Toddlers are reknowned for falling over: although they try very hard to walk and run, they often end up in a pile on the floor; learning and falling over is all part of the process!

Every day your toddler is learning and through playing simple games they are constantly working towards acquiring new skills.  Here are a few examples of what children are actually learning (without realising!) when they are playing with various toys:-

Ride-on toys (scooters, trucks, trikes etc) - strengthen muscles and improve balance.  They also give your toddler a sence of mobility and the idea that then can get around the place in different ways.

Trundle truck (shopping cart or toy lawn mower) - these are great for balance and improving walking and running skills.  They are also great for role play.  Don't limit your children to the stereotypes though.  Why shouldn't a boy have a dolly pram and a girl have  truck?

Obstacle course - put some rope in a curvey line on the ground or a plank of wood if you have one.  Make stepping stones with sheets of newspaper.  See if they can negotiate the obstacles.

Rolling a ball - All children love balls.  Although toddlers can't really kick a ball while standing on one foot, they can knee it or move it along with a push.  This helps their balance and to understand the idea of cause and effect, that if you push a ball, it will roll.

So, give them plenty of opportunity to play with different toys and keep them active.  Try out other people's toys and swap larger toys with other families so everyone gets a taste of diferent things to play on (without the expense!).

Give them plenty of encouragement and be enthusiastic when they ask to go out to play no matter the weather.  Supporting children by keeping them enthusiastic and encouraged is vital.  Give them freedom to explore too - if they want to walk along a low wall then give them your hand, put an arm round them and let them try it out!  It will make them even more keen to try new things.

Often when we take the children out in the fresh air to teach them about the outside world, we head for the local park or nature reserve.  Our towns and cities are often overlooked as places to take children when in fact there is a wealth of opportunity for them to learn in built up areas.

So, how does an excursion around the town provide opportunities for learning?  Excursions in and around towns can help in the following ways:

• It builds on children's everyday experiences
• It helps create a sense of community
• It helps teach about the different cultures that might exist around where you live
• It promotes the idea of being out in the open air taking walks, keeping healthy and staying active
• It can help children gain confidence about being out and learning about road safety
• It helps children learn about how seasons can effect the environment in which they live

Things to look out for:

• Different styles of buildings (cottages, old office block, modern houses, old shops)
• 'Street furniture': street lamps, phone boxes, ride-on toys, post boxes, benches, display signs etc.
• Road signs
• Letters and numbers on shop fronts
• Road and rail networks
• Different vehicles (colours, styles, types)
• Building materials: concrete, bricks, wood, glass, metal
• Sounds and smells
• The people around and what they do (bus drivers, road sweepers, children, adults doing gardening etc.)

How can you enhance the experience?  Here are a few ideas:

• Talk about what you see as you go along your walk.  If you see a bus, look at it's wheels, the colour of the paintwork, how many people are on it, adverts on the side etc.
• Listen to noises and discuss smells.  Try and name all the noises (pedestrian crossing 'beeps', diggers, car horns, sirens, shops blaring music)
• Ask questions: where is the red car?, what's in the tree?, who can see a bus?
• Spot different materials used in towns and talk about how strong they are: iron railings, wooden fence, plastic door, brick houses etc
• Look at signs and talk about them.  What might they all mean?
• Stop to watch a building site or a dustbin lorry collecting bins.  Chat about what they are doing and what happens.
• Look at road signs and the symbols used eg speed limit numbers, construction signs, house numbers; discuss different colours used - blue/white for information, red/white and yellow/black for warnings, green/white for environmental information, bright colours for shop fronts etc.
• Look for shapes: square garage door, rectangle front door, round letter box etc.
• Take some photos of your trip and turn them out as a map.
• For older children and pre-schoolers, you can couple the outing with other activities when you get back home
• Ask them where they want to walk to?  Involve them in the planning of the trip and supplies they will need (eg. snack, drink)
• Make a map of the trip and follow it, draw in any landmarks you pass
• Ask them to remember things they saw on the trip and draw them when they get home

Have fun and enjoy your environment!

This week, all over the country, children and parents are choosing to walk to nursery, pre-school and school rather than drive.  In an effort to encourage children to be active, and reduce the use of cars at peak hours, Walk To School Week has been hailed another resounding success with thousands of children using their feet rather than a vehicle to get to school.

The campaign is arranged by the charity Living Streets with funding from the Department of Transport.  It asks  parents, teachers and everyone travelling to and from school  not to use their car for this one week.   It is reported that 50% of children who wouldn't normally walk to school, have walked this week.

Walking to school:

• reduces air pollution
• reduces traffic
• improves children's activity levels
• helps increase fitness
• is social (you'll spot your friends on the way!)
• ...is good fun!

WOW is the scheme that encourages children to Walk Once a Week.  If they do so, they get a little metal badge designed by children in the national badge competition.

The Walk To School campaign history:-

• 1995: Five primary schools in Hertfordshire participated
• 1996: The campaign went national and was included in Child Safety Week
• 2000: The first ever International Walk To School Week was launched
• 2003: Walk To School Week is supported by over 33 countries
• 2005: The focus was on health
• 2006: The focus was on independence of children
• 2007: The focus was on the environment
• 2010: 2 million children have taken part!

The next event is the Walk To School month...in October!

Getting active with the children is not always as easy as it sounds: how can you fit any more activity time in an already busy day? Here are some simple ways to increase the activity levels in your family. Remember, every little bit counts, so keep a note of all these activities and work out your daily total of minutes spent being active.

• Music Time - turn on some groovy music and have a good old dance together!
• Encourage your toddler to walk up the stairs or to the car rather than being carried.  For older children, encourage them to tidy up after themselves or put away toys or washing at the end of the day.
• Walk to the shops and post box rather than take the car.
• Get the little ones involved with household chores: digging in the garden, sweeping the floor, washing down the garden shed.
• Go for a walk as a family - find somewhere with woods and climb up the trees or balance along fallen tree trunks.
• Have a time limit on TV watching.
• Think about some old fashioned games that are fun to play outside: hop skotch, skipping, chase, hide and seek, hoolahoop, flying a kite.

Children should do about an hour of physical activity each day.  See how close you are and praise them each time they want to do something physical.  It is so good for them to start out actively as children, because then they are more likely to stay active as they grow older.