July at Raising Little Ones
We have had a very busy month this July at RLO! Our summer camp has been in full swing and we are almost at the end of it. There have been lots of activities, walks and lots of fun has been had this month!
At the beginning of the month we welcomed two new members to the team - Emma and Katriona. Check out our meet the team page to find out more!
As you know, this month we have had lots of sunny weather, so keep reading to find activities we have been keeping busy with and some advice on keeping little ones safe in the sun!
A collection of photos we have taken this month of the little ones!
What we have been up to this month…
Elmer Week-
In our second week of summer camp, we introduced our themed weeks, our first being ‘Elmer the Elephant’. Everyday, we did an Elmer themed activity. We started off each day by reading the book and then continued the day with an arts and craft.
On Monday, we made stained glass windows with paper plates, the little ones cut a hole in the plate, used sticky back plastic on the back and then stuck different coloured bits of tissue paper to make the stained glass look. On Tuesday, we made some fluffy Elmer’s. Ruby drew an outline of an elephant and then the little ones used coloured pompoms and feathers to make their fluffy elephant! On Wednesday, we went on an Elmer walk - in the first picture below you will be able to see the grid we filled in on our walk with different objects we saw on the walk. Finally, on Thursday we coloured in our own Elmer, the little ones picked the colours they wanted to use and there were lots of great looking arts and crafts at the end of the week!
Daily Walks-
At RLO we aim to get outside for a walk or to go to the garden everyday, we have been very lucky with the weather recently so we have been able to do exactly that! There are lots of benefits to going outside as a little person, these include: exploring surroundings, getting exercise by walking and running around in open space, experiencing different seasons and weather by going out at different times of the year, being introduced to wildlife and going outside is also great for little ones’ mental wellbeing.
Messy Play Wednesday-
This month we have also introduced our new ‘Messy Play Wednesday’ with Sally. Our first messy play activity was with shaving foam and the animals. The second messy play activity we did was with Gelli Baff. The little ones seem to really enjoy the messy play activities, it is a great activity for all ages and introduces the little ones to their sense of touch. We are going to continue ‘Messy Play Wednesday’ so if your little one is going to be in for a session on a Wednesday, please bring in a spare change of clothes for them to change into if necessary.
Ice Cream Role Play-
At the beginning of the month, we had an exciting box arrive with some toy ice cream cones, tubs and different coloured/ flavoured ice cream! The little ones have really taken to playing with the ice cream cones over the course of the month. We have seen the little ones doing lots of role play with these, pretending to eat them and making up different ice creams! Role playing is a great type of play to encourage teamwork, sharing and learning about feelings. The little ones often play in the kitchen and take on the role of mummy’s and daddy's and the ice cream cones are often a prop they use! Role Play can sometimes cause a little bit of conflict as sometimes everyone wants to play the role as the same character. We have seen the little ones develop the ability to resolve this conflict over the last month, as we now hear them saying, (for example) “you can be mummy to start with then we can swap” which is what we would encourage them to say!
“RLO has been a brilliant addition to our 2 year olds childcare set up. She absolutely LOVES going. The flexible approach around commitment is so helpful for us as a family and the team are of staff are energetic, enthusiastic and very loveable towards the children. Overall, we highly recommend it”
Monthly Advice for Parents…
This month, we would like to share some advice on keeping your little one safe in the sun…
Babies 0-6 months:
According to the NHS, you should keep your little one out of direct sunlight, especially between 11am and 3pm. If you are breastfeeding, you may find that your little one is feeding more than usual when the weather is hot. If you are bottle feeding, then you can give your little one an ounce of cooled boiled water. When putting your baby to bed in the evening, try to ensure their room is as cool as possible and keep clothing to a minimum.
Children 6 months and above:
The NHS have also given advice on children over six months which includes; keeping your little one out of direct sunlight between 11am and 3pm and ensuring your child has suncream a minimum of SPF30 applied every two hours. It is also a good idea to ensure your little one is wearing a sunhat. The NHS also state that children aged 6-12 months should be offered sips of water at mealtimes and also consider giving water outside of mealtimes too. Little ones over a year old should be given water through the day and also given snacks such as lollipops, fruit and salad, which will play a park in staying hydrated.
More details can be found below:
NHS- Keeping your baby safe in the sun
NHS- Keeping children safe during hot weather
NHS- Staying well in hot weather
Remember, you can always get in touch with us for support, on the phone or by email or ask us in person Monday to Friday 9am-2pm.
