Simple Bubblewrap Christmas Cards made by kids

Nov 28, 2013

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We love making our own Christmas cards but it can get tricky coming up with new ideas that are simple enough for young children to be able to manage on their own. Here's a simple card that we made using a few recycled materials from around the house and a little bit of paint.
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6 Christmas Advent ideas for kids

Nov 26, 2013

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Welcome to TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (that's us), Rainy Day Mum,
and One Perfect Day


This Week:
Learn with Play at home is showcasing

6 delightful Christmas Advent ideas

These great posts came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured 26 Christmas Decorations kids can make!




FEATURED

Have fun with the lead up to Christmas with these great ideas for DIY Advent Calendars and fun Advent activity ideas.

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Christmas Decoration Creation Station

Nov 24, 2013

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After seeing how much, Maddie (4) enjoyed her Valentines Creation Station, I had been looking forward to creating a Christmas Decoration Creation Station all year long. Finally the time has arrived!

I love this sort of open-ended creativity. Provide your child with an invitation to create simply by setting out a range of enticing materials that can be used in a variety of different ways individually and together, and then sit back as they get stuck in. After your child is used to being presented with invitations to play, they will need very little instruction, (if any) before they start. Children experiencing this sort of provocation for the first time may be hesitant to start without instruction. If they ask what they should do, try asking them,  "What do you think you could do?", and go from there.

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Learning teen numbers with Free Printable MAB Teen Number Cards

Nov 21, 2013



Today's activity is part of an ongoing series, Exploring Reggio. Our co-creators for the series are, The Imagination TreeAn Everyday StoryOne Perfect DayTwodaloo and Racheous- Lovable Learning.

**EDIT: See the bottom of the post to download our free printable MAB Teen Number Cards.**

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The Benefits of Technology for Pre-schoolers. Plus a VTech InnoTab3S Kids Tablet Review!

Nov 19, 2013


This is a sponsored post

We live in a technological world and our children are growing up in this world. There is no escaping technology these days, and why would you? We are more advanced than ever before and the possibilities that lay ahead for our children and our children's children are endless.

Embracing technology with young children can be a little harder to do as our instincts tell us that childhood needs to be about play and movement, fort building, scraped knees, bug collecting, hide-and seek and ice-cream. So, where does technology fit into all of this and how can we use it best with our young children?


In our schools in Australia, an integral part of the curriculum is the integration of ICT (Information Communication Technology). ICT is the hardware and software that allows us to digitally process, store and communicate data.
The focus of using ICT with our students is for:

  • Communication- using ICT tools to communicate, research and share ideas/knowledge
  • Creativity-  using ICT to solve problems, create products etc.
  • Visualising Thinking- using ICT to visually demonstrate thought processes


The use and integration of ICT in the classroom begins with the Early Years and carries the entire way through their schooling, becoming more and more prominent as they get older.
These days, in Australia, you would find very few children that haven't had some experiences with ICT before starting school. Here's how and why I use it with my children.

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26 Christmas Decorations kids can make

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Welcome to TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (that's us), Rainy Day Mum,
and One Perfect Day


This Week:
Learn with Play at home is showcasing

26 Christmas Decorations kids can make!

These great posts came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured 8 Creative Playdough Ideas for kids




FEATURED

Christmas is such an exciting time of year for kids. To get them in the spirit early, here are 26 fabulous Christmas Decorations that you can make with your children. Not only will you create precious memories but your children learn a lot of different skills along the way including fine motor skills, colours, patterns, creativity, language, concepts of Christmas, literacy skills, numeracy skills and more. With a huge range to choose from, there's something to suit every taste and skill level.
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Dinosaur Party

Nov 16, 2013

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Dinosaur Party Ideas from learnwithplayathome.com

For my son's 2nd birthday we decided to go with a Dinosaur theme. It was a simple choice as not only did he show a great fondness for dinosaurs, but it is such a fun and easy theme to work with. I just had to have a go! :)

As dinosaurs are so popular with children, there is no end to the supplies and merchandise that you can find available to stock up for your dinosaur party. Bonus! Try $2 shops to stock up on cheap plastic dinosaur toys and other such items.

One of the things I loved the most about putting on this Dinosaur Party was decorating the house with as many potted ferns and plants as I could get my hands on. We used a lot from around our own yard and borrowed some from family members for the party. It was a really quick and easy way to transform our house into a bit of a jungle! The Dinosaur Dig activity was also a highlight. It kept the kids busy for a lot longer than anticipated and was incredibly easy to set up. We had the cutest loot bag goodies ever, thanks to our friends at Micador, and I found that dinosaur themed food was really easy to come up with and a lot of fun! All in all, it was a fabulous theme and we were delighted with how it all came together.

Here are some pics from our day.
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8 Creative Playdough ideas for kids

Nov 12, 2013

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Welcome to TUESDAY TOTS for this week.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (that's us), Rainy Day Mum,
and One Perfect Day


This Week:
Learn with Play at home is showcasing

8 Creative Playdough Ideas

These great posts came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured 10 Awesome Homemade Ideas for kids




FEATURED

We use playdough at our house on a daily basis. It is such a useful and fun, sensory material that you can make easily and cheaply yourself at home. Here is our no-cook playdough recipe that should set you up for hours upon hours of fun and learning for your kids.
Below are a collection of 8 fun and creative ideas that you could use to add to your playdough play.
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An Invitation to Paint Big!

Nov 8, 2013

10 Awesome Homemade Ideas for Kids

Nov 5, 2013

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Welcome to this week's TUESDAY TOTS.
Brought to you by Learn with Play at home (that's us), Rainy Day Mum,
and One Perfect Day


This Week:
Learn with Play at home is showcasing

10 Awesome Homemade Ideas for kids

These great posts all came from last weeks Tuesday Tots linkup
where we featured Colour themed activities


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Clean the Rocks. Toddler Sensory Play

Nov 2, 2013

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My toddler is really into sensory play at the moment. At this stage in his development, I find that this type of play is likely to hold his attention for longer than many of the ways we play.

The other day I was desperate to get a little bit of necessary paperwork completed and wanted something that would keep him independently occupied next to me without needing much input from me, for as long as we could manage. I knew my best chances would be something sensory but I didn't have the time for preparations and I didn't want something that was going to create a large mess.

Here's what we ended up with. An Invitation to Play with shaving foam, rocks and water. Cleaning rocks!


Age: 18 months+
(N has just turned 2. See the bottom for Handy Tips to simplify or extend for your child)

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