Whether they are an only child or part of a larger family, every preschooler benefits from some nursery provision, which provides a combination of care, early learning and development. Nursery is not a substitute for home. It is a link for a child between home and life outside home. It’s somewhere where a child starts… Continue reading Raising a school-ready child without a nursery
Tag: Gross Motor Skills
The joy of cooking together with your grandchild
Whenever my granddaughter Daisy comes to stay with me, her visit creates a series of highlights in my day from early morning cuddles to evening bath times. These special moments now regularly happen in the kitchen. As she’s grown older and more independent, Daisy has discovered that, if she drags her little red chair over… Continue reading The joy of cooking together with your grandchild
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
Preschool Clambering to Climbing
It is a while since I wrote a blog with a focus on physical skills. This isn't the blog that I was going to write but, as any grandparent knows, grandchildren have a knack of changing our plans and Daisy is no exception! Daisy has always liked climbing, but lately it’s something she’ll do at… Continue reading Preschool Clambering to Climbing
Pouring activities for hand-eye coordination using gross and fine motor control
From experience I’ve found that one type of play can often inspire another activity a few days later using the same play equipment but with a different focus and different results. Messy play remains a regular activity for Daisy and since their recent introduction funnels have become a permanent part of her activities. Having watched… Continue reading Pouring activities for hand-eye coordination using gross and fine motor control
The National Children’s Gardening Week: gardening with pre-school children
"What doing Grandpa?" "I'm going to put some plants in the garden." "My help?" (Daisy's preferred personal pronoun is 'my', as in "my do it") Daisy squatted down next to her Grandpa and while he sorted out the small geranium plants; Daisy grabbed Grandpa's trowel and started to randomly dig in the soil. It didn't… Continue reading The National Children’s Gardening Week: gardening with pre-school children
Learning in the Garden: Load, Lift and Push a wheelbarrow
When Daisy comes to stay she loves to spend time in our garden and she's now developed an interest in our garden tools and equipment. So when we recently spotted a child's metal wheelbarrow in a charity shop, we knew that it would be perfect for Daisy. Daisy has a toy buggy at home and… Continue reading Learning in the Garden: Load, Lift and Push a wheelbarrow
Letting Go
Guest Blog by Daisy’s Grandpa Just watch Daisy’s face throughout this whole experience: the mixture of anticipation, delight, exhilaration and yes, maybe, a tiny hint of fear. You can see how quickly that small amount of apprehension is washed away by the flight through the air and the soft landing. Its so good nowadays that… Continue reading Letting Go
Scooters Part Two
I took Daisy to the local playgroup last week and it was interesting to see how her play had changed since the last time. First of all she went to play with the large wheeled toys; she likes to sit in the cars or on the tractor and (after a fashion) pedal herself around the… Continue reading Scooters Part Two
Watching the wheels go round
During a recent FaceTime call, an excited Daisy just had to show me her new scooter. Daisy had seen her first scooter close-up when she was visiting one of her cousins. He's a couple of years older and Daisy watched him closely while he was using his scooter and, when she had a chance,… Continue reading Watching the wheels go round
