March 26th, 2012 My 16 favorite Early years Pinterest Boards Posted by Melitsa in Good reads, play activities

Pinterest is a great place for learning and sharing early years play ideas and activities. With the range of activities and ideas it’s easy to find all different type of activities and be inspired to try something simple. Not just that but there are so many articles, videos and vlogs about the early years pinned on Pinterest you can learn more about books, ideas and reasons for play.

There are so many wonderful resources for the Early years under 5 year old play. Here I’ve added my favourite ones. Not all of these boards are exclusively for the under 5s.

You can click the links in the slides to go straight to the boards to subscribe

Click here to view Slideshow 1 ::  Click here to view Slideshow 2

1. I’m a Kid Friendly Blog! :: started by Jaime of Hands on:: as they grow A place to find all the best, kid-friendly activities, crafts, art, and other kid inspired material! These are ‘must see’ blogs if you have kids!
2. Lifetime Love of Learning started by  Zina of Let’s Lasso the moon This group board is a place to share educational ideas & discuss ways to keep the light in our childs’ eyes. “Together let’s stoke the flame in your child’s eyes by providing hands on, self paced, collaborative, challenging, enjoyable learning. Let’s encourage divergent thinking, instead of convergent thinking; innovation instead of standardization. Give your children a lifetime love of learning.” {Trevor Eissler}
3. For the BOYS! Started by Jaime of Hands on: as we grow this board celebrates all things boys. Yes girls do these activities too. A wide range of activities that boys are often attracted to. As a mother of three boys it’s lovely to see and be inspired by a range of play activities
4. Baby/Toddler Play Ideas started by Cerys of Rainy Day Mum as a place to explore Play ideas for babies and toddlers to nurture their growth and development in the early years of life
5. Sensory Activities for Kids Started by Mary Ann of Mamasmiles. The board is full of so many different types of sensory play experiences.  She provides a space to share sensory activities for young children.
6. Growing Creative Kids Started by Zina of Let’s lasso the moon. This board is full of share fun projects, art ideas, or unique adventures that help inspire our kid’s creativity
7. The Weekly Kids Co-op Started by Zina. This is part of a linky. A small group of bloggers sharing a lot of play activities that offer a plethora of ideas geared for toddlers to pre-teens. What’s great is that the activities are family oriented, fun, unique or educational.
8. The Parent Water Cooler Started by Zina. This board is the place to talk about current hot topics based on the office water cooler where everyone congregates and has a chat about articles, play activities and more.
9. Kid Blogger Network Activities & Crafts Started by Laura of Play Dr Mom. Here a large group of play bloggers gather together to share their favourite posts that focus on activities and crafts for kids. With the foundational belief that playing and crafting with children improves well-being, creative thinking, and strengthens relationships
10. All things parenting Started by Holly of June Cleaver Nirvana Sometimes you just need to hear a story, relate to a situation about parenting or find a good resource about parenting.
11. It’s Preschool (Song) PreK Collaborative Peeps!!  Started by Debbie of  Rainbows within reach.This is a really active board from bloggers in the Early years. There’s a wide range of activities and lots pins to inspire.
12. Make and Takes for Kids Community Board  Started by Marie of Make and Takes as a community board of activities and ideas that you can make and take. With lots of collaborators on many different time zones this board has new pins all the time that are related to craft, diy, and recipe ideas for kids
13. Global and Diverse Kids Started by Melitsa of Play Activities. Chance to look further afield and connect our little ones with the big wide world, sharing the wonders of Geography, Bringing diversity into our homes and play and where we are in the global world with kid related themes, activities and articles.
14. Reading & Writing readiness Started by Allie of NoTimeForFlashcards The place to go for fun  and imaginative lessons, activities and games that boost reading and writing readiness and progress. There’s so many different ideas and inspiration.
15. Pretend Play Started by Mary Ann of Mamasmiles- A board dedicated to just one thing- pretend play. Lots of imaginative ideas to encourage your children in imaginative play.
16. Get Kids moving Started by Lisa of Montessori on a budget- Lively  and creative activities to get the kids moving in more than just one way with an emphasis on fun. Lisa’s board shares large motor movement and gross motor activities and more, for brain development in children, and for fun!

What are your  favorite collaborative boards for the Early Years? Leave your comment below

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March 29th, 2011 Diversity in books Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Education, Good reads, language, Roundups, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

When you look through your books do you see a diversity?

Do you have a range of many different types of books?

I had an opportunity this week to look at my bookshelf  and share some of them with my children. Yes lots of ladybird books and Mr. Men books. I never had though many non fiction books. What’s on your children’s shelf? Sure enough the books we buy are usually fiction. The books we borrow are often non fiction.

Let’s look wider. Do the books I have available show a diverse world? How do I share cultural hertigages from around the world or talk about friends in my neighbourhood who are different?

Read More…

October 4th, 2010 Monday links Posted by Melitsa in Good reads, play activities, Roundups, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

Easing into another week with the children, I have some links to share.  I’ve been inspired by so many posts, articles and links this week. Here are a few of them to get you going.

So grab yourself a cuppa/smoothie or whatever your passion and enjoy these links.

Read More…

July 14th, 2010 What to do when “there is nothing to do”? Posted by Melitsa in book review, Education, Good reads, language, play activities

How do you come up with play ideas for your kids? And, perhaps even more importantly, how do your kids come up with play ideas for themselves?

During holiday periods I, like many parents, plan ahead for games and activities we will get up to – using blogs I love (perhaps ones I’ve recently discovered via the Raising Playful Tots Index) but I also want to give my kids the tools to plan and create for themselves, and a rich vein of inspiration for my two kids comes in the form of picture books I read to them. Although it doesn’t always happen (and even when it does, it can be weeks after we’ve read the book) often my kids will create their own games and activities inspired by what they’ve read and listened to.

Three great books we’ve recently enjoyed (with my hope that they’ll sow the seed of inspiration when the time comes) are all about what can be done when it seems like there’s nothing to do.

Something to Do by David Lucas

Perfect for toddlers, this simply illustrated book is full of the adventures a baby bear gets up to having bounced on his dad complaining that there’s nothing to do until Dad finally gives in. Using a twig to draw, baby bear and his dad create places to explore, with no set agenda, just following the lines they make with their sticks.

Nothing to Do by Douglas Wood, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

Stunningly illustrated with immense detail this book is a delight for slightly older children. Nothing to Do celebrates how wonderful it can be to actually have nothing to do; instead of needing to rush to this activity or onto another class, instead of always being timetabled, days where there is nothing to do are actually something to be relished. Such days are full of endless, exciting possibilities – as you and your kids pour over the glorious illustrations you’ll all come up with ideas of your own, from making toy ships to watching clouds, from making paper airplanes to re-reading your favourite books.

Let’s do nothing by Tony Fucile

A great all-rounder this book will have everyone in the family laughing! Two young boys have done everything they can think of doing and all that is left to try now is – quite literally – doing nothing. It turns out, however, that doing nothing is much harder than anyone had realised! The comic strip style illustrations are full of energy and there are jokes for the adults as well as the kids in this pacey debut from one of the animators behind Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

One of my stock go-to activities if we seem to have run out of anything to do is to put on some music and just dance with the kids. Here are some great songs that go wonderfully with these three fantastic books about doing nothing:

And if you do want to prepare some activities for your kids taking your cue from these books, here are some I think would work brilliantly alongside reading these stories:

Zoe Toft is a mum of two young girls and they really love words and they really love to make stuff.
Sometimes they make or do something and they want a good book (or poem / song / audiobook) that continues the game, that captures some of the magic we’ve enjoyed. Sometimes it’s the other way round and they read a great book which inspires them to get the glue and glitter out.

Either way, they’ve always got plenty of books around the house, boxes of “crafty stuff” and a desire to have fun. However, her memory is /terrible/ So Playing by the book is Zoe’s way of celebrating and reminding herself of many of the things they get up to as a family, of the books they’ve read and loved and that you might just fall in love with too.

May 3rd, 2010 Creative play then and now Posted by Melitsa in Education, Good reads, Media, Thought of the week

Adults who take part in creative play as children are more likely to have a healthy diet and to take regular exercise, according to a new study.The research from the University of Ulster, which was presented at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avon last week, surveyed 505 young adults about their experiences and opportunities for play during childhood.

Source: The Nursery World

Where do you stand? Do you think your lifestyle now is from what you did when you were younger?

I don’t encourage play to get these benefits but it sure is nice to know that there are knock on benefits.

Photo credit:carlol