Is your child starting school soon? Starting school for the first time can be daunting to both parents and kids. It can bring up a lot of feelings. There’s lots of things that might cross your mind, such as will my child be bullied, will they cope with a new routine and will they make friends. It’s always important to keep communicating with your child. Below are some things to do with your child to get them prepared before and during the start of school.
1) Independence the Montessori way: Things like teaching your child to learn to pour their own water, put on their own shoes, or clean their own play area, will help them become a more confident, independent child, which will lead to ongoing benefits throughout their school life.
2) Learn about emotions: Talking about different feelings will help your child talk about different emotions and understand how they’re feeling during this new transition.
3) Hygiene: Hygiene is important at school. One of the best ways to help them is to try and make their trips to the toilet a fun learning experience.
4) Sharing: Encouraging your child to share their toys through pretend play is a great way to help them practice turn-taking.
5) Write down worries and hopes: Get your child to write down everything they’re looking forward to at school and everything they’re worried about. This can help to ease their concerns.
Going to school for the first time can be scary. We hope your child has a great first day!
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the childcare crisis. But it wasn’t until it affected us where we had to stop and think about how dire the situation is becoming. Our own little scholar is currently in nursery and we have received emails to let us know that due to staff shortages they may have to start turning children away. We believe the pandemic has exposed the fragility of a system that places the onus of child rearing on women. Childcare is a constant juggling act for many parents. According to the National Childbirth Trust, a week’s care for a child under the age of two in nursery costs between £263 and £321 per week, meanwhile after-school care costs between £60 and £70 a week. Currently, one adult can be in charge of four two-year-olds, however the Government has proposed to increase this to five. We do not think this is a good idea and could affect a child’s safety and level of learning.
It’s important now more than ever to do as much as we can with our young children at home. A child’s brain has reached 80% of its adult volume by the age of 3. This is why it’s VERY important to support this massive brain development in the first 3 years of their life.
We sell books and learning resources, which can help your child’s brain development in the early years. You can shop our products here.
Childcare workers are simply overworked, underpaid and sadly undervalued. What are your thoughts? Has this also affected you? Let us know in the comments below. 👶🏾🧒🏼🧮🎨
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
Rain Rain go away, Come again another day! The heatwave seems to be over here in the UK and we’re forecasted to have some heavy rain. Heavy rain poses some challenges for parents. Kids have a shorter attention span than us adults, which means cabin fever can set in quickly. Minimise the number of times you hear ‘I’m booored!’ with our top 20 rainy day activities to do with kids that are on their summer holidays.
1)indoor play/ soft play. This is always fun for kids, there are many indoor soft play in the UK.
2) Fashion show. Kids love to dress up in their parents clothes and shoes. So why not let the kids choose some clothes from your wardrobe, so they can create a fun fashion show!
3)Our STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) activity cards are great for entertaining the kids and can help to reduce screen time. Our unique pack of 32 cards are simple and fun and can be created with everyday items from around the home or the supermarket. The pack of cards can be bought here.
32 STEM Activity cards
4) Cook or bake together. Kids enjoy cooking and baking (especially licking the bowl at the end!).
5) Visit your local library. Let the kids choose a book they want and then get cosy in the reading corner. If the weather is too bad to get out. Then create a cosy area at home and read their favourite books. We have a great selection of books. You can shop our books here.
STEM Leaders: Black inventors and innovators who changed the world
6) Visit a museum. There are many free fun museums in the UK. Going to the museum is a fun adventure for kids.
7) Play board games. Board games are a fun way to get the family together and helps to reduce screen time.
8) Our STEM inventors journal. Our STEM inventors journal will show kids how new inventions are created. It includes prompts to get your budding inventor started on their inventor journey. This journal will be sure to keep kids occupied on those rainy days. It can be bought here.
My STEM inventors journal: A little book of ideas
9) Build a blanket and cushion fort.
10) Watch a movie. Dim the lights and pop some popcorn and create a cinema at home.
11) Indoor picnic. Too rainy to have a picnic outside? Why not bring it indoors. Eating on a blanket is always fun for kids.
12) Create a puppet show. Grab some socks and paper and create a puppet show.
13) Open ended play. Get your children’s imagination going with some open ended play, with things like wooden blocks or a sensory activity.
14) Get the puzzles out. Puzzles are a good alternative to screen time for kids, they’re both fun and educational. We have a great wooden solar system puzzle, which can be bought here.
Wooden solar system puzzle
15) Play some musical instruments. You can even create a mini concert.
16) Do some yoga. The cabin fever has kicked in, so now the kids are bouncing off the walls, eek! There are lots of yoga videos for kids on YouTube, which can help to calm them down.
17) Create an indoor scavenger hunt. Get the kids to hunt for the objects all over the house.
18)Arts and crafts is always fun. Create a crafting station at home. It can occupy kids for a long time and it is both entertaining and educational for them.
19) Create an indoor obstacle course using unbreakable objects.
20) Splash in some puddles. As Peppa pig says “I’m jumping up and down in muddy puddles.” Once the rain has stopped, get your wellies on and go outside and splash about in some puddles!
We hope you found this blog useful. If you did, please share it with your friends and family who may find it useful too.
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
Did you know by the age of 3, a child’s brain has reached 80% of its adult volume? This is why it’s very important to support this massive brain development in the first 3 years of their life. Engaging with your child, providing a safe environment and creating solid foundations is paramount in their early years development. Children’s brain development happens so fast, so don’t leave it until it’s too late. By the time a child starts school it is more difficult for them to take advantage of the learning environment created in the classroom if an optimal learning experience or nurturing environment has not been created at home.
Our top 3 tips on how you can support your child’s brain development
1) Research your child’s current stage of development
2) Regularly observe your child. What skills are they practicing? What are they interested in? What activities do they love to do repeatedly?
3) Finally, research how you can support their development in these areas
Our new STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) activity cards are great for developing children’s brains. The experiments and activities are fun, easy and can be created using everyday items found in the supermarket. They can be purchased here. Our STEM activity cards will:
– Introduce STEM in a hands on way – Create a love for STEM subjects early on – Enhance a child’s collaborative learning, as STEM often encourages children to work together – Amplify a child’s problem solving skills, which is a critical skill in the early years – Enhance a child’s memory through experimental learning – Help to reduce screen time
It comes without saying that children are very much affected by their surroundings. The environment a child is in, in their early years can have affects which last a lifetime.
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
Learning music helps with a child’s brain development. But did you know it also helps to improve maths skills? To play a musical instrument well, you need to develop your critical thinking and problem solving skills. These are key skills when learning maths. If you think back to early childhood, young children often learn counting through rhythm. They first start clapping their hands and bopping their head to a number’s nursery rhyme. We know kids learn through repetition which is why nursery rhymes are great. Young children are particularly responsive to rate, which is a key player in helping them to form mathematical skills.
Below are 6 ways learning music is beneficial to developing a mathematical mind:
1) Performing music reinforces parts of the brain used when doing maths because It’s about time signatures, beats per minute and formulaic progressions
2) The frequency of sound is related to maths, different sounds can be made up with different weights and vibrations
3) Studies show that children who play instruments are able to complete complex mathematical problems better than their peers who do not play instruments
4) Patterns are used in both maths and music
5) Learning music teaches valuable skills such as patience, research also shows that children who learn an instrument retain information better
6) Music is full of fractions. Music includes whole notes, half notes and quarter notes, all of which follow the same rules as a maths equation
Getting children used to music early on will have fantastic positive outcomes. It adds a fun element to learning and sometimes can get them to learn things without even realising it. Who knew that learning music which is lots of fun can help with improving a child’s maths skills?
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.
