Today marks the start of the BookTrusts Children’s Book Week (31 October to 4 November). BookTrust is the largest reading charity in the UK who aim to inspire children everywhere to love reading.

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/children/childrens-book-week/

Here at Aston childcare we love our books and have a wide range to choose from (far too many to mention!)  Baby friendly board books are available at floor level at babies’ height in the playroom and we have a lovely, cosy book corner in the lounge.

I was so sad to see the recent closure of the mobile library here in Aston which stopped at the end of my road every fortnight.

As an early years professional, I am committed to reading with the children as I know their parents are.

As childminders it is not only our responsibility to provide the children with a wide range of attractive resources and activities to enjoy but to also spot opportunities to extend their play where we can.

Water play is a favourite activity here. I provide a range of resources to extend children’s play – numerous jugs of different sizes, measuring cylinders, sieves, funnels and water wheels all help children explore water further. Buckets of water and dolls for washing dolls is another great way of developing  personal social and emotional development skills.

Playdough is another firm favourite here which is out most days. To extend children’s play in this area I provide a number of tools, number and letter cutters to help with numeracy and literacy and dough extruders to further develop fine motor skills. The introduction of loose parts such as bottle tops and straws also helps extend play.

The other area of play I have recently identified that could be extended is our much favoured duplo. Again, this is out most days. With some of the children now learning their numbers I realised that the enjoyment they have in making towers and tall structures could be combined with some measuring activities so plan to introduce tape measures, rulers, number lines and string alongside the duplo.

Saturday gone was World Maths Day (No! I didn’t know either!)…

It’s prompted me (now I know!) to reflect on what mathematical activities we have been up to here at Aston Childcare recently.

Well, we have been doing lots of number recognition…One of my mindees (aged 2 years 5 months) and my own son (2 years 4 months) are just starting to enjoy looking at and naming numbers. I try and take every opportunity to count and point out numbers. Their current favourite is shouting out the numbers we see on our duplo number train! To continue their interest in numbers we recently did a simple number collage that they enjoyed. Other ways we get to see and look at numbers here at Aston Childcare are –

• Shape sorter clock
• Clock faces
• Books with numbers such as “five little ducks”
• Watching Numtums on CBeebies
• Playing with our toy till
• Playing with our jumbo calculator
• Making numbers out of playdough with the number cutters
• Number stickers in our arts and crafts sessions

Development matters states that children between the ages of 22-36 months will –

Aside from numbers, other mathematical resources we have been enjoying lately here at Aston Childcare have been our new “Go Wheelies”! which are a great way of developing the use of positional language.

The children were loving the large foam blocks in the garden over the summer months.

The numbered ducks and measuring cylinders in our water play area are popular as are the number and shape magnets and talking numbered remote control inside.

Aston childcare little runners 🙂

Here at Aston Childcare we are privileged to have such a lovely village setting. It has to be said though that there is not much diversity on our doorstep. It is therefore important that the children know about the wider world and their community. “Understanding the world: People and communities” makes up one of the 7 components of the EYFS areas of learning.

We are a small group here so we first learn about one another. I feel it is important that the children realise that they are unique and accept and embrace their own differences in a smaller setting before we get out into the wider community. To do this, we –

• We learn eachothers names.
• We talk about our families, our likes and our dislikes.
• We appreciate that everyone is a valuable contributor within the group
• The babies and younger ones see older children for instance on school runs
• We talk about our feelings and what makes us special
• We look at books which represent children’s diverse backgrounds
• We play with items that show positive images of all children with diverse physical characteristics
• We play with toys and resources that avoid negative stereotypes

In a wider context we –

• Look at people who help us in the community- through puzzles, posters, dressing up.
• We explore different occupations
• Get out and about in the community ourselves – shops, garden centres, village attractions, soft play, parks, school runs.
• Explore different religious festivals such as Diwali