Contrary to what you may have heard, it’s not only children with difficulties related to social integration that can benefit from sensory play but something all children can benefit from.
The benefits of sensory play for toddlers and babies go beyond simply having fun with your child. As parents, sensory activities can be used at home to encourage children to explore this amazing world with their senses. In addition, sensory activities don’t need to be complex, and there are things such as specifically designed sensory tables that can help you keep your home neat and tidy.
Humans and animals use their senses to explore their environment, and of course, children are no different. While there are five primary senses (taste, smell, touch, sight and sound) known as external senses, there are also internal senses like balance and positioning. Sensory activities differentiate from other types of play because there is a massive emphasis on tangible, expressive play.
Sensory play refers to any activity that stimulates your child’s senses. This sense could be hearing, tasting, touching, smelling or seeing. Some parents use dough and cold pasta to encourage sensory play, and it really doesn’t need to be any more complex than that. Painting your finger or jumping in piles of leaves are great examples of sensory play.
It dramatically benefits children because they can learn about and explore the world through their senses. This isn’t something you need to overthink. Babies are already using their senses to investigate and explore their environment right from when they come out of the womb, so it only makes sense to encourage them in what is a natural behaviour.
So, it is something your children do without even having to learn it, but some sensory play does require teaching them how it’s done. All you need to do is make sure you allow and encourage your children to keep exploring with all their senses.
Sensory play for toddlers and babies is fun and is usually easy to set up, but sometimes it can be challenging to think of ideas to help children engage in sensory activities; that’s why our team here at Little Scholars has put together this list of activities for toddlers and babies.
A sensory bin is just a container used to hold your child’s sensory playthings.
To create a sensory bin, just fill a small container with things that have an interesting feel or texture, such as leaves, stones, sand, shredded paper or anything else you can think of.
Whilst there are a wide variety of objects and materials that can be included in a sensory bin it is important to bear in mind that children love to explore not just with their hands, but also with their mouths – choking hazards need to be taken into account! If you do choose to include objects that your child may put in their mouth, be sure to supervise them at all times.
Playing with food can be fun but messy. However, allowing your child to play with food by tasting, smearing or squishing can give them a sensory experience they won’t soon forget. If you are unsure about encouraging food play, just remember that sensory food play isn’t mealtime. For example, you can use cornmeal as sand if you are indoors, or you can give them some Rice Bubbles to crack, but make sure they understand it is a special occasion and they don’t start sticking their hands in their dinner! Helping you decorate cakes and other baked goods is another example of sensory play that your children can participate in and one that you can even show off to your friends.
To create a sound tube for your little one and to connect them with the auditory world around them, here’s what you need to do:
First, save a few empty paper towel rolls. Then duct tape one end of the rolls, or seal them in another way, and add different materials inside each tube, like dried beans or uncooked rice. Finally, seal the other end of the tube and there you have it, a fun auditory sensory toy!
When you encourage your children to play with their senses, this helps to create unique pathways in their brains.
Sensory play is also great for your children because it teaches them to be little scientists, discovering how the world works through trial and error. With the use of scientific reasoning, they will learn how to solve problems efficiently.
Sensory play also helps your child to retain information. Learning new letters, words, numbers, textures, sounds, movements – you name it – stimulates your child’s brain and helps to light up the areas of the brain associated with memory.
Another benefit of sensory play is that it helps children learn a wide range of life skills that they will carry for the rest of their lives. For example, your baby can learn problem-solving and social skills like sharing and planning. It also helps develop motor skills in your child, like cutting and pouring.
Sensory play also helps cognitive development in your child. As babies, everything to them is unique, and most experiences are new experiences. So they see everything as an opportunity to learn.
One of the most significant benefits of sensory play is that it increases their coordination, strength, and motor skills just by having fun and interacting with various objects in different ways.
With the help of sensory play, your children will be able to interact with each other and the environment around them. Children are curious, and by observing and playing with their little friends, they can learn faster. It also helps build cooperation, promotes teamwork, and allows children to be creative and share ideas.
That’s right! One of the most interesting recent findings in regard to sensory play is that it can help your child eat more vegetables! By allowing children to physically play with a food first, researchers found that the child was far more likely to eat it than if they didn’t play with it. Incredible!
Little Scholars is a privately-owned and operated early learning service providing quality early education and care for children across SE Queensland, and we take sensory play very seriously (or…. not so seriously!).
We offer you and your child the very best facilities, resources and early educational, play-based programs available, which are underpinned by the early years learning framework. Our belief is that through quality education and care for children we can also encourage, assist and support the entire family.
Our dedicated team of educators are committed to the individual needs and interests of children and their families, and thus we encourage and welcome family input and involvement.
We aim to be like an extension of your family and are very relationship-driven. We foster nurturing relationships between our educators and your child, the relationships your child has with the other children who attend, and we value our relationship with you as the parent and other family members. So book a tour today to get started!
The importance of routines for children is often overlooked. Life moves with different patterns each day, and habits can help children make sense of it all. As parents or carers, it’s crucial to be aware of this and implement healthy structures in your child’s life. Following these routines makes it easy for your child to transition through the different stages of life, whatever happens.
At Little Scholars, we understand the importance of routine and make sure to help all children in our care develop healthy habits. To share this knowledge, we collated eight of our top tips to help you implement routines for your child that will help them flourish.
One core benefit of a well-structured routine is that it can help the child feel safe and manage any changes that come their way. These challenging periods may include moving home, changing school, etc.
Maintaining a routine during these trying times can help them find some comfort and stability, allowing them to adapt in a healthy manner.
Many daily routines such as taking baths, mealtime, story time, bedtime, or setting the table, can be seen as simple and taken for granted. However, each has the opportunity to teach valuable life lessons about responsibility, time management, and more that will stay with them until adulthood. Whatever the routine may be, it’s an excellent opportunity to support your child’s learning and development, even while having fun.
A routine can help your child build their curiosity, self-confidence, and self-control, all things they will require while growing up.
Love them or not, routines are a fact of life. They encompass almost everything we do as adults, from work to socialising. This is why accustoming your child to routines at a young age can help develop their social skills.
Routines around playtime and mealtime are the best to develop these skills fully. As they communicate, share toys, help others, share food, and take turns in different activities, children start to develop excellent social skills. In addition, with a routine in place surrounding these activities, they begin to understand whether it’s time to play or not.
If you’re based in South East Queensland and want the best environment for your child to develop their social skills, then book a tour with us today.
Routines perform a vital role in the home environment as they can help your child feel more secure and cared for. So try and build practices centred around having fun or around family time as they can instil a sense of belonging and strengthen family bonds.
It’s easy to understand this if you imagine your child had a tough day at school, yet they know they can look forward to story time when they get home. In addition, activities like reading together, sharing conversations over a meal (meals could be a no-technology time), or playing sports can foster healthy habits in your child – which brings us to our next point …
Another relevant facet of routines for young children is that they can establish healthy habits that can sometimes be hard to implement. These habits include brushing teeth, washing hands, using the toilet, exercising, etc.
Eventually, these routines can also reduce your stress as your child begins performing these necessary habits by themself. Daily routines also help set the child’s body clock. For instance, bedtime routines can help program the child’s body to know when it’s time to sleep.
Routines are in place for your child, but they also make your life easier. Parenthood can be pretty overwhelming, and having a pattern to work around is a huge bonus. On top of this, a predictable routine helps free up spare time that you might not have had, as there is less time wasted on figuring out what you or your child need to do next.
They can also take some stress out of decision making – if Tuesday night is taco night, then there’s no room for arguments!
Most of all, they teach children skills and responsibility.
Chores may well be chores, but they are an essential aspect of every person’s life, and developing good habits and routines around them from a young age can help guarantee success for your child.
For example, if you set your child the task of setting and clearing the table, they may not know which side to put the forks on the first time they do it. However, as they perform the task more often, they will get comfortable doing it and learn to appreciate the importance of the job and how it is a help to you.
While routines are helpful in many ways, and some structure is good, it’s vital to note that they’re not the be-all and end-all of raising a child. There should still be free time to relax, play, or pursue creative activities. This free time might even lead to spontaneous ideas, which can be the highlight of not just a child’s week, but of their early life. Routines should also be flexible, adapting to the child as they grow, or under certain special circumstances.
Little Scholars is a privately-owned and operated early learning campus providing quality early education and care for children across South East Queensland.
We offer you and your child the very best facilities, resources and early educational, play-based programs available, which are underpinned by the early years learning framework. We believe that through quality education and care for children, we can also encourage, assist, and support the entire family.
Our dedicated team of educators are committed to the individual needs and interests of children and their families, and thus we encourage and welcome family input and involvement.
So if you’re looking for an early learning company that can fit in with your daily routine, contact Little Scholars today. Want to keep reading? Check out our blog on Getting Messy in Childhood now!
As early childhood educators, we encounter a variety of situations on a daily basis, ranging from ordinary to interesting (to say the least!). Reflective practice in early learning is about taking a step back and critically examining these experiences to better understand what happened and why. By reflecting on our practice, we can learn from our experiences, improve our approach, and ultimately provide better care for the children in our campuses.
Little Scholars provides an attractive and safe environment to children on the Gold Coast while giving you total peace of mind while your children are in our care. Learning areas include well-equipped playrooms and landscaped outdoor spaces for maximum learning opportunities. Book a tour today if you are looking for an early learning campus in South East Queensland.
Reflective practice is a process of critical examination and evaluation of experiences, situations, and decisions to learn from them and improve future practice. It involves actively seeking out information, analysing and interpreting it, and using it to guide decision-making and improve outcomes. Reflective practice is not just about what happened, but also about why it happened and how it can be improved.
We apply reflective practice to various aspects of our work, such as planning, teaching, assessing, and communicating with children and families. It helps us identify the rationale behind our practices and evaluate whether they are consistent with our beliefs, values, and core philosophy.
Little Scholars School of Early Learning’s The Collective is a service-wide, multi-faceted educational initiative, designed to enhance each child’s learning and development and best support educators’ time spent with children.
There are different types of reflective practice, including reflection-in-action, reflection-on-action, and reflection-for-action.
Reflection-in-action occurs spontaneously as we make decisions in response to what is happening in the moment.
Reflection-on-action involves thinking about experiences after the event and questioning how and why a specific practice contributed to or detracted from a child’s learning or relationships with families.
Reflection-for-action is a proactive way of thinking about future action and involves considering different approaches and refining inclusive practices and communication strategies to improve outcomes.
We view reflective practice as an essential component of developing a culture of learning that drives continuous improvement and focuses attention on quality outcomes for children and families. It helps us to enrich children’s learning, build our own knowledge and skills, and affirm and challenge our colleagues.
To engage in reflective practice, we take time to observe children closely, foster relationships and gain insights into their thinking and learning. Here are some strategies we employ to engage in reflective practice in early learning:
Reflective practice in early childhood education is important as it ensures educators regularly reflect on what they do, why they do it, and how this knowledge can improve their practice.
Studies show that high-quality early childhood settings positively affect children’s development, and reflective practice is a feature of such environments. This practice allows early childhood professionals to develop a critical understanding of our own practice and continually develop the necessary skills, knowledge and approaches to achieve the best outcomes for children.
Reflective practice also helps us create real opportunities for children to express their own thoughts and feelings and actively influence what happens in their lives. In addition, reflective practice helps professionals to develop a deeper awareness of their own prejudices, beliefs, and values, and advance learning for vulnerable children.
At Little Scholars, we recognise the importance of reflective practice in providing high-quality early education to the children in our care. Our educators engage in regular reflection and are encouraged to share their insights and experiences with their colleagues.
We believe that by reflecting on our practice, we can continually improve and adapt to better meet the needs of the children and families we serve. The Collective allows for educators to have autonomy in how they document and plan for children. This supports a strength-based approach with our team.
If you live in South East Queensland, book a tour today to enrol your child in the best early learning campuses in the community.
At Little Scholars, we use the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) to guide our approach to teaching and learning. We are committed to creating fun and engaging experiences, which are inspired by Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, for children that promote their social, emotional, and cognitive development. This, combined with our committment to reflective practice, is why we believe we provide such a strong foundation for the children in our care.
Little Scholars provides an attractive and safe environment to children in South East Queensland while giving you total peace of mind while your children are in our care. Learning areas include well-equipped playrooms and landscaped outdoor spaces for maximum learning opportunities. Book a tour today to find out more.
Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) was designed to ensure that a consistent standard of early childcare education is provided to all children aged 0 – 5 years. The framework works as a guideline for early childhood educators to use when building out their programs and activities.
Early childhood educators who follow the EYLF are able to provide high-quality, play-based learning experiences to promote children’s physical, emotional, and cognitive development, and help them to become confident, resilient, and engaged learners.
The framework is built on a series of key pillars, principles, practices, and learning outcomes.
The three key pillars of the EYLF are Belonging, Being, and Becoming.
There are five principles in the framework that guide educators in providing high-quality, play-based learning experiences for young children.
There are several EYLF practices that guide educators in providing high-quality, play-based learning experiences for young children, and they are:
The EYLF outlines five learning outcomes that guide educators in promoting the social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children. These outcomes are:
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) provides a solid foundation for high-quality, play-based learning experiences for young children.
At Little Scholars, we follow the EYLF principles, practices, and learning outcomes to create a fun and engaging learning environment that promotes children’s overall development and well-being. We’re committed to ongoing learning and reflection to continually improve our teaching practices and provide the best possible learning experiences for young children. If you’re in need of care for your little ones in South East Queensland, book a tour today.
At Little Scholars School of Early Learning, we’re dedicated to shaping bright futures and instilling a lifelong passion for learning. With our strategically located childcare centres in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, we provide tailored educational experiences designed to foster your child’s holistic development.
Let us hold your hand and help looking for a child care centre. Leave your details with us and we’ll be in contact to arrange a time for a ‘Campus Tour’ and we will answer any questions you might have!
