Category Archives: Seasonal

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

Halloween can be an awful time for those with Sensory Processing Disorder – a change of routine and additional stimulation. But it doesn’t have to be such a negative experience as long as you are prepared and have some ideas up your sleeve. Remember the most important thing is to ensure that each individual has the right Sensory Diet for their needs – making sure they get just the right amounts of input for each of the senses – whether that be trying to reduce or stimulate it.

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

Halloween and Sensory Processing Disorder

I have previously talked about a Scooby Doo Halloween Party the Sensory Seeker attended, how Halloween can help Sensory Processing Disorder and how an overnight trip to LEGOLAND Windsor on October 31st was great for The Sensory Seeker. This year, however, we are keeping it more low key and staying at home.

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

The Sensory Seeker  is absolutely loving Ghostbusters currently and he has the new, Year 2 Wave 6 LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Story Pack. Or the Girl Ghostbusters as he calls it. He is so good at it and best of all this little boy, who I feared may never be able to talk when he was at preschool, was explaining all about the game and the new packs he has at the Family Playstation event we attended last weekend.

Not only have games helped him with his communication but in so many other ways including being more socialable. I like to take his interest off the computer as well, and have previously looked at Ghost Crafts. This time I wanted to really have him focused and this is where the idea for Slimer Biscuits came from – just perfect for Halloween.

How to make Slimer Biscuits

I have talked about the Benefits of making Biscuits with Sensory Processing Disorder when we made them as Christmas Gifts . We again used the same all in one method – and The Sensory Seeker felt really confident in himself that he made them “all by himself.

Of course he absolutely loved getting his hands in the bowl with all the lovely textures mixing the ingredients in. He still hasn’t managed to be tempted by licking the butter though!

Ingredients for the biscuits:

250g Softenend butter, 140g castor sugar, 1 egg yolk, 300g plain flour (plus extra if it is to sticky and for the surface/rolling pin) and vanilla essence.

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

Method for biscuits:

Mix together ingredients, roll out the mixture, cut into shapes, cook in the oven until golden.

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

The idea for the Slimer biscuits came from Simpsons Doughnuts. You know the ones which are literally pink with hundreds and thousands on. We had originally wanted to buy plain doughnuts but could not find any. To make Slimer biscuits we simply to the same but needed to make it green. We bought some lemon icing and simply mixed in blue food colouring.

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

Then we spent ages sorting out green hundreds and thousands! Once the biscuits had cooled we spread the icing on the top and added the green sprinkles. The Sensory Seeker then decided he wanted a couple of different coloured stands for the eyes and nose. The boys actually ended up doing some with multi-coloured sprinkles too. Guess what the biscuits didn’t much look like Slimer, and they weren’t difficult to make – but to my little boy they were the BEST biscuits in the World. AND HE had made them!

Slimer Biscuits from Ghostbusters

Other Posts of Interest this Halloween:

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

LEGOLAND Windsor has always been for me a place that really caters for those with special needs. We visited for this year’s Brick or Treat on Halloween and LEGO NINJAGO fireworks – deciding to stay in the LEGOLAND Hotel rather than going home.

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

LEGOLAND Windsor and Additional Needs

The first time we ever visited was because an Autism forum were having a meet up and all agreed it was the best place to meet the needs of their kids. Well this must have been about 9ish years ago now and it has never let us down yet. They offer a ride access pass so that those who cannot queue can still access the rides. This is for 10 rides but we have never done 10 yet (in fact the last day we managed 3 rides!). Also I believe this is down to the understanding nature of the staff. For more information please see my previous post: Disability Access Guide to UK theme Parks.

LEGOLAND Windsor Hotel in General

With the introduction of the LEGOLAND Hotel I think that LEGOLAND Windsor is even more accommodating for those with additional needs: Even those who are not guests can visit the floor with Bricks restaurant on – which also has additional Xboxes and an indoor play area. This gives a place to escape from the crowds a little. I noticed that the general toilets had paper towels rather than hand driers, and the toilets in the rooms had toddler seats built into the seat too.

Benefits

For guests of the LEGOLAND Windsor Hotel there is (obviously) the benefit of having a room. This is super themed in LEGO, with clues to solve to open the safe (to reveal a LEGO gift) as well as a box of LEGO to play with (great for fine motor development).  The rooms have LEGO TV for the children in their room (and another tv for the adults). Beds had light switches by them – but you can also take the key card out to stop the lights from working (our Sensory Seeker just kept flicking it on and off!!!)

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

Entertainment was provided in the morning and night time on the floor which is level with the LEGOLAND Resort. Also you will find a LEGO themed swimming pool inside the hotel (which also helps calm the Sensory Seeker). The towels are provided and it is communal changing rooms of a good size (5 of us fitted in with plenty of room); with refundable lockers at £1

Breakfast

Breakfast is included in the price of the stay and is an all you can eat buffet. There’s a section which is lower down so that children can help themselves. There’s a good range of foods available – meeting the needs of even the fussiest* of children. Hotel guests are able to enter the LEGOLAND Resort** earlier than normal the next day – beneficial to those who are unable to cope with crowds.

See also my previous post when we stayed at The LEGOLAND Hotel for Junior Brick Builders Week

How the LEGOLAND Hotel was beneficial for the Sensory Seeker on Fireworks night

Although LEGOLAND continue to elevate the problem of large crowds dispersing from the park after the fireworks, this can still be overwhelming for those with additional needs. We felt that staying overnight would make the situation easier for us. On staying I also discovered some other benefits.

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

First of all the hotel gave us a place to recover. If the Sensory Seeker had over done it (or become over stimulated) we could take him back to the room away from the crowds. That is not to say that the room wasn’t further stimulating but he could watch LEGO TV to help him calm down. If your child needed to sleep during the day this is also provided it as an option.

Halloween

As we went for Halloween it allowed our Sensory Seeker to dress up and have face paint on in the evening – which he would have found too much to have on all day. It meant that we did not need to carry around additional things (such as spare clothes in case he had an accident) as the hotel is located within the park. It also allowed us to take additional things like light up bands for the fireworks – but equally ear defenders or sweets could be left there.

You may be interested in my previous post on Sensory Processing Disorder and the Auditory Sense to see whether fireworks may be a problem or not. When it came to the Firework display there was a hotel guests viewing area in the Driving school – meaning that the Sensory Seeker had somewhere to run around and not be crowded in.

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

Conclusion of The Sensory Seeker at The LEGOLAND Windsor Hotel for Fireworks night

The Sensory Seeker had an amazing time and has not stopped talking about it. He is very familiar with LEGOLAND Windsor which I think helps. He actually collected his brick for going 5 times this season. He was super thrilled that he is 1.2m tall and can go on all the rides.

Problems

There were a few teething problems (such as being turned away from the disabled queue because a ride was closing for the fireworks and the sheer amount of people trying to move after the fireworks) but all in all I think that LEGOLAND Windsor strive to improve the situation.

The main problem I can see is if the fireworks are too much then you are unable to go back to the hotel. We were able to do the “after dark” challenges and collect limited edition pop badges before going to dinner at Bricks.

It took the boys ages to get to sleep as they were just so excited! I would definitely recommend this and do it again – it certainly was a nice change from Trick or Treating. We were also pleased to see that Brick or Treat was on until November 2nd so the boys were still able to participate in the Halloween activities that LEGOLAND had put on for the Half Term.

LEGOLAND Windsor, Brick or Treat, Halloween, Fireworks and the Hotel

You may also be interested in my post about visiting Disneyland Paris with Sensory Processing Disorder (where there was also fireworks).

Other bloggers who have additional needs in the family who stayed at the hotel at the same time as me are Purple Ella and Our Little Escapades who may offer a different view point to mine.

*disclaimer hopefully! ** Note that only a few rides are open at this time though.

This is not a sponsored post. I paid for my own Merlin Annual Pass and room at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort. All words and opinions are my own.

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

When planning a party for Halloween why not consider having a Scooby-Doo theme. Not only can you incorporate all scary monsters, ghosts and ghouls into it, but you can also feel protected by Velma and the gang. We were invited to a fantastic Scooby-Doo party as part of an exclusive screening of the all NEW original Scooby-Doo movie, Franken Creepy. Here I picked up some tips to share with you for hosting your own Scooby-Doo Halloween party.

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Halloween Scooby-Doo Costumes

Halloween costumes are a must at a Halloween party, and that goes without saying, but my youngest son absolutely loved that he did not need to be a ghost but could instead be one of his favourite cartoon characters Scooby-Doo himself. The costume also went over his head which is really good for his sensory processing disorder.

Halloween Scooby-Doo face paint

If you have a child who does not like dressing-up then maybe they could settle with some Halloween face paint. There are plenty of ghosts, ghouls, spiders, bats, monsters in Scooby-Doo so there is plenty to pick from. Or it could add to the costume. Face-painting whilst at the party gives the children something else to do too.

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

I liked the idea of using a stencil to add Halloween designs to hands (or you could do it on their cheek). I think this is a great idea for children who are not keen on even having Halloween face paint on because they are tactile resistant.

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Halloween Scooby-Doo Scenery

My Sensory Seeker absolutely loved all the visual stimulation at the Scooby-Doo party – simple to do really as it was just coloured paper, cobwebs, spiders, tomb stones, bats etc. All different kinds of pumpkins too – I loved the one made of Lego.

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Halloween Scooby-Doo Balloons

There were plenty of Halloween balloons – with ghosts, skeletons, etc and these added not only decoration but gave him something to again appeal to his sensory tactile nature. There was also a Balloon Modeller there – once again providing a good source of entertainment for the children.

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Scooby-Doo Snack – Biscuit Decoration

I loved the Scooby-Doo shaped biscuits* set up ready for the children to decorate. This also was good for my Sensory Seeker’s hand development as he had to squeeze the icing out onto the biscuit. It also utilised hand-eye co-ordination and creativity.

scooby_snack_biscuits

Of course he was also able to eat it!

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Scooby_Doo Halloween Party food

There were some great ideas of how to turn everyday food into a Halloween theme. One of my particular favourites was by decorating a pot and filling it with fruit.

scooby-doo halloween party

I think the children’s favourites were the numerous sweets around!

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

Scooby-Doo Halloween Movie

Then we all went into the theatre to watch Scooby-Doo: Franken Creepy. Scooby-Doo and those “meddling kids” Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma are back! With reference to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we learn the reason why Velma is so intent on getting to the bottom of spooky mysteries. After the Mystery Machine blows up (as a warning) the gang end up going to Transylvania, Pennsylvania for Velma to claim a cursed castle she has inherited from her great-great uncle Dr. Von Dinkenstein: This mystery is personal!

Scooby-Doo Halloween Party

It was great to see the original crew but now with a modern twist. There was lots of signs of the modern age such as laptops and referencing to social media. It held its same great charm it always did, and my boys were truly captivated as the mystery unravelled. I liked the educational references (such as Frankenstein was the doctor not the monster) and was really impressed with the sound and graphics.

Halloween Scooby-Doo Party Bucket

The boys then got to take home a bucket full of Scooby-Doo goodies and sweets and other treats. A great way to end the party and keep the fun going.

*Biscuits courtesy of Biscuiteers: Biscuit Boutique & Icing Cafe


We were invited to an exclusive screening of the Scooby-Doo movie Franken Creepy. My Sensory Seeker was provided with a Scooby-Doo costume and we cannot say thank you enough. All food and entertainment was provided free of charge and the boys took home a Scooby-Doo goodie bucket. All words and opinions are my own.

Ghost Crafts

10 Ghost Crafts from The Weekly Kids Co-op

Ghost CraftsCrafts are really good for The Sensory Seeker. They help with meeting his Sensory needs in term of vision and tactile input. It helps with fine motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination, turn-taking, following instructions, speaking and listening and much much more. Sometimes it is good to just let him be creative and other times it is great to give him a guide. I do love the inspiration I have from the Weekly Kids Co-op so thank you each and every one of you who links up. With Halloween fast approaching I thought I would make some Ghosts with My Sensory Seeker. I love the variety of ghost crafts linked up and the many skills that making them brings.

10 Ghost crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op

Ghost Feet & X-Ray Hands – Atkinson Drive
10 Ghost crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Sensory Halloween – The Sensory Seeker
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Halloween Crafts: Ghosts on the Light Table {Read & Play} – Where Imagination Grows
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Halloween Science: Ghost Balloons – Preschool Powell Packets
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Milk Jug Ghost – Crafty Journal
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Ghost Symmetry – Three Ghost Friends
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Toilet Paper Roll Ghosts – Plain Vanilla Mom
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Halloween Ghost Finger Puppets in 4 Easy Steps – Mum Bo Jumbo
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Halloween Rock Garden – Dabbling Momma
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
Dryer Sheet Ghosts and a Tossing Game – The Stay at Home Mom Survival Guide
10 Ghost Crafts from the Weekly Kids Co-op
The Weekly Kids Co-Op

Sensory Halloween

Halloween can be utilised  to help your child with sensory processing disorder deal with some of their difficulties. Halloween games and activities can help the child learn to deal with unpleasant situations, connect with their bodies, and fulfill some of their required Sensory Diet. Of course there is going to be benefits for both the Sensory Seeker and the Sensory Avoider – but I mainly focusing on the Sensory Seeker – as that is what I know most about, as my son is more a Seeker.

Halloween Dressing up and Sensory Processing Disorder

sensory halloweenHalloween definitely is a time to embrace dressing up. My Sensory Seeker loves nothing better than dressing up. All those different textures, and I think it really is where he is comfortable at using his imagination. Letting them get themselves dressed will also help them with orientation, textures, fastenings (zips, buttons, bows, laces etc). We also have a mirror for him – so that he can see what he looks like. I find that when he uses the mirror he also uses different expressions – and he can see what that looks like too.  Or you can use face paint – which is fantastic for tactile stimulation.

Halloween Games

The Mummy Race

Sensory HalloweenMy boys loved this game. Basically get into two teams with the child with Sensory Processing Disorder (or any child) to be the Mummy. Then get the other children to wrap them up. We used toilet paper but you could use bandages or any other white material for a deeper pressure. The winning team can either be the one who has their Mummy all wrapped up the quickest, or have a time limit and the winner is the one who is the most wrapped at the end. If you wanted to add more sensory experiences to it the Mummy could have to run around too.

Go Away Ghost!

Sensory HalloweenA number of children are scared of the dark, and at Halloween ghosts and monsters are even more likely to frighten them. The Go Away Ghost game can also be beneficial to the child who gets upset when something messy touches them (something in their shoe, a cobweb, a wet leaf, a grain of sand, wet paint); Or the child who is worried about something touching them; the unresponsive child who does not react to what is going on around them; the child who has trouble focusing on an activity, or has trouble making the transition between activities; and when they have trouble with an activity and needs removing. This game is good for their imaginations too.

The child says (whispers or shouts depending on their sensory need) – “Go Away Ghost Get off!” Get the child to use their hands to get the ghost off their whole body – pushing the ghost off their hair, down their face, shoulders, upper body, arms, hands, pulling him off their fingers, down their tummy to the legs (give him a kick off), shake him off their feet, then shake all over and jump, jump around in the space. Then get the child to take deep breaths and say, “That’s good, it is better.”

Apple Bobbin and Scary Spaghetti

I think this is especially good if your child is like mine in that he struggles with his diet. Sensory HalloweenSometimes he will not even try touching something just because of its appearance or smell. Putting some coloured water in a bowl and throw in some apples is a great way to encourage him to try putting the apple in his mouth because he knows it is a game and he is not expected to eat it. I think this takes the pressure off him. This could be used with black, red and green water – maybe have the 3 different bowls. Rewarding with sweets for participating is always a useful incentive I find too.

Sensory HalloweenIf they are not quite ready for putting their face in what about a game of scary spaghetti – where you place the cooked spaghetti in some jelly with some Halloween toys (eyes, spiders, etc) – and the idea is to put your hand in and pull out a particular Halloween toy to win. This will help them develop their sense of what things feel like, and what shapes they are without their sense of sight. You can do this with or without a face mask – depending on how comfortable they are with it.

Alternatives to Halloween Parties

Frozen Spiders

It doesn’t have to be a party with lots of people around – why not try frozen spiders in the bath. Last year my Sensory Seeker loved it. I simply filled tubs with plastic spiders and coloured water. I put them in the freezer and let my Sensory Seeker dissolve them in the bath. He had a lot of fun and discovered how the blocks of froze spiders disappear in his hot bath. Also how his bath changed colour and the fascination of more and more spiders appearing as the ice dissolved.

Sensory Halloween

Halloween Craft and Sensory Bins

Or why not have a Halloween crafting session. Great for fine motor, textures, etc. We made our own Halloween treat bags from just paper and odd bits – perfect for carry a few treats.

sensory halloween

Or why not make a sensory bin.

sensory seeker in the tactile sense

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

Work destroyed – torn to pieces and coloured over, head butting, saying inappropriate things, playing with food, not eating favourite foods on an already limited diet, not sleeping, standing on his hand, spinning, attacking his brothers and smearing ice-cream all over his face. Yes this is the first three weeks of the school holidays. But you know what – it is going well!

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

Ways to cope with The School Holidays and The Sensory Seeker

The fact that I can even list what my 5 year old has done that is a tad bit stressful so far these holidays is real progress. In fact a lot of them were one off incidents instead of daily occurrences. In fact the reason I am even able to write this is that the school holidays are going so well that he has gone off to a summer day football session. It is at his school with a familiar adult but still a massive step forwards. I think that the two key ingredients for me are that I am not letting myself get wound up about them (he can’t help it and it must be worse for him) and trying to ensure he has a sensory diet to lower the risk of him not being able to cope.

Listening to The Sensory Seeker

I have stopped trying to force him to do things because I fear he will become an adult that can never do them. For example we missed seeing The Lost Dinosaur when we went to The Eden Project because he really could not cope with the sensory input anymore. The barefoot trail really helped him but he was really struggling. We have learnt to watch and listen for his cues and act on them. In this case we removed him from the situation and went back to the holiday park.

Diet and The Sensory Seeker

The food thing is so frustrating but actually relaxing about it has been what has worked for me. So what if he has smeared food all over himself before eating it, yes not the most hygienic but it won’t kill him. Surely it is better than him not eating at all. I am careful as to how many foods I give him, make sure they are not touching, something I know he does like. I never expect him to eat anything – even things he does like. I am prepared to barter with him to get him to eat something healthy. He is learning to understand about when he is at school and when he is not. He has shown this by telling us that he can have pancakes on non-school days (they take time to make and wash up after). Just before the holidays ended he decided that he did not like chicken roll – which was the only sandwich filling he would eat before! Now he only wants to eat wraps. There’s no point in making a battle of it I just listen to what he wants.

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

Things that have really helped with our Sensory Seeker and the School holidays

A paddling pool – we have a big pool outside and he can get in and out when he pleases.

Guns – water and the BOOMCo Madness Rapid Blaster – good for helping with his hand development.

The trampoline – this is an all year round thing that helps but our 14ft trampoline is great for him.

Ice – we made some frozen Lego shapes, great for his sensory needs.

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

Cardboard boxes – squeezing into a tight cardboard box was good, and he loved that he was able to destroy it afterwards.

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

Chocolate milkshake – this has been a big bartering tool this summer.

Picnics – I think he prefers cold food and he has loved the variety of a picnic. Plus with it not being hot food he can eat when he wants to. Particularly successful was when we made a last minute decision to take some jelly on a picnic.

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

Luckily we have a chill factor jelly maker that makes jelly in minutes and not hours. Following on from the success of Character’s Chill Factor Slushy and Ice Cream Makers they have now bought out a Jelly one! Simply leave in the freezer (minimum of 6 hours) and then when you want to make Jelly add your mixture and it is set in minutes! You need to use half the amount of water than normal, and you squeeze, squeeze, and squeeze some more. Then after a few minutes flip it over and leave for another minute to set. The jelly maker is suitable from 5 years (although they will need someone to make the jelly mixture). We found that it was really good for our five year old Sensory Seeker’s hand development. I am always forgetting to make the jelly so this is just perfect for me. Or for my impromptu visits to the park with a jazzed up picnic.

Not worrying about bedtimes – we will suffer later no doubt but whilst the sun is shining late at night and there is no school we have been much more relaxed about what time he (and all the boys) go to bed.

Keeping him active and entertained – using visuals such as alphabet bingo or working through his Gold Stars Starting Maths for the summer gold stars challenge. Children need to keep their education going through the school holidays so they do not forget things. As he is behind his peers I feel that this is particularly important.I picked the lower age book (3-5 years) and think it has been beneficial to both of us to see how easy he seems to be finding it. I feel it has really helped illustrate just how far he has developed in his reception year too (as he is still working towards all but one National curriculum levels and may be moved to P-levels). Each page has a simple activity and it is very visual. It was good for communication as we both discussed things in the book and what was expected of him. He is loving the stickers that he gets as a reward for completing each of the pages too. If he does all 30 then he will receive a certificate too. It has helped me identify that he needs more help/practice with colouring in.

School holidays and The Sensory Seeker

We have also had lots of play, meeting up with others, days out, etc. with much more planned for the rest of the school holidays.

I would love to hear how other people are coping with the school holidays with their child with Sensory Processing disorder. Or any tips/strategies that they use.

We received a free Chill Factor Jelly Maker and Summer Gold Stars Maths book for purposes of review. No other compensation has been given. Words and opinions are my own.

summer sensory diet

Summer Sensory Diet – Tips and Inspiration

I find the best way to help my Sensory Seeker to cope with the School Summer holidays is to provide him with a Summer Sensory Diet. As he doesn’t like change, ideally, a visual aid. This would  show a new summer routine, which meets all of his needs. I like to make sure I continue to provide educational stimulus, so that he does not fall any further behind his peers. I will also help  him to develop his gross and fine motors skills. He needs plenty of outdoor activities to help burn off some his wild energy and meet his proprioception and vestibular needs; some noisy activities for his auditory sense; and of course plenty of tactile activities. Of course I will also set up just invitations to play, and use his imaginative (I love a bit of craft): These are also educational for him but in a less structured way. A plan not only helps him make sense of what is happening, but also gives him an idea of time, and when he will be returning back to school. I will also factor in down-time (he loves computer games and watching television) – both for his and my benefit.

summer sensory diet

Summer Sensory Diet Ideas from the Kids Co-op

There’s some great ideas on the Kids Co-op that inspire me, or I can utilise to help make my Summer Sensory Diet plan – here are a few of them:

Educational

15 Busy Bags for Fine Motor Skills – Powerful Mothering

Watermelon free Printables – Gift of Curiosity

Handwriting practice Letter B – Crystal & Co

summer sensory diet

Outdoor

Backyard Tight Rope – Kids Activities Blog

summer sensory diet

Outdoor Playspaces Kids Love– Frogs and Snails

Nature walks (and free printables) – Livin Montessori Now

Tactile

Chocolate Slime Playdough – Epic fun for kids

summer sensory diet

Ooooey Gooooey Slime – Our Little House in the Country

I am keen to find ideas for Apps as he sees these as playing computer games. He needs to learn how to blend his sounds, count from 10-20 – and other Early Years Goals. He is going to go up to Year 1 but be measure with P scales.

My other advice is to have lots of snacks. These can be frozen! As well as great for touch and smell.

What are P levels?

When children are in Year 1 they have finished the Early Years Foundation and move on to The National Curriculum. This starts at level 1 (and goes to level 3 in infants, and level 6 in juniors). Those children who have not achieved a level 1 at National Curriculum level would be marked with a W (working towards). This can feel deflating and confusing for a child/their parent who has made so much progress but the assessment shows the same W. P levels used when a child does not meet the National Curriculum levels but still allow progress to be seen. They are designed to show layers of small change below that of the National Curriculum levels – 1-8.

The Weekly Kids Co-Op

You may also be interested in Jenny’s Waterplay Activities Kids Co-op Round up