A retrospective exploration into pre-school years!

 The golden age of toddlerdom. It's messy and noisy.  So many tantrums and screaming.  Sleep regressions and pushing boundaries.  They have tasted independence, and they want more. They're experiencing every emotion under the sun all at once, at a very intense level.  They also can distinguish between boredom and being kept amused. My best advice at this stage is to give them some decisions to make and provide an engaging, organised environment. You need to guide them quite strictly at this stage naturally as they're still learning a great deal about every single aspect of life.  Yet try them and see how they respond to personal responsibility. Controlled choices where we as parents win no matter the decision. It means the whole world to them. Do they want to wear the red or blue dress? Do they want peas or carrots? Do they want milk or water? Do they want a chocolate or a sweetie? Do they want the red or the blue cup? The Thomas or the Peppa pig plate? It's an extra st

Busy tables or cubes are a bundle of educational fun once babies can sit and stand up. The beauty of them is that they come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of activities. We brought an oversized one that stayed with us for several years until it was loved and used to pieces.  It's great that you can usually find a smaller, portable version of a particularly favourite game, especially in charity shops. Sophia's favourite game was the wire maze, and she had several separate portable ones of varying sizes as well. She spent hours and years at this game. She even had a tiny one that fitted in her lap, and that could come with her on car journeys. No matter the style or the games involved, they are great for hand-eye coordination, alleviating boredom, and hand strengthening. They can grow with the child, with the basic abucus for example,  being introduced as a sliding game that has the possibility of turning into a counting game and later on a maths aid.

This morning our son went to the bathroom, used the toilet, changed his nappy pants, changed from his pj's to his day clothes,and his trousers were on the right way round. He went downstairs and poured himself a glass of milk.  You may think, and?  He's about to enter year 1 in a week's time. You would expect this of him. These are, in fact, early years education skill sets. Aged 5 years and one month, he is officially within the early years education sector....yet he's been within the official schooling age for a year and about to start his second. This blurring between early years and official schooling can add unnecessary pressure to some children, and parents for that matter who are rushing to have their children ready for school....when they may not be physically or mentally ready for that next step.  Interestingly, the LA does not recognise children as official school age until 5, and some parents do ask for a later enrollment for school. It can make all the diffe

Early years education is a journey to travel together, following the cues of your child.  It all begins with conversation. Whilst they're in the womb, you can read to them, sing, and share about your day to help create a bond before birth. This conversation and sharing of information should always continue. They concentrate on their survival skills and adjust to life outside the womb. Bonding is the key here. The first books are often black and white picture themed and then progress to coloured ones, portraying nursery rhymes and first word and picture books. This is the time to start the emotional bonding with books, having bedtime stories, and afternoon snuggles on the sofa  or in a den. Singing nursery rhymes, whilst they're playing with balls, and sensory, busy and interactive noisy toys are key for the start of learning cause and effect and using their hands to explore their world and being introduced to musical instruments. Keep talking, describing and explaining their wo

'I'm just a parent', usually uttered with a shrug of the shoulders.  It's a phrase where the word 'just' doesn't belong.  Shall we review the transferable skills of a parent? * Leadership - you're the natural leader of the pack and make the decisions every single day.  * Patience - you need it in bucket loads. * Creativity/intuition - Keeping a child amused on a long far ride, need I say more?  * Teaching - passing on your knowledge of early years ed, values, social rules, life skills. * Resiliance - You need an unbelievable amount of mental and emotional strength.  * Self control - Every parent has had to leave the room or close their eyes and count to ten before continuing a conversation against a toddler or a teenager or any aged child in between. There is little difference between children and customers in this respect.  * Negotiating - it does not matter if you have one or ten children, negotiating will occur on a daily basis. Parents deserve the ho

Early years education officially spans over the first five years of life before formal schooling begins, whether this will be home education or school led.  I personally dislike bringing age into it because then it becomes a race, with a tight goal. Innate pressure to perform and the world of competition begins, taking away the joy.  There exists a tick box if you will. However, every child should be given the space to explore this half a decade at their own pace.  Some children will need more time than others, and having had a couple of children with a myriad of special needs, I became very aware of the tight time frames given for every skill. They didn't sit up or walk or talk at the right age, so they were a failure in the eyes of professionals. Their successes were never appreciated or celebrated by the powers at be, they just consistently failed their tickboxes. This negativity can really bring you down as a parent. I finally broke free from this world and mindset and took the