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How do I teach my child to write their name? 🌟

How do I teach my child to write their name?
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This is a question I’m asked often! But before a child can write their name, they need to have strong muscles in their fingers and hands. I suggest starting with lots of fine motor activities. Things like play dough, clay, threading activities, lacing activities, playing with LEGO, tearing paper to make collages and using tongs to transfer small objects!
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Once your child can trace and copy lines, circles, triangles, squares and x’s - they’re ready to start writing their name! Be sure to write their name with a capital at the beginning and lower-case letters for the rest. You can use a yellow highlighter to write their name and invite them to use a pencil to trace the letters inside.
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When Lilly was beginning to learn how to write her name, I made her some little name writing sheets which I popped in a folder so she could practise over and over with whiteboard markers! I would be asked about them often so we now offer these as a download over in the store too.
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Tomorrow we’ll be turning off our custom name orders for a few days! We’re due to move houses very soon so our internet will be shut off for a little bit as we transition so if you’ve been thinking about ordering, now is the time! The link is in my bio ❤️

Painting with toddlers...what if I told you there

Painting with toddlers...what if I told you there was a way to do it with NO MESS?! Giiiirl, keep reading because this magical solution is going to blow.your.mind – you’re gonna want to tap save and send this post to your friends!
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I shared a video of the kids painting with ‘black paint’ on our walls a few weeks back and my inbox was FILLED with messages asking what magic powers I possessed that stopped the paint from covering our walls and just the sheet the kids were painting on.
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Well my friend….This magic is a Chinese calligraphy mat which reacts to water. No black paint. No painted walls. Painting with little ones just got a whole lot easier! Even I couldn’t resist splatting water onto the mat with my fingers.
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Head on over to my blog to grab the link to purchase a roll of this magical material for your little learners (and it’s under $10 and TOTALLY reusable) – and while you’re there, check out Audrey’s other play activities from this month! The link is in my bio.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Congratulations @emlah52 - you’

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Congratulations @emlah52 - you’re our winner!!! 🎉 GUYS! I’m so excited to kick off a month of exciting givaways here on IG! This week we’re partnering with @foost.com.au and one lucky winner will receive a colourful kids prize pack for their little learners!
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This prize pack includes three beautifully illustrated books, a Foost First Knife, an Apron and Hat set and a Bamboo Rainbow kids plate! Your little learner will love creating positive food experiences in the kitchen with you!
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HOW DO YOU ENTER?
🍌 Follow @foost.com.au and @littlelifelonglearners
🍌 Tag a friend below that might be interested in this amazing prize as well!
🍌 Yep! That’s it! But if you’d like some extra entries, just tag another friend in a separate entry!! 10 separate friends in 10 separate comments equal 10 bonus entries!
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This giveaway is open worldwide! All entrants must be at least 18 years of age. The giveaway will close on Wednesday the 19th of February at 10pm AEST and the winner will be announced shortly after. This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by Instagram in any way. Good luck!

Look at those little fingers working so hard to po

Look at those little fingers working so hard to post the matchsticks into the shaker holes! 😍
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This little invitation is encouraging Audrey to develop her pincer grip - that’s her thumb and pointer finger working together to pick up and/or hold an object. This is so important when it comes time to learn to write!
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Throughout childhood, we want to be leaving little breadcrumbs of opportunities that allow our little learners to practise this skill. It doesn’t look like much but it’s a huuuuge developmental milestone that our little learners reach which is also the beginning of some pretty important finger muscle strengthening! Have you noticed your little learner using their pincer grip? Swipe across to see more examples of invitations to develop this skill!
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But the best part about this invitation? It’s so easy to put together using stuff from around your house! No fancy toys needed. No hours of play prep required. Just simple, playful exploration!

Sometimes the most simple ideas are the best! 🌿

Sometimes the most simple ideas are the best!
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One of my very favourite sensory bottles to make with my little learners are nature bottles using special treasures we've found on our nature walks. My absolute favourite bottle to date is the middle one featuring gorgeous native flowers from my grandmother's garden and then topped up with water! The water kept the flowers looking fresh for nearly a whole week!
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When you create a sensory bottle WITH your little learner, you’re also encouraging them to develop their fine motor skills as they carefully post the items into the bottle. They’re also a great little keepsake when you add special treasures from holidays or adventures #MakingPlayfulMemories
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Quick tip - When picking a bottle, I usually go for something with a flat surface that’s also water tight. These particular bottles are plastic VOSS bottles and I just stock up whenever I find them because they can be tricky to get your hands on!
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What types of sensory bottles do you enjoy creating with your little learners? Tell me below! 👇🏻

Guys, is this not the sweetest doctor set you’ve

Guys, is this not the sweetest doctor set you’ve ever seen?!
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I’m a huge fan of dramatic play so when I stumbled across this mini medic set on @etsy I just knew Lilly would adore it. I love that the little medic bag is full of real accessories like a cute little doctor’s coat, bandages, plastic syringes and a REAL LIFE STETHOSCOPE!!!
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Yep! Once again, @etsy has delivered the goods. Whenever I’m searching for a unique gift idea or something a little out of the box, I can always count on @etsy
This beautifully curated medic set has been the most magical addition to our role play stash. It’s allowed Lilly to dive deep into creative, imaginative play. And the best part? You guys know that I’m on a new toy ban so this purchase totally doesn’t count because it’s all real right?! #TellHerShesDreamin #OkayYouCaughtMe
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Head on over to my stories for the swipe up link to get this beautifully curated doctor’s kit for your little doctor! #EtsyAffiliate #Sponsored

Did you know even toddlers are learning to read ju

Did you know even toddlers are learning to read just by going about their everyday life?!
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Yep! Our little learners of all ages are taking in environmental print every single day. Sometimes it’s in the form of the Vegemite label when we make breakfast or their name printed on their lunchbox. Sometimes it might even be that big yellow M when we drove past McDonald’s and everyone wants “CHIPPIES!”
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The teacher in me loves to add lots of environmental print to our everyday lives and routines. One of my favourite ways to do this (while supporting lots of early reading behaviours!!) is to make our children their very own shopping lists when we do groceries!
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And honestly, now we have 3 children we almost always divide and conquer or order them online, but sometimes I love to give the kids their own list. I just grab some pictures from the online Coles catalogue and add the printed name beside it. Just having the words written there is exposing Elliot in particular (3 years) to the idea that words have meaning. He’s also beginning to recognise some familiar letters 😍
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Have you made shopping lists for your little learners before? Give it a go! Not only do they loooove being able to help do the groceries, it’s also a really fun and easy way to begin supporting them to explore letters and words!

Sometimes we all question whether we're doing enou

Sometimes we all question whether we're doing enough to support the needs of our little learners. But guess what? We don't have to provide fancy learning experiences to support our little learners. Just taking time to communicate with them (whether that be talking, singing, playing games) does wonders for developing their oral language skills and language development!
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I'm so excited to share that this week, we have an amazing guest joining us on the blog! Robyn Miller from @mentalloadproject is joining us to share 6 everyday tips to boost your child’s language development at home!
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Robyn says that “language for children is not so much about sitting around and talking as about enjoying all forms of communication. This could be simple games like peek-a-boo, singing and dancing together or your child running through your legs whilst saying “under”. Simple songs with actions are always a hit! Babies and toddlers often also enjoy anticipating what’s coming next. Songs like ‘Here is the bee hive’ and ‘When all the cows were sleeping…’ are great for providing this anticipation.”
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Head on over to the blog to read Robyn's other amazing tips for developing language skills with your little learners! The link is in my bio 😍

You guys! Look at this gorgeous little post office

You guys! Look at this gorgeous little post office that @ashleighhanby set up for her little learner!!! 😍
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Setting up a simple invitation like this is a really easy way to encourage a hesitant writer to write with purpose. You’ll be surprised to see how adding a few simple props can spark their imagination and inspire them to write!
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Our favourite props for a little post office include some envelopes, stamp and ink pad, ‘special’ pens for writing and a little post box. You might even like to add a few signs from my Post Office Dramatic Play Set!
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Have you tried something like this with your pre-writer? If you give it a go, tag me so I can share your photos my audience! 📫

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