Sensory development by age - what to really expect
From the day your baby is born, they begin to learn about the world around them through their senses. Sensory play provides an essential foundation for children’s overall development. It is very important that children have the opportunity to explore their environments by using all their senses, as this helps to contribute to healthy brain development through the growth of neurological connections. These are the building blocks of the brain. Our app has lots of ideas to help you support your child’s sensory development from birth. In this article, we explain more about why sensory development is important and you’ll find ideas to get you started with supporting your child’s sensory development.
Getting a grip - your newborn's grasp reflexes
Many of us remember the moment our newborn baby gripped our finger for the first time. Your baby curling their fingers around your finger is one of several primitive reflexes which develop in the womb and are present for weeks or months after birth until your baby develops the strength and control to make voluntary movements. In this blog, we explore three reflexes that could be described as grasp reflexes and consider how these link to your baby’s development.
Do you remember this? Learning from some favourite games!
At My First Five Years, we spend lots of time talking about babies and children and how they develop and learn. We also talk about how, very often, parents are doing things that support their children’s learning without realising.
Pearls of wisdom? Advice across the ages
When you become a parent, you often find that everyone wants to give you advice. This advice is often well meant but perhaps one of the first lessons that we learn is to choose which advice we take!
Nursery rhymes and gross motor skills
Oh, there is so much fun to be had when singing nursery rhymes with young children! Some children love nothing more than to move around and have a feeling of freedom and energy. Many nursery rhymes are active and naturally promote the physical instinct of getting up and moving to the words. There is a natural beat and rhythm in nursery rhymes, offering the youngest of children the opportunity to join in by wriggling, bouncing, smiling and giggling.
Your child is really just a cave person - but cuter!
We so often get asked as a parent, "Are they good?"
Now, ask me that at 2:30pm on a busy Saturday in Asda following the mother of all meltdowns because I won’t let my child open the family size bag of Monster Munch!
How to encourage self-confidence and self-awareness in early childhood
‘Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any other experience that reveals the human spirit’ - E.E. Cummings.
Nursery rhymes and language
Nursery rhymes are fun, joyful and often silly. They offer children a chance of learning at their own pace. The very nature of this can assist young children in becoming proficient readers. When hearing, learning, and reciting them children, not only enjoy the pleasure of words, but they also learn early reading skills. Phonemic skill development gained from nursery rhymes has even been scientifically shown to significantly improve reading, spelling, and other literacy skills. [1]
Nursery rhymes and fine motor development
One of many wonderful things about babies and young children is that they really don’t seem to mind if you sing out of tune, or don’t remember absolutely every word for the songs and rhymes that you sing. That means that you can enjoy singing songs and saying rhymes with an audience who will think you are great even if you might be a bit out of tune!
The magic of nursery rhymes - a storytelling tradition
I thought it might be helpful to start this investigation into the importance of nursery rhymes by answering the question ‘What is a nursery rhyme?’
