February 13th, 2012 Setting up a play story to start a conversation Posted by Melitsa in Education, language, play activities, pretend play

 

• Toilet roll or bandage
• Soft toy
• Doctor kit ( optional)

Preparation: Carefully wrap up your soft toy so they look injured. Leave in an obvious place.

Set the scene using your surprised and concerned voice. ( Now’s the time to overact!)

We played out a scene of looking after our stuffed animal. Through lots of questioning we got to change bandages, lie down and sleep. Our toy also had a few cuddles and lots of blankets. We got him a drink and he ate a pretend cake.

By setting up the scene and the LO arriving upon it. Plus the surprise in my voice lead us to have quite time of play.

Setting up scenarios to start a conversation and begin the conversation about complex ideas like emotions are really important with children. They get a chance to try different ideas not just from the media and they’ve seen but they have the chance to adapt ideas and bend the rules.

Getting in there with them as they pretend play to encourage their play without dominating may take some time to master. But is well worth it.

Read More…

April 26th, 2011 DIY kids play stove Posted by Melitsa in Homemade, language, Memes, Outdoor play, play activities, pretend play, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

Meet our latest kitchen addition.

The one benefit of having lots of boxes from a move is the endless fun you can have with them.

I’ve been on the lookout for a kitchen set for a long time but everything I’ve seen didn’t fit for one reason or another. We’ve never been shy about our creations even if they don’t look the greatest I’ve never been shy to share them. Some will laugh and point the finger and I hope you are inspired to do better then. The best thing about these types of project is how we all get involved. It’s not about how perfect it looks but how functional.

Two brothers

This is how the minds of two brothers think for their little brother one Easter holiday….with a little help from mum.

Small empty box wrapped in white paper

Kids:We don’t want to see that writing and maybe we can paint it

Me: Thank goodness as I kept meaning to get a better covering for it.

Kids: We need bits on the top……[looking around the room] How would I draw a circle?

Me: Introduces a cereal bowl.

Kids: off to find paper. Problem 1- no paper in the size for 4 burners so improvise with white ( we’ll colour it) and red card – probably left over from St George’s day craft.

squabble over who will do what…….

Brother runs off with paper ….

Discussion about distracting the LO and working together. MO decides to play or distract his brother while the BG can quickly finish the colouring and cutting.

Peace …… negotiation complete

me: How do you turn it on then?

Kids: run off. MO comes back with lid from a bottle. Puts it on the box. Lots of different bottle tops tried. Some from things in use………….

A little while later, the DIY stove is fully functional with Chef MO cooking up a feast and Chef LO lining up the ingredients.

There were more steps inbetween these.  Lots of excitement, diversions, breaks for snacks etc But over the course of one morning it was completed.

This picture was taken at bedtime as activity is too fast and furious during sessions. The beauty of this stove is………

portable

homely

precious

full of memories

lovingly made

Designed and mostly made by brothers for their brother

played with by all.

Don’t be put off with making your own play activities or encouraging your children to do so.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive list of DIY projects check out childhood 101.

Sorry ….. I have to go………..been invited around for some tea and a baked bean tin?

This post is part of the meme We Play: Pop on over and view the other players

March 16th, 2011 Make your own Shoe Shop Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Education, Homemade, play activities, pretend play, Thought of the week

We had fun playing shoe shops.

It was a spontaneous activity that just evolved as we played.

As with most things with my LO; it started with a pair of shoes and as usual he gathered them together.

I grabbed a chair and began to serve him.  He chose his shoes and we tried different ones on.

Before too long I grabbed some paper to draw around his feet to mimic the foot measure.

We did pretend the door and sign but it was fun to design a real sign. He then tried to serve me………… lots of laughter.

Play activitivities don’t always have to be planned. They can like this one and evolve.

Nurseries and preschools are well known for their play corners and theme corners.

They are easy to do at home with a little bit of fun.

What play corners have you created at home?

December 23rd, 2010 12 days of Christmas family activity Posted by Melitsa in Education, language, play activities, pretend play, Roundups, Seasonal play, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

The popular song at Christmas is  the 12 day of Christmas .From what I understand, the song was said as a round during celebrations after Christmas. Each person had to remember to add a new verse and remember what came before. If you forgot you had to do a forfeit. Sounds like a fun game!

During the long days of Christmas holiday we’re looking for a together family activity. There’s a lot of imagination at Christmas time with Santa, Christmas movies that many things seems magical to the little ones and perhaps a little far away or beyond them. They are creative too and we can encourage them by providing fun opportunities to be silly as well as use their environment.

It’s that looking at everyday things around us  and playing with them in our homes and area that we want to cultivate in our children. Let them problem solve by finding things and using them/seeing them for use in other ways.

Read More…

November 23rd, 2010 Play anywhere Posted by Melitsa in Education, Homemade, Outdoor play, play activities, pretend play, Seasonal play, Thought of the week

Never think that the kids will not find something to do after the say, “I’m bored!” “There’s nothing to do!”

My kids were feeling exactly this way as we packed up to move countries in July. Mum and Dad were a little bit preoccupied with cleaning the last little bit so we could leave. There was nothing in the house. This was a huge draw to be able to run, scream ( echo) throughout the house.

To save our harried nerves of recleaning and get rid of channel this energy we banished them outside like thousands of other parents have before. We stopped short of locking them out there as it was still hot. There was plenty of shade, garden, hose and lots of water what more can you need.

Still we got…………… There’s nothing to do out there. Now admittedly they really wanted our attention. It was day 3 of cleaning living in a hotel and they wanted something to do that was specifically for them. We were hurrying to finish to do exactly that. So there was anxiety on both sides.

Now we had silence for a while we peeked out the window and saw they were busy running around the garden we just couldn’t hear them. So we went downstairs to check………… and this is what we found.

They were really pleased with what they had made. This person was reconfigured many different ways and this is the one they asked for a picture to remember.

Here you are literally nothing to play with and they find this.

We had a good hour of cleaning before they came in soaked from the sprinklers which was enough time to finish and be leaving.

Pretend play and water fun

It’s a great memory of the last day in our American house.