Hatching a plan for quacking learning with new feathery friends!
Here at Cygnets Preschool there has been no plastic or paper in sight... instead we have been thrilled to welcome some very different new arrivals – in the form of 5 fluffy ducklings!.
Our expert childcare team, guided by our student, Miss Yasmin “Mother Duck”, have been expanding their skillset and taking care of the adorable ducklings, which all hatched in our setting at the end of the April.
The children have been utterly enthralled to take part in the whole process and as always have been like sponges, soaking up lots of new information and learning egg-citing facts and this whole uniquely stimulating experience seamlessly links in with the government's Early Years Foundation Stage targets; with the ducklings' physical growth mirroring our children's emotional and intellectual development.
The children's curiosity was originally ignited by the presence of the eggs in the incubator, and they were using their observational skills - looking and listening - and waiting for that all important TAP, TAP, CRACK!
WATCHING & WAITING
The children experienced a sense of patience and anticipation with this activity. Sharing skills and inter-personal relationships have been developed as the children have taken turns to view the eggs, as it would harm the embryos to lift the lid off the incubator. Lots of questions were asked: What's inside the egg? Why do the eggs needs to be kept warm and humid? Why do the eggs need to be turned? How long will they take to hatch? What will the ducklings look like when they come out? Critical thinking galore!
CRACKING FUN
Levels of concentration reached an all-time high as soon as the first tiny cracks appeared! The children were engrossed and they learned about managing emotions... resisting the temptation to speed up the process and “help” the ducklings crack open the shell, as well as controlling feelings of over-excitement to ensure a calm, quiet environment for the hatching babies.
FLUFFY FRIENDS
At 2 days old the ducklings were at last ready for a cuddle! The children had their senses of sight, sound and touch fully engaged – hearing the chirps, practising gentle handling of the bundles of soft fluff, feeling the soft fuzziness compared to the hard beak, and seeing and touching the tiny webbed feet.
The children have expanded their vocabulary and knowledge: “hatch”, “humid”, “incubator”, “webbed feet” “temperature”, and “waddle”. A great science lesson on life cycles!
GROWING UP
Keeping the eggs and ducklings warm, fed and safe and helping them grow reflected the exact experience of the children in our nursery; the children can relate to the baby ducks and feel a sense of security, confidence and belonging in their surroundings. The children also learnt about hygiene – keeping the ducklings' housing clean, and self-care with hand-washing after handling them.
Early Years Alliance
Family Corner: helping our families to develop positive home learning environments
There is a range of exciting FREE sessions for parents and carers coming up, click on the link:
Songs, stories and rhymes - supporting early communication
Wednesday 24 April 1pm - 2pm
In this session we explore the importance of speech and language development and how you can support your children’s early communication. Join us to explore why communication and language development is so important in the early years, and how you can encourage this at home with songs, stories and rhymes packed with lots of information, ideas, and tips!
Tuesday 7 May 6.30pm - 7.30pm
This session will share tips and ideas that will support you and your child in preparing for school. We will discuss some fun learning activities that can be easily replicated at home to support your child’s learning and development, as well as discuss some top tips in helping your child’s transition to school to run smoothly.
Supporting children's emotional wellbeing
Monday 3 June 1pm - 2pm
Parents provide the main support to children’s emotional development. We will discover how you can help your children as they become people in their own right; learning to walk, talk and master other routines of daily life and how to help you manage children’s moods. Join us to understand what children need emotionally, and how best to encourage healthy emotional development.
And if none of these are for you, take a look at some of our regular offerings:
Family Fun at Hill End
FEBRUARY HALF TERM FAMILY FOREST DAYS
A wonderful day out exploring the 67 acre Oxfordshire site with family and friends.
The theme this half term is ‘bird nesting’ – Make your own nesting box, feeder or bird watching binoculars. Create your own giant nest in our den building area, follow a trail for interesting bird facts, visit our bird hide, play and enjoy our space, woodlands and wetlands.
The tickets are £9.50 per adult and £9.50 per child, which includes a jacket potato or soup and a hot drink and run on Wednesday 14 February, 10am – 2pm and Thursday 15 February, 10am – 2pm
Book here: https://hill-end.org/activities/upcoming-events/
FAMILY BUSHCRAFT SATURDAYS
Learn how to survive and thrive at Hill End! These fun monthly sessions change with the seasons.
Learn how to select and use natural materials to live sustainably in the woods. Activities might include: Foraging - Camp cooking of breads - Stews, grills etc (including stone-age ‘no pot’ methods) - Fire lighting methods and fire management - Woodwork; making tools such as butter knives, mallets, and pot hangers - Tracking and trapping - Shelter building - Knots, basketry, and cordage.
Sessions cost £12 adults / £8 children and run from 10am – 12pm on the following dates: 16 March 20 April 18 May 15 June Book here: https://hill-end.org/activities/upcoming-events/
Supporting parents to 'make the most of every moment'
As the Governments new 'Little Moments Together' campaign launches, free help and support for Parents across England is now available at local family hubs in the 75 local authorities involved.
The Start for Life campaign aims to 'provide free resources and advice to help parents make the most of every moment - even waiting for a bus or shopping together - to further their child’s development.'
With around £300 million being invested in the family hubs and new campaign, parents will be able to access services such as, advice and support, early language and communication support, and mental health and wellbeing support from fully trained staff. The aim is to enhance support and Start for Life services for families with children aged 0-19 years, and 0-25 years for children with SEND, across the country.
New findings from an online survey which took place in November 2023 have revealed that 83% of parents are unaware that their child’s brain is 90% grown by the age of five, shedding light on a critical gap in parents’ understanding of the impact they can have in these crucial early years. It is hugely important that this is therefore being recognised by the government with support and investment.
Early learning and development - Start for Life - NHS - NHS (www.nhs.uk), sets out the importance of early brain development and shares lots of ideas, easy tips and activities you can do together with your child.
Helping to support your children's communication and language?
The Early Years Alliance will be running their free online family festival, Home is where the start is, for the second year running!
During this fun family event, which will take place via Zoom, they will share information and advice about how parents and carers of under-fives can support children’s learning and development at home through lots of exciting sessions for them and their children.
This year's event will focus on how parents and carers can support their children's communication and language development, and will include sessions on bilingualism, Makaton and music, movement, rhythm and rhyme ... and and much, much more.
The three-day online festival will run from Thursday 22 February to Saturday 24 February 2024, and parents and carers can book to attend as many or as few free sessions as they like.
Families can sign up for their free sessions at bit.ly/FamilyFestivalEYA2024
Healthier Together
Healthier Together is a new website and app for parents and carers, providing information from local healthcare professionals about what might be wrong when your child is unwell.
Using an easy-to-follow traffic light system, you’ll find clear information on common childhood illnesses, including what signs to look out for, when and where to seek help if required, what you should do to keep your child comfortable and how long your child’s symptoms are likely to last.
https://www.oxfordshire-healthiertogether.nhs.uk/parentscarers/child-unwell-ok-go-nurseryschool
The website also features a translation tool, a directory of local services to support your family’s health and wellbeing, as well advice on whether your child should go to school when they have a virus or infection. Using the self-assessment triage tool, the Healthier Together App will provide advice on which healthcare provider can help depending on your child’s symptoms and give the option to contact them directly from the app.
World Nursery Rhyme Week 13th-17th November
Today marks the start of World Nursery Rhyme Week, a global event to celebrate and highlight the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood. There's a particular focus on the development of social skills and crucial language and communication skills.
Nursery rhymes have a huge impact on a young child; they teach them new words, help them to recognise sounds in words, teach toddlers where words begin and end in sentences, boost fine and gross motor skills, they're great for developing early maths skills, and they help to build their emotional awareness.
National Breastfeeding Week 18th - 24th September 2023
National Breastfeeding Week will be taking place from 18th - 24th September. This year will continue and build on last year's theme, 'Everyone has a part to play in helping mums to breastfeed'. This will include daily themes and activities showing how families, community, health and education services all have a part to play in supporting mothers to have the feeding experience they hoped for.
A new social media toolkit will be available two weeks ahead of National Breastfeeding Week (no later than Monday 4th September), to support partners engage with and promote the week. We will be back in touch to let you know when this is ready.
Additionally, we have an extensive suite of free resources and campaign materials to help support any planned activity, to promote local activities and signpost your local population to our breastfeeding support tools, such as the Start for Life Breastfeeding Hub.
Co-Parenting
When you’re co-parenting with a former partner, there are particular hotspots that can trigger conflict. One of those hotspots is the holidays.
Holidays are a time when some of our most precious memories are made. Because of that, the idea of not spending them with your children can be really tough.
At The Co-Parent Way, we encourage families to plan out the holidays a year in advance, so that everyone knows what they’re doing. Last-minute planning and dividing up your children’s time is stressful and unnecessary, especially if you’ve been co-parenting for a while.
Co-parenting advance for the holidays
Here are five co-parenting tips to help you navigate school holidays:
Divide holiday time fairly
Work out how many days’ holiday your children have and divide it up in a way that works for you both. That could mean you have the same number of days each, or that one of you takes February, May and October half-terms, and the other takes Easter and then you split the summery holidays and Christmas. However you do it, make it fair. If it’s genuinely fair, you’ll reduce the risk of arguments and your children will feel that they have access to you both.
Don’t leave it until the last minute
Decide the holidays as early as possible. If you’re able to decide what’s happening a year in advance, then you’re prepared. You can plan your holidays and save money on advance tickets. It also means that your children know exactly where they are going to be and when. They’ll feel more stable and secure knowing that you, as their parents, are in control.
Prepare for days without them
Being apparent from your children during holidays can be really triggering. You know special members are going to be made in the other house.
But let’s flip that on its head. By making arrangements in advance, you can plan how you’re going to fill the time you have apart: catching up with friends, or getting on with a personal project. Making sure you have fulfilling and meaningful time without your children is crucial for building and maintaining your own resilience.
Have some flexibility
Sometimes you’ll have a significant event in the holidays and sometimes your former partner will. No doubt you’ll both want your children to be with you at these times. Acknowledge that you’ll both try wherever possible to make that happen.
Make the most of technology
If things are tricky between you and your former partner, and you’re worried about not having any contact with your children while they are away, agree in advance how often you can video call them. Just seeing their faces (and them seeing yours) can be transformative.
And offer it as an option in return. If they’re young then every other day for five minutes can be enough to keep you feeling connected to them, but not so much for your former partner to feel intruded upon.
Free activities for you and your little one
Summer is the perfect time to get outdoors and explore with children. We know family outings can be a drain on your wallet, so we've put together ten ideas for budget-friendly adventures that will keep you and your little one entertained this summer.
Park picnic: Pack a homemade lunch, grab a blanket and head to a nearby park. Let your child explore nature – encourage them to look at and smell flowers, collect fallen leaves, or spot different types of birds. It's a simple and enjoyable way to spend a sunny summer's day.
Beach day: If you live near a beach, take advantage of this natural playground. Splash in the waves, collect seashells – and be sure to bring buckets and spades for sandcastles! The beach offers endless opportunities for imaginative play and sensory exploration.
Nature scavenger hunt: Create a scavenger hunt in your local area. Make a list of things for your child to find – a colourful flower, a smooth pebble, a fluffy feather. It’s a chance to explore your local neighborhood or visit a nearby green space. This activity will engage their curiosity and help them develop an appreciation for the outdoors.
Storytime at the library: Most libraries offer free storytelling sessions tailored to young children. Check your local library's schedule and take your little one along for an interactive storytelling experience. It's an excellent opportunity for them to socialise with other young children and discover the joy of stories.
Visit a local market: Take your child to a nearby market and encourage them to get involved with choosing ingredients, selecting their favourite fruits and vegetables, and washing and preparing the produce when you get home.
Explore a community garden: Find a community garden in your area and take your child for a visit. Teach them about different plants, flowers, and vegetables as you stroll through the garden. Many community gardens have designated areas where children can get their hands dirty and try their hand at gardening.
Outdoor film night: Organise a film night under the stars in your garden or a local park. Pop down some blankets and cushions and put a family-friendly film on your laptop or project it onto a white sheet if you’re able to. Bring snacks, drinks (and jumpers for later) for an unforgettable evening of fun.
Visit a petting zoo or farm: Many petting zoos and farms offer free admission or have specific days with discounted rates. Encourage your child to interact with the animals – many farms will provide specific opportunities for children to pet, feed, and learn about different farm animals.
Explore local playgrounds: Discover a playground in your area that you haven't visited before. Each playground offers its unique climbing frames, swings and slides, providing lots of entertainment for your little one.
Outdoor arts and crafts: Unleash your child's creativity by engaging in outdoor craft activities. Set up a painting station in your garden or at a local green space, using washable paints and large sheets of paper. Alternatively, create nature-themed crafts such as leaf collages, nature bracelets, wands or flower crowns using fallen leaves, petals and twigs found on a walk.
Enjoying a day out with a child under 5 doesn't have to break the bank. By making the most of the outdoors, you can create wonderful memories on a budget.
Resources
https://www.goodto.com/family/free-farms-visit-kids-uk-38514
https://www.better.org.uk/what-we-offer/libraries/activities/children/storytime-rhyme-time
Natural Remedies
When your child is poorly your first instinct is to seek medical advice at the earliest opportunity and to ensure they are taking any medicines prescribed.
But there will also be times when you want a quick remedy while the medicines take their effect – or because your child’s condition isn’t so bad that it requires a trip to the GP or pharmacist.
This is the time to consider natural remedies - ‘medical’ hacks that have been handed down in families from one generation to the next - that will soothe your little one and take the edge off any pain or discomfort. These are the ‘medicines’ our forebears would have used before modern pharmaceuticals became part of our everyday lives, and it is all too easy now to forget how effective they can be.
So, what you can use that is already in your fridge or kitchen cupboard?
Honey and lemon
This age-old remedy is known to sooth sore throats arising from colds, hay fever or an infection. Of course, in severe cases, you may need conventional medicines, but for a quick fix try squeezing the juice of half a lemon into some warm water and add a teaspoon or two of honey. Remember that this won’t be suitable for babies under the age of one, due to the natural bacteria contained in honey, but for a slightly older child it could lead to a restful night’s sleep which the pain might otherwise have made impossible.
Bicarbonate of soda (sodium bicarbonate)
This household staple has a myriad of uses from cake baking to cleaning the washing machine. Often known simply as bicarb, it is effective at getting rid of the smell of sick from clothes, furniture and bedding as it neutralises the stomach acid that causes the smell. Just dissolve several spoonfuls in water and use it to clean any affected fabric. However, claims that it can help alleviate the pain and swelling of bee stings are unproven and the NHS website now warns against using sodium bicarbonate as a remedy.
Olive oil or coconut oil
Both olive and coconut oil are safe to use, even on babies, and are a natural moisturiser or massage oil. Gently rubbing a few drops of olive oil on a baby’s head can help to ‘soak’ and dislodge the crusty patches of cradle cap as well, if not better than, a shampoo designed for the purpose. Coconut oil, the new ‘in thing’ in kitchen cupboards, often looks more like a solid cream than a fluid, but it melts at body temperature and so can be easily rubbed into the skin.
Steam
Humidity is your friend when babies and toddlers are poorly with a cold or cough, and steam can ease these troublesome symptoms. Close the windows and door to the bathroom and turn the shower to hot, allowing your child to breathe in the steam. It can help to clear their nose and sinuses and make coughing more productive.
Cabbage leaves
If your child takes a tumble, a cabbage leaf cooled in the fridge – dark green English variety is said to be best – is a natural remedy for bruises and swelling. Scrunch the leaf slightly to release the juice and pop it over the bruised or swollen area.
Cooled, boiled water
The “hardy perennial” of natural remedies, cooled boiled water can help to relieve a whole range of ailments, from an upset tummy to cleansing gunked-up eyes. It is a simple, but safe and effective. Make sure that, whether you are giving it as a drink, or to clean any part of the body, it has been allowed to cool to a safe temperature.
Garlic
Love it or hate it, garlic has known health and healing properties. Here is one remedy that has been handed down in my family: you need a clean jar with a lid, a small onion, a clove or two of garlic and some honey. Slice the onion and garlic thinly and layer alternately in the jar: onion, garlic, spoonful of honey and so on, in any order. Cover with the lid and leave in a warm place, such as the ledge over a radiator, for an hour or two or until the juice from the onion and garlic combine with the honey in the bottom of the jar. Extract the juice with a teaspoon and give to your child, a little at a time. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and it isn’t suitable for babies as the taste can be a little strong, but the syrup will immediately soothe a sore throat and can help to fight an infection.
As ever, though, if your child is showing persistent symptoms and you’re worried, then seek medical advice. You know your child best.
