Goodstart Early Learning Horsham

24/08/2026

In light of Speech Pathology week, here's some information about speech development.

How does speech develop over time?
Babies need to learn how language sounds before they can learn how to speak.

Children develop at their own pace, but most follow a similar pattern:

1 to 4 months: babies cry and make cooing sounds.
4 to 8 months of age: babies babble and copy sounds.
Around 12 months: babies often say their first words, such as 'mama' or 'dada'.
18 months to 2 years: children use about 50 words and will start linking 2 words together.
2 to 3 years: children use short sentences of 2 or 3 words, and can name common objects. They also start using words like 'I', 'me', 'he' and 'she'.
3 to 5 years: conversations become longer and more complex.
By 5 years: children usually speak in full sentences and ask lots of 'why?', 'what?' and 'who?' questions.

How can parents help with speech development?
You can help your child's speech and language development in many simple ways:

Talk, make faces and use sounds with your baby from birth.
Play games such as peek-a-boo and sing nursery rhymes.
Look at picture books together from an early age — you don't need to read the words, just talk about what you can see.
Speak slowly and clearly so your child can learn to copy you.
Let your child lead the conversation and build on what they say.
Give your child plenty of chances to talk, and allow time for them to answer.

When should I seek help for my child's speech development?
See your doctor or child health nurse in these situations:

By 12 months, your child is not trying to communicate with you (using sounds, gestures or words), especially when they want something or need help.
By 2 years, your child is not saying about 50 words or hasn't started putting words together into short sentences.

22/08/2026

We are celebrating Book Week this week! Come dressed in your favourite character costumes for the week! We will be sharing educator costume photos over the week.

20/08/2026

Don't have time to read an entire book with your child? Don't worry, there are many ways you and your child can share letters, words and pictures.

For example, you can look at:

⭐packages at home or in the supermarket, especially food packaging
⭐clothing – what does it say on the t-shirt? What colour is it?
⭐letters and notes – what do they say? Who sent them?
⭐signs or posters in shops or on buses and trains – point out signs that have the same letters as your child’s name
⭐menus – it can be fun for older children to look at menus and work out what they want to eat.

18/08/2026

Why is reading important for babies and children? 📚

Reading books, sharing stories, talking and singing every day is good your child’s development in many ways.

Benefits of reading for your child:

📕Helps your child get to know sounds, words and language
📗Lays the foundation for early literacy skills
📘Introduces your child to the value of books and stories
📙Sparks your child’s imagination and curiosity
📕Promotes your child’s brain development and ability to focus and concentrate
📗Promotes your child’s social, communication and emotional skills
📘Helps your child learn about the world, their own culture and other cultures

❓What is your favourite book to read with your child ❓

16/08/2026

Why do our educators love working at our centre? It’s simple: Support. Development. Community. 🌟
The team at Goodstart Horsham shared some of their whys, and a few things are clear:
✅ They feel valued by their leadership team.
✅ They have clear pathways for career progression.
✅ They are backed by a team of passionate educators.

Because at the end of the day, when we support each other, we can give our best to the children in our care 🥰

13/08/2026

Dyed Flowers

Materials:
3 White Carnations
3 Bottles of Food Coloring in Assorted Colors
3 Clear 16 oz Plastic Cups
Water
Scissors

Instructions:
Fill each cup with water half way.
Add 3 drops of food coloring into each of the cups. Each cup should be a different color.
Carefully cut the end of each of the flower’s stem.
Place each stem in a different colored water cup.
Wait one hour and observe your flowers’ petals.

How it Works:
The Xylem of the flower works like an elevator and brings the water from the cup all the way up the plant’s stem and into the plant’s petals. When it brings the dyed water up it ends up dying the plant’s petals. The Xylem is what allows the plant to get water from the roots all the way to the petals.

12/08/2026

Strong relationships are the foundation for confident, curious learners 💛

Goodstart’s key educator approach ensures every child is known, supported and feels safe - through consistent, nurturing connections with educators and meaningful partnerships with families. These bonds help build wellbeing, resilience and a true sense of belonging from day one.

Discover how this approach supports your child’s learning journey: https://brnw.ch/2

11/08/2026

Storm in a Glass

Materials
Shaving cream
A large glass
Water
Food coloring
A spoon

Instructions:
Fill the glass 1/2 full with water.
Spray some shaving cream on top of the water to fill the glass to ¾ full.
Use your finger or a spoon to spread the shaving cream evenly over the top of the water. The top of the shaving cream should be flat.
Mix ½-cup water with 10 drops of food coloring in a separate container. Gently add the colored water, spoonful by spoonful, to the top of the shaving cream. When it gets too heavy, watch it storm!


How does it work?
Clouds in the sky hold onto water. They can hold millions of gallons! The layer of shaving cream is our pretend cloud in this experiment. The shaving cream layer can also hold onto water. Clouds can’t keep storing more and more water forever, eventually they get too heavy. When that happens, the water falls out (precipitates) as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

09/08/2026

Science Week is one of Jodie's favourite week's in the calendar!

Science is the study of the natural world through observation, experiments, and evidence. It is a way to find out how things work and gain new knowledge.

The Main Fields of Science are;
Physics: The study of matter, energy, and forces.
Chemistry: The study of substances and how they change.
Biology: The study of living things like plants and animals.

05/08/2026