11/02/2021
How is everyone doing in lockdown number 3.
I haven’t updated this page in ages and thought maybe I should.
(So while I am waiting for my little boy to fall asleep talking to his dumper trucks about going to pre-school and saying hello to his Auntie Laura and Grandma Chrissie I thought it might be a good time to say hi)
I thought maybe if I shared with you what we have been up to. It might give you some inspiration of things to do if you are struggling.
I have a LO that loves nothing more than being being outside.
His favourite is taking his scooter for a scoot. Closely followed
by playing out the front.
The weather hasn’t been the greatest the last week and the thought of going outside has been very off putting for me, but not my LO.
I have discovered a few tricks to help get through the coldness.
1. layers and plenty of them.
2. Waterproofs invest in some for yourself too, (especially when they insist on washing you and the car 🤪)not just your little ones, they are great for that added layer of protection from the elements.
3. My personal favourite, treat yourself to a nice hot drink to indulge in especially on those days when your not really needed to play, but they want you there. A few sachets of nice hot chocolate in the cupboard is quite nice for these times.
Activities my LO has enjoyed most are those that involve a bowl of warm water and a cloth. He has had fun washing my car and his push alongs. This has been a lovely mornings activity.
Home made bubbles have been
Great fun and worked really well in the bubble machine.
(BBC good food) so easy.
I bought a cheap can of shaving foam filled up a tray with this, another tray of water and some cars. He had such fun making his own car wash.
(good news if you are really brave you could do this in the kitchen!)
Chalks have been good fun. LO wanted the chalks out in the rain I kept saying no. (Why I don’t know) The chalk colours are so vibrant on the wet ground.
We played with herbal tea bags. I brewed a few different flavours and let them all cool down. We did lots of pouring and mixing and the tea bags plopping out the beakers onto the floor was a bit different. My LO liked smelling the different flavours of tea and exploring the tea bags.
Did you know, all these activities are great for promoting pre reading and writing skills.
Washing the car- making big movements with the cloth, watching the cloth glide from side to side across the car. Helps to develop those core muscles within the shoulders, arms and hands, this will help to strengthen fingers for holding a pencil.
Moving a cloth across there body will help to encourage reading and writing left to right across the page.
Shaving foam- making patterns in the foam helps to strengthening mussels in fingers ready to hold a pencil to form letters.
Chalks- being able to tell you about the marks they have drawn the very beginnings of creative writing.
Herbal tea bags- the squeezing of the tea bags helps to strengthen fingers and hands ready to hold to pencils ready for writing.
This was a sensory activity and encouraged new vocabulary as we talked about the different flavours of the different teas we smelt and we talked about how the tea bags felt.
