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Languages for Little Learners from Icklelingo
According to research, children should be introduced to foreign languages as early as possible. There are many advantages for children who learn multiple languages from an early age, these benefits are lifelong and can be hugely valuable in the future.
- Introducing your child to foreign languages can help to develop their awareness and appreciation for diversity.
- Whilst your child is learning foreign languages they will also increase their ability within English.
- It is far easier to absorb new information at an early age, young children also seem to be able to compartmentalise each separate language correctly and tend not to confuse separate languages which they may be learning.
- If children learn a second or third language at an early age they will achieve a more native grasp of the grammar and pronunciation included within the language.
- Children who learn a foreign language statistically tend to score higher within future examinations, therefore it could be suggested that learning a second/ third language could improve your child academically.
- Learning a foreign language can boost your child’s confidence and can be great fun.
Icklelingo has produced a range of books and cards aimed at children aged twenty four months plus to help develop early language skills. The Icklelingo books and cards are designed to introduce first words in a range of languages through engaging artwork. The Icklelingo books have been specifically designed to meet the needs of bilingual households and parents who are keen to introduce new languages to their children from an early age.
The Icklelingo books are available in six differing key languages including:
- French
- German
- Greek
- Polish
- Italian
- Spanish
Mums Baby Magazine put three of the Icklelingo books to the test with a talkative toddler who enjoys dabbling with new sounds. We were impressed with the quality and durability of the Icklelingo books, designed specifically for little fingers, the Icklelingo books are board books (hard, thick card pages to prevent ripping or damage) and therefore are ideal for small children.
Each Icklelingo
features twelve pages covering a range of subjects introducing children to a range of language basics including:
- Numbers
- Colours
- Clothing
- Family
- Outside
- Fruit and Vegetables
- Sea Life
- Animals
Each page features bright, colourful and bold images which will capture children’s attention. We spent an afternoon with our toddler tester and the French version of the Icklelingo book browsing through the pages, pointing out and saying words out loud together, our toddler seemed to find the books interesting and enjoyed pointing at the pictures and repeating the words learnt both in French and English.
Later in the week we once again spent time pointing to the images and were impressed to find that our toddler seemed to remember the words taught and showed great pride in being able to say the words in another language.
We have continued to make regular use of the Icklelingo books with our toddler tester, these books would be ideal to take along on a foreign holiday to enable children to access alternative languages and try out their new found skills abroad. Whilst toddlers and young children have an exceptional ability for learning, we suggest that it best to stick to one additional language to aid focus and avoid confusion.
Icklelingo products are printed using environmentally friendly ink (soya ink), the full range of Icklelingo books are available for £6.00 GBP from www.icklelingo.com
Icklelingo also produce a range of celebration cards (available in six languages and five differing designs similar to those featured within the books). Both bold and beautiful, the Icklelingo card range is ideal for sending to ‘little learners’ to celebrate achievements and occasions. The Icklelingo cards are available from www.icklelingo.com for £2.50 each.
Mums Baby Magazine were greatly impressed with the content and quality of the Icklelingo books, our toddler tester also seemed fairly impressed and therefore we give the Icklelingo book range a terrific ten out of ten!
Sing to Your Baby for Brilliant Bonding
Multi-Grammy Award winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer have twenty five years experience in creating Music to further connect families together through a creative media. Sing to Your Baby features eleven original songs which range in tone, mood and genre designed specifically for singing with your little ones. Alongside this beautiful book is an accompanying CD. Each song has been recorded in two alternate keys making the Music accessible to both Mums and Dads singing pitch.
Inside the book ‘Sing to Your Baby’ is a contents page so that songs be can located easily, a letter from the authors to the readers, directions for carrying out and extending singing activities, lyrics for each song and a guide for parents explaining the developmental, educational and emotional benefits of singing for both children and parents. Each page includes the track numbers for both higher and lower pitch versions of the songs, as well as some guidance as to actions which can be included alongside the Music to encourage fun and learning. Sing to Your Baby also features colourful, bright, beautiful illustrations carefully created by James Nocito for both parents and children to enjoy.
Fink and Marxer have seen and experienced the power which Music instils into the lives of children and their families. More and more studies have been carried out which identify that singing to your child can improve communicative skills. NPR researched more into the parallels between a child and parents’ verbal connection at a young age and the same child’s educational success years later. NPR found that the more words a baby heard during their younger years,the more likely he or she was to handle the rigors of school later in life. You can read more upon the research carried out and results found at http://www.npr.org/2011/01/10/132749565/closing-the-achievement-gap-with-baby-talk
Songs featured within the ‘Sing to Your Baby’ book and CD include:
Love Is What I Feel For You - Rockin’ My Baby
- Wake Up
- Little Bitty Boat
- Chickadee
- I Love You
- Bouncing
- Baby’s Got A Giggle
- Pretty Little Baby
- Bye-Bye!
- Wherever You Go, I Love You
Whilst many parents feel uncomfortable with their own singing voice, it is advisable to put aside your own issues with confidence in Music and to ‘give it a try’. However, for those parents who are completely against singing and would prefer using spoken word, Sing to Your Baby includes chanted/ spoken rhymes and simple scat melodies (using Mmm and Laas) which can help both parents and children to build confidence within Music through simplistic themes.
Top Tips for Singing to Your Baby:
- Whether or not you are able to sing, your little one will enjoy listening to your voice.
- Relax and enjoy the experience
- Learn the songs and lyrics in your own time without pressure
- Make use of the CD for backing Music during play, travel or day to day activities to build familiarity with the songs.
- Play and sing the songs during pregnancy to build a stronger bond with your bump.
- It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the words!
- Sing to your little ones whenever you can (with or without the book!)
- Encourage siblings to join in
- Make up your own lyrics and get creative.
- Add your little ones name into the song to make the experience more personal.
- Add actions to the songs to make the experience even more fun.
Mums Baby Magazine put ‘Sing to Your Baby’ to the test with a little one, we found that the songs were rhythmic and easily memorable. We used this CD as backing Music during play for a few days in order to build familiarity with the material and then we began to add actions to the songs. We later accompanied the Music with instruments such as drums, shakers and bells which made the songs even more fun to take part in for our little tester as they were more able to feel and experience the Music in a physical sense.Although the songs do seem lengthy, the lyrics are repetitive and therefore an excellent choice for teaching infants, toddlers and children memorable words. We found that the Sing to Your Baby book and CD offered a more structured way in which to bond with your little one through Music, providing parents with clear guidance and support.
Mums Baby Magazine give the Sing to Your Baby Book and CD 8/10. Sing to Your Baby is an ideal gift for expecting parents, new-borns, infants and toddlers which retails at $19.95 from www.singtoyourbaby.net.
Cuddle up with a Bear and a Book! Fudgy Bear brings the life and love into your little ones reading.
Fudgy Bear isn’t the cute and fuzzy bear which he seems! He may sit quietly in your little ones arms as they snuggle up for cuddle, but read further into Fudgy Bears Books and you will soon realise that Fudgy Bear is actually a confident, adventurous and brave explorer with a love for learning.
Fudgy Bear is a beautiful plush bear with detailed hand stitching upon his paws and tie. Children will love snuggling up to Fudgy Bear as they read into his journeys and ad ventures within his books. There are a wide range of Fudgy Bear books which have been created with a huge amount of thought and care, each book features Fudgy Bear in a range of settings and scenarios to support early learning.
Mums Baby Magazine introduced Fudgy and three of his books to our two year old reading fanatic. Our little reader loved Fudgy Bear and instantly sat cuddling him whilst entranced by his stories. We brought the stories to life a little more by giving Fudgy his own reading voice and gestures, this really seemed to capture our little readers attention. Fudgy Bear offered the perfect cuddles and also the perfect lessons 
to our little reader, for example when reading ‘Count with Fudgy’ we found that by using the bear to link to the numbers featured, the information seemed to be absorbed and understood more clearly. Mums Baby Magazine give Fudgy Bear and his Books 9/10.
Fudgy Bear is suitable from birth and has passed safety tests complying with European safety regulations EN71 Parts 1,2 and 3. There are currently three Fudgy Bear Books available from www.fudgybear.com. Each book is available separately for £5.99 or as part of a bundle starting at £32.95 All orders include a free bag!
Reading without Restrictions for Bump, Birth and Beyond with the Great Little Trading Companies Sling Bookcase
Reading is an essential life skill that most children are able to develop with the help and encouragement of their parents, family and teachers. You can never start too early when it comes to reading with your child. Believe it or not, it is suggested that parents start reading to their children before birth! Whilst in the womb your child is able to recognise patterns of sound and intonation from outside of the womb, by reading to your bump you are building your little ones familiarity of your voice and others too. Reading to your bump is an excellent way in which to bond with your child before birth, this can be extended to Fathers and siblings to be too.
It is important to model an enthusiasm for reading by demonstrating to your children that you (their parent) enjoy and actively take part in reading. Your children look up to you as their role models and tend to copy and repeat the behaviour and activities that you carry out.
Reading is a key tool for developing imaginative and creative thinking skills, by reading fiction or non fiction stories to your children, they are then able to use their imagination to conjure up images and pictures which accompany the narrative of the story.
Reading is a critical skill used on a daily basis, whether it’s following instructions to cook a meal or perusing through the local newspaper to find out what activities are taking place nearby, reading enables us to access this information.
Try to encourage your children to build a love for reading by spending time each day with your little ones reading to them. In order to make this easier for yourself and your child, try to keep a small collection of your little ones favourite reads close to hand. Ideally, try to collect a few hardback board books which can be explored by little ones without potential damage such as ripped/ creased pages. Try to ensure that you enable your children to have open access to reading at all times, although they may not have developed the skills to read alone , they will still enjoy looking at the shapes of words and accompanying pictures, recalling the stories that have been read to them in the past.
Keep either a
box full of board books or better still, a floor standing shelf which displays your children’s books by their cover so that your little one is able to recognise the book with ease and select it for reading at leisure.
Mums Baby Magazine put the Great Little Trading Company’s ‘Sling Bookcase’ to the test with a toddler whom has a great love for reading. We put together the bookcase from a flat pack (this was a fairly simple task) and then placed it in the central family room.
Our toddler was delighted with the sling bookcase, firstly he began pointing to all the books that he could see. By having the books in a forward facing position, children are able to see the cover of the 
book, whereas most bookshelves are designed so that books are slotted in and then only the spine can be viewed.
The Great Little Trading Company Sling Bookcase features one sling (made from cream cotton canvas) which is hung on four wooden rods to create four separate sling shelves that books can be placed into easily. The height of the sling bookcase is ideal for toddlers and children as books are easy to reach. The Sling Bookcase is a freestanding bookcase. However, on the back of the sling bookcase there are two brass hooks which enable parents to bolt the sling bookcase to the wall to prevent any accidents occurring if the bookcase ever was to fall forwards.
The Sling Bookcase was recently featured in the ‘Ideal Home Magazine’, 
it is not only the ideal bookcase to aid the promotion of reading for little ones but it is also a beautiful piece of furniture for the home. The Sling Bookcase is made from thick MDF, measuring 71cmH x 62cmW x 30cmD and is available in white.
Mums Baby Magazine was greatly impressed by the Sling Bookcase and would like to recommend this product to our readers. We love the fact that children are able to select a book at will without any storage restrictions such as the height of shelves making books inaccessible. We believe that by displaying books by their covers rather than the spines, children will build a pride in their reading material and independence in selecting individual choices for reading. Mums Baby Magazine give the Sling Bookcase 10/10.
Available from ‘Great Little Trading Company’ for £55.00, the Sling Bookcase makes reading accessible at anytime for toddlers and children, aiding little ones to independently select a book and in turn develop their interest and enthusiasm for reading, a critical life skill.
Sisters in Partnership- The Toy Barn at Millstones
Rachel Fallows originally worked within Finance and Admin at a Children’s Centre based in Millom, Cumbria. Whilst having a cup of coffee at Millstones Barn Cafe, Rachel and her sister noticed a ‘For Rent’ sign within part of the Millstones Barn Establishment and began to ponder upon future possibilities within the retail sector. Soon enough Rachel’s pipedreams became reality and ‘The Toy Barn’ began early development stages.
Rachel and her sisters Andrea Fleming and Karen Stewart came together as a partnership to run the business, each taking a significant role within The Toy Barn. The Toy Barn was officially opened in October 2010 and has since had an excellent trade record, being popular with local residents and tourists within the Lakes.
Originally a Bakery, The Toy Barn occupies a large section of the Millstones Barn Buildings. Millstones Barn also houses two other businesses: ‘The Millstones Barn Cafe’ which focuses primarily upon healthy, nutritious foods which are homemade, locally sourced and served within a beautiful restored barn house setting, and ‘The Millstones Barn Food and Gifts Shop’ which sell an eclectic range of locally sourced goods. Together, under one roof these three businesses compliment each other through their common goals of retailing unique, locally sourced, natural products.
Open Tuesdays- Sundays (also open on Mondays during the school holidays and on bank holidays), The Toy Barn at Millstones sells a wide range of quality wooden toys and gifts for babies from manufacturers such as
Big Jigs - Moulin Roty
- Lanka Kade (a Fair-Trade company that deals with products made in Sri Lanka)
- East of India Baby Gifts
- The Puppet Company
Rachel actively encourages local residents to put forward products to sell which they may specialise within such as fine arts, jewellery and woodcraft. The Toy Barn currently stock a range of locally sourced products which are original and beautifully designed, making the ideal gifts for special occasions.
Wooden toys are not only traditional but far more robust and reusable, as wood tends to last therefore can be handed down from generation to generation.
The Toy Barn sell a wide range of wooden toys and gifts including personalised name plaques, jigsaws, dolls houses, train sets, rocking horses, puppets, soft toys, children’s jewellery, hobby horses, traditional books, and baby gifts to name a few.
The Toy Barn supports local charities such as ‘Haverigg Nursery’, by 
providing retail parties in order to raise funds for the nursery and to enable local residents to access the Toy Barn’s products. The Toy Barn also attended the local Millom Christmas Market, The Haverigg Kite Festival and have recently joined Egremont Fair-Trade Markets which take place once a month (usually on the first Friday of each month). Rachel and her sisters plan to continue holding local parties and events within the future which you can access information upon through The Toy Barns Facebook page.
Although The Toy Barn is currently based within The Lakes (Bootle, Millom), there are future plans to open an online shop (during Summer 2011) which Mums Baby Magazine will keep you posted upon!
Mums Baby Magazine would like to wish Rachel, Andrea and Karen all the best for the future of The Toy Barn and we look forward to hearing more upon it’s development and progress.
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