Selecting Suitable Toys for Young Children

Selecting Suitable Toys for Young Children

Stores are bursting with colourful and exciting options for purchase. So how could you go wrong? In fact, it is easy to purchase the wrong toy or one not particularly helpful or suited for your child. Whilst toys should be fun, they should also have something developmental to offer. So, with the festive season approaching, […]

Making Learning Visible

Making Learning Visible

BDO Families visit our rooms on a daily basis, but how do you know what has been happening in each space and what children have been doing or learning? In other words, how do we make the learning ‘visible’ for you? Each room shares information with families in a range of ways to ensure that […]

Selecting Suitable Books for Young Children

Selecting Suitable Books for Young Children

Books for children appear in many venues these days—even at the post office and online, but how do we know if they are a good or suitable read for our children? It is helpful to consider the elements of a good story and view the offerings through that filter, before purchasing. Reading is a skill […]

Is Music and Movement Important for Young Children?

Is Music and Movement Important for Young Children?

Music is an important part of culture, wherever we come from in the world. In many cultures, songs share the story of everyday lives and help people understand who they are and how they fit into the community. We also know that music is part of modern life. It is all around us in nursery […]

Child Protection in Child Care Settings

Child Protection in Child Care Settings

At BDO many of our team have undertaken Child Protection Training. You may have wondered what this entails so I thought we could explain that a bit more here, even though this is not an easy topic to discuss. You will have seen or heard the slogan, “Child Protection is everyone’s business” and this is […]

How is Your Child’s Language Development?

How is Your Child’s Language Development?

Many young children today are well behind in language development compared to what is expected. This is very alarming and it will have a negative impact on their formal learning. We all need to communicate our needs and interests. This is particularly important for children who are developing at a very rapid rate in the […]

The Importance of Creative Play

The Importance of Creative Play

Creative arts in the early years involves far more than “messing about with paint and paper.” Research shows that children engaging in creative work develop important life skills including being open minded and the ability to contribute to advances in technical, artistic and social areas as they can “think outside the box.” Skills acquired enhance […]

Loose – Parts – Play

Loose – Parts – Play

– prepared by Pam Maclean, Child’s Play Consultancy Services and Linda McConville, Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) What is Loose parts play? “Loose parts” refers to a theory, not just a collection of objects and occurs when children choose from a range of random items. The materials are selected, combined or utilised in any way […]