Research shows that pre-school children have a vocabulary of around 1,000 words by the time they are three and they will continue to learn another 500 - 600 words by the time they are four years old. Recently I had been sitting on the floor with Daisy while she played with her mixed collection of… Continue reading Grandparents and YouTube; a great combination to help preschoolers learn new words
Category: Literacy
Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
Left, Right, Ready to Write?
For several days recently, a delighted Daisy would keep telling me that it wasn't my birthday yet! When the day finally arrived, almost bursting with excitement, Daisy handed me an envelope. This was of course a special birthday moment for me as Daisy had 'written' on the envelope and 'signed' a birthday card for me.… Continue reading Left, Right, Ready to Write?
Using Story Sacks to bring Story Books to Life
Back in May, I wrote a blog about 50 years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and described a visit to the local library with Daisy where we selected some books and a Story Sack to borrow from the library. While Daisy is now familiar with borrowing library books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar was her first… Continue reading Using Story Sacks to bring Story Books to Life
Introducing letters and letter sounds to your toddler grandchild.
Lately we've been using Daisy’s easel and a set of magnetic letters to play short activities/games to give her practice in learning about letters. To start, I filled the whiteboard side with a random selection of the magnetic letters. We sat together and talked about the colours of the letters and together we sorted the letters… Continue reading Introducing letters and letter sounds to your toddler grandchild.
50 years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
We visited our local library again last weekend. Daisy always enjoys exploring the children's area; with its book stands, displays, posters, small tables, chairs and beanbag cushions it’s a very stimulating environment. We introduced a variety of books to Daisy and she took the opportunity to select some books herself. After a while, we sat together… Continue reading 50 years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Sharing a favourite story on World Book Day 2019
Today, Daisy is joining in with World Book Day and she's out and about dressed as The Highway Rat. Watch out! Granny Smith says - Mummy's made Daisy's costume but Daisy was keen on wearing the mask for her photos. No problem, she can put it on later.
‘Share A Story’ World Book Day 2019 Theme
It's World Book Day 2019 on March 7th. Don't forget to look on the official World Book Day website where there's plenty of resources and inspiration for children of all ages. Take a look and search in the resources to find something that suits your grandchild. There are activities, things to make, reading ideas, extracts,… Continue reading ‘Share A Story’ World Book Day 2019 Theme
Sharing Letter Shapes
I have to credit Daisy with the inspiration for this blog! Last night a couple of her library books were laying on Daisy's play table, ready for bedtime reading. Daisy disappeared into the kitchen and came back with some of her magnetic letters from the fridge door. She then started to lay the letters on… Continue reading Sharing Letter Shapes
Using Usborne Snap Cards for matching, sorting and language skills
A New Year and now that we've packed up from the festive session I have time to return to sharing more of my experiences as a grandparent. Spending most of the festive holiday with our granddaughter we had plenty of play time together and those times have inspired ideas for this blog. I purchased a… Continue reading Using Usborne Snap Cards for matching, sorting and language skills
Making meaningful marks: getting ready to write
Messy play for Daisy regularly involves paint and different papers. She has paint brushes and sponges and sometimes she just enjoys the paint itself, tracing her fingers through the paint. Sometimes I see her 'play' with her food in the same way, running her fingers through the sauce. Daisy's hard at work 'mark making', using… Continue reading Making meaningful marks: getting ready to write
