New research brings consensus to the idea that the dinosaurs were wiped out after a phenomenal asteroid collision sited at what is now the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico - this is the stuff of boys' imagination, combining two fascinating boundaries of knowledge: dinosaurs and space.

Although your little ones are probably too young to comprehend the reality of either space or dinosaurs, why not at least introduce these ideas?  No matter where you live you probably aren't that far from a museum that has exhibits on at least one, if not both, of these topical areas.  Plan a visit and activities around one of these two areas!

Space

To foster an interest in space, take your little ones outside after dark to observe the moon and stars; explain that every star is like our sun but so far away that they appear to be tiny.  Talk about concepts of near and far based on things you can see nearby, explain how further objects appear to be smaller than nearby ones.

Introduce the idea that we live on a planet called Earth and that there are lots of other planets in space but so far away that we can't see them.  Look at a map of the world and describe how we have lots of countries and lots of sea, and perhaps name some of the countries that your little ones might have heard of.

Create a spaceship out of old bottles, boxes or cartons and encourage your kids to go off exploring the universe!

Dinosaurs

Time is a very confusing and abstract concept.  Children struggle to distinguish 'today', 'tomorrow' and 'yesterday', so having them conceptiualise dinosoars roaming the land hundreds of millions of years ago is going to be a challenge!  But you can explain that dinosaurs were like giant monsters and that there were lots of them a long, long time ago!

Find pictures of dinosaurs in a book, online, or best of all, in a sticker book, and look at the different creatures.  Point out their different characteristics such the styles of their legs, tails, horns; maybe some of them have funny necks and small heads, others might have huge teeth; lots walk, some fly, others swim.  Study the pictures and tell your children their names.  See if they can pronounce the really tricky ones - to them the sounds may be no more alien than many of the other words and phrases they hear every day.

Why not make a dinosaur park?  Draw and cut out your own dinosaurs, make more out of card or old bottles, and see if you can create a dinosaur menagerie.

World Book Day 2010 falls on Thusday, 4th March (in the UK) and events all over the country are already underway to embrace and celebrate reading, why not attend an event in your area?  The World Book Day website has a list of events largely focused on public libraries.  If your children don't already borrow books from your library, then this offers the perfect opportunity to join up and introduce your children to the wonders of books!

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading.  In the UK events are organised by a charity with financial backing from National Book Tokens, publishers and booksellers.  The aim is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of reading and encourage book ownership.  World Book Day is celebrated in over 100 countries, although most countries celebrate it on St. George's Day (April 23rd).

Even if there aren't any events local to you, you can always organsie your own World Book Day event in your own home!  Why not dress your children as characters from their favourite books and have a special reading in the afternoon where you read their favourite books to them?  Visit the shops and let them choose a new book to buy, or arrange with friends to lend your favourite stories to each other so that you can share the delights of your own library!

It stands to reason that art and craft assists to develop fine muscle control in your babies, and that kicking, running and chasing games improve their physical strength and control, but how do you kick start your baby's ability to think and solve problems?  Funnily enough, abstract thinking and analytical skills are the focus of many toys created for babies and toddlers.  You may not have thought about it, but toys such as shape sorters, simple jigsaws starting with just two pieces per puzzle, old fashioned building blocks and musical instruments all help to develop analytical and thinking skills in babies and toddlers.

Walk into a toyshop and so many of the toys available today were available in a similar form in our own childhood - many were available in similar form during our parents and grandparents childhoods too!  Science has long told us that interacting with such toys helps us explore the world and develop our thinking, perhaps what is more surprising is that there are so few innovations in childrens toys over the last two generations.  That comes down to the fact that human development hasn't evolved in that time, and for a long time we have had a pretty good understanding of it.

When nurturing your chilren, or children that you work with, introduce a good balance of 'thinking' games and activities.  This is only one area of child development, but it can be easy to overlook the importance of this area if you particularly enjoy more physical activities.  That is one reason that the Early Years Foundation Stage is so important - by following the guidelines and ticking off boxes for areas that you have pursued, you will automatically be delivering a well balanced development plan to your little ones.  If you aren't the most creative person and struggle for ideas in areas of EYFS, or you simply want ideas that you can adopt and develop, then sign up to ToucanLearn now!  We offer hundreds of activities concentrating on key development skills, and for premium members we link them all to EYFS too so that you can track progress with your little ones.  If you are toying with the idea of subscribing to ToucanLearn, then there are several hundred good reasons for doing so!

Observing children forms a fundamental part of the Early Years Foundation Stage, childminders are required to observe children and make notes.  This helps to record each child's progress through EYFS and also helps you to plan ahead and work out what areas of learning to focus on for the medium term.  Key to observing children is simply that - watching what they do without offering any external direction, or offering only minimal interaction.  Childminders are so used to interacting with their wards that it can feel a little strange just stepping away and watching!

Make notes of what you observe; you might choose to do this straight into a diary, or you might prefer to take notes whilst you watch and later write them up more formally.  A written record creates an invaluable resource both for you and to share with parents, or indeed to carers in other settings.

When you undertake your planning, go back though your diaries of observations and work out what areas of learning you need to concentrate on over the coming weeks.  Compare your notes over time to ensure that your children are progressing.  Although keeping a diary seems a big chore, if you write it regularly you will quickly find that it takes very little time and becomes part of your routine.  A number of ToucanLearn members are using their private blog spaces to record their observations and this is an area that we intend to improve to facilitate better records for professional childminders and diligent parents alike!

Dolls and Teddies all over the country are being called upon to help little ones get through the discomfort and soreness of having jabs!  Its a great way to prepare your toddler or pre-schooler for having dreaded injections and it really can help!  Role play can make a trip to the doctor more familiar, prepare even the littlest children for injections and prevent them being too traumatised about it.

All you need is lots of willing dollies and stuffed toys, some old bandages and a doctor or nurses outfit if you have one.  Show your little one how to wrap up poorly arms and legs with bandages.  Use real cotton wool and plasters if you can spare some.  This makes them feel more grown up and makes the items more familiar for when they go into the doctor's surgery for their own injection.

Make sure you pretend to settle the dolls, calm them and say nice things to them... get your toddler doing the same.  If you have a doctor's set, get that out too and play with all the bits and pieces. When you're finished, don't forget to award the patients some stickers for being so good!

If your child is a bit older or understands more, explain an injection by saying its medicine to stop them from being poorly.  Tell them all children must have the medicine and it shows how grown-up they're getting. Have a few chocolate buttons ready - tell them they're going to get them if they're brave - and make sure you don't forget to hand them over immediately after the jab.

It is important to prepare them.  After all, even toddlers understand so much, but make sure there are plenty of cuddles and kind words when its over... and not forgetting the all important chocolate buttons for you both!

Shapes and colours are amongst the first concepts that babies learn and learning them helps to stimulate connections in the brain that will continue to serve your baby as they learn throughout their childhood.  Learning both shapes and colours with your baby can be fun for both of you.  Here's a fun idea on how to familiarise your baby with both.

Take two potatoes and cut them in half so that at least one of the cross sections makes a circle.  Now carve the other faces into a rectangle, square and triangle. You now have four large stampers!

Dip the face of the potatoes in finger paint and stamp different coloured shapes onto a large sheet of paper.  Practice the stamping and discuss each shape with your baby - count the sides on the shape and point your finger around each shape as you show them.  Start with a single colour and state the colour with each stamp: 'red circle', 'red square', 'red triangle', 'red rectangle'.  Wipe the paint off the face each time and then start on another colour.

When you have played with these for a bit, show the effect of mixing colours; demonstrate how two colours mixed together create a different colour.  Try mixing various combinations of colours to create a varied array.

Playing with shapes and colours will help to cement these concepts in your child's mind and start them on a learning path that will set them up well for school in a few years!

It's never too early to introduce your toddlers to science - you don't call it science, of course, but there are plenty of fun activities that you can do to help build an understanding of the world around them.  Here are a few ideas:-

Weather: Create a series of card pictures for different types of weather, and a picture for each of the seasons.  Each morning look at the weather and put the appropriate weather and season pictures up on the wall.

Faces: Create a large picture of a head and then create a series of different eyes, noses, mouths, ears, eyebrows, hair and pairs of glasses.  Have your toddler create faces, placing features in the right place.  Discuss different coloured eyes, different shaped features and talk about what glasses are for.

Planting: Buy some cress or mung beans, plant them in a plastic pot, water them and watch them grow.  Have your child chart the progress each day as they germinate and shoot up.  Discuss the ways that they change each day, draw how they look and at the end, make a sandwich and enjoy them!  Talk about how healthy they are and that good food makes you grow.

Colours: Show how mixing finger paints creates different colours.  Create swirling patterns on paper by pouring on generous amounts of paint and swirling with your finger.

Growing: Use a wall to mark the height of your children.  Have them stand against the wall, make a pencil mark at the height they stand and measure how tall they are.  Add a date, and repeat on the first day of each month.  Sometimes you'll see almost no difference, other months you might notice change.  Over a prolonged time you will see how they grow.  Discuss what makes you grow and the concept that your little ones are growing into big children.

These are just a few ideas, there are hundreds more activities that you can undertake with your toddlers to get them used to the concepts of science, and to spark an interest in the world around them.

Children love the responsibility of ongoing projects, diary projects make for wonderful activities that you can dip into a little bit each day.  Diary projects are great for identifying slow change over long periods.  Buy a little notebook or staple some sheets of paper into a booklet.  Select your project and each day, once a week or every couple of weeks, make an observation on your project and have your child draw what they see or capture elements of what you are observing.  Take photographs and stick them into your diary.

Here are some project ideas:-

• Plant a sunflower in a pot and observe it growing.  After initial planting, it will be a few days before anything appears but when it does you'll observe daily change for several days.  After the stem has unfolded from the seed, measure it each week and draw it in your project book.
• Plant cress seeds or mung beans in a little pot and grow them on a windowsill.  These little plants grow very quickly and you can observe them each day.  Draw what the plants look like and note how tall they are.  You can even eat them at the end of the project!
• Watch the transition from winter to spring and into summer.  Every two weeks draw a picture of the trees.  At first they will be bare, then buds will appear, they will flower and at the same time, new leaves will start to grow.
• Monitor the weather, each day draw symbols to show what weather you are experiencing; is it rainy, sunny, cloudy, snowy?  Is there a lot of wind?  Is it hot or cold?
• Keep a note of birds frequenting your garden or park.  Go out every few days and note down what birds you see.  Talk about their colours and explain that this is how you can identify them.  See how many different types of bird you can spot over the course of a few weeks.
• Make an activity diary, have your children draw pictures of the activities that they undertake.  Draw any models that you make, draw a picture for days out, stick in pictures from brochures and so on.
• Learn a new letter, number or word each day.  Write it in your diary and draw pictures to help remember the meaning.

Diaries offer a great way to sustain attention on slow changing things surrounding your children and give a sense of purpose that your children will simply love!  You might run projects just for a week, or you might keep one going for months.  There's no reason why you can't have lots of projects on the go at any one time - why not have a different project for each day of the week?!

Tweeting is bird-watching and some people are obsessed!  They travel the country for a sighting of a rare hawk or a possible glimpse of a migrating finch.  However, tweeting with children can be great fun and a good way of introducing wildlife to them.

We've been obsessed with birdwatching for centuries.  There are shelves of books in the library all about the birds that reside in different regions of the country and those that migrate and spend just the summer or winter in certain places.  There are also lovely birdy books for children with a smaller selection of birds illustrated and presented in an accessible way.

So, how do we go about staring birdwatching?

At this time of year, its easier than ever to spot birds because there are no leaves on the trees!  This means they can't hide away as easily as in the summer.  Winter also brings migrating birds through, so you might spot more unusual ones!  Start in your own garden or around your home.  Even cities have a great selection of birds that roost in the buildings or in parks.

What equipment do we need?

If you have a bird watching book that's great.  Take it along to the local countryside or park and use it as you look for birds.  If not, jot down the characteristics of the birds you see and you can look it up in the library or on the internet when you get home to find out what it is called.  Older children might want to scribble blocks of the colour that they see on each bird and you can then look up birds with those colours and confirm their sighting with pictures.

Do we need binoculars?

If you have binoculars, it adds to the  fun so take them with you!  If not, make the play the part and make some pretend binoculars with kitchen roll tubes, stuck together and some string attached to hang around you child's neck.

What do we do?

Simply sit still in your garden or in the park and wait!  You'll probably hear the birds before you see them.  Then just watch!  See what the birds do, observe their colours, are they in a flock or alone.  Try to identify them if you have a book with you, show the pictures to the children and ask them if that is what they see.

When you get home try to draw them and find our their names.  You could even log your sightings in your ToucanLearn diary, noting what you see and where you see them.  Happy watching!

Many Mums are convinced that their baby or toddler should be cared for by them and them alone.  Childminders, Nannies, even professional nurseries just wouldn't do a good enough job.  However, that may be the case when babies are tiny and completely reliant on Mum for all food and comfort, but its worth thinking about the great benefits of offering your little one a bit of time away from you once you feel confident about having a few hours away from each other now and then.

The benefits of having a bit of time for yourself are obvious: perhaps an uninterrupted nap,  a luxurious, candle-lit  bubble bath or a trip to the shops to buy a new frock.  Having a bit of time to focus on yourself is important.

The benefits to your little toddler are many.  It's a great chance for them to socialise with other children of a similar age and to have a bit of time watching and learning from them. Having some time in a safe, professional establishment or with a trained carer is a good idea because the environment and activities will be appropriate for our little one's age.  They also are likely to get to do things you don't do: perhaps do mucky things like big paintings with hands and feet or kiddie cooking or yoga or learn a new language!

Children aged 3-4 in the UK are entitled to at least 12.5 hours of free childcare per week.  Any extra to this may be cheaper than you think - help is available through tax credits.  If you work more than 16 hours a week, you may even be entitled to 80% of the cost of childcare back!

So, while Mum is always best in some cases, its worth looking in to a bit of childcare now and again for both you and your little one's sake, because there are plenty of reasons why Mum deserves a bit of time to herself!

For some, grandparents are a vital form of childcare, but do they provide the right kind of environment for our babies and toddlers, and,should they be paid?

There  are many advantages to using grandparents:

• They love your child as much as you do so want to do a good job
• Your baby or child will get to know the grandparent even better and develop a strong bond because they will be spending time alone with them... something both the grandparent and child will cherish
• A grandparent has already had children so knows from experience
• They may live close by so its will be an easy drop off
• They may be more flexible about hours and whether to have the child if a bit poorly
• The child will settle more quickly because they know the carer
• They may be more easygoing if you are delayed or be prepared to drop off/collect from nursery/school
• They may be happy to have your child's friends round to play
• It may be cheap or even free childcare!

However, there are some disadvantages too:-

• The grandparent did their child care many years ago so may do things differently to you or may have forgotten a lot!
• They may be too old and find it physically too demanding but may not admit it
• They may have appointments or commitments already
• Their attitudes may need updating about what's allowed in terms of potty training and naps
• You may need to transport equipment and toys each time or buy two sets: high chairs, travel cot and buggy etc.
• Their home may be unsafe and have lots of potential dangers., and will not be OFSTED registered and checked
• They may not take the child out as much as a professional organisation and therefore your child may not meet children and socialise

You may wish to formalise an agreement for the care provided to your child and make clear details such as time off and holidays etc.  You may even agree to pay a fee for the care.  There are organisations dedicated to advising on this area such as The Grandparents' Association or Grandparents Plus.

Are grandparents being overlooked in what is perhaps a vital form of childcare fore babies, toddlers and young children? Responding to a report published by Grandparents Plus calling for direct payments for Grandparents providing childcare for their grandchildren, Daycare Trust joint Chief Executive Alison Garnham said: "Grandparents should be recognised for the role they play providing invaluable childcare, but introducing direct payments would require a process involving registration, auditing and inspection, and I don't think anyone wants to see Government inspectors in their living room scrutinising their family life. "If there is money available for childcare then it should be spent on meeting the Government's pledge to increase the free childcare entitlement to 15 hours per week for 3 and 4 year olds and extend the entitlement to all 2 year olds".

If you think its right  for you you should consider:

• Is the grandparents fit enough and in good health to run around after children?
• Do they have first-aid knowledge or qualification
• Is the house safe?
• Does it fit in with existing commitments?

If the answer is yes, to all these questions, lucky you!

Children often find it comforting to have a dim light on throughout the night to help them orientate themselves should they wake at night.  There are lots of fun night lights available, either as special lamps or dedicated low light bulbs.  Here are some considerations that you should take into account when choosing a nightlight:-

• Research shows that leaving a light on during the night might increase the risk of developing short-sight in later life, keep light levels as low as possible, and indirect whenever possible
• It is better to place a nightlight outside your child's bedroom rather than inside if possible
• Try not to introduce a nightlight at all, leave it for your children to request one if they desire
• Don't turn lights on if you go in to comfort your children at night - they will begin to associate light with security and this encourage them to want ambient light overnight later on
• Look for LED based nightlights which consume less power and are cheaper to run

With rising electricity costs and better environmental awareness, you will want to choose as efficient a light as possible - look for the lowest wattage in a light that suits your needs.  Old fashioned filament bulbs at 15 - 25W are fairly dim but also inefficient.  LED based lights will give you a much lower wattage, less than 5W.  We particularly like Osram's 'Duled' range of bulbs.  These offer a compact fluroescent bulb with a tiny inset LED bulb.  Switch the light on and the CF bulb lights at 8 - 15W (depending on model), but turn the light off and on again and it switches from the CF bulb to the LED bulb - a cluster of two LED's consuming just 0.3W energy.  What a bright idea!

If you have snow around you then no doubt it's cold, but on the plus side, the children are probably loving it!  Wrap the children up in coats, hats, scarves and gloves, put on some cosy boots, and they can go out and play while the snow lasts.  Here are some game ideas to play outside in the snow:-

1. Snow Sculpture: Traditionally we build snowmen, but why not build snow animals and other sculptures like snow-castles or a boat?  Help your children to scoop up mounds of snow and sculpt it into a variety of shapes!
2. Animal Tracking: Look out for the footprints of different animals in the snow; birds, cats, dogs, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, deer...even if you live in an urban area you'll be surprised at how many animals wander in the wild!  Look for animal tracks and tell your toddlers all about the creatures that make them.
3. Footprint Art: There's nothing more inviting than pristine snow!  Have your children create a track of snow pictures by trampling through a pristine blanket of snow.
4. Obstacle Course: Build an obstacle course in the snow - draw a line that your toddler must walk 'tightrope' style, draw boxes that they must jump between and build hurdles that they must jump over.
5. Target Practice: Build a snowman then have your toddler pelt him (or is it a her?!) with snowballs.  Get a hat and have your children throw a hat onto its head!

You may be tired of the snow, but there are still plenty of games the children can have fun with outdoors!

It's common for toddlers not to be sure which hand is their dominant hand - they may scribble with their right hand one day and their left hand the next!  All babies and toddlers develop at different rates and most use both hands to begin with.  At about 18 months, their dominant hand will become evident to you: they'll draw with it, use it for eating and for brushing their teeth.  By 4 or 5 years, most children will have one favourite hand that is used for writing etc but as the brain is still developing and their co-ordination is still being established, it may not be always consistent.

What to look out for:

• Which hand do they use to reach for a toy or pencil that's put in their reach in front of them?
• Which hand do they use when eating?
• How do they stir if playing with water and sand?  Left handed children tend to stir in an anti-clockwise direction.
• When learning to write a left-handed child may prefer to start writing on the right of the page rather than the left.  This is more natural for them.
• When playing physical games, the left-handed child will prefer to stand on their left rather than right leg.

Should left handed children be encouraged to use their right hand?  Not at all!  A few generations ago this was the case: left handed children were made to use their right hands.  However, they must be allowed to use which ever hand is easiest in order for the task to be completed.  Being left handed is not a conscious decision.  It is dictated by the brain and therefore should not be contradicted.

There are various problems that may arise if a child is left-handed, but all the obstacles can be overcome with a little patience and some left-handed equipment if necessary.  Schools and teachers are sympathetic to the extra care needed by left-handed children and can help with learning to write and using scissors.

Just remember to be as patient as possible!

It's something that many parents have said for years: that boys don't pick up talking as quickly as girls.  A recent survey has endorsed this theory.  One in six children found it difficult to learn to talk, with boys finding it more difficult than for girls of the same age.  The survey was carried out by YouGov asking over 1,000 parents with children under seven how their children found learning to talk.  13% of girls had problems and 22% of boys had problems learning to talk and understanding speech.

When it came to significant problems, 5% of boys and only 2% of girls had difficulties.

The survey was carried out by Jean Gross, England's new communications champion.  She commented that a person's ability to communicate was fundamental and is one of the most important skills a child can master.

Learning to talk is a natural process, so many of the problems that children experience are short lived.  The most important aspect is to make your child feel understood.  If they feel you are always correcting them, they may not take chances and try out new words and phrases.  Children also develop at different rates in different ways.  Some say nothing for a long time, but when they talk their language is completely clear and easy to understand.  Others try out words which are more difficult to understand but are happy to chatter away.

Just talk as much as you can with your child: read books, sing songs, say rhymes and have fun together.  If there's anything you're concerned about just speak to your GP or health visitor.