10+ ideas for keeping Tiny Tots Entertained and Learning

Apr 30, 2013



Welcome to  TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (us), Rainy Day Mum
Growing a Jeweled Rose and In Lieu of Preschool

This Week:
Learn with Play at home is featuring

7 great posts for Tots
(and sharing 3 of our own to make 10 in total)


These great posts all came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured Hands-On Number Activities for Kids



FEATURED

With reasonably short attention spans, our littlest friends can be tricky to keep busy, entertained and learning. I find that I need a whole host of easy activity ideas up my sleeve that I can call on at any time.
Here are some great posts for you that should give you a few more ideas for how to keep those Tiny Tots amused!

Click on the Photos to be taken to the Activity

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An Invitation to Play and Learn with Numbers and Natural Materials

Apr 27, 2013




Welcome back to the "Playful Maths" weekly series brought to you by



Together, let's make MATHS FUN!

............................................................................................................


Last week I shared Counting and Grouping with Sticks.

This week we bring you another 2 Playful Maths Activities using Natural Materials. 



This week we are focusing on counting and playing with concrete materials.
Other skills involved include fine motor, number recognition, writing numbers, counting on, making patterns, grouping, sorting etc.


Continue reading...


8 Hands-On Number Activities for Kids

Apr 23, 2013

maths activities, hands-on maths, number games

Welcome to  TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (us), Rainy Day Mum
Growing a Jeweled Rose and In Lieu of Preschool

This Week:
Learn with Play at home is featuring

5 Hands-on Number Activities for Kids
(and sharing 3 of our own)


These great activities all came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured Spring Activities for Kids



FEATURED

Teaching maths beyond basic counting at home is something that many parents aren't comfortable with. We have been having a fabulous time showing just how easy it is to do fun maths at home with the kids with our ongoing Playful Maths series. Linked up to last weeks Tuesday Tots were some fun, hands-on ways that other parents were introducing counting and other basic maths skills and you can check them out via the pictures below.

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How Educational Toys can Benefit your Child's Development

Apr 22, 2013

This is a sponsored post.
Spielgaben, educational toys for kids

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that we advocate for the benefits of learning through play. Here we regularly show you ways to play and learn with your kids, generally using things you can find around the house as well as basic art and craft supplies. However, despite using as many recyclable materials as we can in our play we have still bought and been given lots of toys for our kids. Whilst we don't show you all of that play on the blog, it is still a big part of how our children play and learn.


The toys that we choose to buy for our kids can make a difference in their development. Being presented opportunities to see, play with and experience specific materials will present different challenges, require different skill sets and cover different learning areas. Children can learn from any toy, (or anything they deem to be a toy), but the amount, depth and breadth of the learning depends on the interaction between the child and it, and the type of opportunities the toys provide. Further learning can also occur when the child plays cooperatively with peers or adults.


Educational Toys encourage specific learning areas such as Literacy, Maths, Science, Music etc. and are often more expensive than "regular toys" as (hopefully) more thought has gone into the educational benefits and the usefulness for your child and I find they are more often built to last. This isn't always the case though so it is important when choosing toys for your children that you consider a few points.


Some questions to consider when choosing a toy for your child.

  • What areas of learning will this allow my child to experience?
  • What different skills will my child need/develop playing with this toy?
  • Are there different ways for my child to play and engage with the toy?
  • Will the toy grow with them?
  • Will the toy last?
  • Can the toy be played independently?
  • Can the toy be cooperatively played with?
  • Does the toy encourage creative thinking?

Thinking about these things first can save you a lot of money because toys nowadays aren't cheap and if they're not going to last and your children aren't going to see many benefits from them and be kept engaged over time, then they are probably just wasting your money. If I round up all the virtually useless toys we've had at our place and their combined price, I shudder to think how that money could have been better spent.
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Counting and Grouping with Sticks. Playful Maths

Apr 20, 2013



Welcome back to the "Playful Maths" weekly series brought to you by



Together, let's make MATHS FUN!

............................................................................................................


Last week I shared Learning Patterns with Lego.

This week we bring you another 2 Playful Maths Activities using Natural Materials. 




This week we are focusing on counting and grouping.
Other skills involved include fine motor, teen numbers, writing numbers, number recognition, counting on etc.


Continue reading...


Sticky Table Garden. Contact Paper Activity for Kids

Apr 18, 2013



Here is an activity that is quick to set up and practices fine motor skills and creativity.

Having both a toddler (N is currently 17 months) and a preschooler (M is 4) means that there are plenty of times I need to find activities that are going to be appropriate for the two of them to work on together.

Enter the virtually mess-free activity, the contact paper sticky table.
(Contact Paper is also known as Sticky Back Plastic in some countries)


Ages: 6 months+
(See the Handy Tips at the bottom of the post for more ideas to suit your child's development)
Continue reading...


10 Spring Activities for Kids.

Apr 16, 2013



Welcome to  TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (us), Rainy Day Mum
Growing a Jeweled Rose and In Lieu of Preschool

This Week:
Learn with Play at home is featuring

10 Spring Activities for Kids


These great activities all came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured Activities for Learning about Shapes and Patterns



FEATURED

Despite the fact that here in Australia we are currently in Autumn, this week's Tuesday Tots was full of such lovely Spring themed activities that I had to share anyway. Regardless of the season, activities, art and crafts that take inspiration from nature are always a favourite here so there's no need for us to wait until next spring to give them a go.

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Learning Patterns with Lego

Apr 13, 2013



Welcome back to the "Playful Maths" weekly series brought to you by



Together, let's make MATHS FUN!

............................................................................................................


Last week I shared Block Maths for Kids.

This week we bring you another 2 Playful Maths Activities using LEGO (or Duplo) Blocks. 


We have used LEGO DUPLO blocks here as with a toddler in the house, this is the current block stage we're up to. When he's a bit older we will start providing the smaller LEGO blocks as well. You can just use what you have available.


This week we are focusing on learning patterns.
Other skills involved include fine motor, counting, colours, sizes etc.


Continue reading...


Simple "Chocolate" Paint. Fun Sensory Literacy Learning 3 ways.

Apr 11, 2013



To help my daughter (aged 4) practice writing her name, I thought I'd give her a fun sensory experience to entice her to want to learn. It was a huge success and one of the few activities she has pleaded with me on more than one occasion, to repeat. As a result, I changed the experience slightly each time so now we can share with you, 3 different ways that you could make your "Chocolate" Name!
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Activities for learning Shapes and Patterns

Apr 9, 2013

maths for kids, learning shapes, learning patterns, kids activities, playful maths



Welcome to  TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (us), Rainy Day Mum
Growing a Jeweled Rose and In Lieu of Preschool

This Week:
Learn with Play at home is featuring

Activities for Learning Shapes and Patterns


These great activities all came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured Easy Crafts for Kids




FEATURED

We've been having a great time with our Playful Maths Series and demonstrating that teaching your children basic maths at home is not difficult at all. In fact, it's really fun so here are a few more activities from last week's linky that show how these parents are teaching shapes and patterns at home.

Continue reading...


Fun Block Maths for Kids

Apr 6, 2013

Estimating for Kids, Estimation Activity, Sorting Activity, Colour Activity, Color Activity, Counting Activity

Welcome back to the "Playful Maths" weekly series brought to you by



Together, let's make MATHS FUN!

............................................................................................................


Last week I shared Pipe Cleaner Numbers.

This week we bring you another 2 Playful Maths Activities using Wooden Blocks. 


Most people I know have a set of colourful wooden blocks. Ours are kept in a wooden cart and are always out and being used in different ways in part of our play. 

The other day the cart was out and I asked my daughter (aged 4) to tell me which colour we had the most of? Well, she didn't know the answer so this set about a fun challenge where we got to learn more about colours, sorting and classifying, counting, estimation, number writing, number recognition and ordering.


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Single Colour Paint Exploration. Process Art

Apr 4, 2013


For today's painting activity I wanted something that my toddler (currently 17 months) and preschooler (4 years) could do together. I decided on some process art where instead of trying to achieve some sort of art work or "finished product" at the end, it was all just about the exploration of the provided materials and the results they could achieve with those.

In order to try and make it more about the process, I provided (I think for the first time ever!) only one single colour.

Ages: 6 months +
(See Handy Tips at the bottom to extend or simplify to suit your child's needs)


Materials: Paint, large paper, various painting tools.

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Easy Crafts for Kids

Apr 2, 2013



Welcome to  TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (us), Rainy Day Mum
Growing a Jeweled Rose and In Lieu of Preschool

This Week:
Learn with Play at home is featuring

Simple and Lovely Crafts for Kids


These great activities all came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured 9 Easter Activities with added Learning




FEATURED

Going through last weeks list of linked up activities, a couple of the crafts just jumped out at me as they were just SO CUTE! I made it my mission to try and find some more simple and cute crafts from the link-up, so here are the best.

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