Jump for joy with three books that inspire bouncing around
Busy Day: Athlete by Dan Green
Get ready, aim, and throw with might – soon that ball will be thrown just right!
Ball games can provide hours of entertainment for young children, and as their skills in throwing improve, they’ll become open to a wider range of ball-led activities. When you child throws it requires object-control skills, which means throwing, catching and striking.[1] So for them, it means being able to hold onto a ball and throw it. This skill forms the basis for other object control skills, like holding a bat or racquet.
Over and underarm throwing require some of the same skills, although they are very different throws.
Watch your child's development soar as they discover endless adventures on the hills
It may not seem like that long ago when your child was taking their first steps, and seeing their face light up with an enormous sense of achievement made your heart melt. Now they are moving in all kinds of ways and finding pleasure in experimenting and challenging themselves wherever they seem to go! And when they come across a slope or hill, well, their movement options really open up!
Many children find the possibility of slopes exciting! They can be challenging, but also a fun and rewarding activity, here’s why...
Can toy rotation work for you? A deeper look into this popular concept
The subject of toy rotation comes up quite a lot in social media and during day-to-day conversations. It’s a concept that works well for some and not for others. We thought we’d take a look at exactly what it means, why people do it and some easy ways it can be achieved if you want to give it a go.
Where did the idea originate from?
Your name is on the tip of my tongue – why can’t I remember it?
You’re walking down the street when you spot someone familiar; as you get closer, you desperately try to think of their name. Your brain is filled with information about them, just not the detail you need and, worst of all, they remember your name. We’ve all been there, and you might feel it's happening more often since you became a parent – with a brain full of other things to remember and organise.
Forgetting people’s names is a common mistake,[1] not that this makes us feel any better about it. But why does the name of a person escape us just as we need to access it? And is there anything you can do to make it less likely you’ll forget the name of the nice lady at the baby group (again)?
Oral exploration – how your baby’s mouth is their key to learning
Babies learn about the world through their mouths. Those little movements from their mouth, lips, and tongue will help them explore and make connections that will support their development as they grow.
Let's take a look at some of the things your baby learns about as they move their very busy mouths:
Why does my child never sit still?
Your child is developing control of their position, posture and balance all the time. They are also gaining more awareness of their body and can make judgements about the position of their body – you’ll see them make small adjustments as they sit.
Despite all this amazing development, you might notice that your child moves a lot when they are sitting and perhaps they are not still for very long at all!
Mental representations and understanding what other people can see
Your child uses their senses to understand the world around them. Processing information from their senses has helped them to form ‘mental representations’ of familiar objects. This means that they can think about an object and also think about parts of the object that they cannot see.
Your child’s mental representations help them to think about what other people can see too. You might notice your child understands this when they turn a picture round to show it to you.
Pointing out patterns is part of progress!
When you think of patterns you probably think about a visual image, perhaps artwork, or something you would see on a rug or set of curtains, but in fact we are surrounded by patterns of all kinds. Understanding patterns and sequences allows you to predict what might happen next or know what to do in order to get to a final goal. It helps us to count, to organise our day, to take turns and much more.
One study published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology[1] has reinforced the idea that understanding repeating patterns can help children’s maths knowledge by showing that for children aged 4-6 years, those whose knowledge of repeating patterns was stronger at the start of kindergarten went on to have better broad maths, and general numeracy, knowledge at the end of kindergarten.
Sometimes comparison is important... and that’s when you’re talking maths!
One of the ways you might notice your child comparing items, and so learning about the world around them, is by seeing them adjust their plans based on the weight or size of items. You might notice it when they choose to pick up the lighter box of blocks, or place a light item on top of the bridge they build instead of a heavy one. You can help them to distinguish the differences between items by talking about them in more than one way.
It’s quite natural to point out measurements your child is noticing, like when one tower is taller than the other, but did you know that a simple way for you to help them process this information is to also say the opposite statement? So in this case you might say that the yellow tower is taller, and the blue tower is shorter.
