A List of Learning

Over the weekend I was chatting with my Mum and joking about our family obsession with stationery and writing, but particularly with writing lists. Endless lists of grocery needs, lists of things to do, lists of this, lists of that, just like this list of lists. You will find no shortage of pens and paper in my house, nor at Mum's, my Nan's and even my Aunt's.

So it got me thinking, that list making can be fun. Like making a list of all the things you want to achieve this year, or a list of your favourite songs to play at your wedding.

But it can also be educational. See where I'm heading here? The brilliant thing about making a list (and checking it twice), is that it has a few different learning benefits. Let me list them for you:

• kids can practice their neatest, nicest hand writing in a casual setting without the pressure of being assessed or corrected
• they can practice spelling words they wouldn't normally be writing in the usual school setting, you can write a list of practically anything your heart desires
• it's an opportunity to expand their vocabulary and keep their mind stimulated in times when they aren't formally learning

You can get really creative with your list making too. Make your own notepads from recycled paper, print vegetable shape stamps on the pages or a stencil, put magnets on the back to keep the pads on the fridge.

Then all you need is to come up with the topics for your lists. Maybe the top 10 songs on the radio that your child loves to sing along to, a list of their favourite dinners, a list of famous people they would like to meet, a list of games they want to play at their birthday party, or the funniest fart jokes from school. Tailor it to their interests, if they love dinosaurs, make a list of the biggest scariest dinosaurs. If they love football, make a list of the best players of all time (you can even include stats in that one).

So grab your pens, grab your paper and get list making! The kids will love it, it's a bit of fun and  you can enjoy a quiet moment to yourself while they are busily thinking of things to write down, fully unaware of the learning they are engaged in! Learning that's fun....who would've thought.

Download a booklet of lists here to get you started:

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