Where is this year going? One minute its Christmas, next its Easter and now its time to start thinking about Fathers Day. There really is nothing better than receiving homemade cards and gifts and today I am sharing with you a lovely shirt card that is perfect for this occasion and Birthdays too!

We are very happy to welcome Vicki Pellatt from Hull to Learning and Exploring Through Play. Vicki owns Edens Baby Experiences with her business partner Nicola Thompson and together they provide messy play sessions, baby massage and sing and sign. Edens Baby Experiences provide lots of hands on experiences for children and their families.

Delivering Messy Play to babies from 6 months we always strive to offer safe and healthy messy play. It is paramount that what we provide will not hurt the children in any way. Babies put anything and everything in their mouths, so we always keep this in mind when we are planning our sessions. We also take into consideration any allergies and personal requirements.

Most of the homemade playdough recipes I have seen contain salt, and a lot of it! Salt is not good for babies, or anyone for that matter. It also our skin feeling very dry.

It was a challenge to come up with a homemade no salt playdough recipe. Salt helps to preserve the playdough. We took away the salt and used lemon juice instead. Lemon Juice also helps to preserve.

Today we have Cindy joining us sharing her latest theme they have been enjoying in her setting. Pizza and Pasta. Welcome Cindy....

Hello, my name is Cindy O’Brien. I live in beautiful Northeast Pennsylvania USA.  I have a home daycare with 6 children. We have all been enjoying a Pizza and Pasta theme over the last week. It's one that we do each year and is always a firm favourite with the children. Here are some of the highlights from all the fun we have been having.

Did you see our Caterpillar Hunting post? It really grabbed Little N's interest! She has been enjoying The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book by Eric Carle so today I thought I would offer an opportunity for her to create some of her very own caterpillars and butterflies.

Today we have Lynn joining us sharing an Elevated Play Space she has created for her setting.  Lynn has been providing simulating, fun day care to a small group of children of mixed ages for 14 years both in Family Day Care and in a Long Day Care centre. We welcome Lynn to Learning and Exploring Through Play.

The power of an observation.

Have you ever watched a child's actions when there's something hanging from the roof or from a wall?

Have you observed their need to touch it, push it, swing it, or twirl it?
I have been busy creating several different elevated play spaces for investigation over the coming weeks. This form of hands on learning promotes inquiry and critical thinking. 

The Mommy Wars are real. They happen over everything and anything. In fact did you know you cant do anything right in Mommy War Law. The amount of times you bath your child is incorrect. You should be reading a lot more to your Toddler. How dare you share the same bed as your child! Breast is best. Oh and dummies don't even get me started on them!

We have been busy creating Nature Mandalas out in the garden. You may have seen a recent post from us where we went on a woodland walk and set about collecting as many different coloured flowers as we could. We brought the pretty set of wild flowers home and together we did some colour matching using chalk out in the garden.

It has been such a dull day today, we threw our wellies in the car and we set out. No idea where we were going, we just drove out into the countryside. It wasn't long before we found a new woodland to go and explore. We set Little N a challenge to find as many different coloured flowers as she could. She is 2 years 6 months old and she LOVED collecting lots of different flowers.

Yay! The Summer time is practically here and if you are anything like me you are already planning Summer fun for the family. With lots of outdoor play on the cards no doubt I have put together 19 must do activities with your kids over the Summer.

Throughout family life we all have special days out and holidays away where they really embed in our hearts. We have fun, we laugh, we play and we will remember these days for years to come. 
I am a lover of sentimental keepsakes and Little N enjoys painting and creating so we combined the two and created some lovely Memory Rocks to help remind us of our lovely day together as a family.

Dear my delightful toddler,
The last 2 years have gone so quickly! I do enjoy looking back through the photographs and the videos. The memories we have already shared together are precious and plenty.
You are in a new phase now - you are a bubbly toddler, with energy in abundance! There is never a dull moment with you around that's for sure.
You certainly are determined to push boundaries and you aren't afraid to challenge anything and everything I say and do. I admire your will, I really do! Although it sometimes pushes my patience, your confidence to do this is strong! As your Mother I want to encourage this confidence to prosper, for it is that that will see you go far in life.

Note: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links Reading to children from their early years is very important. Not only does it provide quiet time to bond with one another, it also encourages children to develop their love for books.  Children learn to love the sound of language long before they notice text. You can get even the youngest of children involved by inviting them to look at the pictures as you read and asking them to point out different items and objects.  As children get older you may notice them holding the books the correct way around and turning pages one at a time. They will begin by recalling parts of the book and read the pictures they see in front of them. Children who are 2 years old+ may begin using stories in their play. Children jump into character mode and act out situations they recall. You can provide invitations to play linked to their interests and favourite books to encourage this further. Here is my list of 26 books all children should know before they reach 6 years old (in no particular order) :

Have you been enjoying time outdoors now the weather is on the turn? We have had a pretty impressive start to Spring here in some parts of the UK and me and Little N set about going on a caterpillar hunt, a perfect activity for Kids.

Have you seen the Butterfly houses you can purchase for your own home? Where you watch them eat, get bigger and bigger, observe them for a few weeks until they turn into a beautiful butterfly? They really are great and come highly recommended! I have had them in classes with me from Nursery age up until Year 6 - the kids just love them!

But what's better than having a butterfly house delivered to your home? How about getting out there and finding the caterpillars yourself?

Spring has arrived here in the UK and just as we did for Winter we have been busy making Spring Sensory Ice Ornaments. As soon as Spring arrives I enjoy having bunches of daffodils around my home. I find them refreshing, bright and a great reminder that the warmer weather is on its way! Of course they are beautiful too! 
Little N selected 4 daffodils and using a jelly mould we added water. I would recommend adding water to the mould in stages. If you fill the mould to the top the daffodils will float and move all over the place. If you add a small amount of water to begin with it will freeze, holding them in place. 
Once they were frozen in the ice it was a sensory activity that was ready during a play session outside whenever we felt like it. This is what I love about these kind of activities. They are there ready when you need them needing no prep.
I would also recommend that you take the ice blocks out of the freezer and swill them under the tap. This starts the ice melting and will prevent the ice from sticking to the skin.