The previous post had the wrong link for some people – here is the right link, with apologies
Category Archives: General
Sink or swim?
Children love playing with water, whether it’s splashing in puddles or in the bath. Not only is it great fun but they can learn so much through ‘skiddling’!
Todays ‘daily tip’ helps children learn about floating, sinking and so much more using everyday items.
Have fun!
Lockdown fun and laughter
As the weekend approaches, we might be thinking of some of the people we can’t see right now
Young children might miss seeing friends, grandparents, parents who are away or other family members
Video calls can be a great way to say hello and chat. There are lots of games we can play on a video call too that can make us feel great as we have fun together
Here are some of the ideas on this site that can work quite well using video and you can probably think of others too.
Please enjoy, stay safe and we will have more ideas for fun and learning at home next week
Make music (well, noise!) with an Awful Orchestra
Test your powers of observation with Spot the Difference
Look out old photos and Share some Stories
Creep and crawl with Incy Wincy Spider
Catch each other out with Copy Cats and Simon Says
Challenge each other to hunt your homes for Treasure
Go silly with some Sock Puppets
Have a sing song with Old MacDonald, Little Bo Peep, Hickory Dickory Dock or Baa Baa Black Sheep!
Winter Wonderland!
It may be a bit grey and cold outside, but there is a whole world of learning and fun out there for young children (even if the weather is so bad you can only look at it through the window!)
Learning about seasons and the changes that happen is not just about science (important as that is). It also gives children a sense of stability in how the world works and makes life more predictable.
We could all do with a little of that right now, maybe.
So today’s idea is very simple. You may be going out anyway for a walk, to go to the shops, or just to get rid of cabin fever and away from the chores
It is a way to help your child learn to notice things, to see and feel what winter is like – and chat about it for as long as they are interested
Less is more!
Social media is full of some really good resources and lists of things to do to help children learn at home. And schools and nurseries are working hard to get organised with ideas for families
This is all great!
And. As we go into another lockdown, parents and carers have a lot to think about. Many of us are a bit scared and uncertain – and if there are money or other worries too, this just adds to the stresses.
So, it is ok to do what we can do. And not worry about what we can’t manage.
Play and talk is all you need
What really matters for young children? It is “just” time to play and to chat. If you do things that everyone enjoys and can chatter about, then learning is automatically going to happen. It just will.
Of course there is a curriculum and as adults we like to have a “programme” for what we think children should be learning. But through everyday play and fun and interesting two-way conversations, young children will “cover” what they need without even trying.
A little bit every day is better than trying to do too much and getting nowhere. It may look simple to you, but to a child everything is still a wonder and something to explore and learn about. Follow their lead and you may well find yourself learning too.
So if this is for your family a time to draw together, look after each other, and just get by for a while, then that is fine too. You can take the lead from your children as to whether they are not getting enough stimulation. You’ll soon see if they are bored and need to do more.
Fun outdoors, fun indoors, sharing laughter, doing things together – children of any age will learn what they need.
School and nursery programmes and webpages of resources are there to help you, not be a burden or a standard to live up to – let them know if it is too much or not what you need.
About this website
The same goes for this site. While early learning and childcare settings are closed, we’ll be posting a daily idea for learning through play. These will (on purpose) be mostly things you might do anyway with resources you already have – but you may not know how rich they are in learning for your child. They are just ideas for if you are stuck or wondering what to do, so please pick and choose – and let us know how you get on using the comments!
Best wishes to everyone from James and the bumps2bairns.com team!
PS – if you want some of the theory and background on this, then the newest practice guidance from Scottish Government is on this link
Lockdown again …
During the first lockdown last year we posted daily ideas for how young children can learn at home through play and fun. You can find all of these on http://bumps2bairns.com by scrolling down or using the keywords at the side.
We’ll be posting some more ideas from next week – some will be “repeats” and there will be some new things too. We’ll also share some ideas on helping young children with stress and worries and what to do if you are worried about your child’s learning or development.
If your child has a lot of concerns just now, then they may like this story about Dave the Dog, or it might give you some ideas for what to talk to them about.
Meanwhile, best wishes to everyone from James and the bumps2bairns team!
Musical statues
Another game today that can be played outside at a safe distance of 2 metres with family or friends – or at home just with your child
It is an old favourite that is usually a lot of laughs, but there is a lot of learning too
Your child will be developing the key skill of “not doing” something – stopping ourselves doing or saying something is really hard and games like this help build your child’s control over their actions
Plus, dancing around and laughing at people (safely) falling over is really good for our wellbeing …
Feeling closer through play
Many of us have a long weekend, with a public holiday this Friday
It is nice to have the time to spend together, but of course at the moment we can’t spend it with everyone we’d like to
Young children might miss seeing their friends, their grandparents, parents who are away or other family members
If we can, video calls can be a great way to say hello and chat. There are lots of games we can play on a video call too that can make us feel great as we have fun together
So no new idea today, but here are some from the last few weeks that are particularly good for playing through video calls
Please enjoy, stay safe and we will have more ideas for fun and learning at home next week
Make music (well, noise!) with an Awful Orchestra
Test your powers of observation with Spot the Difference
Look out old photos and Share some Stories
Creep and crawl with Incy Wincy Spider
Catch each other out with Copy Cats and Simon Says
Challenge each other to hunt your homes for Treasure
Go silly with some Sock Puppets
Have a sing song with Old MacDonald, Little Bo Peep, Hickory Dickory Dock or Baa Baa Black Sheep!
Water balloons!
If you are lucky enough to get your hands on some water balloons here are some ideas for indoor and outdoor play. Some children might be worried initially about getting wet so there are some tips below to help them join in. Others will love to get everyone wet – so plan before you play and have fun!
As well as being fun, messing about with water balloons is great to building attention skills, learning new words, and also about sequences – this is really good for maths and writing later on.
Sensory issues?
Some children really don’t like the feel of being wet, so these ideas may help:
- If your child doesn’t like the feel of cold water put warm water in the balloon.
- If they don’t like getting their hands wet dry off the balloon after filling.
- Try them wearing rubber or other gloves.
- Model it a few times, your child may not want to do it themselves at first.
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting our website!
If you are looking for ideas how to help young children learn at home through play, scroll down! Or search using the tags.
You can also subscribe for a daily email using the “follow” button if you wish. This will arrive every weekday morning with a new idea for play, learning and fun
If you are looking for more general information about early child development and how to support this, then please use the menus above, or go to this link
These pages are created by people living and working in the Highlands of Scotland, but everyone is welcome to use them. You can find out more about us using the About menu
Playing and talking together, having fun, a listening ear and loving kindness – that’s all our young children need from us to learn and develop right now.
Floating fun
Children love playing with water, whether it’s splashing in puddles or in the bath. Not only is it great fun but they can learn so much through ‘skiddling’!
Todays ‘daily tip’ helps children learn about floating, sinking and so much more using everyday items.
Have fun!
Literacy at home Part 1
Almost anything you do with your child will help develop their literacy.
Through conversations with you, they can learn new words and how to use them. There is a link below to show four key things that really help
Playing and helping you with tasks in the home develops your child’s movement and coordination, which will help with their handwriting. They can make marks and draw pictures to show their ideas. You can let them “help” when you are reading or writing – such as a shopping list or a TV programme guide
The most important thing you can do with your child is to share and enjoy stories, songs and rhymes together.
Look out for more posts on literacy at home!
Laundry looking!
Did you know that helping you sort the clean clothes can be good for your child’s maths? Or that it helps them learn how to concentrate or learn new words?
This idea is all about how to turn a bothersome daily chore into something you might enjoy together
As with everything, don’t feel you have to, and don’t force your child. Stop when you’ve both had enough!
Less is more!
Please don’t go out and buy lots of expensive equipment, apps or toys or feel you have to provide your child with endless worksheets. These might be heavily marketed during this time, but your child can learn very well just from ordinary toys, story books, everyday objects and going out and about.
Sometimes the most educational object is the cardboard box, not the expensive toy it came in. Time playing with you is more valuable than anything else for learning and development.
And you don’t have to spend ages planning learning opportunities. The everyday life of your home has lots of ways to learn like matching socks, laying the table, preparing food, making lists, looking after pets, counting money and so on and so on.
We will be posting lots of ideas in the next few weeks to support this – and you will think of even better ones yourself, so please share them through commenting!
Play and Talk is all you need!
Early learning at home is all about ways to play, learn and have fun. Follow your child’s leads and interests and have a variety of things to do and places to go safely. Make sure you follow the Government advice on social distancing
Children need a mix of things and plenty of physical activities. Screens and apps etc are fine but make sure they’re not used for too long and children’s experiences with them are as interactive as possible.
We will soon be posting an idea everyday for how you can play and talk together with your child to promote their learning – literacy, maths, you name it!
What about being ready for school in August?
You might have all kinds of worries about the future. If your child is due for school soon you might also worry about whether they will be ready and if they are missing out on early learning and childcare.
That’s natural and P1 teachers will be aware of this and adapt as they would with any new class. This year will be a bit different, but the schools will be ready for it
And anyway, children are like sponges learning what they need from shared experiences of fun with you. Your child will still grow and develop at home with you
