Over the past few weeks in the Hive, the children have enjoyed reading stories with their carers - looking at the pictures and talking about what they can see! So recently over circle time we decided this would be a nice time to introduce a "book of the week".
Our 'book of the week' will be read over circle time before lunch at 11:30am and then again at the end of the day around 4:30pm. This week's book of the week is Teeth Are Not for Biting! This ensures children who are attending either a morning or afternoon session have the opportunity to experience a circle time - we try to mix it up by also including a singing session or another activity during circle time. The book Teeth Are Not for Biting! is written by a parent (Elizabeth Verdick) whose child was bitten whilst in a nursery setting. In her book it repeats "teeth are not for biting" & "Ouch! Biting hurts!" linking emotions and feelings to the action of biting. The children in the Hive are loving this book and are really interested especially when looking at the pictures.
At the end of the book it says "Teeth are not for biting. Teeth are for smiling. Say cheese!" All the children in the Hive have been enjoying showing their teeth and saying cheese! The Burrow also have this book and will be also reading it during their circle times! Within the Nursery we have had a few biting incidents - in which we are working with Jess from the office (SENCO) and also working closely with parents within the setting to reduce the number of incidents that we have. Biting can be caused by a variety of different triggers. These triggers can effect children in different ways, one of these ways being biting. There are many reasons why biting can occur:
- Exploring - Exploring also means experimenting - when biting children are seeing what type of reaction their actions will have on somebody. Testing their boundaries.
- Pain - Teething... children usually bite because they’re in pain, this often is caused by teething. They bite to relieve the pressure that they have on their gums.
- Attention - They're looking for a reaction either with a parent or carer, or with the other child that they have bitten. It's their way of becoming noticed.
- Frustrated - In a way biting can be like hitting/kicking, for younger children (especially based in the Hive) they may not be talking fluently yet so therefore won't be expressing themselves through words and biting seems to be the only effective way to get their point across.
We’ve really enjoyed reading this book at circle time – especially shouting cheese at the end and showing off all of our sharp teeth!
We've also been practising our gentle hands! (Whether it be with the worms in the garden or if they're covered in paint!)
The older Hive children have been visiting the Burrow over the past few weeks and have been getting on really well and as much as we’ve been sad to see them say goodbye, we’ve all been extremely proud of them! Well done guys! We hope to see you at the 'Stay and Play' sessions on the 18th of August and 1st of September – where you’ll be able to meet your child’s new key person! The older children in the Hive have also been practising using a knife and fork during meal times! They've been amazing! Well done!
If you have any questions about biting or moving to the Burrow please ask any of the girls from the Hive and they’ll be happy to help you! Thank you for reading!
Jade