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The Fairytale Mum

Children's Author & Play Enthusiast

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Woh... my head is splitting after an emotionally t Woh... my head is splitting after an emotionally turbulent day...๐Ÿ˜Ÿ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜ค๐Ÿฅฐโฃ โฃ Oscar had his final day in reception, so I woke up feeling quite anxious. Then, later this morning I joined in with the @scbwi virtual picture book retreat, which put me in a fab mood... Until somebody chose to forgo napping and explore the contents their nappy instead!๐Ÿ’ฉ I hadn't planned to spring clean the bedroom, the landing ๐ด๐‘๐ท the stairs today... Argh! Sometimes they seem so grown up; at other times they appear so little. I've found parenting hard today.๐Ÿท๐Ÿท๐Ÿทโฃ โฃ But... We did manage to squeeze in a #picbookplay this afternoon inspired by #JuliaDonaldson 's and #AxelScheffler 's'The Snail and the Whale'. It's another good activity for siblings of different ages.โฃ โฃ I used the coloured rice to divide the #tufftray into two halves. Oscar's challenge was to read the size words and identify if they were synonyms for ๐Ÿ…‘๐Ÿ…˜๐Ÿ…– or ๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™. (These particular words were downloaded from an ace website called Communication4all.)โฃ โฃ Hugh had pictures of ๐ŸŒsnails๐ŸŒ and ๐Ÿณwhales๐Ÿณ - he had to work out which were small and which were big and place them on the correct side of the 'sea'.โฃ โฃ ๐ŸŒŸTOP TIP: Make sure that some small snails and whales are cut out on large pieces of paper to challenge the child to look at the size of the picture and not be distracted by the size of the paper it is printed on.โฃ โฃ So it's been one of those rollercoaster days... But I'm hopeful we can leave the bad bits behind and start the summer holidays off in a much sunnier mood tomorrow... ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿ˜Žโ˜€๏ธ And definitely no more poo!โฃ .โฃ .โฃโฃโฃ .โฃโฃโฃ #julyideasandinspo #1newplayaday #invitationtoplay #mumsschooloffun #earlyreaders #childrensliterature #raiseareader #childrensbookstagram #kidsbookstagram #openendedplay #trayfortheday #toddleractivitiesathome #earlylearning101 #readandplay #mumsnetparents #channelmumvillage #emmasdiary #readalongplayalong #littlesnippetsofus #playathomemummy #playmatters #eyfsactivities #bookish_bingo #everydayplayhacks #bookishbingo #snaphappybritmums
๐—•๐—œ๐—š ๐—™๐—˜๐—˜๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ก๐—š๐—ฆ... I ๐—•๐—œ๐—š ๐—™๐—˜๐—˜๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ก๐—š๐—ฆ... I had trouble deciding how to order the photographs for todays #picbookplay activity. All 3 of my gorgeous children were able to join in, so it's a good one if you've got children of varying ages.โฃ โฃ With the โ˜€๏ธsummer holidays๐Ÿ˜Ž fast approaching and the intensity that they are likely to bring as we live in each others pockets again, I'm preparing for some big emotions. I wanted to help the children begin to think more about how they're feeling, why that might be and be able to talk about it - rather than tantrum.๐Ÿคžโฃ โฃ I printed a page of emojis, a set of feeling words and placed them alongside a mirror and 'Baby Faces' published by @dorlingkindersli . It's a lovely little book that you've probably got too if you've had a baby recently as it was gifted in the @booktrust pack. This is how the children played:โฃ ๐ŸŒŸHugh enjoyed choosing an emoji and trying to copy the facial expression. (This is why I couldn't decide how to order the pictures!)๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿค”๐Ÿฅฐโฃ ๐ŸŒŸWe named each feeling (which was surprisingly difficult) to provide opportunities for Hugh to talk.โฃ ๐ŸŒŸOscar tried matching each emoji to each feeling word...โฃ ๐ŸŒŸ...and we discussed moments when we've felt this way before ("Oscar, please put your shoes on for school," x10 = Frustrated; "But Mummy, I don't want to yet!" = Anger.)๐Ÿ˜ โฃ ๐ŸŒŸWe all used the mirror to analyse how our faces changed with each different emotion.โฃ ๐ŸŒŸAnd Charlotte enjoyed listening to the story and looking in the mirror for some #tummytime .โฃ โฃ Thankfully her face has mostly been happy today whilst Hugh's seems to have had all the emojis covered๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜ ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜... But I suppose that's normal when you're only two. Which emoji have you felt mostly today?โฃ .โฃ .โฃโฃ .โฃโฃ #picbookplay #julyideasandinspo #1newplayaday #invitationtoplay #mumsschooloffun #earlyreaders #childrensliterature #raiseareader #booksforchildren #childrensbookstagram #kidsbookstagram #trayfortheday #toddleractivitiesathome #earlylearning101 #readandplay #mumsnetparents #channelmumvillage #emmasdiary #readalongplayalong #littlesnippetsofus #playathomemummy #tufftray #playmatters #eyfsactivities #toddlertantrums
#4months ... Where did my newborn go?๐Ÿคฑ๐Ÿ’• . #b #4months ... Where did my newborn go?๐Ÿคฑ๐Ÿ’• . #babygirl๐Ÿ’• #4monthsold #4thtrimester #sunrisebaby #rainbowbaby #littlemiracle #littlesnippetsofus #familyoffive #charliebear #lottiepops
๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‡๐˜† ๐—–๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ - Anybody else's children collect odd objects?โฃ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ .โฃ Currently, Hugh can mostly be found either digging in the garden for rocks or carrying them around in a purple bucket. He's become quite attached to his stone collection, so I decided to setup a #picbookplay to tie in with his latest interest.โฃ โฃ We read 'Dave's Rock' by @frann.pg , published by @nosycrow , which is fab book for when jealousy arises between friends or siblings. I love how the story is written in 'caveman speak' as Caveman Dave and his pal Caveman Jon fight it out over who has the best rock. (Is it just me or is that a familiar story in your house too?๐Ÿ˜‰)โฃ โฃ I then set up a #tufftray with a selection of open ended activities. These are some of the ways the boys played:โฃ ๐ŸŒŸSorting the stones into different piles - small/large, heavy/light, smooth/bumpy;โฃ ๐ŸŒŸUsing language to describe the stones - flat, rough, big, little, etc. I left some blank pieces of paper for Oscar to write any other descriptive words he identified;โฃ ๐ŸŒŸCounting the stones;โฃ ๐ŸŒŸEstimating how many would fit into a square or pot and checking;โฃ ๐ŸŒŸLining the stones up along straight lines and zigzags;โฃ ๐ŸŒŸTurning them into snails with #playdoh bodies, then playing 'hide and seek snails'. (Snails are Hugh's other obesseion... I'm not quite so keen!๐ŸŒ)โฃ โฃ The boys really enjoyed this tray, especially Hugh, because it focused on his interests. I think we definitely need to plan a trip to the seaside or a stony shoreline soon. Any suggestions welcome, especially if you're local to Hertfordshire... I think the boys would love to spend an afternoon learning how to skim stones into a river.๐Ÿž๏ธโฃ โฃ What odd objects have your children collected? Have you found a way to include them in their play?โฃ .โฃ .โฃ .โฃ #picbookplay #julyideasandinspo #1newplayaday #tufftrayplay #bookishwaytoplay #booksforchildren #eyfsideas #lockdownactivities #lockdownwithkids #montessoriathome #montessoritoddler #eyfsinspiration #playwithbooks #playmatters #playtray #playexplorecreate #invitationtoplay #inspiredplay #playinspiration #preschoolerplayinjuly #preschoolisfun #preschoollife #toddleractivitiesathome #learningthroughplay
There are many types of love...๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’œโค There are many types of love...๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’œโค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’• . . . #imamumand #loveislove #brothersforlife #boymum #boymummy #boymomlife #boymom #siblinglove #growingupwithsiblings #siblingslove #littlesnippetsofus #joyfulmama #motherhoodinspired #motherhoodunited #motherhoodrising #pride #hesmybrother #mytwoboys #myboysaremyworld #ukmums #coolmumclub #letthembelittle #myfamilymyteam #familyoffive #happysaturday #parentblogger #loveconquers #loveiseverything #childhoodunplugged
๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด... ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐Ÿ‘ ๐Ÿ‘Ÿ๐Ÿ‘žโฃ (and also ordering, counting in twos, coin recognition and role play.)โฃ โฃ This #picbookplay has ๐Ÿ…–๐Ÿ…˜๐Ÿ…–๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ…๐Ÿ…ฃ๐Ÿ…˜๐Ÿ…’ scope for learning! โฃ โฃ Last night, Hugh chose 'The Smartest Giant in Town' by #juliadonaldson as our bedtime book. We've not read that story for a very โ“›โ“žโ“โ“– time! And as soon as we'd finished I knew which activity I wanted to match it up with.โฃ โฃ Thank-you to @the_playful_den for providing the inspiration behind our little shoe shop. I ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ shoes! Who can remember trying on their mum's high heels and tottering around, pretending to be a grown up? I totally can! I couldn't wait to wear heels. And it seems my boys equally enjoy trudging around in mummy's and daddy's footwear... Despite each pair being far too large. (Scrollโžก๏ธ to step back through time to watch their efforts.)โฃ โฃ Both boys are at school today, but when they get home, we're going to play shoe shops. We've used the book to introduce the concept of size and I'll be interested to see where there play takes them. Some of the ideas I'll encourage include:โฃ ๐ŸŒŸLining up the shoes in size order,โฃ ๐ŸŒŸUsing the measuring equipment to measure and compare the different shoes,โฃ ๐ŸŒŸCounting each pair of shoes in twos (Oscar) or...โฃ ๐ŸŒŸ...Counting each shoe individually (Hugh),โฃ ๐ŸŒŸUsing comparative language - bigger, smaller, wider, narrower, taller, longer, shorter, etc.โฃ ๐ŸŒŸIdentifying the value of different coins,โฃ ๐ŸŒŸBasic adding of a few coins,โฃ ๐ŸŒŸ Imaginative play...โฃ โฃ ...and I'm sure they'll take it in a direction of their own too - shoe wars most likely!๐Ÿคญ Save this post or use the #picbookplay - I'd love to see pictures of your little ones in big shoes and I'll share a few to my stories for you too.โฃ .โฃ .โฃ .โฃ #bookishwaytoplay #mathskills #eyfsinspiration #eyfsactivities #lockdownwithkids #lockdownactivities #eyfsmaths #playwithbooks #playtobloom #playmatters #playtolearn #playathome #toddlerplayhacks #preschoolactivities #newwaytoplay #makingmathsfun #teacherideas #teachershare #teacherhacks #throwbackthursday #earlyyearslearning #earlylearning101 #learningthroughplay #picturebook #preschoolathome #reallifemath #childsplay
๐ŸŒˆ๐—–๐—ผ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐ŸŒˆ...โฃ Something I've not mentioned about Hugh before is his lack of speech. At 2 and half, he is a late talker and although in my heart I believe he'll turn 3 and start reciting Shakespeare, his inability to say words is now a concern (and incredibly frustrating at times too!) His development is a stark contrast to Oscar's.โฃ โฃ When combined with his cheeky side, it can also make it tricky to figure out what Hugh actually knows. (Does he really believe that the ๐Ÿ„ is a ๐Ÿฆ† or is he just having a giggle?)โฃ โฃ So... For today's #picbookplay I devised a simple setup to test Hugh on his colour knowledge. We read "Wow said the Owl" by @timhopgood , naming the colours on each page. Then, I asked Hugh to...โฃ ๐ŸŒŸRoll the coloured diceโฃ ๐ŸŒŸIdentify the colour (he pointed whilst I said the name)โฃ ๐ŸŒŸAnd scoop the same coloured rice...โฃ ๐ŸŒŸ...into the pot with the same coloured snail/toy.โฃ โฃ If you don't have a coloured dice (we borrowed ours from the game, Snails Race) then you could hide coloured toys in a bag and ask your child to pick one out, or even just colour different strips of paper for them to select from instead.๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’œโ™ฅ๏ธโฃ โฃ Hugh loved rolling the dice (check out his little face in the pictures - I know I'm biased - he is cute), scooping the rice up and 'hiding' the snails. Although I would love to have some of those beautiful wooden scoops, we've settled with using old formula measures. Use what you have, the play and the outcome is still the same...โฃ โฃ ...which in our case is that whilst Hugh may not know how to say each colour yet, he knows how to match them... and the rest will come later. (We hope!๐Ÿคž)๐ŸŒˆโฃ โฃ Next... ๐Ÿ„๐Ÿ„ vs ๐Ÿฆ†๐Ÿฆ†...๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜‚โฃ .โฃ .โฃ .โฃ #shareyourplaywithme #allaboutearlyyears #perfectpreschoolplans #everydayinvitationtoplay #twinklparents #playislearningplayisenough #playaccountsconnect #ayearofplay #playexplorecreate #meaningfulplayideas #easypeasyplay #lockdownactivities #raiseareader #earlyreaders #toddleractivitiesathome #invitationtoplay #readalongplayalong #playathomemummy #playmatters #everydayplayhacks #bringbooksalive #discoverunder1k #tagfromtheheart #bookishfun #earlylearning101 #readandplay #mumsnetparents
Fancy a career change? Why not become a cheese scu Fancy a career change? Why not become a cheese sculptor, or a bicycle fisher, or perhaps you'd rather retrain as an elephant dresser?๐Ÿง€๐Ÿšฒ๐Ÿ˜โฃ โฃ If covid-19 has taught us anything, it's that we need to be more flexible in how we work... And maybe even in what we do. โฃ โฃ So, if you need some inspo then 'Incredible Jobs You've (probably) Never heard of' by @fattnatt and published by @nosycrow might just have what you're looking for...โฃ โฃ ...and it got me thinking. Who knows which jobs our children will be applying for when they leave education? I certainly don't... So, using the book as our #picbookplay inspiration, we had some fun creating several new professions for you to choose from.โฃ โฃ I prepped some Duplo bricks with handwritten stickers and popped them into two boxes. In one box, I placed easy to read ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜€ including: ๐Ÿ–๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿ๐Ÿˆ๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿ  and ๐Ÿ•. In the second box, I added -๐™š๐™ง words, including:โฃ ๐ŸŒŸhuggerโฃ ๐ŸŒŸlickerโฃ ๐ŸŒŸtumblerโฃ ๐ŸŒŸflipperโฃ ๐ŸŒŸwobbler ๐ŸŒŸholderโฃ ๐ŸŒŸpainterโฃ ๐ŸŒŸand catcher. These are all words that most reception children would be able to have a good go at reading successfully. โฃ Oscar had to choose one brick from each box, assemble them together and then read out the new profession. Some of them were quite funny. My personal favourites were a flea licker and a pig hugger. You can scrollโžก๏ธ to see some of the other jobs we invented. The humour makes this a great activity for 'reluctant readers', those children who you have to beg or bribe every time you want them to read three words!โฃ โฃ Meanwhile, Hugh enjoyed building a tower - perhaps he'll grow up to be tower builder on Mars?! Or maybe an elephant dresser, or a bicycle fisher, or a cheese sculptor, or... or...??? Who really knows.โฃ .โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ .โฃโฃ .โฃ #learntoread #childhooddevelopment #readandplay #playwithbooks #1newplayaday #playingislearning #phonics #phonicsfun #earlyreaders #homeeducationuk #childrensliterature #raiseareader #mumsschooloffun #booksforchildren #childrensbookstagram #kidsbookstagram #toddleractivitiesathome #earlylearning101 #readandplay #mumsnetparents #channelmumvillage #emmasdiary #readalongplayalong #littlesnippetsofus #playmatters #eyfsactivities #snaphappybritmums
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