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Keeping little ones amused
Message Board
in association with
Ideas for the Early Years |
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Be the wonderful, fun, smart
parent you always knew you were! 136 fun things to do.
Written by a father so perfect for all the family. Loads of ideas and pictures
for you to Have Fun With Kids Anywhere And Anytime You can download a
free sample - well worth checking out. |
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This month's
calendar
A simple new activity idea, one for every day of the year. Many with links to
other sites. |
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| See also our section on
Fun Sites and
Family
Learning |
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Baby signing
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Most parents note that they avoid
the whinging and plate-throwing phase if they chose to sign with their
babies.
"My daughter knew a number of signs by the time she was 8
months old. Because her needs were communicated, she didn't feel the
frustration often accompanying infants during early language acquisition, so
she was able to learn spoken language very quickly. " |
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| You can purchase a special UK
edition of
SignBaby direct from Motherwise (special US import). Please
email Suefor details. The Learning
kit includes book, training video and quick reference guide in a neat
illustrated presentation box. |
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| "Well worth every
penny!" Reader from Warrington |
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| Are you benefiting from
The Mozart
Effect? |
| Does Mozart help children learn? Report on
experiments from the Royal Society of Medecine. |
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| This
video has been created specially for babies - helping to build
new connections in the brain. See the review on Amazon for an explanation of
the ''violation of expectation' theory - amazingly popular with
parents. |
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| See also our section on
helping children
read |
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101 things for young children to
do, suggested by
Mothercare
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Subscribe to
Kids Out magazine
if you live in or near London |
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| MINKY MAKES |
Minky Makes..Time to create is
part of a new video series from Formative Years and covers papier mache, play
dough, puppets, theatres, printed T-shirts and vegetable people.
Miss the old days of Blue Peter and their "here's one I
made earlier" sessions" or simply forgotten how to make a finger
puppet? Then this new video is definitely for you and your family. |
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| More inspiration from around the
web |
| Child Fun (USA) |
| Kids Domain |
| AllKids (UK) |
| Gardening with kids! (US) |
Simple
interactive games
requires Flash 5 (downloadable) |
| 6-piece jigsaws |
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| The BBC now has a site for
Little Kids with a newsletter, colouring, games, stories and a
web guide. |
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The parenting challenge of ...
keeping little ones
amused
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I was always at a loss to know how to 'play' with my new baby - it certainly
didn't come naturally.
For anyone in a similar position, there are lots of ideas out there which don't
include massive preparation and mess - and take a look at the programmes being
developed by the Kiwis!
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Nah! said Bartholomew! |
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You may have a child more amenable to following your lead - my own experience
was of a child who is clearly destined to be a leader himself! In this case you
need lots of examples of topics which are of interest to your child so you can
get them out when your child decides that topic is on the agenda today!!
Print off a few pages on topics you know your toddler has an interest in and
when he or she raises the subject next (eg my son loves cats and would often
talk about them) then you will have some ideas to expand on your child's
interest.
By the way, 'nah' comes from the books about temperemental tot,
Bartholomew Bear, who doesn't want to go to bed
("Nah!"), trying to put him on a potty is a nightmare
("Nah!") and as for trying to teach him how not to squash the kitten
when he cuddles her...("Nah!"). All five illustrated stories are now
available in one volume. Highly recommended!
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Play@home
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Check out what they are doing in Fife! Originating in the Waikato Region of New
Zealand, there are separate programmes for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
The books suggests healthy techniques and activities that can be used to
strengthen bonding and communication, improves parenting skills and introduces
healthy lifestyle routines and attitudes from the first day of life.
The programme has been developed on the philosophy that
parents are their children's
first educators
See the Kiwi Baby News.for more info!
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Ideas for the Early Years |
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This UK site is full of excellent ideas helpfully set out in alphabetical
order. The site is intended for professionals but it's perfect for parents.
The activities are simple, there are keywords and vocabulary for each topic
plus related activities and resources.
Not only that, everything is related to the early learning goals most children
are expected to achieve by the end of the reception year and which replaced the
previous, age-related, desirable learning outcomes in September 2000.
We had moles in our garden one year so the section on moles suddenly came into
use. The section on cat dancing is great for a young cat lover. Let us know
what you found useful on the Message Boards.
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Try also 101 Activities to do with your Toddler (ages
1-3) |
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Includes music for a limited number of nursery rhymes if your memory of
childhood rhymes is as bad as mine!
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Cooking with kids |
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A special collection for mums with pre-schoolers
You can have great fun with VERY simple 'ants in the sand' and 'cats eyes'!
Well, the kids will find it fun...and don't forget that making up an
individual-sized pizza (from supermarkets - or try a toasted split muffin) with
lots of odds and ends is the best fun ever - and DIY nearly always guarantees a
mega eating session afterwards!
(BTW the British equivalent of a Graham cracker is a digestive biscuit!)
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Preparing for
school |
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Games and activities
in preparation for school starts with the need to build trust
as a baby and provides a range of activities for each age group.
Handy 'Ready for School' checklist.
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Beginner
Gardening for Kids and parents |
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Material originated for the Pakenham Junior Horticultural Society - everything
from planning, planting, keeping plants healthy - herbs, shrubs, vegetables and
flowers
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Help us help more mums!
Tell a friend
about Motherwise UK |
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| FREE Children's Crafts and Printables
Archive |
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| Pocket Money Picks for under
£5 for
5-8 Year Olds |
| Summer Sizzlers for under
£10 for
9-11 Year Olds |
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| Listen to
bird song together - can you hear any of these birds listed on
the RSPB site in your garden? Or check out the clips on
www.birdstream.com |
| The RSPB 25th Big Garden
BirdWatch results are now
on-line with May
26th signalling the beginning of
Wake up to Birds Week.
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| June |
Are you ready for
The Big
Toddle? |
A short sponsored walk by under-5s
and their families.
The Toddle 2000 raised over £½ million for Barnardo's - and
playgroups keep £25 of every £100 they raised. |
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| Keeping
organised, tidy
and sane! |
This might seem an odd item to put
under 'keeping little ones amused' but, when you read the
article,
you'll understand just how important this 'game for life' really is for your
long-term sanity!
Extract : Where do you keep everything? How do you keep on top of the
clutter and mess?
The keywords are consistency, containment, simplicity - and selective
blindness! |
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| Fun and games at your local
Early Learning
Centre |
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| In September 2000, the ELC
launched an excellent opportunity for kids and mums to make the most of their
early learning toys in each of their stores. |
| Each Tuesday between 9.30am and
11.00am Early Learning Centres are holding play sessions developed alongside
the Pre-school Learning Alliance and in line with the Government's Early
Learning Goals. Click here for
full
details |
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