Let’s relax with some yoga!

Hello, we have got yet another fun experience for you to celebrate the Children’s Mental Health Week this week!

We all know that exercising and stretching our muscles is super important for our bodies to grow strong and healthy but it’s also important for our mind, too! By doing some slow stretches and breathing exercises, our brain has got a chance to chill out and have a little rest – and we all need that sometimes, don’t we?

Why don’t we start with some breathing exercises to get us going? Here we go!

Lie down on the floor, make yourself feel comfortable and stretch out tall! With your hands on your stomach, breathe in, letting your hands lift off your tummy as if they’re on a balloon that’s getting blow up! How high can your tummy go?!
As your breathe out, let your hands return to your stomach as if all of the air from the balloon is escaping. Can you do it five (5) times?

WOW – that was some deep breathing!

Now that we’ve got our breathing under control, here comes yoga – and guess what? It’s about a certain, very very veeeryyy hungry, caterpillar!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar | A Cosmic Kid… – SafeShare.tv

We hope you enjoyed doing some breathing exercises and some yoga. Go and get a drink of water to keep nice and hydrated after having a great go at exercising and stretching out the muscles!

Everyday is a good day for a cake!

That’s right – there is always a good reason to have a cake and relax!

As we’re talking all about Children’s Mental Health this week, we thought that it would be a good time to bake a cake together… And then eat it with a cuppa or with a book/story!

Here is a simple recipe for a banana bread – and since it’s made out of bananas, it’s a little bit healthy, too, right? 😉

These are the ingredients we need:

1 egg

2 bananas

3/4 cup of caster sugar

1 and a half cups of self-raising flour

and half a table spoon of butter

Now that we have all of the ingredients we need, here are the steps to follow:

  1. Mash all your bananas until they are all smooth:

2. Add sugar to the mashed bananas and mix it all together:

3. Add butter to your mixture and keep mixing:

4. Add beaten eggs and keep mixing:

5. Then add all of the flour and, you guessed it, mix it all together:

6. When all of the ingredients are combined together, pour the mixture into a baking tin:

7. Now pop it into the oven for approximately one (1) hour at 190C.

8. Relax and enjoy your delicious banana bread – great work!

Application for funded ELC placement 2021/2022

Hi Everyone,

Please see below some information regarding making an application for a funded early learning and childcare placement and also information for existing families who may wish to apply for a change to their pattern of attendance.

Places for three-year olds

If your child’s third birthday is on or before 28 February 2022, you should apply by 26 February 2021 for a free nursery place or childcare.

If your child is two and you’ve already applied for their place for when they turn three, you don’t need to apply again.

If your child is already three or four years old and isn’t at nursery or a childminder, you should apply for their free place now.

Nursery places for the school year 2021 to 2022 start from August 2021. When your child starts will depend on when they turn three.

Online application forms can be found here: http://renfrewshire.gov.uk/article/9741/Apply-for-a-free-nursery-or-childcare-place

If you already have a nursery place

Children currently attending an early learning and childcare establishment, are not required to re-apply for their early learning and childcare placement, unless there is a change to their circumstances previously noted on their existing application . A placement preference sheet should be completed by the parents for families wishing to change their pattern of attendance or for those families not already in receipt of 1140hours. The area admissions panel will confirm placement in line with the admissions policy .

To request a placement preference sheet please email the nursery who will forward you the form – williamsburghelcc@renfrewshire.gov.uk, or alternatively you can arrange to pick this up from the nursery. Can we request that all placement preferences are returned to Williamsburgh ELCC by 28 February 2021.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch.

What’s in the bag?

Here we are with another fun activity to support Children’s Mental Health Week – this time it’s all about slowing down for a few minutes and focusing on our senses.

Our senses give us lots of information about the world around us. We usually pay attention by looking, but there are lots of games that help us focus by using other senses, too!

For this game you will need a bag or a box which you’ll fill with a few objects – make sure they all have different textures – for example, smooth, rough, soft or fluffy. You can ask somebody in your family to fill the bag for you so it’s a surprise when you try to guess what it might be!

Now… Put your hand in the bag or the box (no peeking!), choose one object and feel it with your hands – feel it’s shape, weight and texture. Try describing it before guessing what it is!

This game lets us slow down and focus on using our senses – we touch the object before guessing what it is and then we can look at it, smell it, maybe even taste it!

Nursery environment update.

Hello everybody! Do you remember our nursery video tour from a couple of weeks ago? We showed you what our new room looks like and you really seem to like it!

Now… Do you remember that our ‘Ladybird’ room was nothing like it was when we stopped before Christmas?! It looks like a building site! Well… We have got a little update video for you where you can see some of the changes – can you spot what’s different about the room since the last video?

And here is another video – an exciting delivery arrived! Can you guess what’s in the boxes?

 

Ah, at the very end of this video Helen got really excited about something, didn’t she? But… To find out what it is, you’ll need to wait for the next update! I’ll give you a clue: it’s something that Twiggle really really likes 🙂

 

Let’s talk about our emotions…

Hello everyone! We hope you are staying safe, staying healthy and staying happy.

This week (1st Feb – 7th Feb) we celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week. This year’s theme is Express Yourself! It’s important to remember that children’s mental health matters just as much as ours – particularly during these hard times where the little ones can’t see some of their family and their friends.

This week, we’ll be talking all about our feelings and emotions and taking the time to make us feel good and happy!

Let’s start with some exercising which definitely makes our body produce lots of happy and healthy feelings! Are you ready? One, two, three…

 

And here is a very good song to keep moving and dancing! Here it comes…

 

Ahh that was fun! Now I think we can have a little rest. And what’s a better way to rest than having a little drink of water, maybe even a snack and a story…

 

And just as the Koala could… YOU CAN, too! 🙂

Well, boys and girls. We really really hope it made you feel even a little bit happier. But we are so curious to hear what your thoughts…

  • What makes you happy?
  • What do you like to do to make yourself feel better if you’re having not a great day or if something annoys you?
  • What can you do to make others feel good?

Let us know in the comments  – we can’t wait to hear all about it!

Now to the adults who are reading this – here are some very useful posters that tell you about different ways that children handle their mental health:

And please, remember – your children’s mental health is just as important as your own, so please remember to take care and take some time for yourself, too! In fact, when the little ones are doing their exercises or having a story – why don’t you grab a cuppa and put your feet up and relax? 🙂

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