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Children are learning from the moment they are born and us as parents are the most important role models for them, so why not provide the best learning opportunities throughout their early lives? I’m passionate about early learning so thought I’d share some of my favourite activities and ideas for you to try with your little learners. Have fun getting mucky, chatting, laughing and learning together.
Coordination development
Fine Motor Skills -picking up different sized objects with fingers, hands and then giant tweezers as they get older, build towers from blocks or Lego, make Cheerio/Spaghetti towers (put spaghetti into playdoh and thread Cheerios onto spaghetti), thread beads or pasta, playdoh fun, finger dancing and following lines with fingers, do jigsaw puzzles, use scissors with paper, cardboard, packaging or playdoh.
Gross Motor Skills- jumping, skipping, climbing, sliding, running, hopping, crawling, rolling. Try these on different surfaces/levels and encourage different ways of moving to develop skills further.
Maths Concepts
Count out loud to and with your child, count objects, items of clothing, body parts, point out numbers on doors, number plates and in shops, measure amounts when baking, go on a shape hunt, create shape pictures, play board games, make patterns with colours, stickers, beads or paint.
Reading Concepts
Read to your child every day, make sure books are accessible at children’s height so they can access books whenever they want, listen to story CDs, sing/say nursery rhymes, point out letter sounds in the environment eg signs, adverts, numberplates, names etc.
Writing Concepts
Provide lots of varied mark making opportunities with paint, coloured pens, crayons, paintbrushes and water, mud, sand, glitter, shaving foam, tracing and magnetic or bath letters.
All round Concepts
Visit museums and art galleries, taste, make and bake new foods, go on nature walks, have treasure hunts, splash in puddles, plant veggies or flowers, go on scavenger hunts and make pictures, junk modelling, play board games, make and play musical instruments, sing and dance.
Laura Clifford
Little Learning Seeds
email: [email protected]
Website: www.littlelearningseeds.com