A Valuable Insight on the Significance of Activities for Preschoolers

It is a known fact that involving toddlers in miscellaneous activities is an efficient way to help develop skills while ensuring their interest. However, when it comes to preschoolers parents often find themselves lost in what kind of activities to make their little ones play. As a parent your constant worry is the lookout for a structured schedule, a productive upbringing, and of course a disciplined environment. The main focus thus becomes the awareness that the activities your kids choose are fun and yet have a learning element to it. And as kids grow up, you can always bring in a plethora of games to help them carry out their everyday tasks with absolute ease.

Work out: Work outs are nothing but exercises. Exercises release endorphins in the body that help in keeping your child mentally and emotionally alert and active. It will keep them flexible, strengthen their bones, boost immunity, and give them confidence. You can start with the basic exercises or engage them in the classic tug-of-war. In fact, you can even do your own set of aerobics and your little one is sure to imitate you.

Picture this: Make use of flashcards. They are an excellent way to train kids on a variety of things. You can either draw animals and birds, or take their pictures from the internet and ask them to identify each of them. If you don’t have time to do this you can even put up colours and teach them colours. You can teach them first and take a quiz later on with the same flashcards to test how much they can retain.

Hotchpotch: Engage your kids in making collages. It is a lot of fun and there is not much that you need to make it a success. The materials required can easily be found at home. You can make use of newspapers or old magazines for cuttings. You can have a theme set up for the same.

The activities mentioned in this blog are sure to help children in developing their skills and enjoying the leisure time. There is an assortment of activities for kids and you no longer need to switch on the idiot box or the computer to keep the kids entertained and involved.  Also, don’t restrict yourself only to indoor activities try something new each day!

Let Your Spirits Soar This National Day

It is that time of the year, when the country celebrates in its own special way, its culture and heritage. It is the marking of the 41th national anniversary of UAE. There are a plethora of events being organised to bring the country alive. Some of which include a series of parades, fireworks and folk shows. We at Kensington Nursery too have some splendid events lined up for families, friends and kids too. Over 30 nationalities will be coming to the nursery and will be a part of the humongous cultural event. The main aim is to help the children understand the community’s ideals and values, and to teach them to respect their tradition and culture along with that of others.

We have also included camel rides, henna tattooing, traditional yola dancers for your entertainment. We will also be providing our guests with delectable Emirati cuisine. For further enquiries please contact our registrars: Umm Sequim Branch on 04 3944473 or Silicon Oasis Branch on 04 3423399.

Things to consider when evaluating Pre-School Nurseries in Dubai

The learning experience for kids begins the moment they are born. At they grow from being a bundle in our arms, they quickly learn to notice and interact with the environment that they live in. This is why, it is important that we as parents and educators carefully shape and mould their learning process to give them the best of what they deserve.

• Contrary to popular belief, the teaching curve need not wait till the infant has grown into a toddler, for a well thought out one will move closely in sync with the growth curve of the child. There has to be close observation of the key milestones during development. Age appropriate activities that stimulate the five senses of the child (sense, touch, sight, smell and sound), go a long way in nurturing their curiosity and reinforcing confidence.

• Quality education providers recognize the pitfalls of replicating approaches that would be more suited to children in a higher age group. They prefer to take a diversified approach using playful activities that are underpinned with learning tasks. This, indirect approach take the long term route in gradually broadening the communication, social, cognitive and self-help skills of children.

• Opting for a pre-school in Dubai that invests in the socio-emotional development through their teaching curriculum is a wise choice for parents to make. This is because of the multi-fold benefits that result from exposing kids to a planned and safe initiation to developing their skills in real world situations.

  

• The activities that a child engages in after school is equally important as the time spent during school hours. Short, periodic naps, structured and engaging play activities, etc. are a few of the ways in which pre-school nurseries can add value to a child’s education.

• Every child is an individual in themselves. Unique and with their own, characteristic skill-sets, each deserves a teaching program that is tailored specifically to their needs. Progressive schools that recognize this and structure their curriculum around the individualities of the children that come to study there are therefore in high demand in Dubai.

Decisions involving young minds could reflect upon them for the rest of their lives. Thus, the choices that one makes for their children should be after careful weighing of all the pros and cons. After all, a qualitylearning experience is one of the most satisfying gifts that a child can get from their parents!

Preparing Your Child For Nursery Made Easy!

Children today, in particular the pre-schoolers and nursery-goers, have all the energy to make their parents go nuts. Their growth and development between the age of one and ten is at an incredible rate. Each child has a new stage to cover, and new and different challenges to face. Each stage is equally difficult for both child and parent and starting nursery school is one difficult task. It is being prepared for each that makes the journey worthwhile. For instance, playing is one such activity that has and will always be a part of childhood. Playing helps to adds to both mental as well as physical growth and development. Nevertheless, it is the stability and steadiness of home and nursery that makes all the difference, which in return helps in building the character and social behaviour.

The basic, yet extremely essential preparation for nursery for babies is to enable the child to feel comfortable in a new environment. It should make them happy, and not cranky. This in return helps to build their confidence levels. Children need to know and be assured that they will be loved and cared for in the absence of their parents. Once this is established the children themselves would like to open up, communicate, interact and share with the other kids. This helps as the children are familiar with their surroundings and people. They know they will not be harmed and are safe and secure. Socialising with other children contributes a great deal in a child’s maturity.

Another vital element before enrolling children in a nursery is to cater to their likes and dislikes. These could be from the activities you engross them in, along with the eating and drinking habits. You need to tell them that eating good, nutritious food will help them in their growing up and development. Nurseries for babies will give them a platform to train their minds and sharpen their skills. The right idea for a nursery in the UAE chiefly, is to persuade and promote a fair amount of activities and learning so that the child’s mind gets trained. At the end of the day, it is aptly said that children, marriages and gardens reflect the kind of care they get.

Tips On keeping the Playroom Clean.

Kids love to play. Playing with toys helps with their mental development as well as when it comes to fine-tuning their motor skills. The toys themselves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, all smartly designed to teach and imbibe ideas into a child’s mind. Children grow up with them and get attached to them. Fact or not, most of us still treasure our childhood toys, from the wooden blocks to the toy trains—we love them all.

When it comes to your kid’s toys however, there is always one problem. Some parents take up this very problem as a challenge and try their level best to implement changes, while others simply give up after many unsuccessful attempts. The problem that every parent goes through is the clean up bit. Those who have a playroom at home, somehow get away with the whole issue by simply closing the door. But no! The problem here is less to do with cleanliness and being orderly but more about teaching your child about responsibility.

Toddlers have their playtime everyday; maybe after coming back from the nursery or even after a time out in the park in the evenings. They will break up, throw around and make a mess of their rooms either while playing, (because their imaginations run wild) or because they simply like to keep playing with new toys that grab their attention one after the other. Once playtime is over, all the toys (blocks, cars, teddy’s) are left on the floor, resulting in a messed up room; which of course you as a caring parent would dutifully end up cleaning every single day. This issue soon becomes a problem once your child grows up and tends to stick to this routine which soon becomes a habit that is hard to get rid of. Here are a few tips on how to teach your child to clean up the mess of toys that’s left behind:

1)      The best way to help kids out if they are too young to understand the concept of cleaning up is to turn the cleanup process into a game. Make cleaning up and packing up a part of the game that you introduced them to. This apart from getting rid of the toys will also keep the playroom or your kid’s room magically clean every time you walk in.

2)      Demonstrate the cleanup process clearly to your child when you introduce the new toy to him/ her, telling them where the toy should be kept after they are done with it.

3)      If there is a toy chest, make it a challenge for your kids and even reward them with some candy if they pack all their toys in the chest in the proper order. This will encourage a sense of neatness and bring order to their rooms as they grow up.

4)      Keep the storage space for toys large enough and logical. The smaller toys go on the top shelves, along with the soft toys while the larger cycles, play tables and musical toys can be pushed easily at floor level.

5)      The use of colours and crayons needs to be under supervision unless you want to return to redesigned room which has been given a makeover by your little artist.

6)      A wise decision while designing a room for your child would be to be to paint their walls with the their favourite cartoon characters because leaving the walls empty would make them think that it’s a surface that needs to written or drawn on.

With our professional and qualified faculty, we at The Kensington Nursery have been teaching parents and educating them about the dos and don’ts when it comes to helping them, help their children grow. To know more about our International British nurseries in Dubai, kindly visit our website at: www.thekensingtonnursery.com

Is your child really Safe at Home?

If you are going to be a parent for the first time or you are expecting; here are a few tips to keep your home childproof and safe for your little ones as they grow up.

• If you are going to renovate your home, changing the switches to childproof ones with covers is a great idea. The covers not only protect a child if he/she accidentally happens to touch the electrical socket or insert an object into it but also if the socket happens to be switched on and the child happens to lying against one. Moreover, the hair and clothing combined with the carpet on the floor may result in something really disastrous; which is why it is ideal to have electrical sockets and switches with covers on them in a house with toddlers.

  

• Removable fences or gates are another great idea to help limit your toddler or baby to a certain area of the house. What’s more is that you will also get some peace of mind knowing that your child won’t wander about and injure him/her self by taking a go at the staircase or entering the kitchen without your assistance.

• Always buy items or appliances with retractable cords as the cords can be retracted when the appliance is not in use. This helps prevent the children from getting choked. Children are mischievous in their early childhood and a dangling wire or cord makes for treat to play with.

  

• Bathrooms are not the best space in the house for your toddler to be going in alone. There are a lot of appliances that can cause injury to children especially when water and electricity mix. It is always safe to keep electrical appliances behind tightly shut cabinets to prevent any unnecessary accidents.

We at The Kensington British Nursery in Dubai always put safety first on our premises and also encourage and advice parents to do the same at home. We believe that responsibility and safety go hand in hand. We pay great attention to the safety of our environment, referring to the standard set under the Office for Standards in Education UK (OFSTED) and our premises are fully compliant with the UAE ministry regulations, as relates to health, safety, hygiene and fire regulations.

We have a dedicated security officer on the premises at all times and access to the nursery is restricted by way of an electronic gate control system. To know more about us and our international British children’s nursery at Umm Sequim and the Dubai Silicon Oasis kindly visit: www.thekensingtonnursery.com

Now is the time to change from burgers to fresh fruits

Childhood obesity is at an all time high. If you think that your child is obese, there are two reasons for the same: lack of physical activity; and an unhealthy diet loaded with snacks. Childhood obesityin this age of fast food and busy work lives are hard for parents to fight. However, parents can take a couple of simple precautions to ensure that their children do not put on that excess weight, especially at this age.

• Always encourage healthy eating habits at home
• Children learn by example so set the right one for them and they will follow what you do.
• Go out for a stroll in the in the evening with kids on work days
• Interact and make time for your children; ask them about them their day (will help beat stress both for you and your child)
• Make fruits easily accessible around the house (children will pick them up instead of that pack of Oreo’s on the kitchen counter)
• Ensure that your children have a minimum of an hour’s worth of play with a board game at home (board games are good for family bonding and utilizes the mind helping kids and parents lose calories)
• Reduce TV time

Our nursery in Dubai provides meals that have been carefully planned to ensure that the children will receive a variety of different foods geared to provide all of the essential daily nutrients required to maintain good health. The Kensington Nurseries at the Dubai Silicon Oasis and at Umm Sequim continuously monitor children’s health and conveys the same to their parents on a timely basis. All of the ingredients we use are fresh, additive free and prepared in our onsite nursery kitchen, where the standards of hygiene and cleanliness are always “best practice”.