One of our GOLDEN rules is having "Kind Hands" and in Mucky Pups we teach the children that being kind to others is very important.

This year Eddie the Elf has been sent to keep us compnay while it is Advent. He is VERY kind and he is watching for us to be kind at nusery.

Here are some ideas you can try at home;

• They only share kind ideas and notice things that are lovely because they’ve heard reports about how KIND the kids are.
• They are very fun and playful!
• They appear somewhere  each morning,  often next to an item that we need for that day’s kindness activity e.g. inside a mixing bowl ready to bake some cookies as a gift
• They leave a little note containing a suggestion for that day’s act of kindness e.g. “Let’s collect some of your toys and give them away to the children’s hospital”, “let’s make some cookies for the neighbours”, “shall we visit an elderly friend/ relative?” etc
• When they see the children doing kind and lovely things, they leave a little note for them to find in the morning e.g. “Oh I loved it when I saw you sharing your new book with your little sister” or “you were very kind to help your Mummy load the dishwasher!” etc These notes can be collected into the Little Book of Big Kindnesses as a record keeping journal.
• Some mornings they may wake up to find the elves have lined up their shoes, tidied their coats, got the breakfast things ready or fixed a broken toy etc. Modelling direct ways to be kind and helpful as a prompt for the children in the day.
• Occasionally they leave a treat out as a thank you!
• On the last day (Christmas Eve usually for us) the Kindness Elves leave a little goodbye letter, thanking the children for their wonderful stay and sharing so many lovely experiences together. They say that they might pop back throughout the year for birthdays or other special occasions and that they can’t wait to come again next Christmas!

Why not make your elf a Kindness Elf his year. After all we could all do with al little extra kindness at this year!

It's nursery rhyme week here at Mucky Pups.
We LOVE to sing songs and rhymes at Mucky Pups and during the day you will alsways find someone singing a rhyme or song somwehere in the setting. It can be inside outside, on your own or with a group. We don't mind where we just know we LOVE them and they teach us so much..

Every year we sign up to become involved with National Nursery Rhyme week to help raise awareness of why we teach rhymes to our children and to learn some the traditional rhymes we know and love so much from our own childhood If you're interested in finding out more then have a look at the website here.

Why teach Nursery Rhymes?

You may have seen our facebook post here that reminded us all that children who know EIGHT or MORE rhymes by the time they are four are usually the children who are the ones who do best at reading and spelling in their class by the age of 8! .Not only will you give them a head start with their literacy, language and communication development but you’ll be giving their fine and gross motor skills a workout too – all through activities that are fun for everyone, filling a very special place in your little one’s heart. 

So if that isn't reason enough to sing at every opportunity you can I don't know what is but here are 10 more reasons why...
1. Nursery rhymes are easy to repeat so become part of your child’s first sentences.
When we sing or say nursery rhymes we tend to speak more slowly and clearly so children learn how the words are formed. This is great, because it makes it easier little ones to join in.
2. Nursery rhymes help children practice pitch, volume and the rhythm of language.
Music and rhymes help little ones learn a steady beat which helps with language and reading development. Joining in with clapping and actions, like baby signing, can help this development.
3. Nursery rhymes are a great way to develop early phonic skills.
Through hearing and repeating nursery rhymes children have the opportunity to hear, identify and manipulate letter sounds.
4. Nursery rhymes expand children’s imagination.
Nursery Rhymes often tell a story and create imagery. Children can imagine a world where vinegar and brown paper are a remedy for a head injury! 
5. Nursery rhymes follow a clear sequence of events.
They often tell a story and contain a beginning, middle, and end.
“Exposure to music accelerates the brain development of young children in the areas responsible for language development, sound, reading skill and speech perception”
Brain and Creativity Institute
6. Nursery rhymes teach early maths skills.
Many contain numbers, counting, colours, and other maths vocabulary such as weight and size.
7. Nursery rhymes improve vocabulary.
Children hear and use new words that they wouldn’t come across in everyday language, for example, in Jack and Jill they ‘fetch’ a ‘pail’ of water.
8. Nursery rhymes provide examples of literacy devices.
They use alliteration such as ‘Goosey, Goosey Gander’, onomatopoeia in ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’, and rhyme.
9. Nursery rhymes teach emotions.
The characters in the rhymes experience a range of emotions, which can help little ones to understand and identify their own emotions and those of others.
10. Nursery rhymes are fun! And transportable!
Nursery rhymes are great way to spend time with your little one and they don’t require any equipment. 
Little ones love the sound of your voice over any other (they’re not bothered if you’re not a great singer).
Often nursery rhymes are funny – some make little sense, others have unexpected endings.  And if you forget the words or are feeling creative you can make up some of your own versions!

We also use signs and gestures to help children preduict what is coming next, to join in even if they can't speak yet or if English is their second language. Some of your children may be able to teach you the signs we use but if not have a look at "The Singing Hnads" youtube channel below to learn alongside your child.
​

Have a look at our news and evnets page and facebook for more about our learning in Mucky Pups during this week.
​

It's been Road Safety Week here at Mucky Pups and we have been learning all about keeping safe on the roads. Here's a video from the bbc to watch to remind everyone what to do.

We learnt;
To Stop, Look, Listen.
To hold hands while we are near the road.
To ALWAYS use our car seats
To find a zebra crossing
To know what the colours of the traffic lights mean.

Have a look at our News and Events page for more details of what we did. here 

1. Talk to your child when they are playing. Model the language 
2. Have fun with Nursery rhymes and songs
3. Encourage your child to listen to different sounds around them; animals, vehicles, radio, washing machine tap
4. Gain your child's attention when you want to talk to them. Say their name first before speaking so they know you are taliing to them
5. Encourage your child to communicate in any way not just words; pointing, gestures, signs
6. Increase their vocabulary by giving choices eg do you want orange or balckcurrant? rather than a yes no answer.
7. Talk about things as they happen, like a running commentary while you are unpacking the shopping, running the bath, taking a walk
8. Listen carefully and give your child opportunities to talk
9. Give your child lots of opportunties to talk
10. Help your child to use more words by adding them to what they have sai; eg ball can be expanded by thhrow the ball, ball has gone
11. If your child speaks incorrectly, say it back to them in the right way but do not expect your child to repeat it
12. Try and have a specail time each day with your child to play with toys and look at books with no other noise distratctions

Follow the link below for loads more ideas to promote speech

Early Communication and Language is a PRIME area and one that is the foundation for all learning.
Getting it right at an early age is VITAL for our children to be able to function in society and learn as they move on to school. It is the foundation for reading, writing and understanding ALL the other subjects that are taught and our children have to learn and so it is central to EVERYTHING we do here at Mucky Pups.
.
Here are 10 key facts about Speech and Language development put together by the NDNA to get us all thinking about our children's speech development

1. The first three years of life are recognised as the most mportant period for acquiring speech and language skills.
   
   
2. Language is understanding speech .
   
   
3. Speech is talking.
   
   
4. Most children can understand language before they can say the words..
   
   
5. Most children and babies follow recognisable stages in their language development by relatively predictable stages.
   
   
6. The average four-year-old will reportedly have a receptive vocabulary of 8,000 words and an expressive vocabulary of 2,300 words.
   
   
7. Language skills develop more readily when children are exposed to lots of different sound, sights and consistent exposure to speech and language of others.
   
   
8. Attention and listening skills are essential for children to be able to recognise sounds and words, learn what they mean and how to use them.
   
   
9. A child may have difficulty keeping their attention some of the time or all of the time so reducing background noise such as television and music while you are speaking is a big help
   
   
10. Nursery rhymes and rhythms from birth encourage listening skills and kick start the listening process..

Here at Mucky Pups we love to talk, listen, sing, read and chat; to all our friends and grown ups while we are here. We have songs for everyday routines such as our "Hello song",, washing our hands song, a days of the week and months of the year song, our younger children have rhyme time each day and we all enjoy reading and listening to stories anywhere and everywhere we can! Each month we have a story and a song of the month that everyone learns and kick starts our learning for that month.

Our day is full of social times where we can talk to each other at snack, lunch, hello time, floorbook time and while we play with our friends. Someone is always ready to listen too!
​
During this time of learning from home very often the government along with the Literacy trust have introduced a whole set of activities for you at home to give you ideas on how to develop your child's speech whilst doing everyday activities. It's called Chat, Play, Read! There are some great ideas to help you here