There has been a lot of discussion I have seen recently in Facebook childcare groups around why we need to be mindful of the differences in how boys and girls learn. Boys are from Mars, Girls are from Venus. There is a known gap in educational achievement for boys and girls and there is a lot of work going into closing that gap. As a Mum of Three, two of which are boys this is a subject that has always fascinated me not only professionally but also personally. When watching my children at play and at work the differences to me can be seen, however in a classroom with so…
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school holiday ideas :)
My children broke up this holiday only days before Christmas, this meant that we have a long time between the whole Christmas New Year buzz and school going back. This can feel like a bit of a drag after the hype of Christmas, without mentioning the expense involved meaning the last thing you want to do now is go and spend even more on days out. Here are my top ten activities to keep the little ones entertained in the break between new year and new term. 1: Playdough - so easy and so versatile. If you haven't already tried my snow playdough from my previous blog, take a look,…
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The Best Winter Playdough
I have been playing with different recipes to try get the right winter playdough, but getting a white playdough is not easy. Add into this having children with sensitive skin when I did get the colour they ended up with irritated skin. Until today!!! We had a blast in our Snow Man Factory! I cannot wait to try snowballs next! The Playdough felt lovely, was WHITE!! and cleaned up easily, plus it is gluten free. The only downside was it takes a little longer than traditional playdough to make, find the recipe below. 1 cup of cornflour. 1 teaspoon of oil Half a cup of salt. 1 tablespoon of cream…
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The Stress and Magic of Babies First Christmas.
It is your babies first Christmas, the excitement is at fever pitch. Family and friends cannot wait to spend it with your bundle of joy, and everyone wants to know what to buy. Arrgh…..what do you buy a baby? They have everything! Plus they often don’t really care if they get presents or not as they are more than happy with the boxes and wrapping paper. Therefore what happens when you say “oh anything” or “they don’t need anything”, you get a house full of plastic noise making gifts! So beware. That said babies first Christmas is an amazing magical time, you will get the best photos…
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But Why Wouldn’t Children Play Outdoors?
But why wouldn't children play Outdoors? This was asked to me in a workshop recently. The answer, there are so many reasons for the decline outdoor play. The reasons range from the weather, not wanting to get wet or dirty, to work and lifestyle commitments and choice, use of iPads and computers increasing, more clubs and activities that children attend, a declining freedom and desire for outdoor play in our current society, the list just goes on. That's why I believe being outdoors, engaging in risky play and experiencing choice and freedom is so important within a childcare setting. A recent study stated that many children and are spending less…
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All grown up!
Today marks my last day with the children at home this summer! I love the summer holidays with them at home but they are so ready to go back now after such a long time off. I however am not ready for it, this year marks something different for me, I feel like my babies are no longer babies anymore, for the first time I have no children in infant school. My eldest is going into his final GCSE year, my middle child starts high school and my youngest starts juniors, and I am not ready for this! This for me has been the biggest jump as a parent since…
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Back to school chaos!
So I haven't written in ages due to the summer and kids being home, so before I get back into it properly here is a bit of a round up of my summer.
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How safe is Pokemon Go?
There are many safety concerns banding around about Pokemon Go which seems to be sweeping the UK.
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Messy Play – love it or hate it??
Its so easy to forget as parents how the little things can occupy children, for example one child who's mum explained "she never sits still, she wont concentrate and so we wont be here long." was the last one to leave after her daughter sat in a tray of lentils and bird seed 5 minutes after arriving and didn't move for an hour and a half, she was just sat watching the seed run through her fingers, feeling the textures and watching how she could make it move.
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Play!
Play! So what is it all about? The Oxford Dictionary says 'to engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.' I prefer the definition given by Play Scotland 'Play is the universal language of childhood. It is through play that children understand each other and make sense of the world around them.' This week I heard a great definition from a little boy I was working with "its what I do when I'm not being told what to do"