Autumn is no doubt upon us. The talk of snow in some parts of the country and the footpaths covered in golden and red leaves.

The evenings are darker earlier and seem to last longer.

If you are looking for things to do to help you entertain your child but also support them with their schoolwork these games might help:

Autumn word search

The helpful thing about word searches is that they help not only with concentration but also spellings. The art of finding the letters in the correct order helps with reinforcing them in our memories. Some dyslexic children struggle with the abundance of letters, others seem to thrive with them and complete them before anyone else has had a chance to decide which one to do. I guess like everything, it’s a personal thing down to the individual rather than anything else.

Hangman or Pictionary

I’ll explain hangman first (and you may choose to do a different illustration rather than a hanging man). Hangman is a great way of helping us to think about the letters that go into a word. How many and in what order. The process of having to actively think about each individual letter as you are asked if it is in the word is far less passive than writing it on autopilot as you read, cover, write, check.

Although we have used autumn themed words here, there is no reason why you couldn't swap them for their weekly spellings

Pictionary is fun and helps with handwriting as much as anything. Pick a word from the list, but don’t tell anyone else the word you have chosen. You now need to draw it, and the other players need to guess what you are drawing. Once they have correctly guessed you must write the word (correctly and neatly) next to the image. By combining the two it helps to create a visual reminder of the spelling.

5-minute-challenge

Like the others, this is a game I’ve mentioned before. You have 5 minutes (roughly, you can adjust this as necessary) to try and think of 3 words for each category. So, for example when asked for 3 autumn colours you might think of red, orange, gold. Hedgehogs, bears, squirrels might be 3 animals that come to mind when asked about which animals hibernate. When you are asked for words from “frosty mornings” take the letters from the words to think of 3 new words. For example, I might suggest form, sing, and frog.

It's not meant as a test, just a bit of fun whilst at the same time thinking of new vocabulary.

I hope you enjoy these ideas. Each month we upload a new bundle of resources like this into the Clara James Approach with the goal of making learning an enjoyable, opportunity to spend time with our children whilst helping them to learn.

Games break down the walls of resistance. They replace frustration and tears with laughter and a willingness to try. They put children in the right mindset to learn, remember, and succeed.

That’s the heart of the Clara James Approach—making learning enjoyable for parents and children.

It’s not about workbooks or worksheets. It’s about using games, creativity, and connection to make education stress-free and fun for everyone.

We also send out a free weekly email with tips for supporting maths and English at home. You can unsubscribe anytime, but it’s there if you’d find it helpful.