January at Raising Little Ones…
Happy New Year to all families at RLO, we hope you had a lovely, restful break!
After a lovely festive period, we are back into the swing of things here at RLO, ready to see what 2023 brings us!
This month, we have been looking at different types of movement and supporting the little ones to develop physically. We have looked at both fine and gross motor skills. Keep reading to find out what activities we have been up to!
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What we have been up to this month…
Our first week back after the new year, we gently eased the little ones back into life at RLO with lots of free play and short walks around Stockbridge.
During this week, we observed the little ones particularly enjoying activities that support their physical development, so, we planned some activities for the following week that would support gross motor skills. Gross motor skills are when the child develops skills using the whole of their body, for example; crawling which develops to walking. During this week we enjoyed water play with water balloons! The little ones enjoyed working out how to pop these by either throwing them or squeezing them.
We then went on to do some activities that support the little ones with their fine motor skills, these are when the child uses small muscles that engage the brain and nervous system in order to control movement within the body, for example; picking up objects using their hands. During the third week in January, we did activities including; picking up pom-poms of different colours and putting them in the bowl which matched the colour of the pom-pom. We also did a similar activity using small pegs, as these can be quite tricky to use, so this kind of activity would allow the little ones to use their brain to squeeze the right end of the peg to open it and let go to close it.
“Thank you so much for looking after I this year, for going the extra mile to help her settle in and for all the fun we’ve been hearing about! We feel very fortunate to have found you guys!”
Day in the life of Laura…
This January we want to share another ‘Day in the Life’ with everyone! This month we are sharing Laura’s day!
I am currently a part-time practitioner at RLO, so on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays I am working in the room and on Thursdays you may see me in the cafe doing some admin work!
So, during my days in the room, I arrive ready to help the girls set up the room before the little ones arrive. I then tend to stay in the room as the little ones arrive to help them put their belongings away in their cupboard and take their shoes and coats off. During the day I love to spend time sat with the children while they play so I can observe what they are enjoying playing with and also help develop their skills where possible! When I am not in the room on Thursdays I do some admin work which often involves writing these updates, making posters to put outside the room that inform parents with information and lots of other bits we need doing! I love the balance of my time in and out of the room as I get to spend time with the children, building bonds with them and seeing them develop but I also have some responsibility in communication with the parents.
Outside of working at RLO, I am a nanny to a lovely family who need support with after school care and when I’m not doing this, I spend my spare time doing some sewing and crafts! I love creating different things, like cross stitch decorations, cushions and anything else I have time to try!
Thank you for reading my day in the life, I hope you have been able to get to know me a little more!
