 As we reach the end of another lockdown week at home who's up for fun garden scavenger hunt to carry on our week of playful learning about "who lives in the garden". Scavenger hunts are lovely little activities to do, especially with this glorious weather we're enjoying. To carry on with this week's theme, we have created a downloadable spotters checklist for you to print off (https://bit.ly/2YGFafb), grab a little magnifying glass or toy binoculars if you have them and send your little ones off to explore in the garden. It's a great way to encourage children to observe living things, teach them to be patient (it's not always easy!) develop their language and social skills. Great for asking lots of questions...is it furry, slimy, how many legs can you see....does it jump, run or fly? So we have some interesting facts about what you might find in your garden... DID YOU KNOW: Bees have 5 eyes and 6 legs🐝 A worm has no eyes, legs or arms Spiders have 8 legs whilst insects have 6🕷 Ladybirds are a type of beetle🐞 Butterflies attach their eggs on leaves with special glue 🦋 Blackbirds eat insects, grain and fruit 🐦 Squirrels eat mostly nuts, fruits and seeds🐿 Robin's eggs are a light blue colour 🥚 These scavenger hunts are always a huge hit in our house as the children are always amazed at what lives in their garden. Happy hunting 🐛 
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 Have you ever met a child that doesn't love bubbles? I only have to mention getting out the bubbles and the little ones are skipping around me with joy! So I thought as its Easter weekend I'd share my secrets jumbo bubble mix and wand with you all!  Did you know, that aside from being hours of (very portable) fun, bubbles actually provide loads of brilliant playful, learning opportunities as well. For example, bubbles are a brilliant way to help your child develop their visual tracking skills, from as young as babies.  They also provide great motivation for Toddlers to get up and move, while using body awareness sense, developing muscle tone, balance and coordination as they try to catch and pop the bubbles. Throw on their favourite Disney playlist and you have a great mood booster as well.  For older children, who are able to hold their own bubble wand, they gain invaluable fine motor skills and control, by grasping the wand & dipping it into the pot, which is all really beneficial in preparations for learning to write. The, not so, simple act of blowing bubbles is also a brilliant exercise for strengthening the muscles in the jaw and mouth, which is a great way to support speech development. But I think the best benefit of bubble play is the overall calming effect they have on children - something we all need a little bit more of at the moment. To make a batch of our mega bubble mix you will need: 12 cups of soft water* 1 cup fairy liquid 1 cup corn starch 2 TBSP baking powder Stir these ingredients, in this exact order (this practically counts as science (wink)), in a clean bucket, VERY gently *To make your water soft, boil it & leave the lime scale behind. Tip: keep a large serving spoon in your bucket to skim off foam (the enemy of bubbles) and keep stirring up from the bottom.  You can use this bubble mix with any kind of bubble wand but if you want to make your own MEGA bubble super loop wand you will need:
2 eyelet screws 2 x 1m long dowelling rods (1.5cm diameter) 3 m cotton rope (need to be 100% cotton) 2 washer to weigh down the mid point Start by screwing an eyelet into one end of each of the two doweling rods. Then tie two washers into the centre of your rope & secure with a large knot in the centre to form the point of your triangle. Then thread the lose ends of the rope through the eyelets, tying to secure about a third of the way down the rod. Finally, tie the two loose ends together to complete your loop…and you're ready to go…! Check out this helpful video from @cottagelife to help you construct your super loop: https://youtu.be/nSoPmerE_5I Wishing you all a wonderful Easter! Stay safe and look forward to hearing from you all soon x  Hurray, we’ve made it through week 2 of lock down, but cabin fever is really starting to set in, isn’t it. If your little energizer bunnies need some contained energy burning activities, we’ve got a few ideas that might help. Obstacle courses, of any form, provide an amazing wealth of skill & strength development opportunities, as well as releasing pent up energy in a controlled way. Here are 5 great benefits that come from doing obstacle courses:
 BACK GARDEN OBSTACLE COURSEIf you have a bit of space & a few props, a back garden obstacle course is a great way to encourage kids, of all ages, to get off the sofa & get some fresh air! And if you can get them involved in creating the course their creativity can go wild & they’ll be much more likely to spend more time on this activity. You can make the course as complex or as simple as you like. A few simple strips of masking & a sequence of star jumps, sprints and balancing is all you need. But if you do have some other props to add into the course to create high & low levels as well as using difference muscle groups – such crawling vs sprinting – the greater the benefits. Here are some ideas of things you could use to create an outdoor obstacle course: Masking tape (your new best friend!) ELC Egg & spoon race set Pop up tunnels & tents Hoops Cones Jumping sacks Printable foot & handprints Bouncers Beanie bags For more inspiration why not checkout these links: https://playtivities.com/obstacle-courses-for-kids/ https://theinspiredtreehouse.com/creative-obstacle-course-ideas-kids/ Also check out our local @chalkboard.biz for props you could add to your course.  THE FLOOR IS LAVA! INDOOR OBSTACLEImagine the floor is a bubble sea of lava & there is only one safe path through. You can create a 'safe' course out of anything you have to hand, but it works best if you have a range of high and low points, also if you can incorporate different textures it makes it more fun & varied. Printable hand & footprints are also great for creating 'safe' stepping-stones or to incorporate 'Animal walks' (see below) into your course. The floor is lava is a great (but slow paced) energy burner that can keep kids occupied for ages! Not to mention building gross motor skills, core strength, cognitive planning & sequencing, as well as team work if they are doing the course with a sibling! Just remember, whatever you do, DON'T TOUCH THE FLOOR! Here are some ideas of things you could use to create your own course: Yoga mats Cushions Beanbags Foam squares Step stools & chairs Printable foot & handprints Gonge River Stones (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gonge-1137385-River-Stones/dp/B000ANIVRG)  CHALK COURSEA pavement chalk course is super quick and easy to set up & there's no mess to clear up either, as good dose of rain or the street sweeper will do that for you. Also by creating your course on the pavement outside, means your neighbours & passers by can enjoy it too (one at a time & at a safe distance). It’s really nice for the kids to see friends, from their windows, enjoying the course too. A chalk course can be adapted to any age group, but a good mix of running, jumping, hopping & balancing always work well. Also a variety of fast & slow pace is great for energy burning & motor control. For other chalk games, check out this: https://www.connectionsacademy.com/support/resources/article/fill-a-summer-of-fun-with-sidewalk-chalk-activities  This is a really fun & creative way to burn some energy in a small space with no additional props, regardless of the weather. Kids love pretending to act like their favourite animals and it’s a brilliant way to develop gross motor skills and core strength, as well as turn taking skills. They can also be a great addition to an obstacle course as they can provide a greater range of movement & muscle use. These exercises also have a calming effect as the animal walks help kids receive deep pressure to their joints and limbs, which help strengthen their sense of balance, and develop body awareness. To set up your game, you can either make a picture spinner like the one’ Tools to Grow OT’ have used (above) & take turns spinning to see what animal you land on. Alternatively you can print out pictures of your chosen animals & turn one over at a time & do the corresponding animal walk. For more Animal Walk inspiration take a look at this article from Pathways: https://pathways.org/help-your-childs-gross-motor-skills-with-these-animal-walks/  YOGA FOR KIDSIf you need something instant, Cosmic kids yoga (on YouTube) is great with loads of theme routines - everything from the Hungry Caterpillar to Disney movies, there's even a series of Star Wars routines! Alternatively, if you're looking to reduce screen time there are some great printable kids flow cards. We love the Garden & Spring sequences (above) from Childhood 101 & Kids Yoga Stories. https://www.kidsyogastories.com/yoga-for-spring https://childhood101.com/yoga-for-kids-a-walk-through-the-garden COSMIC KIDS: https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga  AFTERNOON DISCOParticularly great on grey, rainy days, when it’s a bit darker in the afternoon. Put together a little playlist of your little ones favourite tunes or use one of the readymade play lists on Amazon Music (everything from nursery favourites to Disney theme tunes).
If you have a little plug in disco light even better! (We have one included on our Amazon ideas list: http://amzn.eu/edWLwqz ) Also bubbles are always a welcome edition! Head to the darkest room in your home, switch of all the lights & dance like no one is watching! Both brilliant for burning energy as well as lifting the mood – its very hard to feel down or frustrated when your dancing your heart out to a Disney classic! Enjoy x |
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