 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
_______________________________________________________________ Product Review (August 2011) Ready, Set, Tell time! - Teach your children to tell the time Supplied by "Up To The Moon" - www.uptothemoon.com This is an activity set to help teach children to tell the time, for age 4 and over. It contains 4 different activities and a lovely robust clock made from very thick card with moveable hands which click when moved. The activities include: Reversible flash cards: These have a different time on one side (digital and analogue) with corresponding questions on the other. Sequence cards: Put Alex the monkey's day in the right order Digital/Analogue comparison: Compare the time with both digital and analogue cards Clock Puzzle: A 12 piece clock puzzle - fit the numbers in the correct position Helps promote the concept of time and sequencing. You could use the activities to plan a child's day based around their own time scales. Set the clock to the time mummy/daddy/carer will be collecting and let them compare it to a real clock - this could then be linked to their EYFS development for example: Personal, Social and Emotional Development - Anticipate specific time-based events such as mealtimes or home time. I used it with 4 children age 4 - 8 years and they all appeared to enjoy the activities discussing the options on where to put Alex the monkey at certain times of the day! I felt that the smaller cards could have been printed on slightly thicker cardboard as they are easy to bend in little hands but if you were going to use this often with lots of children you could laminate the cards yourself to make them more robust. The clock and jigsaw are on very thick card and it would be hard to bend these. The clock was the most popular with a variety of times being set and discussions about them, including what time we all get up and what time we have meals.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World (KUW) - Time:
______________________________________________________________ Product Review (August 2011): Early Track - EYFS Tracking Supplied by Early Track Early Track is an application which uses Microsoft Excel to electronically track the EYFS, Every Child A Talker, Observations and Next Steps for each child.
Background Information: The system was designed by Ben Parker, currently (August 2011) a university student entering his 3rd year, his business was funded by the business charity UnLtd and Higher Education funding for young people and undergraduates. Ben started working at a nursery based in a children's centre, running children and parents activities on a weekend, and sports and play schemes for KS1 children over the holidays and for several years as a play and learning assistant. It was during his job, which entailed Early Years Foundation Stage tracking, Every Child a Talker tracking, Observations and Next steps that he realised the need for something electronic as paper copies could not be taken home for fear of loss or damage. With Early Track it is possible to send the tracker home for families to view via printing to pdf format or on a memory stick, with the safety of knowledge that the original copy was backed up on your computer. Where necessary the child's folder can also be printed off in keeping with OFSTED requirements. Ben also became aware that childminders, usually a single person business, spent much of their evening and weekends filling in the trackers, not having as much spare time would benefit from using Early Track. About Early Track: Each section contains all the aspects for each of the development stages through all age groups. This allows you to colour code each stage as it is reached and add your own observations, including photographs if you wish and next steps. This gives a good visual track and you can identify any gaps in development or any areas where the child excels. These can then either be printed for your files or stored on your computer. Equally they can be shared by print out, memory stick or even email with parents. A big plus point is not having to refer back to the EYFS handbook for each of the age group/stages or to have printed sheets separate for each age group, which is something I do and it can become a bit of a paper minefield! A negative point is that it is only available for PC and you must have Excel installed but hopefully it might become available for other spreadsheet/computer systems in the future as Early Track becomes popular. Another plus point is that it is a one off payment. You buy the software and it is yours to keep and use. No monthly outlay or annual fee which is helpful as you never know when your income will suddenly drop if children leave. Ben is already planning for any future changes to EYFS which will be incorporated into Early Track with free updates for existing customers. Delivered on CD in a handy little pack with instructions and help leaflets, plus there is telephone support available if necessary. Find our more here, including screen shots: www.earlytrack.co.uk System Requirements:
______________________________________________________________ Toy/Resources Review (May 2011): Acrylic Mirrors Supplied by Mungai Mirrors I've just tested out the Jigsaw shape mirror, however they do have a wide variety of other shapes and sizes on sale.
The mirrors are safe - the most important factor for anyone caring for children - made from acrylic with no sharp edges and they are shatterproof. Make sure you remove the protective film which covers the mirror otherwise it will not have the excellent reflection, it is a bit tricky to get off, I found it difficult to find a point to get started as I was worried I might scratch the mirror face but persevere and you will do it! I've tried to create mirrors in the past by using sticky back mirror roll, but it never gives a very good reflection and is cloudy and distorted especially if the surface behind is not smooth so I think these acrylic mirrors are excellent and gives as good a reflection as a glass mirror without the worry of having glass in a play setting. Click here to search Amazon for a variety of their designs
______________________________________________________________ Equipment Review (April 2011) : Genesis Compact Footmuff Supplied by Genesis Compact Footmuffs The Genesis Compacts are a brand new product designed mainly for spring/summer day trips but ideal in my opinion for any time that you need that bit of extra warmth for a child. I knew the Genesis Compact was going to pack small but I was still surprised to find just how small! As you can see it has its own draw string bag and fits easily on the palm of my hand and takes up very little space when hanging on the buggy or pushchair. It weighs less than 300g yet when unpacked it is a full sized 36 inch footmuff complete with harness points suitable up to toddlers size. The front zips fully off if you wish, so the bottom can be left on as a buggy liner and the front zipped back on if it turns cool. There was plenty of room for the child's legs when I tried it with a 3 year old.
If you are a keen walker or hiker this would be perfect as a lightweight item easily carried in your rucksack and fitted to your all-terrain buggy or any buggy/pushchair, should the weather change. The outer cover is wind and showerproof too so your little one can be kept dry as well as warm. The inner fabric is soft polyester fleece material which is both cuddly and warm yet breathable. It can be machine washed too which is perfect for anything to do with children!s For a childminder it is an excellent piece of kit because, as we know, we carry just about everything with us on a day out so anything that packs small and lightweight is an excellent choice in my opinion. Another great idea is that there are ties at the corners of the top edge. I find it really difficult sometimes to keep a footmuff in place while at the same time trying to get a child into the harness, these ties mean that you can fit it to the uprights of your pushchair or backrest (anywhere that will help to hold it in place) and it will not keep slipping down behind the child. The Genesis Compact shown here is navy blue but they do come in a vast range of colours, both plain and patterned including zoo design, daisies and cowboys, to name but three!
______________________________________________________________ Equipment Review (April 2011): BuggyBoard Maxi Supplied by Cheeky Rascals Ltd - buy through Amazon here: - Buy BuggyBoard Maxi In all my 30+ years in childcare I have never used a buggy board so this was an interesting experience for me and one that I welcomed.
The initial installation of the connectors is easy and took me about 15 - 20 minutes, once fitted the connectors stay in place on the pushchair and fitting/removing the buggy board can be done in seconds. You don't need any tools, the connectors come ready assembled and it is just a matter of fixing the straps around the uprights of your buggy, pushchair or pram. They fit most pushchairs and you can look online to check if it will fit yours: BuggyBoard Info It fits both my Graco Century umbrella fold buggy and my Mamas and Papas Pliko forward facing pushchair. The connectors come off if necessary, quite easily too, so you could move them between pushchairs if you wanted. The board itself adjusts both in width and length to make it easy to fit to all sizes of pushchair, buggy or pram.
As regards walking with it: I did feel like I might bang my ankles as I walked, but I didn't! I think it was more psychological and once I got into my stride it was easy to walk with it, it just takes a bit of getting used to. Going up and down the kerb was not a problem, I had expected it to be difficult but the board just followed the pushchair and the two large wheels and fixings kept it very stable. Downhill was probably the hardest, I had expected that to be the easy part but holding back the weight of pushchair, baby and toddler on the board meant that I had to lean back a little to take the weight and stop it feeling like it was going to roll away without me, this meant that my feet were quite close to the board and I did bump it a couple of times, however it wasn't a problem and I think with time and practice it would soon become easy to do. It was also a very steep hill. How was it with a toddler on board?:
It was a really exciting experience for them and they kept shouting out to people "look at me!" as we went along. The board has plenty of space to stand and there was no problem with them falling off or getting too close to the edge. It didn't feel like there was a lot more weight to push, obviously it made me a bit slower going up hill but one good thing is that if it were a problem you could take the child off the board for a moment, fold the board up and clip it out of the way while you got up the hill, and then put them back on at the top. I've been told by the supplier that a lot of people ask why buggy boards don't have seats and it is something I have wondered myself, the reason is it puts the child's hands too near to the wheels and the risk of being trapped if they touch them - the best reason I can think of for not having a seat!
______________________________________________________________ Equipment Review (March 2011): Bubblebum - Inflatable Car Booster Seat Supplied by Cheeky Rascals Ltd - buy through Amazon here: - Buy Bubblebum Suitable for children 15 kg - 36 kg (approx. 3 years - 11 years) Car Seat Group 2 - 3 This is a really great idea, an inflatable child's car booster seat which packs away into its own drawstring bag! Ideal for childminders, especially if you don't have your own young children as it can be packed away at weekends rather than filling the boot of your car or your garage with the solid, plastic booster seats, I know because we do it regularly! The Bubblebum is not as wide as a normal plastic booster so is much easier to fit alongside the larger baby car seats. On the right you can see two pictures, one is of a standard booster seat which will not fit the gap between two baby seats, yet the Bubblebum fits easily but is still large enough for an older child. It is brightly coloured and soft to the touch and because it is inflated I can imagine it being much more comfortable for a child giving them a much softer seat than the rigid plastic boosters.
The first time you use it it needs fully blowing up, I did it in just 5 breaths but after being used it is almost self-inflating. If I had one criticism it would be that the inflating valve could do with being a non return valve so that air does not escape as you blow it up (but it wasn't a big problem, just a bit fiddly trying to close the valve while still blowing). One thought was "wouldn't the child deflate it as you travelled?" Well, firstly the valve is out of the way at the back so would be very difficult to reach and the valve is closed with a screw top so if done tight enough it would not be undone by a young child but, the most amazing thing is that it does not deflate when the valve is open anyway! You can squash it and the air rushes back in as soon as you let go meaning that it would not go down even if the child did manage to undo the valve. Fantastic! Fairly easy to pack away, just undo the valve (left) and roll up and squash to squeeze out the air, close the valve to stop the air rushing back in, then pop it into Ideal if children are being picked up from school in a different vehicle, they could carry it with them into school and inflate it when their pick-up arrives. Great for coach travel too as more and more coaches, buses and school minibuses have seatbelts being installed. I can imagine it being useful too for holiday travel between airport and hotel in taxi cars etc. It is surface washable and comes in fun bright purple colours Available through Amazon: Bubblebum
______________________________________________________________ Equipment Review (March 2011): Korbell Nappy Disposal System Supplied by Cheeky Rascals Ltd - buy through Amazon here: - Buy Korbell Plus Nappy Disposal System A nappy bin with a difference it can convert to a normal waste bin when the children grow up! Ready to use straight out of the box, no building or fitting together, it even comes with the bags ready inserted for use. Nice smooth surfaces, making it easy to keep clean there are no nooks and crannies to harbour dirt and germs. It looks nice and in no way looks like a nappy bin but more like a conventional rubbish bin and looks modern and sleek. Oval in shape it fits neatly in any corner yet holds a lot of nappies!
Inside the Korbell is an inner section which holds the bin liner. To give it a good test I left a couple of VERY dirty nappies inside for two days, there was no smell at all as you passed the bin.
For any mum, dad, carer or childminder one of the problems is having to go outside to the main rubbish bin to dispose of nappies after each change, this can be many times a day, either that or have them inside where they can smell dreadfully! Sometimes it is not possible to leave little ones alone while you go, especially if the bin is down the garden or if you live in a flat so the Korbell can help solve that problem by storing dirty nappies safely and hygienically until it is convenient for you to go out to the bin.
26 litres capacity measures approx.: 57 cm high. 33 cm wide and 23 cm deep at the widest points of the oval shape Also available in a smaller 15 Litre capacity: Korbell 15L
______________________________________________________________ Toy/Resource Review (March 2011): Feel Good Journeys - Relaxation CD
Feel Good Friends, The company dedicated to making children feel good about themselves and their world - www.feelgoodfriends.com This is a gentle, calming musical CD using visualisation techniques and including positive affirmations and thoughts to In this busy rush around world it is nice to find something that gives children the chance to be calm and relaxed, many activities these days stimulate rather than relax.
For instance in 'Roly's Comfy Cloud' children imagine colours as they travel along with Roly through a rainbow. They hear his description and imagine him in his brightly coloured hat with clouds hanging from it, they are surrounded by colours and hear descriptive words to help them visualise. They hear sounds of running streams and birds in the sky. The calm, softly spoken words give a feeling of warmth and cosiness which made me feel calm and relaxed so it is good for adults too! Children are used for the character voices which will help children relate to the story. I think the activities are helpful to pre-readers as we need to be able to visualise descriptions as we read and this will help develop that skill ready for the future.
______________________________________________________________ Toy/Resource Review (March 2011): Feel Good Faces - Board Game Feel Good Friends, The company dedicated to making children feel good about themselves and their world - www.feelgoodfriends.com This is a board game with a difference, it is a team game and there are no winners or losers! The idea of the game is to turn all the sad faces to happy ones. As you go along you move Although aimed at 5 - 10 years we played this with children aged 3 - 7 and it was quite easy to adapt and help the little ones join in. There is a timer for those able to understand that they need to answer questions within a specific time but for little ones you can just let them take their time, it all adds to the calmness of the game. It certainly gets children thinking about their feelings, what they are good at and how they think. It was a good laugh too as you not only see the children trying to act out a particular feeling (using only actions and no sound) but you have to do it yourself! This gives children a really good role model to see adults acting out feelings too. Because it is a team game, with everyone working together you do not have that frustration often associated with board games when someone feels they are losing and walks off or tries to disrupt the game.
______________________________________________________________ back to top Toy/Resource Review (March 2011): Feel Good Cards - Affirmation Cards Feel Good Friends, The company dedicated to making children feel good about themselves and their world - www.feelgoodfriends.com This is a set of 28 affirmation cards and 4 activity cards, plus ideas on how to use the cards and their benefit. The main idea behind these cards is for children to choose a card and for the adult to help them think of examples in their own life that relate to it, helping them feel confident and more positive about themselves by repeating the affirmation. I must admit that when I first opened the cards and looked through them I didn't expect them to work too well with the children I had at the time who ranged from 3 - 8 years in age, I thought they would not hold their interest for long. I'm pleased to say I was totally wrong! We looked through a few of them and I explained what they were, I read one out "I am lucky" and asked if the children thought they were lucky. One said "yes because we go to school", they then went on to talk about how children in other countries are not so lucky, how they do not have the books and equipment that we have and that we should be very happy. The other children listened and were keen to add their own thoughts on what else made us lucky. They could be useful to use at the end of the day when you are looking for something to just calm things down before home time, giving a focus and a chance to talk over feelings and how children feel about themselves. Light and easy to carry you could pop them in your bag to use at any time that you felt the need to get children's attention; long journeys, while waiting for buses, waiting for school to open, waiting in the car etc. there are many opportunities. There are 4 Feel Good Friends: Pippin Pocket, Tiggy Tutu, Betty Brightstar and Roly Rainbow giving fun figures for the children to relate to.
_______________________________________________________________ Product Review (January 2011): Noble Minder - business support package for Childminders Note: Noble Minder ceased trading in April 2012 so therefore this review has been removed. _______________________________________________________________ Product Review (September 2010): Jofli Bears - Travelling Teddy Bears This is our travelling teddy - Walter - named after Walter Raleigh the famous explorer. (This allowed for a great history lesson!) he is a Jofli Bear and came complete with his own Story, Log Book, Backpack and Pen. The backpack is detachable and he has a removable hat and scarf. He has his own ID registration to access interactive online features on the Jofli website where you can also purchase extra log books and pages, clothing and accessories. The quality of the Jofli bear is excellent, very plush and cuddly just as a bear should be! The backpack is very high quality, made from a strong canvas with metal zips, carry handle and shoulder strap. It is like a normal rucksack but in miniature. 4 zip compartments which also have inner pockets, allow the children to carry things along with them as well as the supplied Log Book and pen. The backpack attaches to the Jofli bear with strong plastic squeeze clips, just like a normal rucksack and by using the supplied strap the child can use the backpack on its own or can fix it to the bear and then carry bear and backpack at the same time by threading the strap through the top handle to make loops. The Log Book is a child size ring binder and comes with loose leaf sheets for recording various things including My Adventures, Hopes and Dreams, and Favourite things, a lovely way to record information about a child which will be interesting to read as they get older. The diary pages allow the children to write about where the bear has been and what he got up to, there are photo pages too and Scrap pages for drawing your own pictures. The Jofli Bear comes complete with a unique ID number which allows you to go online and log into a secure area where there are more activities and printables. I am happy to recommend Jofli Bears and would rate them very highly, they are far more than just a toy, they can become a companion and memory book rolled into one! Using a travelling bear within a childminding setting: Well I think it is a rare child that doesn't like a teddy bear! Bears are loved by many an adult too for that matter, I know that I am one of them! I find that some children will often interact more readily with a toy or puppet than with an adult so using a travelling teddy gives children the opportunity to think about and discuss where they have been and what they have been doing. It is great to animate the bear by using silly voices and making it move by waving it's arm or moving it's legs to dance, children quickly want to be involved and can get carried away in thinking it is real! Sometimes they will talk to it, show concern and laugh with it, a great way to explore relationships, emotions and feelings. As a childminder you can allow the children to take the bear on holiday, a visit home for the night or weekend, to school and nursery (if they permit it) and on outings. This will give a wealth of occasions for the child to discuss what the bear did, where they took it etc. Within a childminding setting there is also an opportunity to extend this further by sending your bear to another childminder in your area. Perhaps via your local childminding group meetings it could be arranged to have a 'bear swap' where the bear goes to visit another setting and comes back with his Log Book competed with stories and photos of what he got up to. You in turn would then have a bear to visit and the children can do activities with it and record them. There are several members on the Childminding Forum who post their bears to other members so they can have adventures in other settings. For older children you can enhance their writing and reading skills by allowing them to fill in the Log Book, take photos and print them. Using travelling bears covers just about every area of EYFS, these are just a few of my ideas, there are many more: Physical Development - Fine manipulation skills for dressing and undressing the bear, opening and fastening the back pack, turning pages of the log book and holding the pen. Creative Development - Expressing ideas and using imagination on where the bear should travel, designing the pages in his log for text and photos. Knowledge and Understanding of the World - Learning of the places the bear travels, how he travels e.g. train, car, boat plane, ICT skills using the interactive on-line option. Learning about their local community as they share the bear with others. Communication, Language and Literacy - Discussing what the bear got up to, reading about his travels, writing skills to complete the log. Personal, Social and Emotions Development - Making choices, sharing toys, meeting others, sharing ideas and exploring emotions e.g. did the bear have a nice time, did he miss you, was he happy or sad, all these help build the child's own confidence and self-esteem. Creating a log of their personal preferences. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy - Learning about distance the bear travels, how to get him there, the number of visits he has had. _______________________________________________________________ back to top Product Review (August 2010): Big Book Little Book Cardboard Box - Book Storage www.bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox.co.uk Perhaps like me your first thought was "well it is just a box and I can get a box for free from the supermarket!" However, you might be be surprised when you see one. I was amazed how strong it is and I don't think anything from the supermarket could compare for strength and durability. In fact to test it out I tried standing on the sides - quite a balancing act I can tell you and not to be recommended! but it took my weight so should stand up to the rigours of a variety of children using it over a long time. Measuring 53cm in length x 32cm deep it has two compartments of different sizes for large and small books. The front is slightly lower than the back at 11cm and 15 cm respectively, thus allowing for the books to be stored face forward and made easy to flick through. Most of our books fit into it but not all so it might be nice to see them made in different sizes in the future. As it comes plain and undecorated it offers another angle of being turned into an activity for the children if they are allowed to decorate it themselves, the activity could then be easily linked to the EYFS learning areas. It has been in use in our playroom now for two weeks, yet to be decorated but still looking as good as new. I will report back at a later date as to how it is going and how long it lasts! Update January 2011 - Still going strong and looks as good as new!
_______________________________________________________________ back to top Product Review (July 2010): Beep! - Activities for Early Years CD-ROM - suitable for PC or Mac I first came across 'Beep!' at my local Sure Start centre where it was available for children to use while visiting our Childminding Group. Now having my own copy to use with the children in my own setting is wonderful, it is an excellent educational resource. It comes as a CD-Rom and has 6 activities aimed at age range 3 - 5 years, although some 2 year olds can manage to use it with a little help and guidance. The activities are brightly coloured and very engaging, sound and movement on screen helps to keep the child's attention. They help promote observation skills and also have fun games such as 'Wardrobe' , at the moment this is the favourite here! You dress a cartoon baby in whatever clothes/hats/shoes etc. you like, children find this really amusing as they create their own funny looking 'baby'. Other activities include:
All in all a great way to introduce ICT to your setting, children learn to use the computer and develop their mouse skills while having fun. Games can also be played using keyboard keys. The activities can easily be linked to all EYFS Early Learning Goals during your observations. To find out more visit their website www.busythings.co.uk/cd-rom-beep.php where you can find screenshots of some of the activities and more information plus the opportunity for a free 28 day trial. System Requirements: Windows: Mac:
Custom Search
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The possibilities for other activities are endless and could link
The jigsaw mirror gives a
I wanted to make a full length mirror for next to the dressing up box, it works well but I think perhaps two sets would give a wider area for the children to see themselves. Mungai Mirrors offer an exceptionally large variety of designs for home and children including dinosaurs, princess and shapes such as heart, alphabet and geometric to name but a few. A good range of prices too, small mirrors start at just a few pounds
It goes easily back into the bag which is a generous size.
Ideal for the kind of weather we have had recently, where it is extremely hot during the day but come
I must admit that I had always though they would bang on your ankles and you would be kicking it as you walked along so never really bothered with them. Having now tried the BuggyBoard Maxi I was really pleased that none of that happened.
Fixing the buggy board to the connectors is simple and it was just a matter of pushing it down into the clips, which fasten over the arms of the board to stop it coming off. Just as quick and easy to take it off
When not in use the BuggyBoard can be fastened up out of the way, no having to carry it on top of the pushchair as I have seen with other models.
Well I had fully expected them to get in the way of the handles but they didn't. My buggy has turned in handles and I couldn't see how a child would be able to ride between them but there was no problem at all and they stood easily between my arms and could see over the top of the buggy. It was still possible to hang my bag between the handles which I thought would not have fitted with the child there so that was a bonus.
Two clips, one each side, hold the seatbelt in place making it quick and easy to fit and remove.
its carry bag, which could perhaps do with being a touch larger but it did fit with a bit of squashing. Small and compact when packed away, you can see it here photographed on the right with an apple to give an idea of
Pedal moves smoothly, no jerky movements and you can drop the nappy in easily one handed. Special inner flap helps to seal the hole and keep smells inside, the flap can also be locked. 
Once it is full you simply open the door at the front and pull down the bag cutting it off on the cutter built inside the door, then simply tie up the end and you are ready to use your bin again.
Bin liners - Comes complete with bin liners, refills are available to purchase separately. There is no wastage on the bin liners, they cut to size on the special (safe) cutter inside the bin, as described above. They have a delicate scent which is not overpowering. The bags are thick and strong to keep in the smells and prevent bursting.
One of the best features of this bin for me is the fact that once you have finished needing it as a nappy bin it quickly and easily converts to a normal waste bin and would look lovely in any kitchen with it's sleek modern lines and coordinating white and grey colours.
help children feel good about themselves
In an imagined world children get a chance to use their own visualisation skills, they can interpret the spoken words and imagine the world being described 
your piece over brightly coloured 'stones', occasionally there are 'stones' which relate to one of the 
We use cookies to make this site as useful as possible. They are small text files placed in your browser to track usage of our site but they don't tell us who you are. By continuing to use this site you are consenting to cookies being placed on your computer. Find out more here: Cookies in Use |
||
|
|
|