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Five Little Speckled Frogs …

A great one to do with lots of actions: leaping and eating bugs! Use fingers to represent the frogs and see how the number changes … It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a tune to go with it, just say the rhyme or make a tune up together!

Five little speckled frogs

Sat on a speckled log

Eating the most delicious bugs

One jumped into the pool

Where it was nice and cool

Then there were four green speckled frogs.

The verse is then repeated with one fewer frogs each time!

The final verse ends “Then there were no more speckled frogs

Activity Ideas:

You could also a go at making some frog characters to sit on a cardboard tube log, and act out the rhyme.  You could cut out some frog images from the internet or draw some of your own, use a lolly stick and stick your frog characters to it, paint or decorate your log – or find a real stick or log in the park or the garden!

This activity will help children learn to recite the numbers 1-5, using their finger to represent the frogs and also and also to learn a little about living creatures: maybe you could find some frogs or toads in the garden or park to look at…but take care if handling them as too much handling can harm the animals’ skin.

When learning to count it is important for the children to touch each object as they count. This helps them to learn that 1 represents an object or “thing”.  This is an important foundation stone for all future math’s learning later at school

Childcare support

https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/children-education-and-families

Starting April 2024, existing childcare support is being expanded. This will be done in phases, starting in April this year, through to September 2025.

• From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours a week* childcare support.

• From September 2024, 15 hours childcare support a week* will be extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.

• From September 2025, eligible working parents of children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week*.

To access this support, parents will need to:

• apply for a code

• check with their childcare provider that this is something they’re offering.

Find out more at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/workingfamilies

* 15 hours used per week for 38 weeks of the year

 

Five Little Ducks ….

use your fingers to count up and down as the ducks swim away, and then swim back again! This is our version here at Nursery:

Five little ducks went swimming one day

Over the pond and far away

Mother duck said:

“Quack, quack, quack, quack”,

But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went swimming one day

Over the pond and far away,

Mother duck said:

“Quack, quack, quack, quack”,

But only three little ducks came back.

Etc….until…

…no little ducks came swimming back!

Mother duck went swimming one day

Over the pond and far away

She called to her ducklings:

“quack, quack, quack, quack”

And five little ducks came swimming back

5 Currant Buns in the Bakers Shop

5 currant buns in the baker’s shop

Round and fat, with a cherry on the top.

Along came ……. with a penny one day,

Bought a currant bun and took it right away.

4 currant buns in the baker’s shop….

etc. until

No currant buns in the baker’s shop,

Round and fat with a cherry on the top!

Find or make some props and insert children’s names into the rhyme.  Let them exchange a ‘penny’ for a currant bun!

Very good for early use of number and also for learning that one object (the penny) can be exchanged or stand for another!)

Internet Safety for Young Children

You may think considering how to ‘teach’ young children about internet safety is rather odd but there are things we can do to support safe use of the internet for the youngest children and, establish good habits for them keeping themselves safe.

Things to think about for our youngest children are:
— Supervision
— Limited access
— Use of the parental control features on devices
— Establishing a pattern on limited screen time 
— Keeping devices out of bedrooms

The Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board also offer advice and support around use of the internet and child safety.

Fifty Things to Do before you’re Five

Oxfordshire has a fabulous new app for parents: easy to use and full of fun ideas for activities for parents and toddlers that support their learning and development! Download the app and you are ready to go!! Click on the appropriate link below for your phone/tablet or scan the QR code.

https://oxfordshire.50thingstodo.org

Miss Polly had a Dolly


Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick.
So she phoned for the doctor to come quick, quick, quick.
The doctor came with his bag and his hat,
And he knocked at the door with a rat a tat tat.

He looked at the dolly and he shook his head,
He said “Miss Polly put her straight to bed.”
He wrote on his notepad for a pill, pill, pill.
I’ll be back in the morning, yes I will, will, will..

an old fashioned but still popular rhyme from the days before the NHS I suspect! You can change the wording to have a female doctor as well – and I have tried fitting the word ‘calpol’ but spoils the rhyme!!