LEARN, LAUGH, AND GROW TOGETHER
I started Teddy-cation because I wanted a class that provided fun educational, interactive learning opportunities that covered different subject areas and worked different areas of the brain firing the imagination of young minds. I wanted a class that also provided a rich combination of educational experiences and fun innovative ways of learning, which would give parents practical ideas that they could use at home with their children and help prepare them for school life. A class that didn’t already exist out there for my toddler twins.
I have 17 years of primary school teaching experience including being Deputy Head for a number of years. This experience as well as being school ambassader for BLP, (Building Learning Power) and Assessment Lead, has helped to create the Teddy-cation curriculum for children aged 2 ½ to preschool age.
Being a mum of 6 year old twins has made it clear to me how important it is to introduce children to new educational experiences in an informal fun format creating a foundation block to build upon for future learning. I use elements of the Early Years Curriculum to help structure my classes, with a clear learning intention and fun activities working alongside parents with time to reflect on what we have achieved.
I also offer educational consultancy services and I am currently working with the Children’s Play Village in Warwick.
Educational benefits
Teddy-cation is a unique pre-school group in Warwickshire that provides Budding Brains (Buddies) with an opportunity to take part in a range of practical and rewarding activities based on: Communication, Language & Literacy, Physical Development, Mathematics, Understanding of the World, Expressive Arts & Design, Personal Social & Emotional Development in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage. Using physical brain warm up technique principles helps to fire up neurons in the brain.
Many educators believe that using brain exercises helps improve childrens’ concentration, memory, physical co-ordination and self-responsibility in learning new skills and concepts. Learning takes places through explorative and imaginative play and through listening, talking and discussing.
These are short fun movements/exercises that take place at the start of the class designed to engage the brain for example:
This is an important developmental skill needed for everyday tasks such as putting on your shoes or hitting a ball. Crossing the midline with the dominant hand provides practise to develop good fine motor skills. It is suggested that not practising crossing the midline may make it difficult to track moving objects from one side to another or even tracking reading from left to right.
About our Classes
Teddy- cation is a new toddler class that combines education, with fun interactive activities covering different skills in the subjects areas; Art, English, Maths, Science, D&T, P.E. Geography and Music linked with Early Years Foudation Stage. By covering different subject areas and skills, each lesson is a new and exciting learning experience pitched at an age appropriate level .
Teddy- cation is tailored specifically to the pre school (2 ½ – 4yrs) developmental phase and develops language and communication skills, listening skills, social and emotional skills, confidence, co-ordination, imagination, enquiring minds, creativity and exploration of different subject area skills.
The classes follow a set structure with Teddy Neuron greeting each child, a brain warm up exercise, a mission set by Teddy Neuron, a fun practical activity based on a subject area, a circle time sharing and communication of the learning experience and sticker in their Super Hero Card, a self assessment activity to reflect on their learning and a good bye high five from Teddy Neuron. Each class teaches parents/carers simple skills and activities in different subject areas that can be used at home with the children.
Each class runs for 45 minutes over the course of a Warwickshire school term and has a maximum of 14 children attending each session. In the last week of each term Teddy Neuron’s Budding Brains (Buddies) get a certificate, and in the last week of the summer term they graduate into becoming Super Heroes themselves.
The Buddies are given the opportunity to speak and listen in a range of situations that will help to build their confidence and skills in expressing themselves. Through the class activities the children will respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions and actions. The children will be given simple instructions involving several ideas and actions. The Buddies will be given opportunities to express themselves talking about events that have happened in the class and what might happen next, and to make connections between ideas and events e.g. at the end of the session reflecting on their experiences throughout the session.
The Buddies will be given opportunities to practise skills in counting numbers, identifying shapes and exploring measures (talking about sizes and comparing them).
This involves providing opportunities for the Buddies to be active and interactive and develop their co-ordination, control and movement. The Buddies will be given the experience to explore large and small movements to work towards becoming more confident in a range of ways, for example: safely negotiating space and controlling equipment to include throwing and catching balls; handling different tools to develop fine motor skills including using a pen, pencil and paint brushes.
The Buddies will be guided to make sense of the physical world through opportunities to explore and observe what is around them, looking at objects, materials and living things.
The Buddies will be supported to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. We will provide opportunities for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings for a variety of activities in art, music, dance, design and technology.
Buddies will be helped to:
We aim to encourage Buddies to become confident in trying new activities, to be able to speak in a familiar group about their ideas and work as part of a group following the rules of the class.
Andrea Docherty reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
3 December 2016
I have been taking my 3 year old twin sons to the class for a term now and we love it and have already signed up for the Spring term. It’s an extremely well run class, full of fun and activity. Every week is a different theme with extremely well thought through activities held in a really friendly environment. It’s the best pre school class we do and I’d highly recommend it.
Ayshea Tovey reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
19 April at 22:41 ·
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Great session this week Becky thank you. D is loving the sessions and she counted the 11 studs on my jumper last night, touching one stud for each number she counted. Amazing since she wasn’t doing that 2 weeks ago when we did the giant dice activity. X
Laura Foster reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
4 December 2016
We’ve just finished our 2nd term at Teddy-Cation and I really can’t recommend this class enough. Every single session is beautifully creative, engaging and so well organised. I feel these classes are really helping prepare my August baby for starting school next year. Thank you Becky & Teddy Neuron! �
Helen Watkins reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
3 May at 00:07 ·
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Ella and I had a fantastic time last she hasn’t stopped talking about teddy neuron and the things we did. Great mix of fun but learning and allows parent child interaction as well, we’re coming back
Sarah Tsang reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
1 December 2016
Fabulous class, well structured, educational and lots of fun. Lots of seasonal themes with plenty of variety in the activities each week. My son loves to tell everyone about what he has been doing with Teddy-neuron each week, and is always eagre to go to class. Highly recommended smile emoticon
Donnamarie Davenport reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
29 April at 05:47 ·
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What a fantastic class my little girl loved the variety of things to do. This week there were things to find and match relating to the seasons, things to create a lovely flower picture and things to plant our runner bean so a real opportunity to engage all the senses – there was a bit of avid listening too!
My little girl also enjoyed the class a few weeks ago and has really mastered using scissors since coming along. Great entertainment for me and my pre-schooler
Lisa Dennis reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
27 June 2016
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Hi Becky
I just wanted to share my praise for the class you run on a Tuesday at Hatton Park Village Hall. Lexie really enjoys the class and loves the activities yourself and Teddy Neuron set. I like the way you use elements of the Early Years Curriculum to help structure your classes, which are fun and keep Lexie entertained while she is learning at the same time. I think it’s great that there are different themes each week and I love the fact that I can also take part and interact with Lexie on the activities which gives us great mum and daughter time especially when I want to make more use of our time together now that I have a newborn baby daughter. Keep up the great work and thank you.
Angela Lewis reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
13 October 2016
This is definitely the best class I do with my daughter (2y9m). She talks about it all the time, knows the day it’s on and is always enthusiastic to go even on grumpy days. It took her a few sessions to get used to Teddy Neuron but now she high-fives him with all her might grin emoticon:D
Each themed session has 3 main activities (a mix of crafty or active, all with an educational objective) aimed & timed well to suit all ages in the group, and we often have something to bring home to show Daddy.
Learning IS fun!
Sophie Bullivant reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
16th May 2015
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First and foremost Becky is literally the Mary Poppins of the Midlands ! She has this really unique way of teaching whilst making the lessons oodles of fun ! Simply put this is exactly how teaching should be ! All the red tape and pen pushing measures from the government have put a stop to fun learning . These classes are so refreshing ! My kids have so much fun they don’t even know they are learning and can’t wait to go back ! A fantastic concept which I know is going to be a huge success …. So much so that I’m going to book ahead for as many sessions as I can !
Sarah Abercrombie reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
21 April at 13:18 ·
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We had a great time at Teddy-Cation, the girls loved all the different activities and were constantly stimulated (no mean feat). Becky’s experience lends itself perfectly to this class and preparing the little pre-schoolers for the big day! Thank you
Sarah Abercrombie
Bally Wadalia reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
6 October 2016
Highly recommended, it was our highlight of the week! My boys loved going to Teddy-cation. Becky is fantastic – she is so encouraging that the children can’t help but throw themselves into the activities. It also gave me ideas for new play and games at home.
James Dex reviewed Teddy-cation – 5 star
24 April at 14:08 ·
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My son Isaac loved the session, just the right mix of brain teasers, dexterity and physicality for him. He was singing the teddy neuron song all day afterwards!
Photos taken by Lynne Gougeon and David Fawbert
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 Hatton Park Village Hall |
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Warwick Gates Community Centre |
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Whitnash Community Hall |
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Warwickshire Gym |
Starting School By Becky – Teddycation Starting school is a big milestone. It signifies a new chapter of independence and learning for your child! It is an exciting stage in your child’s development. As a teacher of 17 years you’d have thought I’d know the ropes when my twins started school in 2016, but being…
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Genius idea ❤️
www.tyla.com/life/life-news-how-to-heat-up-paddling-pool-garden-water-using-plastic-bin-bags-2020…
Easy Hack Heats Up Your Paddling Pool Using Just Bin Bags
Unless you’ve got a hot water tap in your back garden, heating a paddling pool can be tricky.
These look great ideas for building your own den ❤️ Obviously you don’t need Ikea furniture to build them but these are just different design ideas for dens, my two love to build them!
Some amazing robots made today, we love seeing them so make sure you send us photos! Teddy Neuron is really impressed 👍🏻👏🏻🐻
Video 2: Robot Directions
You will need:
🤖Chalk or water and a paint brush
If your child is struggling to identify left and right, stamp their right/left hand or draw a felt tip heart so they can look at identify which direction to travel in. For older siblings introduce compass points. Remember you can count steps too!
Let us know how you get on with both videos!
Video 1: 3d shapes and Robot junk modelling
You will need:
🤖 Any recycling materials you have at home
🤖 Sellotape or masking tape
🤖 Glue
You can go on a 3D shape hunt around the house or sort your junk into different shape groups.
Junk model robot making using 3d shapes and following commands using the directional skills left, right and forward is our theme this Wednesday. Join us on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/teddy-cation Send us photos of your wonderful robots! #robottheme #junkmodelling #directions #3dshapesteaching #preschoolactivities #warwickshire #lockdownclasses #teddycation #learningthroughplay #learningisfun✏📝
“My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Video 2 – Drawing Activity
You will need:
🌈paper
🌈pencil
🌈colouring pens or pencils
🌈something to lean on
🌈magnifying glass is you have one
When picking something to draw, talk above what is safe to pick and how we only pick a small part of it.
Video 1: Dandelion Honey
You will need:
🌼Dandelion heads
🌼Granulated sugar
🌼Pan
🌼Jug
🌼Sieve/muslin cloth
🌼Lemon
🌼Spoon
🌼Cooker hob
🌼Jam jar
When collecting the dandelions make sure you pick them:
✔️ away from the side of the road
✔️ away from where dogs may have done their business on them
✔️away from where any chemicals may have been sprayed on them
The cooking process will kill any bacteria.
Using the cooker, talk about safety and some of the process you can model and other parts of the activity your child can do.
Together with older siblings (adjust with age) you can talk about dissolving (refer back to previous video), evaporation and why we sterilise the jar. Learning for all!
Adjust the cooking time a little, I think we cooked it for a bit too long and caught the honey so adjust timings.
Please let us know how you get on!
A puppy’s life!! Enjoying the sunshine and using the great outdoors as our source of inspiration for Teddy-cation classes this week. We have 2 fab activities that get you out and about – dandelion honey and a creative drawing activity! Head over to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/teddy-cation and follow us ready for Wednesday’s class! #greatoutdoors #puppylife🐾 #cavapoosofinstagram #outdoorlearningisfun #dandylionhoney #drawingactivitywiththekids #teddycationclass #earlyyearseducation #lockdown2020😷 #warwickshire
Next Wednesday we will be running some outdoor learning inspired activities. Here is one you may want to try over the weekend.
Collect some leaves from your garden or when you are out on a walk, see if you can identify which tree/plant they have done from. Remember to collect from a range of plants not just from one as you don’t want to kill the plant.
Use a hole punch and thread some wool or string through the holes to make a necklace or a garland.
Let us know how you get on 🐻
Morning everyone!
My twins 👫 Lottie and Jude have been concerned about the poorly children who are at 🚑Warwick Hospital children’s ward. At the moment their playroom is currently shut because of the Coronavirus. NHS staff have been putting together toy packs 🧸for the children on the Macgregor ward so that they have something to play with, this obviously costs money.💵
🏃🏼♀️🏃Lottie and Jude would like to raise money for the hospital so more packs can be bought and they plan to walk 30 miles in May. They will walk a mile a day (their daily exercise and following safety guidelines) whatever the weather.
In order to raise money they need your sponsorship, we appreciate this is a difficult time but any donated amount is appreciated!
Thank you 🙏🏻
Here’s the Page address:
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Rebecca-Martin37
Video 2: Science flowers and pollination
You will need:
🌼 card
🌼 milk bottle lid or any plastic lid
🌼 your sugar solution
🌼 tea spoon
🌼 glue
🌼 old magazines, junk mail or tissue paper
🌼 stick/kebab stick/chop stick/ plastic straw
🌼 scissors
🌼 cotton wool/tissue/cotton pads (anything absorbent)
🌼 strong tape
You can decorate the flower however you like with whatever materials you have in the house – the brighter the better!
Put the flower out when the weather Is dry, record down what type of insects visit your flower, try moving it to different parts of your garden or an open window in your house!
