Chapter One - Oman

23/01/2025

Outdoor play is essential for children! It helps little ones develop motor skills, build confidence and explore the world around them. Whether they’re running, jumping or discovering new things, playtime outdoors promotes healthy growth and creativity. Let’s make time for fun in the sun ☀️

22/01/2025

Need your kid to get ready for bed? Trying to get your toddler out the door? OK, but how do we do it without taking a trip to Power Struggle City?!?

Toddlers LOVE to be in charge. Instead of fighting against your child’s natural love of being in control, which leads you RIGHT into a power struggle, try going with it. Following these 3 steps *dramatically* decreases the chances of a power struggle.

1️⃣MAKE IT A STATEMENT, NOT A QUESTION

✨“It’s time to go potty now.”✨

Asking questions like, “Do you need to go potty?”or “Are you ready for bedtime?” invites a world of power struggles because you’re *literally* asking them, so of course they’re going to say no.

2️⃣GIVE A CHOICE

✨“Do you want to use the big potty or little potty?”✨

Give a simple choice between two things you find equally acceptable—making it easy for your toddler’s brain! When we do this we’re able to shift their brains from asserting their independence (Nooooo!! I DO IT!!!!) to collaboration mode. 🤯

3️⃣HOLD THE BOUNDARY

✨“I’m going to walk you over to the potty now.”✨

Offer the choice calmly and confidently before a power struggle can start. Then, follow through. Holding boundaries is the VERY BEST WAY to prevent power struggles + meltdowns in the long-term.

Voila! That’s it! Power struggle avoided. 👏👏👏

22/01/2025

Treasure baskets are a valuable tool in early childhood development, particularly for infants and toddlers. These baskets typically contain a range of natural, everyday objects that are safe for young children to explore. The benefits of treasure baskets include:
1. Sensory Development: Treasure baskets engage multiple senses—touch, sight, smell, and even hearing—through varied textures, shapes, colors, and materials. This helps babies and toddlers refine their sensory processing abilities.
2. Cognitive Skills: As children explore the objects, they begin to develop problem-solving skills, cause-and-effect understanding, and the ability to categorize and compare objects.
3. Motor Skills: Handling different objects promotes fine motor development as children manipulate, grasp, and explore. These actions enhance hand-eye coordination and dexterity.
4. Language Development: When adults or caregivers engage with children around the basket, they can introduce new vocabulary by naming the items, describing their properties, or talking about the child’s actions. This fosters early language skills.
5. Imaginative Play: Many of the objects in a treasure basket are open-ended, allowing for creative play. Children can pretend, make associations, and use objects in a variety of ways, which sparks imagination.
6. Independence and Focus: Treasure baskets encourage independent exploration. Children can freely choose and interact with the items at their own pace, promoting concentration and self-directed learning.
7. Connection with Nature: Using natural materials in treasure baskets helps children connect with the world around them, fostering an appreciation for nature and its textures, colors, and patterns.
8. Emotional Development: As children explore and engage with objects, they can experience a range of emotions—curiosity, joy, frustration, and accomplishment—helping them navigate emotional experiences and build resilience.

In summary, treasure baskets are a simple yet powerful resource for supporting a child’s development in many areas—physical, cognitive, emotional, and social—while also fostering curiosity and creativity.

19/01/2025

Who is ready for this weeks dinosaur stay and play? 🤩 🦖 🦕
Come along on Wednesday from 9am until 10am to enjoy some dino fun! To book your space please WhatsApp us on 9199 9726 📞

17/01/2025

Imagine this: you had a HORRIBLE day, you come home upset and your partner snaps at you to go sit alone in the next room. You’re not allowed to come out until you’ve completely calmed yourself down, on your own. 😤Kinda effed up, right?

Decades of research in attachment shows that in times of distress, we need to be soothed by the people who care for us. So instead of sending our kids away, do THIS:

✅Stay with them during tantrums:

✨”You’re really upset. I’m here with you.”✨

✅All feelings are OK. All behaviors are NOT. We can stay firm on boundaries, while still being there:

✨”You’re feeling angry, it’s OK to feel angry, it’s not OK to hit. I’m moving baby to keep her safe⁠.”✨

✅Later, during a calm, collaborative moment—which is when kids learn BEST—we teach better behavior + coping skills for next time:

✨”Earlier, you were so angry when your little sister took your toy. What are some things you can do when you feel angry?”✨

16/01/2025

Today was extra special at nursery-we had some adorable pets join us 🐾 🦜 🐢 🐟 Our little ones loved holding, touching, looking and learning about a few different animals! It’s amazing how animals can teach kindness, responsibility and empathy 🤩

16/01/2025

15/01/2025

Emotions are a natural part of life, and while it’s difficult to watch our children struggle, it's important they feel and process ALL of them. We have too many emotions within us to not understand what they are and how to handle them.

Shielding children from tough emotions only makes them harder to manage later. Let them experience their feelings so they can learn how to deal with them, better equipping them to manage their emotions and build resilience.

Allowing children to experience their feelings teaches them that emotions are not something to suppress but to navigate. They need to feel them in order to move through them.

By supporting and guiding children through tough moments, we help them build coping skills and emotional intelligence. Facing emotions, rather than avoiding them, empowers children to grow stronger and more confident in handling the inevitable challenges life will guarantee to bring their way - why not better prepare them?

15/01/2025

🛑 Please stop worrying if children aren’t sitting “criss-cross applesauce.”

🛑 Please stop worrying that children’s artwork has to look a certain way.

🛑 Please stop worrying if children "know" colors, numbers, shapes, and letters.

If these are the concerns and what we're pushing, we’ve completely lost sight of what’s important and what authentic, deep, and meaningful learning truly is.

These are all examples of product-driven expectations that focus on measurable results, often overlooking and contradicting the more essential processes of comprehension, engagement, experimentation, creative thinking, imagination, focus, and problem-solving - to name a few. These cognitive skills, crucial for development, begin—or don’t—in the most formative years, which is why it's crucial to lead with developmentally appropriate practice.

13/01/2025

Today , Goldilocks and the Three Bears stopped by ! The children had fun making porridge for the bears 🐻🐻🐻 and reading the story in Arabic 📖🍯

12/01/2025

🔊 This week’s exciting stay and play is “The tiger who came to tea” 🐅 Be sure to book your space to enjoy some fun activities!

Wednesday 15th January from 9am until 10am! WhatsApp or call on 9199 9726 to book your space 🤩

09/01/2025

The children have been making the most of the beautiful weather with lots of outdoor learning in the garden ☀️ 🍃 lots of sensory activities, hands on fun and laughter!

08/01/2025

Love cardboard ❤️
Boxes, packaging, tubing.

Unlike many modern toys that require batteries to come to life, the cardboard box derives its power from the imagination of the child.

It is a blank canvas that is transformed with the creativity of the child.

In a world where consumerism often dictates the value of playthings, the cardboard box stands as a symbol of simplicity and resourcefulness.

08/01/2025

Understanding numbers

06/01/2025

🔊 Don’t forget our January offer is still available 🤩 Register with us in January and receive 50% off registration fees as well as 15% off your monthly fees! Offer ends 31st January!
To receive more information or to book a tour please contact us on the following number 9199 9726 📞

04/01/2025

Children are innately hardwired to play, as play is how children learn. It provides a space where they can actively apply, process, reinforce, and experiment with their day-to-day interactions and experiences, all while interconnecting and enhancing all the domains of development.

Play also encourages children to adapt and extend their learning. They might modify rules in a game to make it more exciting or invent new scenarios that push the boundaries of their knowledge. These experiences foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.

Play should not be seen as a reward. It should not be taken away. It should not be viewed as a "break from learning." Play IS learning.

04/01/2025

Book now for our stay and play session! Wednesday 8th January 9am -10am! This weeks stay and play theme is sensory fun 🤩 To book your space WhatsApp us on 9199 9726