with control, moving their bodies safely, and following simple directions during play.

Activities to Try

Language and Reading:Read The Mitten by Jan Brett. Talk about how animals fit inside the mitten and describe their sizes and movements. Encourage your child to use words like small, big, squeeze, and stretch.

Math:Play Mitten Matching. Match mittens by colour, size, or pattern, then count how many pairs you have. Picking up and sorting mittens also strengthens hand muscles used for writing.

Science: Try a Warm Up Experiment. Touch and compare materials like cloth, paper, and cotton to see which feels warmest. Let your child handle each item and describe how it feels.

Social and Emotional: Create an Indoor Obstacle Course. Include crawling under tables, jumping over pillows, and balancing along a tape line. These activities build strength, coordination, and confidence while teaching children to take turns and try again.