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Toys that are repeatedly thrown, are taken away as a consequence to keep everyone safe, this was our "consequence toy" pile. Friday was hard. Not "everyone was a little grumpy" hard. The kind of hard where, by lunchtime, you quietly wonder if perhaps becoming a lawyer would have been a simpler career choice. The day started well enough. Breakfast was eaten, and we settled into our morning with our usual rhythm. Then, almost without warning, the wheels came off. One child need

Cars and Trucks on a playmat send children into a fantasy world of driving fun. One quiet afternoon, during our "Shapes in the Environment" theme, Lion was happily exploring with a basket of little toy cars. The cars were becoming roads, garages and delivery trucks, and play was flowing beautifully. Then, as toddlers often do, she began throwing them. Thrown toy cars are surprisingly dangerous, so I gently interrupted the game. "Lion," I said, "if Lion chooses to keep throwin

We don't have elves on the shelves at Tannie Net's Daycare. Or fairies in the garden. We have... The No Gnomes. Tiny, invisible little creatures that sneak into the daycare overnight and whisper only one word into toddlers' ears while they sleep: "No." We have tried to lure the No Gnomes outside, but it appears that our efforts have been in vain. Would you like a banana? "No!" Would you like to go outside? "No!" Would you like to play with the bubbles? "No!" Would you like so

Four little counting boats standing in a line, we can't count them all and that is fine! "One... two... three..." Lion smiled proudly. "...five!" Where did four go? Like many toddlers, Lion can happily count. Or so it seems. If you ask her to count from one to twenty, she'll often recite the numbers confidently. To an adult, it sounds as though she's mastered counting, but then we start watching more carefully. One afternoon we were lining up little boats. "Let's count them."

The toddlers both have exactly the same scooters, but somehow one is the favourite. There comes a stage in almost every toddler's life when the world can be divided into two categories: Mine. And... Also mine. One afternoon, Lion and Elephant were taking turns riding the little scooter outside. Like many two-year-olds, Lion wasn't entirely convinced that "taking turns" was the greatest invention in human history. She climbed off the scooter for a moment to investigate somethi

We had a lovely little tea party under the shady trees. Our spread included some rice, lentils and beans. The girls had a ball scooping and pouring their little mixtures from one cup to the next. "Toddlers learn through play." We hear that phrase all the time, but what does it actually mean? Is play only about learning colours, numbers and letters, or are children learning something bigger? We have been introducing autonomy and freedom of choice over the past few months. We a

Take a look into the world of toddler thinking and explore gravity through Elephant's eyes.