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...

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