Improving Education for Disadvantaged 3- & 4-Year-OldsIf your child is aged 3 or 4 and fits the eligibility requirements, they could benefit from up to £342 per year* in extra support through the Early Years Pupil Premium (‘EYPP’). In essence, the scheme is designed to level the playing field in children’s early years education if they are disadvantaged in one or more specific ways …
In today’s post, we look at the importance and benefits of periods of ‘quiet time’ for toddlers and children under five. Toddlers are busy little people, often rushing around, going from one toy or activity to the next. They’re at a stage where they realise the world is an exciting place and often want to experience it all at once. However, when they are so ‘on-the-go’, playing and learning from everything and everyone around them, their brains and body have a lot to take in and process. It can be extremely tiring! So, this is where some much-needed quiet time often comes in, bringing with it a whole range of benefits. Studies also back this up …
It’s easier and often quicker for adults to take the lead in getting toddlers and under-five children dressed, fed, washed and suchlike. However, at some point, our little ones have to become confident and self-sufficient at doing these – and many other things – themselves. After all, they won’t have Mum or Dad around when they’re starting at school. So, today, we look at the ways we can help children under five help themselves and become more independent, including in their learning. First, though, let’s look at the many benefits of encouraging their independence …
In today’s post, we explore the benefits of using positive language around under-fives. All too often, it’s tempting to say ‘No!’, ‘Stop that!’ or even ‘Don’t Eat That!’ and similar around little ones. This is particularly true when you want them to cease the offending activity urgently or are simply exhausted if it’s been a challenging day. There are good reasons for such negative commands, of course, not least that of their safety in many cases. However, such commands can sound stern and cause stress for the little ones. What’s more, if a child hears too much negative language and cannot understand why they’re not allowed to do a particular thing, problems can begin to arise and, indeed, the issue can become insidious. It may even result in worsening behaviour. Let’s explore, therefore, the issues around negative language and the simple solution that’s available in the form of positive language …
Today’s post will appeal to families who are finding the current financial climate particularly challenging. With energy costs and inflation so high, the following may represent a welcome piece of good news. Today we highlight the many Baby Banks that are popping up all around the UK and explain how they can help struggling families, all for free.
Baby Banks are a fabulous resource for families. In recent years, they have become very popular with families experiencing harder times, especially since the outbreak of Covid and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis. With such things putting a real squeeze of family finances, Baby Banks are really coming into their own to help families, their babies and children.
A Baby bank is a similar concept to a food bank. However, instead of food and drink, it provides second-hand clothing, toys and equipment for babies, under-fives and often even for children up to the age of 16 in some cases. Baby Banks can also be compared to a charity shop, however, with baby banks, everything is free.
Exactly what families can get depends on the particular Baby Bank itself and, of course, stock levels at any given time. Some things are more in demand than others too and exactly what items are stocked also varies between different Baby Banks. Here are some examples, however, of the typical kinds of things available to families from Baby Banks, all for free …
A nature-based, food-related activity that young children can enjoy indoors at any time of the year is cress growing. Today we outline how it can be made even more fun and creative for kids by growing the cress as little ‘egg heads’. These come complete with comical faces and amusing hairstyles made of green cress shoots! Children will absolutely love it when they end up with little egg faces with spouting hairstyles that each have real character. And, they’ll even be able to eat the results!
It’s an Educational ActivityThis activity is suitable, under adult supervision, even for the very young. Toddlers and under-fives will learn along the way too. They’ll learn lessons about nature, how seeds grow into plants and how some plants can be turned into tasty food — all with very little effort. It will also teach children about being responsible for another living thing. Read on for step-by-step instructions for this fun and educational activity …
Are you a student as well as a parent? If so, there are several Government schemes that offer help with childcare costs, some of which will save student parents substantial amounts of money. By doing so, they also make the prospect of juggling parenthood with being a student much more manageable. Today we examine the key childcare funding options, including how the type of course and the age of the parent affect eligibility.
The very generous Student Childcare Grant is available for eligible students who who are studying full-time on a higher education course and have …
Both children and adults have a natural affinity with music. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures that just about everyone seems to enjoy in one way or another. Children will naturally start to move, dance, join in or even learn songs that they hear — such reactions seem instinctive to them. Learning to play a musical instrument is therefore a natural next step for them. Indeed, it’s one that parents, guardians and carers should consider encouraging, particularly given how beneficial such an endeavour will be to their child. Learning to play a musical instrument is not simply fun; it profoundly benefits children’s learning and development. With that in mind, we take a look today at the incredible array of benefits that learning a musical instrument poses for children, including under-fives.
As something that stimulates multiple senses and encourages new connections in the brain, learning to play music aids cognitive development and enhances memory skills. Because of this, children who learn to play and read music have been shown to achieve better grades at school and in exams.
“Children who learn to read music achieve better grades at school and in exams.”
Studies have also shown that learning an instrument or learning how to read music develops the left side of the brain. This area is responsible for processing language and reasoning. Hand-eye coordination skills are also aided when learning to play a musical instrument and reading music. As children’s playing and reading become more advanced, it requires the brain to work at a range of speeds, which is also great exercise for the brain.
Music has different effects on mood, depending on the music, style and time signature. It can have a calming effect, for sure, and importantly can be a great stress reliever. Children can ‘lose themselves’, entering a different phase of being when focusing on playing or listening to music. When playing in the background, music can also help to promote concentration, for example if they are working, drawing or being creative.
Music gives children a really flexible way of expressing themselves. For instance, the …
A childcare nursery should not be thought of only as a crèche, playgroup, or simply somewhere that looks after babies and children while parents go to work. Good nurseries and pre-schools like Little Cedars are so much more than that. It’s incredible just how much they benefit under-fives, families and society as a whole once you take a closer look at everything they do — and that’s exactly what we’re doing today…
Yes of course, in the most simple analysis, a childcare nursery or pre-school is somewhere for babies, toddlers and under-fives to be safely looked after in a parent’s absence. And, as a high quality, Ofsted-registered childcare setting, Little Cedars Nursery will only employ trusted, trained and fully-vetted staff to look after little ones. All the appropriate safeguarding measures will also be in place in a professional childcare setting such as ours. This allows parents to continue with their careers, safe in the knowledge that their little ones are being cared for well, in a safe and trusted place.
What’s more, staff at childcare settings like Little Cedars will form close bonds with little ones. Studies show that regular interaction with adults helps children’s brains to develop optimally. Did you know that a million new connections form in a child’s brain every second when you interact with them?
“A child’s brain forms a million new connections every second when you interact with them.”
Our early years practitioners will also ensure that children feel at home at the nursery/pre-school right away. The home-from-home atmosphere and warm, deeply caring staff mean that your little one also knows that they are safe, loved, valued and is being looked after well.
Good Ofsted-registered nurseries/pre-schools like Little Cedars also give under-fives a full early years education. That’s important to know. Through a learning and development programme that’s customised to each individual child, we ensure they achieve their own personal bests in all areas of the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. Despite their young age, areas of their learning are huge in scope. They include communication, language, literacy, mathematics, art and design as well as physical development and understanding the world as a whole. Children’s personal, social and emotional development is also …
We have a huge outdoor area for children at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham. Parents express their surprise when they first see it, regularly commenting that it’s much larger than the outdoor areas of other nurseries and pre-schools in the area. Our extensive outdoor play areas are also packed full of fun, educational play equipment and facilities that our under-five children absolutely adore. That includes areas and facilities set up especially for particular age groups.
Babies can enjoy sensory toys and equipment, soft play, sand play, water play and even a baby slide. They also have their own baby garden, which is lovely and shaded, to keep them out of direct sun.
Toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy equipment like climbing frames, multiple slides along with lots and lots of bikes, trikes, cars and scooters. They even have a basketball area, hoops and lots of footballs for budding soccer players.
The outdoor ‘mud kitchen’ is a particular hit with children at the nursery. They can enjoy creating in the sand play and water play areas too. These are fun and educational activities — messy play is important as part of a healthy early years education. Construction activities also happen naturally with the varied facilities and equipment on offer outdoors at the nursery.
Children also have access to a lovely, shaded, grassy area in the amazing garden, where they can get closer to nature and all of the benefits it brings to little ones.
Children at the nursery can also play “parents” with the prams that they can wheel around. Or, there are play tunnels, climbing frames and other exploration type activities for the more adventurous.
Interaction with animals and pets is important during the early years. Therefore, children also have access to quite a wide variety of well-kept creatures. For example …
