Story Cafe | FEBRUARY 2024

These sessions have a focus on Communication and language development, with an emphasis on the benefits of sharing stories together. We share a story with props, play and explore around the story with activities, enjoy a healthy snack and finish with songtime. Each child takes home a free picture book and a sticker. Story Cafe sessions are FREE, including all activities, picture book and snack for children and adults, and led by our teacher / Communication Champion. 

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson.

Published by Walker Books. Find out more here - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/o/owl-babies/ 

Yoga and Mindfulness with families

 

This week at First Steps our Thursday morning was a yoga and mindfulness special for families.  Here, I'll include what the benefits of yoga and mindfulness are for children, as well as loads of pictures and resources for you to use or share, or borrow from the library.

WHAT?

Gentle movement exercise

Nurtures a strong healthy body

A calm contented mind

And inner peace & self-awareness

Lots of the poses (asana) are based on animals which the original yogis thousands of years ago observed and imitated

The breath (pranayama) is a bridge from the body to the mind

The simplest mindfulness is simply to focus on the breath - raising awareness of what is happening right now, in the moment.

Movement - Your child's first language and some favourite picture books about movement and physical development

I've been reading Sally Goddard Blythe's "Movement, your child's first language" from Hawthorn Press, so here's a short review, followed by some of my favourite picture books dealing with movement & physical development; and some of our favourite things to do and explore locally to get us moving.

A Story Cafe | Yoga Stories

This week our story cafe was all about Yoga and Mindfulness.  Twelve families and their children came along, to join in with the fun.














We start by singing the listening song - tune of Frere Jacque "Eyes are watching, ears are listening, lips are closed, hands are still, feet are very quiet, you should really try it, listening well, listening well."  We take off our shoes and socks so we can feel the earth beneath our feet and help us to balance.


Then we have a little introduction to yoga and mindfulness - what is it and why?  Here's what we learnt-

Picture books about | Potty Training

Inspired to write this as there are lost of picture books out there to help very young children understand about potty training.  Something for children and parents to share at this time.

Here are some of my favourites:

A Story Cafe | Walking though the Jungle

Today we read Walking through the Jungle by Julie Lacome.  This is a perfect story for a Story cafe - it's quite short, each section is repeatable, and children and families can join in with the animal noises or guess which animal is hiding on the next page.

We have a communication friendly space set up for children to explore as they arrive, as always themed to go with the story of the day.

A Story Cafe | Stick Man

Today we read "Stick Man" by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.  I wanted a story with autumn and winter in it, and maybe also Christmas, and I love all Julia Donaldson stories.  Stick Man is perfect for sharing with families as a Story Cafe - children can join in with the repeated refrains - "I'm Stick Man. I'm Stick Man, I'm Stick Man that's me, and I want to go home to the family tree".  And there are opportunities for finishing off the rhyming chunks, such as here - "Stick man Oh Stick Man beware of the .....".  At this point I get the correct prop out of the bag and the children shout out what Stick man has to beware of.

So, as usual we read the story.  And then families go off to sit around the big circle of tables to make their own story props to take home.

A communication friendly space based on the story is as always set up so that children and their families can explore the story before we start.  This time I used white cloth (snow), blue cloth (the sea, the river), real sticks and leaves, a cardboard cut out swan, spade, laminated copy of the "family tree", snowman, santa, girl and boy puppets, and some words and pictures related to the story to inspire talk.

Stories and Schemas | trajectory

My son had a very strong trajectory schema... he loved (still does) to kick a football.  Children who have a trajectory schema like to see toys fall from the highchair (not annoying!) and be picked up to begin again, kick balls, throw balls and bean bags, slide down the slide, roll balls down the slide, swing high on the swings, watch as they pour water into a funnel, and watch the tower you spent ages building as it is knocked down.  They will also be fascinated by a windy day - watching the washing blow, kicking the leaves in the Autumn or waving flags and ribbons outside in the wind.

Stories and Schemas | rotation

I first learnt about schemas in the brilliant book from Pen Green called "Involving Parents in their Children's Learning".  And this quote from the same team sums it up - 

“Schemas are patterns of linked behaviours which the child can generalise and use in a whole variety of different situations. It is best to think of schemas as a cluster of pieces which fit together.” “A schema is a pattern of repeated actions. Clusters of schemas develop onto later concepts.” - Pen Green Children's Centre, Corby.

Children who are learning through a rotation schema love going round and round, drawing circles round and round and round, spinning, playing with wheeled toys, those awful spinning tea cup rides in the park, rolling balls or metal bracelets across the floor....

Stories and Schemas | Orientation

We've been climbing mountains again, and while on top of a mountain, as you do, I was thinking about how a child with an "orientation" schema (like my son who is now 13 but loves being on top of a mountain), would love being on top of a mountain.  And then I thought about which stories might fit nicely with this schema.

Children with an orientation schema like being on top of the slide, hanging upside down on the climbing frame, climbing to the top of the playhoouse at the park... or climbing a mountain and then climbing the biggest rock on top of that mountain!  We were on Glyder Fach in Snowdonia at 994 metres and the sticky-out rock is called the Cantilever.

So here are my ideas...

A Golden Wedding Story | Bewilderwood

My parents are celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary.  They are planning a day out for the family.  Their choice of activity - a day at Bewilderwood, an natural adventure park in the woods near here.  So off we go - two parents, two sisters, one husband, and four grand children.  It's a really hot day in July, but Bewilderwood is in the woods, all shaded, so it's perfect.

Bewilderwood was created up by the owner Tom Blofeld, and the park is based on the characters from his books.  Bewilderwood is home to Swampy, a Boggle who lives with his mum in a boggle hut and goes fishing.  When he goes fishing he has to watch out for Mildred the Crocklebog who lives in the swamp.  She's friendly but looks scary, and will spray out water at passer's by.

A Perfect Day for It | or Why climb a mountain?

Every Easter we go away from the city and the flat countryside of East Anglia and head for the mountains, and this Easter was no different.  Except that instead of visiting Mother-in-Law in Wales, we stayed in  farm cottage in the Yorkshire Dales.

As I was climbing the dizzy heights of Ingleborough (723 metres, and one of the Dales' Three Peaks) it occurred to me to think about WHY we do this...  The main reason, apart from having a great time together as a family and the achievement of getting to the top, is the view, providing it's not cloudy that is!

Sharing Learning 3 | Posting a Postcard

Another idea for sharing the children's learning with home.  I bought some postcards showing places in our local area where the children have been.  Each child chose a postcard and "wrote" their card - some of the children gave meaning to the marks they made and talked about what they were "writing".  We talked about what we were going to do and what might happen.

Pinteresting...

Pinterest Boards for all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage and boards especially about stories, early childhood, art, books and makes.

EYFS Boards:
Treasure baskets
Everything childminding
PSED
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Literacy
Maths
Understanding the World
EAD
Songtime
Books for babies
Communication Friendly Spaces
CFS for babies
Baby and Toddler
Playdough Recipes
Outdoor Play
Superheroes
Heuristic Play
Lightbox
Planning
Science
Busy Bags
Leadership and Management
COEL
Tuff spot activities
Parent involvement
schemas
Mothers Day
EYPP


Boards about Stories:
Picture Books
Story Cafe
Activities
Story Sacks and baskets
Story Spaces

Early Childhood:
Theory
Books
History

Online:
Its all about stories
Blogging
Facebooky
Pinteresting

Art:
picture books
Book jackets
Birds
Charley Harper
LS Lowry
Angie Lewin

Books:
A chapter a day
I want to read...
& more books...

Make:
I like buttons
Easy enough!
Crochet ideas