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I discovered I had a bit of a collection of different coloured and patterned paper napkins the other day and thought they'd be great for a collage and some fine-motor tearing practice.

I was impressed by the learning that I'd not even anticipated.

Ages: 2+

(See Handy Tips at the bottom for ideas to Simplify and Extend to meet your child's needs)

Materials: Paper napkins, paper, glue, paintbrush

So, here's how it turned out for us:

I provided some pieces already ripped up in order to encourage her to tear the napkins. Great fine motor skills.

Problem Solving. Tearing the napkin while it was folded up was so tricky. Opening it out made it thinner and easier to tear through. We talked about layers, thickness etc.

She discovered one of the napkins was lined with a bumpy pattern. This gave us opportunities to talk about textures, patterns etc.

Lots of pasting

Hang on! This napkin was easy to tear even when still folded. We discovered different types of paper were easier or harder to tear through.

You don't have to always paste things flat

Colourful, creative FUN!

She pleaded with me for scissors so I gave in and let her have some. She discovered cutting paper napkins was more difficult than standard paper.

The finished piece

Handy Tips

- Simplify this activity for younger children by providing the paper already torn or by helping them to tear it. Encourage them to talk about the colours and pattens of the paper napkins

- Extend this activity by having your child make an art piece from their torn paper napkins and have them tell you a story about it. Write it down for them or have them write about it.

-Mix it Up by providing the paper napkins with a few different materials eg scissors, paint, water etc

- Demonstrate and discuss particular skills if your child is new to these techniques such as tearing paper and how to tear around shapes etc.

- Use new language and descriptive words like, "layers" and "problem solving" This will help with their language development. 

Here are some more Activities to help practice Fine Motor Skills and Creativity

(click the picture to take you to the activity)

    

If you enjoyed this post, please spare a second to give me a vote in the "TOP 25 Creative Moms". 

Just click the badge below and click "vote" on Learn with Play at home. Thanks!

Happy playing,
Debs :)

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Top picture DIY Sparkle Bath Paint and Bottom pic DIY Flower Headdress

Welcome to the First TUESDAY TOTS for 2013. 

This Week:

Learn with Play at home is featuring

6 Simple DIY Ideas for Kids
from our final Tuesday Tots of 2012
(if you missed it, it's full of awesome Xmas treats so be sure to visit and pin for next year!)

FEATURED

Click on the pictures below to take you to the post

DIY Sparkle Bath Paint by You'll Thank Me One Day

DIY Flower Headdress by Happy Whimsical Hearts

DIY Pillowcase by Little Wonders' Days

DIY Light Table by Mudpies and Sunshine

DIY Sharpie Platter by Just for Daisy

DIY Gifts for Grandparents by Mummy Musings and Mayhem

Congratulations if you were featured!  Feel free to grab a featured button.




Here's a couple of fun DIY ideas from us

Click on the pictures below to take you to the post

   

   

-----------------------------------

Now, it's your turn to link up your posts for children 5 and under. Be sure to check back on all the great ideas that are linked up weekly by Kid Bloggers worldwide and to visit our co-hosts.

(please read the guidelines before linking up)

Happy playing,
Debs :)

Look where else we are :)

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Check out our Newest PLAY collaborative!

The P.L.A.Y Group

(click the pic to go follow our pinterest board)

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Age: approx. 6 months to 2 years (see bottom for tips)

Materials: Cardboard Tissue Box and Milk bottle lids

(N is currently 13 months. See bottom for tips to simplify or extend to meet your child's needs)

Set up as an "Invitation to Play" Different coloured Milk Bottle Lids on a plastic tray and a Tissue Box

Woah! What to do first? Stimulated by the different colours and bits and pieces

Tipping the tray. Learning about gravity.

Using fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination to put the milk bottle lids in the tissue box.

Where have the milk bottle lids gone? You can hear them when you shake the box. 

Reaching for the lids and learning about object permanence.

Baby is Learning:

- Fine motor skills
- Pincer grasp (picking up small objects with thumb and pointer finger)

- Hand and eye coordination

- Cause and effect (ie. tipping the tray will make the bottle lids fall off. Shaking the tissue box with lids inside it makes a rattle sound etc.)

- Shapes. The milk bottle lids are round. The tissue box is rectangular with angles and corners.
- Colours. The milk bottle lids are all the same shape/size but different colours.

- Emotions. Excitement, anticipation and enjoyment.
- About Gravity. Physical items fall down and always tip to the lowest point
- Language from the interactions you have with baby

- What to do with the materials. Put the milk bottle lids in the tissue box. Get the out again. etc

- Object Permanence. Just because you can't see it any more doesn't mean it's not there.

Handy Tips:

- Simplify this activity by ensuring that the opening of the tissue box is large and easy for baby to put things inside. Allow baby to explore the materials without pushing the need to post them inside the tissue box. Pop some in the box for baby to shake and rattle and see if they can get them out.

- Extend this activity for older babies by sorting the milk bottle lids into colours. Ask baby to put the "blue" milk bottle lids in the tissue box etc.

- Mix it up by providing some items that are too big to fit inside the tissue box. Let baby experiment and figure this out.

- Repeat this activity as often as you like because babies (& children) need repetition to consolidate their learning and understanding. 

- Talk to your baby about what they are doing. This will help them begin to understand the physical and mental processes they are going through as well as helping develop their vocabulary. "You have a red lid", "Where have the lids gone? Shake, shake, shake. What is that sound, baby?" 

- Play with baby. Once they have explored on their own and been given an opportunity to discover on their own, you could show them how to put the lids into the tissue box or how you get them out.

- Supervise. Babies need constant supervision.

Click here for MORE BABY PLAY IDEAS

Happy playing,
Debs :)

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2012 was a fabulous year full of Fun and Learning. 

We have already shared with you our Top 10 favourite Activities from 2012

but now, in collaboration with the Kid Blogger Network

we're happy to share with you 

our #1 and most Popular post of 2012

click the picture to go to the post

In The A-Z of Learning Letters I share with you:
- My views on teaching the letters to young children 

- When's the best time to start  &

- How to go about it.

As well as over 90 fun, interactive, hands-on activities and ideas to help your child learn everything there is to know about letters!

This is a post that I actually wrote as much for myself as for you. :)

It is an invaluable resource for me that I will be referring to countless times when I return to Teaching.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Below is a list of ALL the amazing Kid Bloggers that are contributing their top post of 2012.
How many of these blogs do you read?

52 Brand New ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ angeliquefelix.com - The Magic Of Play ~ At home with Ali B-Inspired Mama ~ Blog Me Mom ~Boy Mama Teacher Mama ~ Busy Kids = Happy Mom Carrots Are Orange ~ Caution! Twins at Play ~ Coffee Cups and Crayons ~ Confessions of a Montessori Mom Craft To Art ~ Creative Family Fun ~ Creative Kid Snacks ~ Creative Learning Fun ~ Creative Playhouse Creative with Kids ~ Cute and Peculiar ~ De tout et de rien: Activités pour le Préscolaire ~ Dirt And Boogers Edventures with Kids ~ Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ The Good Long Road ~ Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails Glittering Muffins ~ Go Kid Yourself ~ Growing A Jeweled Rose ~ hands on : as we grow ~ Here Come the Girls Home Learning Journey ~ Housing A Forest ~ Mama Smiles ~ In Lieu of Preschool ~ Inspiration Laboratories Inspired by Family ~ It's A Long Story ~ JDaniel4's Mom ~ Kids Creative Chaos ~ Kid World Citizen Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers ~ Kitchen Counter Chronicles ~ Laughing Kids Learn ~ Learn with Play at home Lessons Learnt Journal ~ Life At The Zoo ~ Little Artists ~ Living Life Intentionally ~ Living Montessori Now ~ Love, Play, Learn Loving My Nest ~ Mama Pea Pod ~ mama miss ~ Mamas Like Me ~ Mess For Less ~ Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas ~ Momma's Fun World Montessori Tidbits ~ My Buddies and I ~ My Little Bookcase ~ My Nearest and Dearest ~ No Twiddle Twaddle ~ Nurturestore Octavia and Vicky ~ One Perfect Day ~ ourfeminist{play}school ~ Picklebums ~ Play Activities ~ Playdough to Plato PlayDrMom ~ playful learners ~ playing with words 365 ~ PragmaticMom ~ Putti'sWorld ~ RainbowsWithinReach Rainy Day Mum ~ Raising Playful Tots ~ Reading Confetti ~ Red Ted Art ~ Royal Baloo ~ Science Sparks ~ Scribble Doodle and Draw Small Potatoes ~ Smiling like Sunshine ~ Sun Hats & Wellie Boots ~ Sun Scholars ~ Teach Preschool ~ The Educators' Spin On It The Fairy and The Frog ~ The Freckled Homeschooler ~ The Golden Gleam ~ The Imagination Tree ~ The Iowa Farmer's Wife The Outlaw Mom Blog ~ The Pleasantest Thing ~ This Reading Mama ~ Toddler Approved ~ Train Up a Child ~ True Aim Two Big Two Little ~ What Do We Do All Day? ~ Connecting Family and Seoul

Below, see the whole link up of the TOP ACTIVITIES for 2012

Happy playing,
Debs :)

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