Mark making in salt

Finding getting your child interested in writing letters a challenge? Have you tried writing with something other than a pencil and paper? Why not try salt writing. The only things you need are salt, a tray and fingers.

This month Bee will be experiencing activities to develop her letter formations. As you know children get easily bored when sitting at a table,with a pen and paper. A hands on activity will capture their creativity and keep them on task for longer. When working in a UK state school we used the Letters and Sounds document composed by the department of education and skills. The document provided tools to teach children high quality phonics, by using hands on experiences and activities.

Once they have finished creating their literacy masterpiece, just give the tray a gentle shake to begin the experience once again.

Who can play?

Children aged 2 years plus. Depending on their age and stage of development.

What do you need?

• Tray
• Salt
• Fingers

Safety:

Discourage children from eating the salt, as this can make them sick.

What did we do?

Salt was placed on a serving tray and gently shaken to spread it out evenly. Paper was placed on the floor to protect it and a brush and shovel placed close by, for little spills. The area was prepared  whilst Bee was at preschool, so as soon as she came home she came straight to the activity.

 She had lots of questions such as "what is this?" "what do you do?" showing a lot of interest. I suggested that she could experiment with the salt first, make marks and then we would go on to attempt to write some letters by using the correct formations.

By using her pointer finger she began swirling it around in the salt, making circles, patterns and people. 

Once she had covered the tray with her marks, I showed her how to carefully shake the tray back and forth to smooth the salt, so she could write on it again.

 After about three times of exploring the salt on her own, we talked about some of the letters she knew. Bee said that her favourite was S as it looked like a snake. To start her off I made some dots in the salt in the shape of a letter S. Bee followed the direction of the S over the top of the dots, going from the top to the bottom.

She then attempted to draw her own S.

We did this with the letter a, o, c and f. To add a bit of humor, I made some nonsense words up such as c o f f and wrote them in the salt with dots for her to follow. Once she had joined the dots together, we blended the letter sounds together to sound out the word. Bee thought that this was funny and we had to write more words, which she 'traced' over.

The salt was then placed in a Tupperware container, so that it can be used in another activity.

What did we learn?

• Communication and language-Asking questions,talking about what they are doing and listening to instructions.
• Physical development- Fine manipulative skills when using pointer finger to write in the salt. Large manipulative skills when shaking the tray. Hand-eye coordination.
• Personal, social and emotional- Developing self help, when shaking the tray by themselves.Pride form finished product.
• Literacy- Linking sounds to letters, learning how to read and write and letter formations.
• Mathematics- Shapes, space and measurement.
• Expressive arts and design- Pattern making and being creative.

What could be done next?

• Substitute the salt for glitter
• Add tools such as small brushes or cotton buds to use to mark make.
• Place paint on a tray and write in it. Paper can be placed on the top to take a print of the writing.

Help with mealtimes

Finding mealtimes challenging with a toddler/preschooler? Well, you are not on your own! I thought I would just share a little something that we find helps us.

When working as an Early Years Practitioner, I learnt that children need rules and guidelines to help them on their learning journey. Mealtimes are a perfect example for coming together with your child and drawing up a few simple things that are expected. 

Who can play?

Children aged 2 years and above, depending own their age and stage of development.

What do you need?

• Paper/card
• Felt tip pens
• Area to display mealtime rules
• Cello tape
• Ruler  

What did we do?

Bee and I sat down at the dinner table and talked together about things that we do at Lunch, snack and dinner. I tried to focus on what we do rather than what we do not do, to make it a positive experience.

We then put our ideas in order of importance, for example wash our hands first, to make our hands clean and germ free. We then talked about the importance of being safe at the table, as we sit on our chairs and use our utensils in a safe manner. Another important point that Bee thought we had to include was to "try our food with leaves" Well, promoting healthy eating is also important!

When writing our ideas on the paper, I invited Bee to write some of her ideas. The wrote some recognizable letters and said that "We should be good and drink our water

                                     

Finally, we talked about helping to tidy up afterwards. Getting your child involved in this not only helps you, but also gives them a sense of ownership, a role within the family and promotes self help skills. 

The final product is on the wall, near our dining table, for future reference. You will probably have to keep referring back to the mealtime rules chart, but at least it is something that has been drawn up together as a team. Good luck!

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Discussing ideas, Speaking and listening
• Physical development- Fine manipulative skills when writing and discussing healthy food choices
• Personal, social and emotional-Learning social skills and self help
• Literacy- Providing an opportunity for a writing experience.
• Mathematics- Ordering rules
• Understanding of the world- Learning about mealtime rules
• Expressive arts and design- Designing a mealtime poster together

What could be done next?

• Make mealtime place mats
• Involve your child in the setting up of the table, so that they can learn where the knives, forks and spoons go
• Let your child help wash th
  
  
  e dishes after mealtimes (as long as there are no sharp objects in the sink) You will find that the dishes may not be squeeky clean, but they will love feeling helpful and playing in the bubbles/water.

Weaving ribbons in the park

On a recent trip to the park, we had the bright idea, to weave some rainbow ribbons on the railings. It found to not only be a fun and physical activity, but a social one too!

Team work when pulling the ribbon together

Who can play?

Children from the ages 2 years+ depending on their age and stage of development. For younger children make the lengths of ribbon thicker but shorter, say 5 inches, so that little fingers can maneuver them.

Safety:

When using the ribbon be careful of choking. When working as an early years practitioner, the recommended length was 8 inches. Be conscientious when using the ribbons at the park, for example if younger children are playing near by just in case they wish to join in. 

What do you need?

• Ribbons of various colours, long enough to weave in and out of the railings.
• Railings 

What did we do?

Firstly, I placed the ends of the ribbons on the railings, ready for the children to weave if they wanted to. As soon as Bee and her friend A saw them, they began to explore.

They showed a lot of fine manipulative skills as they would try and push the ribbon in and out of the railing and wrap them around one another, to try and form a knot.

Intricate weaving

                                               

They also displayed large manipulative development as they pulled the ribbons.

Pulling the ribbon with all her might

It was interesting watching the dynamics of the relationship of Bee and A. At first they worked on their own section of the railing, respecting each others space. Eventually they worked together in the centre of the railing on the same piece of ribbon, showing social skills. They talked about what colour ribbon they were using and if their ribbon was long or short.

Weaving together

                                 

The girls showed good team work as they both pulled the ribbon tightly. They both seemed to love doing this action.

Heave ho!!

                                 

This is the end product! As you can see the children successfully weaved the ribbons in and out of the railings and experimented with direction.

Work of art

                                 

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about what they are doing. Listening to advise and instructions from friends.
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and hand-eye coordination when weaving in and out of the railings. 
• Personal, social and emotional- Making relationships, social skills, fun and enjoyment, self help and pride from finished product.
• Literacy- Weaving left to right (learning the directional skills of writing)
• Mathematics- Developing a concept of space and directional language such as under and over. Discussing length of ribbons (short/long)
• Understanding of the world- Playing in the outdoor environment. 
• Expressive arts and design- Creating patterns with the ribbons and talking learning about colours.

What could be done next?

• Found pieces could be weaved into the ribbons, for example twigs, leaves etc.
• Weaving on a smaller scale can be done on a cardboard frame.

Helping your child become an independent dresser

I thought I would share some of my ideas on how I am trying to encourage my child to be an independent dresser. For some time Bee, has wanted to pick out her own clothes and this can sometimes take a very... very...very...very...long time, with a lot of "I can do it!" being said.

I have found the solution to our little challenge. The night before, we go through what we are going to be doing the following day, for example, if we have preschool, ballet etc. Once we have done this the decision can be made on what she wants to wear. When she has chosen her clothes we hang them up on her pegs and the job is done! As soon as she wakes the next morning, our clothes are ready and waiting. There are always other 'morning' challenges to deal with, but at least this is one we can check off our list.

Who can play?
Children aged 2 years+ depending on their age and stage of ability.

What do I need?

• Furniture that stores your child's clothes
• Paper
• Felt tip pens 
• cello-tape

I chose to laminate the labels for the drawers, so that they last longer. You can always type out the labels on the computer and take real life pictures of the clothes, so that they are more recognizable than my drawings

 :-)

What did we do?

To help Bee find her items of clothing and encourage independence and decision making skills, I needed to adapt her bedroom furniture. This is how her set of draws looked before.

By adding pictures/photographs of the items inside the draws, Bee can now clearly see what items are in each draw. I made sure that the items of clothing were sorted into separate drawers, for example pj's, socks, underwear, tops and pants. On a piece of paper I drew these items and wrote what they were on top the picture. The last thing I did was laminate and stick them onto the draws.

 Bee now loves choosing her clothes in the morning. She looks at both the pictures and words and is trying to segment and blend the letters.

Even just a simple idea as this can develop so many areas of learning. Read on to find out what areas are being developed.

What did we learn?

• Communication and language-Talking about what she is going to wear. Listening to where she is going the following day and making choices based on this and following instructions 
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills and coordination when opening/closing draws and picking out clothes. Developing physical skills such as pulling up her own pasts and using fasteners such as buttons or zips.
• Personal, social and emotional- Developing self help skills and independence. Also learning to ask for help when needed. Putting their clothes away after is also a self help skill
• Literacy- Linking sounds to letters, learning how to read, blending and segmenting words and learning that print carries meaning.
• Mathematics- Counting the draws, finding two socks that are the same. Learning about patterns on clothing.
• Understanding of the world- Developing and learning about her role within the family, for example, it is now her job to find her clothes, but if she needs help Mum and Dad are always there. Learning about her body and which items of clothing goes where.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating her own style, learning about what items of clothing she feels go together. Designing her own outfit.

What could be done next?

• Label boxes that contain toys etc, so that the independence can continue with in the playroom.
• Have a spotty, stripey or different colour day, so that your child can try and pick out the clothes to match the theme.
• Once the clothes have been washed, ask your child to help you put them away. This is a great sorting activity and will also be helpful for you.

The smoothest banana and avocado smoothie

Due to the success of our banana, blueberry and beetroot smoothie, I decided to sneak a bit of avocado into Bee's diet. Did you know that an avocado is a fruit, due to having a seed, is high in potassium, can be used to substitute butter in baking and high in protein?? For more information on the benefits and uses of avocados Huffington Post has more details.
                                

The end result... yummy banana and avocado smoothie.

Who can play?

Children aged two and above can help cut and measure out the ingredients, however, this depends on their age and stage of development.

What do I need?

• Blender
• Jug/container to store the smoothie
• Glasses and straws
• Chopping board
• Blunt knife
• One banana
• Half an avocado
• One tablespoon of honey
• Ice cubes
• One cup of milk (either cows, almond or goats)
• One cup of coconut water

The ingredients

Safety:
Please be aware that the blades on the blender are extremely sharp. Read the instructions, before use. Adults should operate the blender.
Children should be supervised at all times and ensure that the knife that cuts the bananas and avocado is blunt, so as not to cut skin.

What did we do?
After washing our hands, we set about exploring the avocado. Predicting what the colour was going to be like inside and if it had a stone or not. Bee said it was going to be green and no stone...as you can tell by the look on her face, she was surprised to find one.

Surprised to see a stone in the middle of the avocado

 We removed the stone and washed it. We are planning to grow our own using the stone. For more information on growing your own avocado thehungrymouse.com  has an easy step by step guide.
Next we removed the flesh from the skin and began to slice it.

cutting up the fruit

                                                 

We also couldn't resist a little nibble...well it is healthy after all

Next, we chopped up the bananas and placed them in a bowl.
To begin the blending stage, we added the wet ingredients first to the jug and then the ice and fruit. After a minute of blending it was done. All that was left to do was pour and enjoy! It was seriously the creamiest and smoothest smoothie I have ever made. It was that good we took it to a friends house to share!

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about the changes they are seeing and what they taste, feel and smell. Listening to instructions.
• Physical development- Fine manipulative skills when cutting etc. Learning about foods that make our body healthy.
• Personal, social and emotional- Joining in with an activity and accepting the help from others when needed. Self help and knowledge of germs when washing hands before the activity.Taking turns
• Literacy- Developing fine manipulative muscles when cutting the fruit (developing grip to hold and manipulate a pencil)
• Mathematics- Measuring the liquids and splitting the avocado in half.
• Understanding of the world- Learning about technology (how the blender works) and temperatures when adding the ice to the smoothie.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating your own smoothie

What could be done next?

• Pour the mixture into ice lolly molds and into the freezer, for a delicious cooling treat.
• As mentioned above, try to grow your own avocado. Children will love watching it grow and you will enjoy not having to buy an avocado from the store (you do have a long wait ahead though to reap this benefit)

Rainbow pens

After seeing so many rainbow crafts on the internet, the idea came to me to attach felts tips together that were the colours of the rainbow. Bee loved this idea and enjoyed making rainbow patterns on her paper.

Product of the rainbow pens

                                     

Who can play?
Children aged 2 years plus. Depending on their age and stage of development

Safety:
Chose non toxic, washable pens.

What do you need?

• Red, yellow, pink, green, orange, purple and blue felt tips
• Cello-tape
• Paper

What did we do?
Firstly we had to attach the felt tips together with the cello-tape. This proved a little bit tricky for Bee, but with a bit of assistance we managed it. We ordered the felts in the order of the rainbow song:

Red and yellow and pink and green.

Orange and purple and blue.

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

Felt tip pens attached together in the order of the rainbow colours... excuse the pink and blue pens...they were the only ones I could find :-)

Bee, held onto the pens and dragged them across the paper, from one side to the other. At first the paper would move, so she asked me too hold it still whilst she moved the pens. When she reached the other side, she looked so pleased with herself and said "look mum, I made a rainbow!"

Bee starting her rainbow picture with the rainbow pens...

...and finishing it at the other side of the paper.

She was really happy with the finished product. She also sorted all the lids, so that they matched the corresponding pen.

Her rainbow picture

This activity encouraged Bee to draw her own rainbow later that day.

Drawing rainbows free style

 I also designed this rainbow to encourage Bee to develop not only her colour recognition, but pencil control too. She has not used it yet, but I place it in her writing area, for when she is ready.

Pencil control rainbow

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about the colours that she sees. Recalling personal experiences of rainbows.
• Physical development- Fine and large manipulative skills, hand-eye coordination.
• Personal, social and emotional- Asking for help when needed. Feeling pride from finished product.
• Literacy- Drawing from left to right, therefor developing the skills used for writing.
• Mathematics- Trying to space out the lines on the rainbow, so that they do not touch. Matching the correct coloured lids to the pens.
• Expressive arts and design- Creating rainbows with felt tip pens and attaching them all together to make a rainbow. Learning about colours.

What could be done next?

• rainbows with pasta, play dough and beads
• Making rainbows with primary coloured paint.
• Provide pictures to the drawing/writing area for inspiration
• Make rainbows outside with the hose pipe or water sprays.

Making rainbows with pasta, pony beads and play dough

After a heavy down pour over the weekend, it was so lovely to see a beautiful rainbow. It was my daughters first ever rainbow and she was so interested in it. We talked about why rainbows happen for example sunlight passes through the raindrops and this causes it to separate the sun light into its individual colours. For more information about why rainbows, eo.ucar.edu has more details.

The next day, I saw happyhooligans.ca  activity, using dried spaghetti, pony beads and play dough. I knew Bee would love this as it was following her interest and would build on her experience of seeing the rainbow the other day. Thank you happyhooligans.ca for your idea and inspiration.

Who can play?
Children 3 years and above, depending on their age and stage of development.

Safety:
Small beads can easily be stuffed up noses or swallowed, so supervision is required at all times.

What do we need:

• Three tubs to contain the items needed for this activity
• Dried spaghetti at different lengths
• Rainbow coloured pony beads
• Green play dough
• Rainbow template

What did we do?

Firstly I set up the activity and left it on the table before lunchtime. Sometimes I find this a good idea to do this, as it can keep them occupied as you 'try' to make a meal (if they are not involved in making it with you)

I wanted to see what she would do with the equipment without direction.

                                  

When she saw the activity she went straight for the play dough, manipulating it with her fingers and pushing it onto the table. 

Picking up a piece of dried spaghetti, she poked holes in the dough.

                                  
 "Look Mummy" she said "I have made a face, with hair, cheeks, eyes and a nose" She said it was her little cousin.

                                  

Next she popped a piece of spaghetti in the middle of the dough and said it was a lollipop. Bee made one for me too and as we pretended to eat them, mine snapped "never mind" she said" I will have a small one too" and snapped hers in two, so it was the same size as mine.

We played with the dough and the spaghetti for a while and Bee made some models, by pushing lots of spaghetti into the dough. Bee said her model was a mouse.

                                   

Bee then spotted the beads and began to thread them carefully onto the spaghetti, saying "better be careful not to poke myself up the nose" She showed a lot of concentration and would count the beads as she would post them on.

                                                

Next, so began pushing the beads into the dough, making patterns. Then we played hide and seek with the beads in the dough.

                                   
                                   

I was surprised when Bee decided to put a piece of spaghetti in the bowl of beads and pick one of them up. "I'm fishing" she said "wanna play it with me?" How could I refuse?! She would carefully place her spaghetti into the centre of the pony bead and tilt it back, making the beads go down to the end.

                                   

Towards the end, Bee looked at the rainbow template. She talked about the colours and said that she could match the beads to the correct colours.

                                   
 We sang the rainbow song:

Red and yellow and pink and green.

Orange and purple and blue.

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow too.

The also said the rainbow poem:

Richard of York, gave battle in vain.

When tidying the activity away, Bee spent a few minutes snapping the spaghetti into little pieces. She commented on them getting smaller the more she snapped them.

This activity lasted quite a while and Bee showed a lot of interest and concentration. 

What started off as what I thought was a rainbow threading activity, turned into so much more. Just goes to show if you allow children to play and experiment they will use their creativity and explore.

What did we learn?

Mathematics- Counting pony beads. Learning about long and short when breaking up the spaghetti

Communication and language- Discussing what they are doing.

Personal, social and emotional- Searching for someone to share their experiences with. Fun and enjoyment.

Physical- Fine manipulative, such as pushing, pinching and manipulating the dough. Developing hand eye coordination when placing the pony beads onto the spaghetti.

Understanding of the world- Talking about members of her family.

Literacy- Developing the skills to hold a pencil when picking up the small beads in a tripod grip.

Expressive arts and design- Designing her own pattern with the pony beads. Making models and creating faces. Singing the Rainbow song. Making up her own games.

What could we do next?

• Make rainbows out of play dough
• Thread beads onto pipe cleaners if your child gets a bit frustrated with the spaghetti breaking
• You could also add a different variety of threading tools to this activity, such as wool, sticks etc.