‘ 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 ! ?

Affirmations are repeatedly saying positive declarations to yourself and your experience.

Affirmations can help young children feel confident and encourage a positive self-image. They are also a powerful way of reducing anxiety.

An affirmation like “I can do this” just might help your little one have some confidence when they are struggling to dress themselves, use kind hands or maybe they are having a hard time waiting their turn.

The more your little one says positive affirmations about themselves, the more they will start to believe them. It’s teaching our little ones that when a self-limiting belief arises “I can’t do it!!”, to switch it with a positive thought “I’ll keep trying!”.

This of course takes time with children so young, but that’s where you as the responsible adult needs to model this.

It’s important children learn this at such a young age so that it becomes natural in their later lives. Educating children on numbers, colours etc is important absolutely but at Little Owl’s we believe their positivity and self-love is just as important.

Children will struggle to understand what an affirmation is and how to use them effectively, but you can begin by talking to your little ones about the different thoughts and feelings they have. Although there is no wrong or right way to feel, some of our feelings make us feel better than others.

Some examples you can use with your young children are:

I am a good friend

I am kind

I am special

I am happy

I am strong

I am loved