Fun with letters and sounds ! ????
As our children move into the Adventurers room at our Cannock setting, we develop their communication, language and literacy even further by introducing ‘letters and sounds’.
This is a 6 phase programme designed to teach children how the alphabet works.
Initially there is a focus on listening and developing this vital skill.
Our small groups go on ‘ listening walks ‘ to identify and notice the variety of sounds around them . They then move through the following phases-
2- making sounds and instrumental sounds
3-body percussion
4- rhythm and rhyme
5- Alliteration
6- voice sounds
All of these encourage an awareness of sound and eventually recognising them in words. Here are some of them in action! ?
Cannock Day Care
Fun at the Supermarket!
Fun at the supermarket!
?? ???
We all know that, as parents and carers, food shopping can be a chore.
However, that is from an adult’s perspective. Take a minute to think about the wonderful learning and life experiences that it holds for a baby and young child –
It’s a rich sensory experience of sounds, smells, tastes, sights and touch! The exposure to the many different people around us is a fabulous way to experience diversity in our communities.
Socially, it is a great opportunity to interact as other customers respond to the smiles and waves that our Little ones display from the seat of the shopping trolley.
Spending time talking about shapes, size, colour and amounts of items is fabulous time to introduce maths concepts in a fun way.
As adults engage around them with day to day chat, this is modelling communication and language to the children.
Even though many of us may shop online now, it is well worth taking a trip to the supermarket as a stand alone activity just to reap the benefits it has to offer.
Click on this link below for some lovely ideas for games to play when at the supermarket . It may help bring the fun back into shopping for us adults too ! ?
https://www.brighthorizons.com/resources/Blog/grocery-store-activities-for-preschoolers
What makes a Little Owl Practitioner?
What makes a Little Owls Practitioner ? ?
There are a carefully selected set of ingredients that make our wonderful Practitioners at Little Owls Childcare…take a look at the following recipe of how to make the perfect practitioner! ?
* 1 large cup of patience.
* 2 heaped tablespoons of energy and enthusiasm for working with children.
* An enormous scoop of empathy.
* A jug of humour and laughter.
* A large bowl of understanding of child development.
* A scoopful of teamwork and positive attitude.
* A pinch of exciting activity ideas.
* A large handful of nurture and compassion.
* A love of messy activities and noise!
* A heap of dedication!
* A cup of smiles !
Combine all of the above carefully, sprinkle with plenty of love and you have a wonderful Little Owls practitioner ?
Clever Communication
Clever communication ????
In the Discovery Room (Birth to confident walkers) at our Cannock Daycare Nursery, we recognise the need to communicate effectively with our babies.
One of our chosen methods is to use simple sign language for some everyday words and instructions.
‘Research shows that sign language speeds up speech development, reduces frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves before they know how to talk, increases parent-child bonding, and lets babies communicate vital information, such as if they are hurt or hungry. (educationalplaycare.com).
Of course, the children are hearing the spoken word at the same time which helps with speech and language.
Before you know it, they are not only associating that sign with a word but attempting to sign it too!
Singing and signing is lots of fun too…the babies really engage when we sing with actions to support the song.
We share a weekly sign with our families, feel free to follow the link for more information.
https://makaton.org/TMC/The_Makaton_community/Sign_of_the_Week.aspx
Wheeeee love slides!
Wheeeee love slides!
Here at Little Owl Cannock Daycare Nursery that “Wheee” sound is a very familiar one to us all!
Our children love spending time climbing on the variety of slides we offer.
The benefits of using a slide make it more than just a fun activity ….
? It helps them learn to balance as they have to keep their torso in balance as gravity pulls them down.
?there is a lot of coordination involved in climbing the ladder,changing position at the top, safely, sitting down and finally descending .
?climbing the steps is a super way to strengthen upper and lower body muscles as well as giving them a cardio work out!
?valuable social skills are being learned, taking turns -waiting for someone to move before sliding down, cooperating with each other will help them interact throughout childhood and into adulthood. Communication and language is developed also as they count the steps and ask for help if needed.
So let’s encourage this type of activity as much as possible!
Little Actors in the Making!
Little actors in the making! ?
Our preschoolers, at our Cannock Daycare Nursery, are thoroughly enjoying their weekly drama sessions courtesy of Chase Grammar School.
It is giving them the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in singing, sharing feelings, acting out real life situations, improving memory and communication skills, building their confidence socially and generally having lots of fun.
Well done to our Little Owls Adventurers!
Bringing stories to life
Bringing stories to life for our Little Owls! ??
Our Adventurers in the preschool at our Cannock Nursery absolutely love story time ?.
The traditional tales are brought to life with our wonderful story sacks.
They are able to use all their senses to fully immerse themselves in the storytelling process. Using a story sack enables everyone to access the story regardless of their communication and language skills.
We have many stories to share,
here are a couple of examples…
For more information about the benefits of story sacks see the link attached.
https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/how-make-and-use-story-sack/#:~:text=Using%20story%20sacks%20in%20your%20early%20years%20setting,memorable%203%20supporting%20children%20with%20their%20own%20storytelling
“Alexa, play Nursery Rhymes”
“Alexa, play nursery rhymes !”
It’s time to get singing! ?
We love nothing more than a good old sing song with our babies in The Discovery Room!
It connects us all and brings a smile to our faces especially if someone is feeling a little sad – it proves to be a helpful distraction and leaves everyone feeling better!
But why is singing so important? Here are a few reasons…
? It connects us socially as we share the actions to the songs and It exposes our Little ones to vocabulary that may not occur in day to day conversation.
?It strengthens their fine and gross motor skills as we clap our hands, point to things or stamp our feet
? It improves their memories as we remember the repetitive patterns and actions to
the songs.
We often include the shakers and other objects around the room to
enhance the experience!
For many more positive reasons to break into song with your little one, take a look at this link…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/why-do-we-sing-nursery-rhymes/zdsyf82
“I can do it myself!”
‘ I can do it myself!’
Encouraging independence in our Little Owls.
As our babies at Cannock Nursery develop into toddlers, one of the most noticeable changes is that they are eager to do a lot more for themselves.
When our babies become confident walkers, they take the next step and move into the Explorers room. From there they move to Adventurers. These rooms are where the children’s independence really comes into play.
Learning to follow routines is one key way to provide opportunities for this, for example –
Hanging up their own coat, washing hands before meal times and sitting down together for story and singing time.
Snack time provides many opportunities for our Little Owls to show off their skills.
Our routine enables them to make a choice of snack, to use a child’s knife to spread the butter and cheese on by themselves and to pour their own drink .
The children develop such a sense of achievement as well as developing key fine motor skills along the way.
All of these responsibilities empower our children and are important steps towards preparing them for the big wide world ! ?
Messy Play
At Little Owl Childcare, we love to let our children get completely immersed in their play and this does not mean that they need to worry about getting messy. This post from the curiosity approach sums it up beautifully 🙂
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