Fun with newspapers

Find out how to use newspapers for a variety of learning opportunities

Most of us will have old newspapers or magazines lying around at home.

There are lots of ways you can use newspapers for fun and learning with children of all ages, from young babies through to pre-schoolers.

Here is a quick tutorial from LEYF teacher, Ben, on the many possibilities and opportunities available with old newspapers.

For babies, newspapers can be used to play peek-a-boo. Peek-a-boo is really important for children’s brain development and can help them learn to communicate with another person.

Toddlers and pre-school children can use newspaper to wrap and hide everyday objects. It is also great for rolling into a ball and throwing, as it won’t do any damage or hurt anyone!

You could try cutting newspaper into strips to use as roads or tracks for toy trains and cars. Newspapers can help with drawing and art by cutting out a photo of a face from the newspaper, cutting it in half and sticking it on a sheet of paper. Your pre-school child can then try to draw the other half of the face.

Other ways to use newspapers for fun and learning are:

• concertinas
• Origami
• making a chain of people
• recognising letters and simple words in the newspaper