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  Early Days Hi, seeing a newborn reminds me of the many babies I have met both personally and through my work in Early Years Settings. Through study and observation certain common threads have developed. I thought they may be useful for the many new parents out there ,so I thought I would share them. Being parents for the first time can be very challenging. Babies, unlike washing machines, do not come with a manual and a one size fits all approach does not work either. As new parents you will have likely gone through an exhausting birth, your hormones will be all over the place, and that is both parents, as well as the physiological and emotional changes for new mums, dads will have also experienced a gambit of mixed emotions such as stress, excitement, fear, euphoria and the weight of responsibility that comes when you become a parent. Being a parent for the first time is a series of firsts and also requires making decisions without any experience but overwhelmed with advice. Thi
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  Newborn Baby Special Hi All I know it has been a long time since I blogged but the birth of our first grandchild has inspired me to reopen the dialogue. Newborns are tiny, but they are also eager to learn from the moment they are born. Their senses are heightened as they suddenly get full access to a wide variety of new sensations through sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Introducing playthings that are specifically designed to help them build new brain connections will help facilitate this development. When babies are born their sense of sight is still developing and for the first few months newborns see images with a high contrast most clearly. Ideally images in black and white and then after the first few weeks with the addition of red will stimulate them most. These images can be in the form of mobiles, activity mats, soft books, toys or simple pictures. There is also a strong link between a Child’s intelligence and the amount of words they hear; are exposed to in
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Learning From Home - Knowledge and Understanding

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Learning from Home I am aware that during these challenging times many parents have had to step into the role as teacher, especially those with children at Nursery or Primary School, so I am writing some new blogs to help families understand how to do this at home.  Knowledge and Understanding Knowledge and Understanding is all about developing your child’s awareness of the world around them. It is this knowledge that will help you child with their understanding of Science and Humanities later in their school life. Like all subject areas at this stage, a practical and fun approach will bring the best results.   I hope I will explain how to cover these areas in a lively and interesting way that will inspire your child to become fascinated in the wonderful world around them. History The root of the word history is ‘his story’ and this is what history at this early stage should be about. Your child needs to learn to reflect on their own lives and
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FUN IDEAS TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN BUSY

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  Hi All In these challenging times with many people having young children at home I thought I would repost these blogs and write some new ones. Hopefully they will help parents educate and have fun with their children. We will get through this better if we work as a community. If you have any questions or need advice please contact me.  As my mum used to say "This too will pass" Stay safe and Much Love xx Today's blog is actually not a blog but instead a list of some good ideas and their links. I hope they help. Why not makes scones with your children this weekend?  They are really easy and fun to make and the whole family can enjoy them at teatime. Cooking is great fun but also uses English (following instructions) and Maths ( weighing, measuring and ratios.)  Happy Cooking! https://planningwithkids.com/…/07/25/scone-making-with-kids/    Want to keep your children busy but also want to develop their concent
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Happy Lesson 8 Understanding Maths - Shape and Measure

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Maths is a subject that many people find difficult to engage with. When I start talking to people about Maths it often brings out negative comments relating to their confidence with it. As a teacher I recognise this is because of their early association with Maths; when they learnt processes rather than concepts and never really developed an understanding of the subject. In this blog and Happy Lesson 7 I want to help parents understand better the development behind the number and non number side of Maths (Shape and Measure) Understanding Maths - Shape and Measure Young children need to have fun physically investigating Shape and Measure in order to develop their knowledge and understanding. Luckily there are loads of opportunities in the local environment or through games and activities in the home. I have had a think about how you can do this and come up with some suggestions to help you help your child develop these skills. Names and Properties of 2D shapes
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Lessons in Life or Life’s lessons?                                                                                                My Lovely Mum Hi, if you have been reading my blogs you will know I usually talk about children’s development, but today I thought I would shake it up a bit and share some thoughts on the lessons life teaches us in general. My desire to exchange knowledge, understanding and perspective with other people runs very deep in me. When life, or in my case chronic ill health, stops you doing something that you love, you initially feel its outstretched hand all over your life. It is pervasive; it feels like it is trying to get into your very soul and to redefine you. However I have always been up for a good fight, (though maybe more now in the mental rather than physical sense :-) ) and so I am just reinventing myself, finding new and exciting interests and am really enjoying blogging. Strangely enough there is also a very positive side when life c
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