December 12th, 2008 Finding time for holiday play Posted by Melitsa in Articles, play activities, Seasonal play, Thought of the week

Holiday times are busy times. Finding time to play and have one on one time often gets squeezed out. However, because of the season there are many things that naturally lend themselves to together times with your little one.

• Making your own advent calendar
• Decorating the tree
• Making & baking cookies
• Donating toys
• Singing carols or Christmas songs

Here’s an activity we did together. My toddler has taken on the scissors recently and is working on making deliberate cuts. He watched his older brother’s cut paste and draw project in the summer. Whenever the scissors were down he tried them. He wasn’t too interested at working at it during the summer. I knew he’d try again soon enough.

Recently he’s getting the action of opening and shutting the scissors whilst in contact with the paper whilst in the upright position without pulling the paper. Phew! there’s a lot to cutting with scissors for a toddler. I could see his fingers were sore from the effort but he was so proud.

We go through lots of paper and glue here. The toddler got the white glue bottle so out came the empty fruit snack container and q-tip to stick everything down.

This side by side activity was perfect. The toddler cut up the cartoon section of the Sunday newspaper after the older one ‘read’ it to him. The older one cut out pictures he liked from the newspaper. I got to write my Christmas cards and read the paper. We did this altogether at the table; talking about the pictures, cartoons, joining in with songs from the radio. I started off the project but they led with where it would go and when it was time to finish. Not all activities need to be completely directed or have an end in mind.  My toddler and Kindergartener knew what they wanted to do. I just helped facilitate that.

There are always opportunities for play-activities with your child even during the busy holiday season. Seize the opportunities.You’ll not be disappointed.

What play-activities have you managed this holiday season?

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December 5th, 2008 Overlooked creative toys part II Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Education, Good reads, play activities

This is the second part of the interview: Overlooked creative toy.

In your experience with blocks have you seen it as a boy’s toy?

No, but children accessorize them with different things as you’d expect with young children. They may play with them differently but still use them equally. Adding accessorizes help promote pretend play. Adding large and small pieces of cloth give children the chance to dress up , by wrapping themselves in the cloth and being whatever they choose. The small pieces get used for so many things like blankets, objects like baby dolls. If you choose solid colours for the material it doesn’t suggest a person leaving your child the imagination to be. Other examples of objects to accessorize include; dishes, people, animal figures, shell, & stones, yarn, paper, scissors etc. Naturally, not all at once and age appropriate.

How should you organise them?

Each family should find a shelf space to store them. Storing like with like. e.g. all the cylinders together. This way the organization makes the blocks look more appealing than a jumbled heap in a box or bag.  When you put them back use the time as a sorting activity by putting them away in the same way….early classifying. Try reinforcing it as a math game, ” All blocks with curves….. or 1/2 the size of this one go here.” This helps develop their language and it’s fun.

How would you advise a parent whose child prefers TV and electronic toys to get involved with blocks?

Parents need to be patient and allow the child to play for a while with them.

How would you introduce block play to your children by showing or allowing them to experiment? Is it ok to join in?

Resist the urge to direct play or build something to get them going. Instead don’t say what are you going to build. Let the child test out whatever is in their mind. It’s important not to send the message , ” I’m supposed to build.” Children will be trying to please the adult. Children will engage with the blocks if they are behind the ideas.  Parents can instead ask questions- “What shape do you need? I’ll hand them to you.” or  ” Tell me what you are doing?” ” Where would they sleep?”  Here the parent is being the assistant not the director.The parent is deepening and not directing. ” Who should I be?” Let your child direct.

How have your children used the blocks?

Through exploration they come up with lots of ideas. Blocks become books or houses. Whatever they want them to be. They don’t mix the blocks with LEGO. Since they are not the same sets or systems it can become overwhelming and frustrating. We stick to simplicity. It encourages more creativity.

How many blocks is enough?

You need a large enough amount to realize your ideas and suggest patterns but not too many to be overwhelming. For maximum play and learning potential I’d recommend:-

What makes this set different than other block sets?

• City and Country school unit blocks have a booklet that comes with each set. It gives clear hints at how to support block projects. The learning potential is explained.
• The coloured cubes are made of natural wood. The colored cubes are there for inspiration and they don’t detract from using the blocks but enhance the play.
• These blocks are endorsed by the City & Country school where they were designed.
• Other sets on the market feature a few of each piece but lots in other sets. Crucially, children need lots of the same pieces and fewer of the others to be able to create, build and experiment successfully.

Can you tell us more about the science and mathematical relationships the blocks foster?

Science the concepts of balance, physics, trial and error,planes,  and problem solving. Maths the concepts of area, fractions, volume, multiples and patterns.

To order your set of blocks visit www.kidoproducts.com or call the school.

My boys played with these blocks for a long time. They really enjoyed playing with them both together and individually.

Elise Clark, Director of admission at City & Country school. She’s a teacher and parent. Elise has been in education for 20 years. She also teaches a graduate block building course for teachers at Bank Street College of Education.