NEW TOYS

We have been fortunate in acquiring some good quality toys and games from the Pre School Learning Alliance in Leicester which is shortly to cease operation.  The PLA Resource Centre in Knighton Lane, Leicester is however very much still operating - they stock a wide range of arts and crafts materials, wooden toys and games for sale - excellent quality Christmas present ideas!  They open Tues pm / Wed / Thurs / Fri am - flyers at the toy library will give you more information.

Here is a list of the new toys you will be able to try out -

INSEY WINSEY SPIDER COUNTING GAME

SNAILS PACE RACE

SPOTTY DOGS COUNTING GAME

BUILD A VILLAGE

WOODEN BEAR FAMILY

BUILD A VILLAGE

NOSH

DOODLEBUGS GAME

SCAREDY CAT GAME

INTERSTAR CONSTRUCTION SET

COLORAMA

WOODEN TIC TAC TOE

MUSIC SET 1

MUSIC SET 2

SOUNDTRACKS AROUND THE WORLD

MATCH AND COUNT

WOODEN THREADING SHAPES

FIVE LITTLE MEN SONG MITTEN

HONEYCOMB HIKE

CONNECTING PEOPLE

NUMBER CHAINS

FARM ANIMAL SORTING SET

MINIBEAST WOODEN DOMINOES

VET PUZZLE

DOCTOR PUZZLE

WOODEN NUMBER MATCHING BOX

WOODEN FISHING GAME

WOODEN HAMMER BENCH

TABLE FOOTBALL PUZZLE

SPORTS DAY PUZZLE

FEED THE BIRDS GAME

Play & Learning Sessions

This week sees the start of our series of structured "guided play" sessions thanks to the funding support from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales. 

We start with two sessions aimed at tactile and creative play inspired by Halloween and Bonfire Night.  Our activities will include food tasting - but only if you can pick it up with chopsticks!; splatter painting - aprons provided!; mini beast hunts .... but in jelly!; craft masks and bags to take home.

Posters are displayed around the toy library and we have leaflets to tell you about the other sessions leading up to Christmas.  We are extending the taster sessions we did last term on schema, treasure baskets and heuristic play to enable you to explore further the whys and wherefores of children's learning through play.

Do come along and support these sessions which are being run during our normal play times - this seems to suit the majority of our members having tried different days and times last term.  Normal stay and play charges apply.

Many thanks for your support

WOW - NEW TOYS!

 

Following our Nearly New Sale on 6th October we have acquired a huge number of new (to us) toys, games and equipment for everyone to borrow.  We have some fantastic new puzzles and games, a new baby activity centre which I think may rival the Jumparoos for popularity!, a range of new pretend play sets, constructing kits, outdoor toys and dressing up .... and yet more!

Also we have now taken delivery of our new activity toys thanks to the Charnwood Borough Council Staying Healthy Grant - 2 balance bikes and a first motor bike!

COME ALONG THIS WEEK TO PICK UP SOME TOYS FOR HALF TERM!

CLOSED 22 - 26TH OCTOBER BUT

OPEN THIS THURSDAY 6.30 - 7.30 PM (18TH OCT)

Child Play & Development Sessions

A huge thanks to Lloyds TSB Foundation, who have provided us with the means to offer guided play sessions to support different aspects of play and development from November 2012.  We have run taster guided play sessions since Easter following our successful bid to the Shepshed and Hathern Community Forum.  We have explored aspects of communication, physical play and social interaction to support the Early Years Foundation recommendations.

We have deduced from attendance figures that most people will attend during our normal session times so we are now dedicating one session per week as a specific "child learning and development through guided play" session.  This will mean you have dedicated support from staff and volunteers who are familiar with the concepts we are promoting and will be able to discuss with you and offer suggestions of how to support your child through play.

The dates for this term from after the half term break are -

Wed 31st October - Halloween - creative and tactile play and activity session

Mon 5th November - Bonfire Night - creative and tactile play session

Mon 12th November - Physical play / Tummy time for the Under 2's

Wed 21st November - Treasure baskets / Transporting schema

Fri 30th November - Rotation Schema

Fri 7th December - Trajectory Schema

Wed 12th December - Christmas Party & Musical Bumps (Tickets £3 10 am - 3pm)

Wed 19th December - Enclosing / Enveloping Schema - wrapping presents!

All sessions except where indicated will be run from 9.30 - 12.00 and we ask for a contribution of £1 per family.  Some additional craft activities may incur a small charge to contribute to our costs.

Don't forget our Schema session on Friday 12th October which will introduce and explain all the schema we will then cover in these sessions!  1.00 - 3.00 pm.

SCHEMA - GUIDED PLAY & TRAINING

Our next guided play session on October 12th 1 - 3 pm is about schema - you may be wary about attending not fully understanding what it will all be about - let me dispel any fears!

The word  'schema' is generally used to describe patterns of repeated behaviour which children use to explore and express their ideas and thoughts through play and exploration ....

still confused ?  How about if we use examples like ...

a child in a high chair dropping things again and again - the repeated action - and your response to it - helps the child to develop meaning to what they are doing and thus extends their thinking and development.

Schemas are biological - we are born with them and they are central to how we learn and develop although they will be influenced by our surroundings and the people we regularly interact with.

Some of the schema we will be looking at are

• Rotational - fascination with spinning / wheeled toys / roundabouts etc
• Trajectory - dropping things / throwing / climbing and jumping off things
• Transporting - moving themselves or other things from place to place
• Connecting - joining and disconnecting train tracks / constructing toys etc
• Positioning - lining up objects - cars / shoes / books or putting things in groups

Perhaps you recognise your own actions in these descriptions and certainly those of your young children.

To understand more come along with the children to the play session on Friday Oct 12th 1 - 3 pm (don't worry we'll be finished in time for school pick up) or come along without the children to learn some more!

For childminders / carers / practitioners or other interested persons we are running an in house training session on Monday 1st October from 12.30pm - 2.30 to explore these avenues further.  Places are limited so please contact the Toy Library if you'd like to book a place £5 per person.

New Term - new faces

Monday 3rd September sees us open for business as usual with loads of plans for fun and exciting activities!

We have said goodbye to Maria who has moved "up north" to explore new opportunities and so are delighted to report that one of our regular members and volunteer Jodie Smith will be taking over from Maria in the stay and play sessions.

Lots of plans afoot - this term we are exploring some of our new Play and Share (story) sacks as these have all been updated refreshed and improved and we now have around 40 - 50 available for loan.

Our theme this term will be around "our healthy bodies" incorporating aspects of healthy eating - supported by a grant from Charnwood Borough Council's Staying Healthy campaign - which will enable us to provide healthy snacks and drinks in our cafe.  We will also continue our guided play sessions supported by the Community Forum bid monies with communication, schema and physical play still to come.

Our first week back we are looking at farms ... after all where does all our food come from! - with making activities, singing and story time to look forward to.  The library room has had a good sort out over the holidays with shelves looking tidy and toys easily accessed - take some time to browse and choose some great toys.

Do come along - bring a friend along and you can both benefit from our "refer a friend" scheme where if you encourage a new member to join you can both borrow a Play & Share sack for free! ( Normally £2.50)

Looking forward to a great term!

NEARLY NEW SALE - 6TH OCTOBER 2012

Shepshed Toy Library are pleased to announce their

Nearly New Sale

on

Saturday October 6th 2012

at Shepshed Toy Library, Hind Leys Campus

Children growing up fast – toys, games and clothes you no longer need? Can’t be bothered with ebay or car boot sales? Then come along to the Nearly New Sale at Shepshed Toy Library – register as a seller and take the hassle out of moving stuff on – and reap the rewards. Full information below!

• People interested in selling at the sale should contact the Toy Library – 01509 601146 or email shepshedtoylib@tiscali.co.uk for a sellers pack.

• Leave name, telephone number and e mail address for contact.

• Sellers pack £2 (cash or cheque payable to Shepshed Toy Library) to cover our administration cost & Stamped Addressed Envelope to receive your sale proceeds after the event (Your admin fee will be deducted from your sales proceeds if not paid in advance)

• You will receive a guidance sheet, sellers sheet and set of sticky labels - max 30 items per seller

• Percentage commission – 30% to toy library 70% to seller

• Emphasis on toys and games for sale – any clothes must be on hangers

• All items to be good quality / toys and games complete no pieces missing

• Sellers will be issued with a unique number and use this for labelling up items.

• Sellers can deposit items from 9am, sale will open from 11 – 2pm.

• Unsold items to be collected by 4pm

• Any remaining items will be accepted as donations to the Toy Library to either add to Toy Library stock or pass to other charitable organisations.

• Sticky labels will be removed from items as proof of sale and totalled up on the day.

• Cheques will be issued to sellers within 7 days of the event.

Nothing to sell this time?

Come along to pick up some bargains instead!

Saturday 6th October – doors open at 11am.

Thank you for your support

Still unsure - see below for our sellers guidance notes to help you decide.

Sellers Guidance

What can I sell?

You can sell baby and children’s wear (up to aged ten), maternity wear (not oversized ladies wear!), equipment, books and toys.

Clothes:

Each item sold counts towards one of your 30 items so it is best to bundle up babygrows and smaller items. We will only sell items that are of new or nearly new quality, and are clean and in good condition. Remember, this is not a jumble sale – dirty/worn-out goods will be rejected.

Toys:

Toys and puzzles must be complete. Any loose parts should be securely attached. Seal puzzles in clear plastic bag. Toys with batteries sell better if batteries are included.

Equipment:

Equipment items sell better and for more if instructions (and if you have them, guarantees) are included. Be especially careful if selling stair gates, fireguards, barriers and bed guards. These must have all the correct fittings and have no gaps where it would be possible for a baby to get its head stuck. Please include any instructions for use. (These can be duplicates downloaded from manufacturer’s website.) These, together with the fittings, should be securely attached in a separate bag.

Door bouncers, sit in activity centres and baby walkers can also be sold. To minimise the risk of accidents please ensure that door bouncers are sold with assembly instructions including a weight limit. Second hand mattresses can be sold providing they have a waterproof cover (eg. PVC) with no tears, cracks or holes.

Is there anything I can’t sell at the sale?

• Car seats

• Door bouncers (without assembly instructions and weight limit)

• Breast pumps

• Dummies

• Baby bottles

• Anything with a teat

• Baby food & formula milk

• Riding hats/crash helmets / bicycle helmets

• Hand-knitted toys

• Clothes with a drawstring around the neck

• Mains powered electrical equipment

Can I sell my pushchair?

We can sell pushchairs with or without instructions. Obviously, pushchairs with instructions sell better so if you do have them, please attach these or you can try downloading them from the manufacturers’ website.

I have a baby sling to sell – can I sell it?

Yes, but bag -style slings can’t be sold. They are the ones with a deep pouch and an elasticated edge. Whilst these products have not been recalled, they may cause breathing difficulties in young babies. The brands and products which cannot be accepted are:

Infantino sling ride Premaxx baby bag

Munchkin cargo sling Boppy carry in comfort

Lamaze close comfort Wendy Bellissimo sling

How do I make sure I don’t over or under price my items?

The guidelines are that you prices at 20-25% of the original selling price of the item you are selling. Below are some guidelines which may help you.

Please try not to overprice your items otherwise you may be surprised with the number of unsold items you are left with (particularly clothes).

Ask yourself: a) Would I buy it? b) How much would I pay? c) Do I ever want to see this again?

Clothes (according to brand and quality)

Babygrows 50p–£1.50 Shirts £1–£3 Cardigans/jumpers £1.50-£3 Dresses £2-£4

Trousers/skirts £1.50-£3; Jackets £4-£5 Pram suits £2-£4 Shorts/T-shirts 50p-£2

Socks & vests (eg 5 pairs) £1-£2 Slippers & wellies £1-£3 Swimwear £1-£2.50 Grobags £5-£10

Toys

Activity centres £2-£6 Baby gyms £2-£6 Books 50p-£2 Large Dolls £2-£5

Large Cars £2-£4 Jigsaws/Board games 50p – £2 Ride on toys (inc. bikes/scoters) £5 DVDS £1-£2

Equipment

High chairs £10+ Strollers £10+ Pushchairs with accessories £20+ Moses Baskets £8+

Travel cots £20 Cots £15 Booster seats £5 - £10 Safety gates £10+

Slings £7-£15 Backpacks £10-£30 Bedguards £5+

How do I label my items?

Only use the labels sent to you for this sale and do not exceed the maximum (30 items)

Complete the label as follows:

NO: Your Unique Seller Number for this sale

Description :Short description to help any queries (eg book / DVD / skirt)

PRICE : Realistic prices in multiples of 10p only

DONATION : If you do not wish to collect your unsold items mark a D on your ticket


• Attach the whole label securely.

• Where possible please use hangers for clothes. Smaller items may be placed in clear plastic bags.

• Items with no labels cannot be sold. Any items that don’t have a label will be placed on one side for collection at the end of the sale.

• Please consider sellotaping or cling filming toys that have many pieces together to ensure it stays as one item.

• Please do not label or sort through your items on the day – please ensure they are all labelled and bundled correctly before the day of the sale.

• To help you to monitor your items for sale, we have enclosed a list which we advise you to complete to record items/prices.

• It helps if you can use clearly labelled boxes (Name & seller number) (and not bags) to bring in your items. Any unsold items can then be quickly sorted and returned to you.

Please promote the sale – tell all your friends and ask for a poster for your child’s nursery / school or preschool. The more people that know the better the chance of your items selling!

SUMMER FUN STARTS HERE!

The first of our summer holiday sessions starts tomorrow - Wednesday 8th August from 9.30 - 12.00 noon, with further sessions on Wednesday 15th and 22nd. 

We plan to have outdoor fun - if the rain holds off for more than 5 minutes! and a range of crafts to make and take home inside.  Sand and water play, role play, dressing up and anything else you can think of!  Enjoy a drink and snack whilst the children play!

The borrowing library is open at the same time to return or renew items or select a range of toys for the rest of the holidays to keep the whole family amused once the Olympics have finished.

The stay and play session will cost £1 per child - this includes a free drink and a choice of one of our many crafts which include - pendants, bookmarks, gliders, butterfly fans, crowns or Hamma bead creations!
Additional crafts are also on offer for a small fee.

Come along and try out our new toys courtesy of the Tesco vouchers which arrived last week!

Monster Mitts - throwing and catching game!

Changing Membership Rates

Check out changes to our membership, stay and play  and lending fees - see pages entitled Updated Membership and Lending 2012 and Schools, Groups and childminders 2012 on left hand side

CHANGE TO SUMMER HOLIDAY DATES

PLEASE NOTE THE TOY LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED ON FRIDAY 13TH JULY AND WILL REOPEN ON MONDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER

Toys can be borrowed for the holidays / returned next week on Monday / Wednesday 9.30 - 12.00 or on Thursday evening 12th July 6.30 - 7.30 pm after our physical play session for over 3s (4 - 6pm)/

A reminder of our summer opening dates - Wednesday 8th / 15th / 22nd August 9.30 - 12.00 - arts / crafts / outside (I hope!) physical activity / playing / socialising and having fun!

See you then and have a great summer!

FISH AND CHIPS

A reminder to everyone - members, trustees, friends and interested parties that our AGM and Fish and Chip supper night is tomorrow - Thursday 5th July from 7.30pm at the toy library.

The business side will include looking at our future and what members want from the toy library and what the trustees need to do to keep it viable so we'll also be looking at our pricing structure.  We will need to elect our trustees and committee for the coming year - new members always welcome.

Come along and have your say .... and your fish and chips!

TREASURE BASKET SESSIONS

Our new treasure basket resources

The first of our Treasure Basket sessions runs tomorrow with credit to the Leicestershire County Council Community Forum who have provided funds to support this project.

We are intending to split our session into two to maximise everyone's enjoyment of seeing and supporting their babies and young children in the exploration of natural and familiar (or not!) items.


Places are still available so do come along - sessions start at 9.30 - 10.30 and 11.00 - 12.00 at the Toy Library.

Child Safety Week

As child safety week comes to a close -  please see our pages on CHILD SAFETY for some hints and tips which have been highlighted by the child safety organisation to bring to the attention of parents - the topics we have concentrated on are - safety in the garden / hazards of nappy sacks / blind cords / safe sleeping - so do have a look at the pages for some helpful hints.

BIG TODDLE

 Friday this week (tomorrow!) is our fantastic Barnardos Big Toddle event - some people have already got some sponsorship in place and are geared up for a terrific toddle.

 

The weather may not be in our favour so can I suggest wellies, waterproofs and umbrellas for all. We will set off around 10am around the fields of Hind Leys with a mission to collect treasure on our way. Refreshments and healthy fruit pots will await our return.

 If you haven't got a sponsorship form or haven't managed to get many (or any!) sponsors do come along anyway and join the fun - badges and stickers for those taking part.

 25% of everything we raise will go to the toy library the rest being passed to the deserving Barnardos charity.

 Thanks for your support - see you tomorrow 10am!

 

 

FISH & CHIPS...

Our AGM this year will be held on Thursday 5th July at the Toy Library from 7.30pm
We will combine the meeting with a yummy fish and chip supper so do come along and join us.

All our members and interested parties are welcome to the meeting.  If you'd like to have a say in the future of the toy library or even just listen to other people's ideas then do come along.

We are always - of course! - delighted to welcome new comers to our committee and feel free to express your desire to join us.

Many thanks and look forward to seeing you on the 5th

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY

TREASURE BASKET TRAINING
We are running a training session on using and supporting others (children and their parents!)  to encourage and explore the benefits and uses of treasure baskets to stimulate young children in exploring the world around them.

Our session is on Wednesday 20th June from 1pm - suitable for childminders / carers / child care practitioners who'd like more of an insight into this valuable resource.

Please let me know if you'd like to attend (cost £5)

Many thanks
Jane

Guided Play

Check out the page "GUIDED PLAY EVENTS 2012" for forthcoming sessions!
Book early places limited...

JUBILEE ACTIVITIES

Come along and join in our Jubilee fun.  Craft activities on Monday in prepration for our Jubilee Picnic on Wednesday.  Both running in our normal session times 9.30 - 12 noon.       Thursday evening sees our normal session between 6.30 - 7.30pm.  This will be followed by our trustee and committee meeting.  Do come along to the meeting to find out about or have your say in the future of the Toy Library.  You don't have to be on the committee to come!    Half term is soon upon us with an extra day this time so we are

CLOSED ON FRIDAY 1ST JUNE through to FRIDAY 8TH JUNE.     REOPEN MONDAY 11TH JUNE.

Snow White

Tiger Who came to Tea

 STORY SACKS

As part of our plan to encourage communication and sharing stories with your children we are doing a complete overhaul of all our story sacks .... and creating some new story and theme sacks. We are up to around 40 at the last count

Baby Sack

Dentist / Selfish Crocodile



New Baby / sibling



 A full list of the sacks is in the entrance foyer with the updated bags on pegs labelled as to content.  We have included suggested age ranges and a list of contents together with photos as seen here.

We are asking for a fee of £2 per bag for a period, as with other toys, of 4 weeks.  Each bag has upwards of 10 items inside so a bargain at this price (Our annual membership payers will also be asked to pay £1 of this fee) - and only counts as one of your items borrowed.

Come along and browse the selection and watch each week as our updated sacks are put on display - if you borrow now you and your children can explore the sacks over the half term break !



Camping Trip



Musical bumps at stay and play

Wednesday this week sees our introductory session to Musical Bumps with Angela Bogie - can't wait for the fun to begin.  We are asking families for a £1 contribution for stay and play on this day in the hope that we can ask Angie along to future sessions also.

We have been successful in our recent bid to the Shepshed and Hathern Community Forum gaining funds towards offering some guided play sessions and increasing our advertising and marketing to attract more users to our unique service.

The play sessions will run between June - December and will cover topics such as

• treasure basket exploration with babies and young children,
• children's communication - how adult interaction can help,
• physical development for babies / toddlers and beyond
• putting the play back into learning - helping adults to play alongside!

Dates for these sessions will be advertised shortly with some running in our existing stay and play times and some outside to try and suit all our supporting families.

If you have any particular interest in any of these outline topics then do let us know by emailing to shepshedtoylib@tiscali.co.uk with your interest and contact details so we can keep you informed as dates are planned.

Other sessions coming up will include dedicated child minder sessions during National Childminding Week (11 - 15th June) run by our own Professional Childminder - Maria, who will help and support child minders on aspects of the new EYFS, record keeping, Learning Journeys and basically any other queries or support needed.  Again - let us know if you'd like to come along.

Look forward to seeing you soon

MUSICAL BUMPS
We are delighted to continue our relationship with Angie Bogie and MUSICAL BUMPS.  Angie is visiting our Stay & Play session on WEDNESDAY 16TH MAY to give us a taster of music and fun.  We are inviting everyone to come along to our normal session from 9.30am.  We are asking for a contribution of £1 per family and hope this will mean we can invite Angie along again in the future.

We are also pleased to remind you of our BIRTHDAY PARTY scheme.  The Toy library is available for parties at a cost of £20 per hour hired - this will include setting up and clearing away time (Min hire 2 hours) - you can borrow toys from the lending library and use the kitchen area to prepare your birthday tea.  The Toy Library is available for hire anytime we are not open including evenings and weekends.

SPECIAL OFFER
Angie is offering to combine our party scheme with a MUSICAL BUMPS PARTY for a discounted rate of only £60 (instead of £75) if held at the Toy Library before 13th July 2012!  WOW what an offer.
This means your child and 11 friends can have a fabulous party at the Toy Library including up to an hour of Musical bumps for only £100!

Please ask toy library staff for details of availability and booking forms.

COME ALONG AND HAVE SOME FUN!

St George and the Dragon has been our theme since coming back after Easter and our impressive display of the St George cross and some fierce dragons have certainly made an impact.  We have been playing with castles and make believe play whilst still looking at different construction and "little finger" toys.  Remember everything in the play room can be borrowed so the fun can carry on at home.

Our recent delivery of new stock and additional resources for our craft and stationery shop are also worth a look!

A reminder of our Thursday night session this week 6.30 - 7.30pm- do come along and support us.

Lots of fantastic comments about the space in the stay and play room - do come along and see for yourselves!

We have just put in a bid for some funds to run some guided play sessions and you can support our bid by visiting www.leicestershireforums.org/shepsh and scrolling down the list of other bids to find our entry "Developing Play - Shepshed Toy Library". Have a read and make a comment. Whilst your comment doesn't act as a vote the judges will take into account the number of community supporters of our project when making our decision.

If successful we willbe able to run some sessions on baby tummy time and physical development / promoting speech and language in the under 5's and some treasure basket and exploration activities - all really valuable stuff so do your bit for us so we can help you!

Please pass on to your friends and relatives who live locally so they too can offer their support.

Many thanks

New Term

Well the Easter holidays are now behind us and we are gearing up for a great lead into the summer term with the Diamond Jubilee celebration picnics and many arts and crafts with a theme of knights, princesses and all things royal.

You will notice a few changes at the toy library so do come and visit us and tell us what you think!

We open again on Monday and continue our usual sessions on Mon / Wed / Fri between 9.30 - 12.00, our next Thursday evening being 26th April from 6.30 - 7.30pm.

All welcome !

EASTER HOLIDAYS

The toy library is now closed for the Easter break - we reopen on Monday 16th April.

We have now said goodbye to both Alison and Nichole after many years of great service and welcome Jane and Maria to the hotseats!

There will be a range of exciting activities planned for next term incorporating St George and the Diamond Jubilee whilst promoting our construction toys for little fingers and looking to the fine weather and playing outdoors.

We look forward to meeting more new faces next term and hearing your views on things you like about the toy library and things you'd like us to do differently.

Thank you for your continued support

Out & About is theme for National Childminders week 2012

Calling all childminders and nannies! Here’s an important date for your diaries – National Childminding Week, 11–17 June 2012. Organised by the National Childminding Association (NCMA), this year’s theme is Out and About.

With its emphasis on the outdoors, the theme gives NCMA members a perfect opportunity to explore the world outside, learn about different cultures and let children’s imaginations run riot!

Check out the great resources that your toy library can offer you!

Find out more and share your ideas on activities, events and resources: at the NCMA site

Little fingers!

This month, we are promoting our range of toys for 'little fingers' - toys that include lacing, threading, stacking, sorting, positioning, stencilling etc. Come and browse our fantastic range or ask advice for something that would suit your little one.

We are also promoting craft activities for 'little fingers' and have a great sale of discounted and end of line bargains. Perfect for the Easter holidays, or as gifts.

With Easter in mind we are organising craft activities at our stay and play sessions: make an Easter mask or an Easter basket (a small charge applies to these activities).

If you are going to be at home for Easter, have you tried one of our story sacks? A book, game, DVD, puzzle and accessories to act out a story or explore a theme. A fantastic bargain at £1.50 per sack per month. Our story sacks include:

• The very hungry caterpillar
• Nursery rhymes
• Bob the builder
• Snow white and the 7 dwarfs
• The wheels on the bus
• Children's cookery
• The old lady who swallowed a fly
• The farm
• Around the world
• Angelina ballerina
• The tiger who came to tea

and many more! You are welcome to browse the story sacks and look for one that suits your child's interests.

Our next evening session is Thursday 29th March at 6:30, and our last session before the Easter holidays is Friday 30th March. We will reopen on Monday 16th April.

Shiny bright healthy teeth!

Our current topic is teeth and we will soon have a friendly dentist come in to give us a talk on oral health. The children have enjoyed using toothbrushes to clean the teeth of the dinosaurs, and they have been fascinated by our 'mega teeth' - you have to see them to believe the size of this set of gnashers!

Here is our information leaflet on teeth:

A Parent’s Guide to Teeth

Questions & Answers about Kid’s teeth

What are the best snacks to give my child?

The best snacks are fruit and raw vegetables – bananas, carrot sticks. Also breadsticks, crackers
or rice cakes. Eating sweets at meal times helps to avoid building up acids by eating between meals.

What are the best drinks for my child’s teeth?

Children over one year old – milk and water. Cow’s milk is not suitable for children under 12months. Fruit juices (not for babies under 6 months) are best had at mealtimes using a straw.
If they are thirsty water is best. Fizzy drinks contain acids that can affect the enamel on your child’s teeth.

Are sippy cups good for teeth?

These cups are like bottles as a child will still need to suck to make them work. A feeder cup without valves is better as the flow is unrestricted. Bottles should be given up by the age of one because the teats and spouts encourage children to suck for long periods which can mean that the drink stays in contact with the teeth for longer and may cause tooth decay.

(Reference www.nhs.uk)


Check food labels for hidden sugars and limit the amount of sugary foods Begin to brush baby’s teeth as soon as they appear using a small soft brush. A high fluoride tooth paste is recommended. Brush your teeth after each main meal with your child so they learn by example.
Take your child to the dentist for regular checkups every 6 months.

(Reference Nursery World and Stop the Rot campaign)

Carrot cake recipe

Our carrot cake was so popular at the toy library today, that you asked for the recipe. Here is Annabel Karmel's recipe, reproduced from the Pre-school Alliance magazine Oct 2011.

Ingredients:
300g peeled carrots (about 3 large carrots)
200g caster sugar
200g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed spice
85g raisins
100ml sunflower oil, plus a little for greasing
3 eggs (medium)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mascarpone icing:
250g mascarpone or cream cheese
50g softened butter
100g icing sugar
a few drops vanilla extract

Decoration:
ready to roll fondant icing
orange and green food colouring

Method:
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4/ Fan 160C. Grease a 20 cm diameter round cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Put the grated carrot in a bowl. Add the sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice. Then add the raisins and mix everything together. Whisk the oil, eggs and vanilla together in a jug then pour into the carrot mixture and stir. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch - a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before removing it.

To make the icing, mix together the softened butter and mascarpone in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth. When the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top using a spatula.

If you like you can decorate with carrots made from fondant icing tinted with food colouring.

Spring Activities

Promoting Diversity in Play

We’re all individuals

Young babies are fascinated by faces from a very early age, for example, focusing their attention on the simplest drawings resembling faces, as well as on the real faces they see in their daily lives. They also soon become intrigued by seeing reflections of themselves in mirrors and enjoy playing simple peep-bo games with their carers. However, some may also become anxious or apprehensive when coming across something ‘new’, such as someone wearing glasses or with a beard. It’s therefore clear that, from a very early stage, children start to develop a sense of their own individual identity, and start to become aware of some of the similarities and differences between themselves and others.

For children to have a positive sense of themselves, and to develop strong relationships with others, it’s crucial that they are able to recognise what makes them unique, and to value the similarities and differences they have with other people. Valuing the diversity of each individual, and the families and communities which they come from is therefore really important in helping to support each child’s personal, social and emotional development. In turn, this contributes to all other aspects of their learning and development.

Children are learning all the time through their environment and their experiences. Play is therefore be very important in helping them to develop positive attitudes to diversity between individuals, and between different cultures and communities. For example, a variety of toys, books and play materials can help them to recognise and respect:

• people with a range of hairstyles, skin tones, clothing and homes reflecting different ethnic groups and communities. These include books such as ‘Handa’s Surprise’, matching games such as ‘Never forget a face’ or a variety of dolls’ clothes such as a sari or shalwar kameez. These help children begin to understand the similarities and differences which make us all individuals.

• different kinds of music, musical instruments, foods, and celebrations which reflect different cultures, lifestyles and beliefs. For example, using a wok set or playing ‘bakers’ with a selection of different breads can help children to begin to understand some of the different ways in which we cook and eat; song books and recordings from around the world enable children to enjoy different rhythms and sounds and begin to recognise aspects of different celebrations.

• that both males and females do a range of jobs in the home, e.g books and puzzles showing ‘dads’ preparing food or caring for children and ‘mums’ mending the car or gardening. Encouraging both girls’ and boys’ interest in pretend play with items such as tool benches, vacuum cleaners, dolls and push chairs, helps them to begin to ‘act out’ a range of roles, including dealing with ‘technology’ , taking responsibility for their surroundings and caring for other people. All of these are essential for their future learning and personal development.

• that both women and men have a variety of jobs in the community, such as police officers, fire fighters or medical staff. For example, dressing up clothes such as tabards, helmets and medical kits encourage both boys and girls to ‘act out’ different roles and help to avoid stereotypical attitudes, e.g that firefighters are male and nurses are female.
  

• elderly people taking an active role family and community life, e.g. when using small figures representing different age groups in dolls house play children and adults with different abilities working, being with their families and playing. Such play materials might include dolls house figures with a wheelchairs or mobility aids, or books and pretend play ‘props’ helping children understand that many people benefit from ‘aids’ such as glasses
  

Through their play, and through shared use of books and stories, children are able to build on their own previous experiences at home and in their own familiar community. In addition, books and play materials all provide opportunities to extend children’s ideas by introducing things that they might not see elsewhere, such as images of people living on narrow boats, or wearing unfamiliar styles of clothing. Incorporating these things positively and naturally helps children to be confident of their own identity, respectful of other peoples, and aware of everybody’s potential to make a positive contribution to the world around them.

News

On Friday we were sad to say goodbye to Alison, we wish her all the best for the future. We are pleased to have Jane Hancox on board. Many of you will have had a chance to meet her this week.

Next week our play sessions focus on healthy eating and teeth.

Also, an early reminder that our next evening opening is Thursday March 29th 6:30-7:30pm A great time to stock up on toys, games and craft materials for the Easter holidays! We'll remind you again nearer the time...

'Like' us on facebook

Don't forget you can keep up to date with all our news by 'liking' us on facebook. Follow this link (or paste it into your browser) to see our Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shepshed-Toy-Library/254865121704

Skittle night

Last Friday volunteers, committee members and staff from the toy library had a social night consisting of lasagne and skittles at a venue in Loughborough.

We were delighted that new staff members Jane and Maria were able to join us and get to know the people who are involved in keeping the toy library running.

Welcome back!

Welcome back to a new half term. There are lots of changes happening at the toy library in the next 6 weeks. Alison will be leaving us in 2 weeks' time and Jane will be coming on board. But play sessions and toy lending still continue. We look forward to seeing you during the run up to Easter.

Our optician's theme continues and runs into colours and shapes. Come and join in with our play sessions on Mon, Weds and Fri 9:30-12:00

Half Term Fun

We hope everyone is having a great half term break.

Friends and members have been up to the following array of half term activities:

• spring watch (who can spot the bulbs coming through),
  

• baking cakes (carrot and orange - yum),
  

• dominoes championship (both the normal game and domino toppling - great fun - but don't sneeze!),
  

• blowing bubbles (and popping them!),
  

• paper craft and junk modelling (cut out favourite cartoon character faces from comics, glue them to toilet roll tubes and put on your own puppet show!),

• DVD and popcorn afternoon (we liked Desperaux and Over The Hedge),

• Family board games (so many to choose from, so many laughs to be had!).
  

What have you all been up to?

See you next week.

New Staff Appointed

We are pleased to announce the appointment of two new people to the Toy Library, taking on the vital roles of the day to day running of the Toy Library and in conjuction with the Committee and our brilliant volunteers continuing our fundraising efforts which keeps the charity afloat: Jane Hancock and Maria Hudson. I would like to say thank you to both Alison and Nichole for their hard work and dedication to the Toy Library over a number of years and wish them well for their future endeavours . - Louise Bowles (chair)

Environmental Statement

We have published our Environmental Statement on the website, please see the quality and environment link in the menu on the right hand side of the page. The statement covers our commitment to protect the world's resources and covers toy stock, stationary and consumables, premises and working environment.

Fun in the snow!

It was good to see so many friends and volunteers of the toy library out on the playing fields at the weekend enjoying the snow!

The toy library is open in all weathers, although we appreciate that it may be difficult to come out in cold and icy conditions. If you are wondering how clear the roads are around us, please feel free to call and we'll give you an update.

If you do make it up to us, we have a good stock of hot drinks in the coffee-bar including some delicious hot chocolate!

New guided play sheet

We have added our popular guided play sheet on "dough" to the play sheets plage. Click on the libk in the side menu to find it. A sheet on Outdoor Play will soon be added - once the weather gets a bit warmer!

Make 2012 the year of the trustee

The toy library is always happy to welcome new people to our committee. We meet every second month at the toy library on a Thursday evening 7:30- 9:00 to discuss how the toy library works and make plans for the following 8-12 weeks.

Please ask for more details if you might be interested. You are welcome to attend a meeting to 'get a feel' for what we do. Our next committee meeting is Thursday 26th January, and the following one will be Thursday 29th March.

Below is information from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations:

With an average of one in five charities having trustee vacancies this is an ideal time to think about your organisation's trustee recruitment strategy and to also consider becoming a trustee yourself. Trusteeship is a fantastic opportunity for you to gain valuable work experience, make good contacts and learn new skills that could be transferred to an employer. As an organisation new trustees can bring expertise, energy, ideas and creativity to your board.

If you're interested in becoming a trustee follow these top tips to ensure you find the right position:

1. Do your homework and find a charity you feel passionate about
2. Be clear about the responsibilities you will be taking on and make sure the charity is incorporated
3. Check that the strategic direction of the charity matches its legal objects
4. Know the time commitments – every charity will expect different things. You might be asked to sit on a subcommittee which is extra meetings. Make sure you can give it the time it requires, including reading board papers in advance of meetings!
5. Understand who the beneficiaries are – this is where the organisation’s loyalty lies
   

For more information on becoming a trustee, or to recruit new trustees for your organisation go to:

Trustees Unlimited www.trustees-unlimited.co.uk
Trustee Bank http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/trusteebank

Refurbishments complete!

The Midlands Co-op awarded us a grant of £2850 in 2011 for refurbishments to improve the security, safety and energy efficiency of the toy library.

All work has been completed now, and has included: replacement doors, a new carpet in the lending room, window repairs and thermal insulating blinds, new energy efficient heaters, repairs to the exterior of the building, new fire extinguishers and redecoration following the refurbishments.

Many thanks again to the Midlands Co-op for their support.

January/February play themes

We are focusing on eye health at the moment! Come and play in our opticians shop - try on a range of frames and see how you look, or try out our eye charts. We are also making some very trendy glasses - you can decorate your own frames and put coloured cellophane lenses in! We will be playing games to do with 'looking for things' and noticing what we can see around us.

Leaflets and advice for parents have kindly been provided by Hallcroft opticians (01509 650666), and we have reproduced their advice on children's eye care below.

Children's Eye Care - provided by Hallcroft Opticians

Did you know that 80% of what your son or daughter learns comes to them visually?

Some common eye conditions are treatable if diagnosed at an early age.

Things to be aware of that may indicate your child needing their eyes tested include:

• Consistently sitting to close to the TV or holding a book too close
• Losing his/her place while reading
• Using a finger to follow along while reading
• Tilting the head to see better
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Sensitivity to light
• Excessive tearing
• Closing one eye to read/see better/watch TV
• Avoiding reading or playing ball games
• Complaining of headaches/tired eyes

Frequently Asked Questions:

When should I take my child for a test? - The sooner the better, even if you do not detect any of the above things as they may have a lazy eye which is difficult for the untrained person to detect.

My child cannot read or does not know their letters - This is not a problem. We have other ways of testing their eyes without relying on reading letters.

How much does it cost? The test itself is free under the NHS. If they need spectacles, and NHS voucher is issued to cover the whole cost or part payment.

Raising funds with Shepshed Building Society

Going into the New Year - perhaps a thought for Christmas or Birthday money?

If you, or anyone in your family, has a savings account with the Shepshed Building Society, you can nominate for it to be affiliated to the Shepshed toy library.

For every nominated account, the Shepshed Building Society makes a donation to our toy library funds. This does not affect the interest that you receive, but does help us! Please ask at the toy library or building society for more details.

Happy New Year

Welcome back and a Happy New Year to all our members and friends.

This month we will be doing Chinese New Year craft activities and exploring the topics of eye-health and dental health.

We are also introducing two new story sacks: "shapes and colour" and "dentists".

Our evening opening this month will be Thursday January 26th.

We look forward to seeing you soon.