Libraries Day: Frosty Walk

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

Today was National Libraries Day and I’ve posted before about some of the great children’s activities available in libraries especially in the summer holidays. Libraries are not only the place to borrow books but they can also be the learning and information hub of the community.

When we moved to our town we went for a walk to the library to join and have borrowed books ever sinceed our childrenand came out with a pile of local information leaflets – a town map, the town’s tourist trails and information about local pre-schools, day nurseries and other activities.

We have visitors for the weekend so today we decided to use one of those leaflets and walk one of the local circular walks in the country side – we saw lots of lovely winter countryside and the frozen river but no sheep or cows as seen on previous walks along this route (perhaps it was too cold) but we did see a herd of highland cattle…

If you haven’t been in your local library recently – pop in and find out what else you can do there apart from borrowing books (which of course is a very benefical thing to do!).

It’s started snowing now so maybe tomorrow we’ll be able to have fun in the snow!

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Weather Watch

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

Looks like we are on snow watch for this weekend – we’ve certainly had a good variety of weather over the last few weeks haven’t we from sunny spring days, heavy rain, cold frosts and now possibly snow on the way.

My First Magnetic CalendarThe Littlesheeps are fascinated by the weather – Biggest Littlesheep wanted to know all about how the weather was predicted and Littlest is into labelling the different weather conditions.

We have this magnetic calendar and there are fights every morning to update it with the new date details and to change the weather to match what is outside the window. Their only complaint is that the there isn’t a grey cloudy picture just a fluffy white cloud - personally I think that’s a bit picky and my complaint is when they decide to pull all the magnets off and leave them all over the floor! We’ve had this calendar for about three years now and it is still in great condition and we’ve just about managed to keep track of all the magnets so if you are looking for way to encourage your children to learn the days of the week, months of the year or to think about weather then this is the chart for you.

My other favourite weather chart is this – the Monkey Weather Chart:

Monkey Weather Chart

This is a lovely, good quality, fabric wall hanging with labels for the day of the week, icons for the weather and clothes that can be changed every day. The spares live in little pockets at the bottom of the chart and are easy to attach and remove.

Weather ChartI love the fact that this chart comes with a collection of clothes so that as well as learning about the weather children get to learn about what clothes they need in the different weather situations. This means that the chart can also be used as a matching activity dressing the monkey to match whatever weather you put at the top – or as an amusing game to dress him in the funniest outfit, when you can make him go out in his shorts and t-shirt, wellies, mittens and sunglasses!

If you get snow this weekend – enjoy it!

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Featuring: Theatrebugs

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

As the next of our ‘Featured on Littlesheep Learning’s blog‘ series where a children’s activity provider shares the details of how they help children learn Paula O’Donohue from Theatrebugs tells how they share their love of theatre .

Theatrebugs specializes in drama, music and dance for the Under 7s, facilitating fun filled classes in nurseries, schools and children’s centres as well as magical birthday parties and adventure clubs for the Under 5s. Theatrebugs often works with children one to one on request.

Amazing, imaginative and enthusiastic teachers; Theatrebugs is a fantastic way of extending imagination and creativity for all nursery age groups. We love Theatrebugs!
From all the children at Monkey Puzzle Nursery, Twickenham

“We have designed magical sessions for 3 months to 2 years, 2-3 years and 3-7 years” says Paula O’ Donohue, Theatrebugs co-founder and co-director. “We are not a stage school, we have structured our classes and workshops so children can just be children and have a bucket load of fun, fun, fun!” A Theatrebugs session is a great mix of interactive story, song, imaginary journeys, animal play and a good helping of silliness.

“Joshua did a week long course over the summer and enjoyed it so much that he was keen to participate in Theatrebugs in an after-school club. We felt that since he’s attended Theatrebugs Joshua’s speech has improved at a far greater pace than from conventional speech therapy sessions. Furthermore, his confidence has improved in leaps and bounds! We would happily recommend Theatrebugs to any parent!”
Debra, Joshua’s mum, Greenwich

The sessions are facilitated in settings across London, Surrey, Devon and parts of Kent and Essex. Theatrebugs structures are linked to the EYFS and Key Stage 1 and vary in length from 15 minutes for the tiny tots right up to 45/60 minutes for the pre-schoolers and older. Theatrebugs offer a variety of different sessions – some of which mum is invited to stay and join in the fun like their Under 5s, Mum and Toddler and BabyBug* classes (*coming soon) and some, like our after school clubs and holiday workshops, where mum can go to the local coffee shop and have a very well deserved caffeine injection!

“We tried other companies before but found they weren’t adaptable enough for the young age group … with Theatrebugs though we are extremely happy!”
Denise Crawford, Chair of Preschool Learning Alliance, Lambeth

The benefits of Theatrebugs for children are endless- increased confidence, improved communication, enriched vocabulary and much, much, more! “We love that the children who come to Theatrebugs spend a large proportion of the time laughing their heads off! They are gaining so much from the sessions and the best part is- they are having so much fun, they don’t even notice!”

Get in touch with Theatrebugs to book a free trial session at one of their clubs today!

Not in your area yet? Would you consider becoming a Theatrebugs Franchisee – help bring the magic of Theatrebugs to your area!

Theatrebugs
Telephone: 08009755290
Website: www.theatrebugs.co.uk
Email: enquiries@theatrebugs.co.uk
Twitter: @theatrebugs
Facebook: Theatrebugs UK

If you run a children’s activity and would like to be featured on our blog please get in touch.

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Learning Styles: Visual

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

This part of our series on learning styles looks at visual learning. Visual learning is about learning by watching and observing.

Children who are visual learners often:

  • follow written directions well
  • get very distracted by people talking
  • are daydreamers / have vivid imaginations
  • lose focus during lengthy class discussions
  • enjoy reading books and prefer this to being read to
  • like to draw pictures, graphs or diagrams
  • choose to play with jigsaw puzzles
  • process verbal information slower than others
  • understand best when they can see to learn and teachers use visual aids
  • tend to be sight readers

Learning activities that encourage learning through visual processing are:

  • using lotto board games
  • colouring in pictures / word outlines
  • doing jigsaws
  • doing matching activities (lotto boards or worksheets or flashcards)
  • drawing pictures or using picture flashcards when studying vocabulary
  • using visual aids (e.g. puppets) when telling stories
  • encouraging children to create images (either in their head or on paper) when listening to stories
  • using colours to highlight different parts of writing e.g. rhyming word patterns or the different parts of a sentence
  • encouraging the  ‘seeing’ words whilst spelling (spelling puzzles and games e.g. Pass the Word can help with this)
  • teaching ‘mind mapping’ techniques to help children process and recall complex information
  • showing video clips of plays, films etc to reinforce concept
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I Made It!

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

This post is a celebration of reaching the end of January and the end of the Ultimate Blog Challenge – 31 posts in 31 days and I’m pleased to say I made it!

So how has the month been?

It’s been a very interesting month and I have learnt a lot from taking part in the challenge. I would like to thank Joanne Dewberry for encouraging me to take part throughout the month and working on the challenge with me – it certainly made a difference knowing someone else who was doing the challenge.

I have read and commented on many more blogs than I would have done had it not been for the challenge and I’ve added new ones to my blog reader. I’ve pushed myself to comment more and been rewarded by getting more comments here in return.

The highlight of the month was my press coverage in ToyWorld and I’ve been featured (twice!) on JoanneDewberry.co.uk.

I’ve participated in various blogger communities, linkys and carnivals including posts in Listography, The Gallery, Country Kids, Love All Blogs and the Business Mums Blog Carnival.

I’ve started my very own featured on Littlesheep Learning’s blog series highlighting childrens activities – often featuring the businesses of other mumpreneurs, which means I am making progress towards my networking target.

I’m not sure I will keep up the daily posting but maybe I’ll try… I’ve got more Featuring: and Learning Chores posts lined up, the rest of the series on learning styles and lots of activity ideas plus continued insight into my role as a mumpreneur and the life of Littlesheep Learning.

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On a cold and frosty morning…

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

cold and frosty morningToday has been a cold and frosty morning which reminded me of the nursery rhyme – Here we go round the mulberry bush (we even sang it on the way to school this morning)…

If you don’t know the rhyme you dance round in a circle holding hands singing:

Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush,
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning

Then you stand, sing and mime various actions usually related to the self-help skills that occur in the morning:

  • This is the way we wash our hands
  • This is the way we wash our face
  • This is the way we brush our teeth
  • This is the way we put on our clothes
  • This is the way we comb our hair
  • This is the way we walk to school

You can add as many verses as you like ‘on a cold and frosty morning‘. This rhyme is great for identifying self-help skills, learning the sign language signs for these activities and the sequencing of activities into a daily schedule.

Sign About: Getting ReadySign About: Going OutSign About: Meal TimeSign About: Play Time

 

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Listography: Favourite Websites

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

PhotobucketThis week’s Listography as set by KateTakes5 is to your Top 5 Most Commonly Used Websites. She says “You know, the ones that appear on your Google homepage or at the top of your bookmarks bar. The ones that you click into daily without even thinking about it.”

So here are mine:

  1. Littlesheep Learning
  2. Littlesheep Learning: Blog (administration panel)
  3. Facebook
  4. Hootsuite (Twitter client)
  5. MumsClub


I have Littlesheep Learning set as my home page – could be seen as being a bit narcissistic I suppose but it means that I know when I log on that it is definitely still there! I can then click from there to log on and process my orders from the previous night.

So then I have my blog administration panel – I’ve been posting every day during January as part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge so I’ve been pretty attached to this page drafting posts, noting down ideas and getting the schedule organised so that something appears each day!

Facebook – I log on to Facebook several times a day - Littlesheep Learning has it’s own page so  I try and post a message to everyone who has ‘liked’ it, I use it to keep in touch with friends / family and I belong to several networking groups that use Facebook as a platform to network.


I use Hootsuite to manage my Twitter accounts – in particular the one for Littlesheep Learning @littlesheep.

and last but not least…

I struggled to think of what to put down as number five but since my New Years Resolution was to network with other mumpreneurs I have been making a concerted effort to log on to MumsClub every day and answer any posts that I can help with.

So what are your favourite five?

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Learning Chores: Car Washing

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

It’s the weekend again and this means time for all the time consuming jobs like washing the car but have you ever stopped to think about how many learning opportunities this activity creates?

So as a ‘learning chore’ how does car washing make the grade?

Car washing is a great opportunity for teaching opposites - how many other situations have the pairs of clean / dirty, wet / dry, hot / cold (water) and high / low all in one activity?

Car washing can give the chance to teach sub-labels of parts (or components) of a car e.g. wheel, window, mirror, light and number plate. It is much easier to study these things on a life size car than a model one, plus it is a natural introduction to the language if you ask your child to wash the wheels or the lights.

Finally car washing is great for developing gross motor skills – it involves bending, reaching and stretching, crossing the midline (using your right hand on the left side of your body) and lifting / carrying buckets of water increases strength.

So as a chore – car washing is pretty successful at creating opportunities for learning whilst being fun for children to join in with.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

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Featuring: NEDay Crafts

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

Welcome to the second of our ‘Featured on Littlesheep Learning’s blog‘ series where a children’s activity provider shares the details of how they help children learn. In this post Vicky Lloyd tells about the work of NEDay Crafts.

NEDay Crafts run eco friendly workshops and design eco friendly activity kits for children. We encourage creativity and allow children to express themselves through arts and craft orientated projects.

We run workshops with councils, schools and other groups in the North East of England which vary over time, but are always looking for new locations to spread the NEDay Crafts message. Our craft kits are available to buy online, so accessible for everyone.

NEDay Crafts educates children through creative play, but enriches their imagination from a very young age. Since I have 2 primary school children myself, many of the craft kits and projects come from EYFS & Keystage 1 and 2 topics, so it is educational and fun for the children. Each craft kit has a specific age range on them, so tends to suit certain age groups, however, many children vary in ability, so are only a guideline. Many of our crafts are suitable for special needs children, but may need some supervision with the craft project. All craft kits and workshops are safe and allow freedom and flexibility.

The workshops tend to be during school hours or held at events where adult supervision is required. We always help the children and never leave them unattended at craft workshops, but we do encourage children to use different textures and materials, which they may have not used previously. Some parental involvement is encouraged as it is quality time to spend with your children. Many parents enjoy being creative with their children.

For more details:

NEDay Crafts
Telephone: (01325) 241515
Website: http://www.nedaycrafts.com/
Email: nedaycrafts@ntlworld.com

If you run a children’s activity and would like to be featured please get in touch.

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Colour Matching

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Elaine (Littlesheep Learning)

We’ve posted some colour matching ideas before but like most other families that live within a 30mile radius of an IKEA store we have sets plastic coloured plates, cups, bowls, knives, forks and spoons.

I guess like many other children, our children loved to have “matching” sets at each meal time. This caused a lot of angst with Littlest Littlesheep when he liked the green set best and our green spoon got lost! However, joking aside, this is a great introduction to colour matching in every day life.

We have also used the bowls as “sorting pots” with other coloured items (for example; coloured paper clips, mini pompoms, crayons, toy cars) matching all the same colour things together in the bowl of that colour.

Learning colour matching is a skill within Mathematical Development – sorting familiar objects to identify their similarities and differences, making choices and justifying decisions and as part of Creative Development as children explore colour.

Other colour matching games that are enjoyed in our house are:

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