40 min
Six Panel Comic
Fold a page into six boxes and tell a whole story inside them.
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Invent a Secret Language
Ten words, one code, and a conversation nobody else can follow.
A slow, absorbing project for older children that costs nothing and keeps going for days.
What you need
- paper
- pen
How to do it
- Choose ten words you use constantly: yes, no, hungry, boring, mum, home.
- Invent a new word for each and write the dictionary down.
- Agree one rule that applies to all of them, such as every word ends in an o sound.
- Use only the new words for the next ten minutes.
- Add five words a day and see how far you get.
Why this is good for them
Inventing a consistent rule and then applying it is, in miniature, exactly what grammar is. Children who find grammar lessons meaningless often grasp the idea immediately when it is their own system being broken.
Adapting by age
6 to 7 yearsFive words, and make them silly rather than systematic.
11 to 12 yearsAdd a writing system with its own symbols.
Keep it safe
None needed.
Cleanup tip
Keep the dictionary somewhere findable.
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