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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Whether it is pretending to be a princess, dragon, or teacher, children love to play pretend. Psychologist Lev Vygotsky said “the child always behaves above his average age, and above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself”. (Alright, maybe 20…
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,…
Eunice Lee
Amanda Binns
Fay McGill
Team