Eunice Lee
We’ve talked in previous posts about the importance of play and how to support/expand the play with a child (see examples here and here). What happens when you are playing with a child and they make an ooops? Maybe they fill their pretend car with juice rather than gas,…
Amanda Binns
Hearing the laughter and squeals from a child during a game of peek-a-boo is priceless. There are no fancy toys involved, no specific skills or language needed – just you and your child. Peek-a-boo – a game that spans cultures and generations – is enticing for children of…
Fay McGill
So you’ve been letting your child take the lead, and drive the play. He’s coming up with a few creative ideas but they tend to be the same ideas again and again. What do you do if you’re getting bored? Sometimes we can all feel a bit stuck…
There have been a fair number of articles popping up over social media about the importance of playground play. Playgrounds can be fantastic fun and they provide a multitude of learning opportunities! We’ve highlighted our top 6 below. Language Development. Children learn about ‘how things work’ and make meaning…
We’ve all heard it – “Talk to your baby”. Research shows that both IQ and language scores are higher for children exposed to talkative environments as young children. Recently there has also been evidence to suggest that speaking to our baby bump can improve our child’s language development later…
When you are sprawled across the floor playing trains or sitting at a too-small table sipping tea out of a plastic cup, have you ever stopped to think… Wait a second, exactly who is in charge of the play right now? Playtime is one of the few (if not…
Pointing is a skill that children often start using before they begin to speak. Over the years, research has shown the importance of children developing this skill as it is highly correlated with later language development. The reason pointing and language development go hand in hand is because pointing…
We have been hearing a lot of buzz about play-based learning in Ontario and, personally, I am quite thrilled about this. Current research has found play to be an essential vehicle for the development of children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical and communicative development. It’s all well and good that…
This week it was -17 Celsius in Toronto. I don’t know about you but I don’t do playgrounds when the temperature drops that low! So what kind of play can we do indoors that encourages the same kind of active, problem-solving, confidence-building, creative play? We’ve got a few ideas…
Team
A camping tent in the basement. A snow fort in the backyard. A bedsheet draped over chairs in the living room. These three (seemingly) unrelated play activities are actually variations of one and the same and I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t enjoy this kind of…