What is a ‘key person’ and why do people talk about them so much when it comes to childcare?
If your child is not yet going to nursery or a childminder you might be starting to think about them starting – or simply hearing friends talk about their experience and wondering what they’re talking about. We know that some of the terms used in childcare can be confusing, and many parents have asked us to explain the role of (and reason behind) having a ‘key person’ when they start attending a nursery or childminding setting.
Mixed up in the transition from home to childcare is likely to be some level of anxiety, for parents and children. Often, when children start a childcare setting, they are building new relationships away from their family and closest caregivers, for the first time.
Adding texture and telling stories – new ways to play with dough
If you love play dough, or even if your children do while you merely tolerate it, you might find yourselves playing with it in the same way each time it comes out. The skills your child is building on as they play with dough, including fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, will be learnt no matter how you play – no need to make it fancy at all – but if you feel you want to change up your routine, here are some ideas for different ways to play with dough.
Never worry about making your play dough set up overly designed or complicated. You want to make it fun for you and your child, so lean in to the ways you enjoy playing.
Fold Me a Poem – a book to inspire some paper folding fun
The fine motor skills, and focus, needed to create origami animals is a way off for your toddler but they will be discovering the fun of folding paper (often not very well). Inspire them, and yourself, with this book of simple, sometimes silly, poems from Kristine O'Connell George, along with Lauren Stringer's illustrations which bring the little boy and his origami animals to life.
This book of poems is perfect to share with your toddler, as each poem about one of the boy’s origami animals is short and sweet. The gentle illustrations add context, and sometimes comedy, to the poem on each page – you'll see a camel missing a leg using the salt shaker to stand, a buffalo kicking the tablecloth, and even big cats having a race.
When you think fine motor skills, don’t forget the feet!
Since your toddler was very little, you will probably have been aware of (perhaps even a bit obsessed by) how their fine motor skills are developing. Reaching, grasping and moving their fingers are so important for all kinds of life skills – and achievements that are often celebrated for your baby as they grow. But it’s easy to forget that fine motor skills involve all the small muscle groups in your child’s body – and that includes their eyes, mouth and even their toes!
Feet, and particularly toes, are important for maintaining balance[1] and being able to move easily, and these muscles are often adjusting to new shoes, surfaces or speeds to make sure balance and posture can be maintained as we walk.
The wonder of mixing in the great outdoors
When your toddler is mixing with a spoon, they may make quite a bit of mess! It’s such a great feeling to stir different ingredients in a bowl and while their handling skills are developing you might find the spoon, bowl and all the ingredients go flying! Thankfully, the outdoors can provide children with a better space, and less constrained way, to practise these developing skills.
The outdoor world offers rich and diverse experiences that change throughout the year.
There’s so much more than drawing happening here
Learning to write is a complex process that requires a combination of skills. Your toddler is in a fabulous stage of their development right now and we would encourage you to embrace and enjoy it because it will benefit them tremendously when they begin to learn handwriting. To understand more about how what they are doing now will serve them well later, we need to look at the wider picture.
Writing relies on skills in a variety of development areas.
Interactive books to give your toddler’s fine motor skills a workout
Movement is essential for your toddler’s fine motor muscles. They will only be able to strengthen and learn to control the small muscles in their fingers, hands and wrists by doing actions and making movements which use them, and for toddlers the whole world is an opportunity to do so. It’s even possible to sneak some fine motor development into more restful moments like story time, and these three interactive story books make it fun for all of you to get involved!
Your toddler will be developing their fine motor skills as they eat, as they use play dough or colour in, as they position toys to play and as they get dressed, but sometimes it can all feel a bit much and a cosy cuddle with a story is just what you both need.
Why is your toddler holding a pencil so awkwardly?
You probably don’t think much about how you hold a pencil – you just pick one up and start writing. Seeing your toddler master the art of not only gripping a pencil (or crayon, pen or, horror, permanent marker!) but working out how to get it moving highlights just how tricky this process actually is. It can often look awkward or clumsy, which makes it tempting to ‘correct’ them, but when this feeling strikes try to hold yourself back!
There is a reason they are working through this stage of uncomfortable-looking grips, so it’s important for you to know why it’s happening – and how to help them in the best possible way.
Play dough or play don’t? Here’s our advice if it just isn’t for you
Is play dough a 'no no' in your house? Whether it’s the mess, the texture, the way the colours end up all smushed together... there are lots of reasons play dough just doesn’t appeal to some of us, and that is absolutely fine. Toddlers can learn a lot from playing with dough, but there are ways to make it work for you and ensure your toddler is getting the same experiences.
See it as a sensory exploration
Three ways that helping with chores supports your toddler’s development
Getting your toddler involved with everyday tasks can mean getting things done takes a bit longer – but there’s evidence that doing chores is a great way to develop lots of skills... read on to find out more and see our ideas for easy ways to start getting toddlers involved.
Doing chores supports your toddler to develop social skills
