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…
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…
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…
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…
Math – the same as fun? Hmm … Maybe when I was really young and busy counting my candies for snack, playing store or counting monopoly money I would have said math was fun, but as I got older – No way! Still when I hear the word math,…
The past couple of weeks I have been in South Korea training a fantastic group of pediatric Speech and Language Therapists. One of the therapists I was working with mentioned that a client of hers loves to play with cars. Surprise, surprise! She wants to respect his interest in…
Does your baby love looking at himself in the mirror? As early as 3 months old, babies show a strong preference for looking at people’s faces, and focus on them for longer periods of time. Why? Let’s face it – faces are pretty interesting! Our expressions change frequently, and…
Yes we said ‘Soup Ladle’. Last week we talked about some of the benefits of using music during bath time. This week, we’re going to talk about how you can use objects you probably already have in your kitchen as toys during bath time to work on different aspects…
Creativity /kriːeɪˈtɪvɪti/ noun 1. The use of imagination or original ideas to create something “firms are keen to encourage creativity” Synonyms: inventiveness; imagination; innovation; originality; individuality; artistry; expressiveness; vision Oxford Dictionary may use the above definition for creativity but after reading this article about 9-year-old Caine Monroy, it wouldn’t be surprising…