Stuck in a bit of a rut

N is 3.5 and J will be 6 months this weekend.J will only nap out in buggy or on me ATM which limits us a little. N goes to preschool tues 0-3, we'd and thurs 9-1 and we have music group Monday morning. Lately N has had the tv on far too much! I am going to start trying to do more with him in the afternoon but am looking for ideas! He loves painting but does it most days at nursery . Nursery say he is behind in literacy but he loves books at home - just rarely looks at them there and is not interested in letters at all ! He loves numbers,dinosaurs,sharks and seaside and bugs. So any tips on getting him interested in letters more? What activities do u do at home?I am going back to work in 7 weeks ( but will be out 8-1.30 ISH on mon, tues ,thurs &fri .

Does he like the computer? Our school uses Phonics Play and the children love it.

I'm finding it really tough to do activities at hone with Jen and janes. Janes will sleep in a cot but for mac 45 mins at a time, so I tru and fit in some play time and abut of housework (tidying up from the last activity usually!).

We do painting, playing shops, colouring, play doh, reading, puzzles tv-prob too much too. I'm not doing any sort of literacy yet. Sometimes we point out letters, especially our own letters. We also do a lot if I spy using sylabals instead of letters. Did the nursery have any tips for activities? Could you name some plastic bugs- tip ex their letter on their back and start to get him to recognise them? Tbh, I wouldn't worry about literacy at this age and just concentrate in what his is interested in! Xx

Well they will be following the Letters and sounds prigramme at nursery O would imagine so you could enhance that using some Phase one ideas on this page hun:

http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-1-games.html

More info on it here:

https://www.education.gov.uk/publicatio ... unds-1.pdf

Sorry, quick reply here but I got B some foam letters to go in his bath that the stick to the side of the bath or wall tiles. I can't believe how quickly he started to recognise different letters. Started with S and now he recognises M, N, L, D, B and maybe a couple more. He doesn't say the names of the letters yet but knows M is for Mummy and S is for snake etc.

I got the letters in Sainsburys and they were about 3 or 4 pounds.

I thought exactly the same about stink a month or so ago in the fact that he was watching far too much tv, and not playing effectively. Now we do things in 30min bursts. We usually have an activity and then 30mins of free play which gives me time to either chill for a bit, or to get something done while stink does his own thing. We use the busy bag idea. We have a drawer in a trofast storage unit full of plastic wallets, and in each wallet is an activity that will last 20-30mins. We can just grab one and everything for that activity is all in the wallet, so set up and clean up is a breeze, and they are fab for grabbing one or 2 for when you are out and about too. Pintrest has TON S of ideas for busy bags and what you can put in them, and most are make at home for free or for very very little. One of stinks faves atm is an empty chicken stock granules tub with a small hole in the top and he pushes pompoms through the hole. You can do the same with an old pringles tub and pipecleaners for older kids
It helps me to break up the day with small activities that will keep his attention, and makes my life so much easier. I try and make a new busy bag once a week/fortnight so that there is something new in there too

Why have I not heard of busy bags before?! They look amazing and so simple. I'm going to invest in a million plastic wallets tomorrow and set some up here. Thanks for that idea.

I'm out atm so cant link but ichild website is great for ideas & printables

Why have I not heard of busy bags before?! They look amazing and so simple. I'm going to invest in a million plastic wallets tomorrow and set some up here. Thanks for that idea.

No probs
We find it helps loads, as before we just didnt know what to do with him that didnt take forever to set up, or that he didnt get bored with super quickly. This is also great for when other ppl babysit as every activity is self contained. A laminator is your friend there are loads of printables online. Im making THIS one today for a new bag for stink