The confirmation of the closure of schools and nurseries is obviously very unsettling news for parents everywhere. It's a fraught and challenging time for families as they work out how to cope with work and family life at home. As adults we're able to understand why we must make these adjustments and changes to our… Continue reading Helping Our Young Children With Social Distancing
Author: grannysmithsdiary
Bringing The Learning Play Into Your Home
Yesterday, through the wonders of modern technology I was able to watch Daisy playing at home with Mummy and Daddy. When Daisy plays at home, her play is different from the play she has when she's at a playgroup or with the childminder. In Early Years environments, activities usually have 'zones' for different types of… Continue reading Bringing The Learning Play Into Your Home
Helping your grandchildren from a distance
I've realised that I need to change the focus of my blog. It’s hard to accept but soon many grandparents will not be able to have close contact time with their grandchildren. We’re used to being the reliable backstop, not the vulnerable ones aren’t we? I don't expect it to be long before schools, children's… Continue reading Helping your grandchildren from a distance
World Book Day; Sharing a story “The Tiger Who Came To Tea”
Today Daisy is sharing one of her favourite stories, dressed up as Sophie from Judith Kerr's classic The Tiger Who Came To Tea. The Tiger Who Came To Tea was first published in 1968. Judith Kerr said that she made this story up as a bedtime story and she told it again and again to… Continue reading World Book Day; Sharing a story “The Tiger Who Came To Tea”
Returning to the library
A visit to my local library is just as familiar to Daisy as a visit to the library near her home. Our visits to my library now begin with Daisy returning the books she's had on loan from her previous visit to the library. The process of putting the books under the scanner and then… Continue reading Returning to the library
World Book Day 2020; theme to ‘share a million stories’; Thursday 5th March
Did you know that this year it's World Book Day 2020 on March 5th? The theme for World Book Day 2020 is to share a million stories and encourages us to share stories from breakfast to bedtime. The official World Book Day 2020 website has resources for this year's 'sharing stories' theme and ideas for… Continue reading World Book Day 2020; theme to ‘share a million stories’; Thursday 5th March
Counting on repetition: helping your grandchild to master numbers
Daisy first started to learn about numbers from rhymes and action songs then last year she started to watch Numberblocks programmes on Cbeebies. This series of programmes has really improved Daisy's understanding of numbers. Over recent months, with the help of Mummy, Daddy and her childminder, Daisy has learnt the names of numbers up to… Continue reading Counting on repetition: helping your grandchild to master numbers
Matching, Sorting and Language Skills, playing with a set of Usborne snap cards
It was back in January last year that I wrote my blog Using Usborne Snap cards for matching, sorting and language skills and described Daisy's enjoyment using these Usborne cards. We packed the cards away, ready for this Christmas, hoping to play more games and Christmas Snap with Daisy. This Christmas time we put these… Continue reading Matching, Sorting and Language Skills, playing with a set of Usborne snap cards
Keeping Pre-schools Kids active in Winter: Expressive and physical play through ring games and action songs
At this time of year the days are shorter and recently we’ve had more than our fair share of very wet days too. There is only so much outdoor play that your grandchildren can do at this time of year; they still have the same amount of energy but they're spending more time indoors. This… Continue reading Keeping Pre-schools Kids active in Winter: Expressive and physical play through ring games and action songs
Feeding Rudolph and his friends with RSPCA recipes
Daisy and the family will be staying with us this Christmas so I am planning activities I can prepare ready for their visit. One thing we will be making this year we will be a reindeer food mix for Daisy to sprinkle on our lawn on Christmas Eve; the perfect snack for Rudolph and the… Continue reading Feeding Rudolph and his friends with RSPCA recipes
Granny Smith's Diary 