Saturday, June 30, 2012

Weekend Watching - How to Make Play Dough


In this ‘weekend’s watching’ clip shows you how to make a classic all time kid’s favourite PlayDough.

The recipe is safe for children and toxic free.

Get your children to participate in the safe parts and get back to your childhood days and build right along with them when the dough is made.

I am now off to spend the weekend with my beautiful family - wishing you and yours a lovely fun filled weekend!

Happy Play Times :-)


Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday Fun Facts

More fun facts to share with your little ones this Friday.

Enjoy!

- Anyone with a drool filled baby? That baby will produce 10,000 gallons of saliva in their lifetime

- 45 miles! Of nerve cells run through your body

- Friday the 13th a spooky day starts by when first day of the month falls on a Sunday

- Pearls and vinegar don't mix in fact they will melt so children steer clear of Mum's pearl earrings

- Want to know the shortest sentence in the English language - I am

- Extend your rubber bands life simply place it in the fridge



Happy Play Times :-)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Book of the Moment - Where is the Green Sheep

The smile that spreads across my daughters faces at 6.30pm each night as I say "Where is the Green Sheep BY Mem Fox & Judy Horaeck" is one of my favorite times of day.  It signals the end of our day of fun and we snuggle in to enjoy the wonderful experience of books.

Not a child I've ever met does not love this timeless classic as they find sheep from the color blue one to the star and the moon.

As they find the sheep fast asleep it signals bed time for sleepy heads.

My personal opinion is this book teaches anticipation (where is the sheep and what will we find next) and patience (when will we finally find the green sheep!)

Amazon Mum & Dad's seem to agree with 38 out of 45 giving the book a 5 star ranking.

I promise you will say this book in your sleep and you will probably go through several worn copies before your little one grows tired of it!

Happy Play Times :-)



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Dance to Your Child's Tune

My girls favorite activity from the youngest age is to dance upon their Mummy's hip. What tops this fun off not music from the iPod (which still never goes astray) but my voice in all it's terrible glory :-)

Loose your inhibitions forget what you sound or look like and have fun with it - indeed a wonderful time is to be had by both mother and child!

How does dancing help?
- It builds your bond
- A fun way to pass time & helps to have fun during those witching hours
- Understand and develop movement as your child ages

In fact research has been done that shows infants between 5 months to 2 years are pre-disposed to move rhythmically especially to music so nurture and encourage this with the bonus of bringing joy to your home!


Happy Play Times :-)

Friday, June 15, 2012

Friday Fun Facts

Here are more interesting facts for you and your children to have fun with!


- Almonds are a member of which fruit family - Peach truly
- Think children are noisy? Your family cat can actually produce 100 vocal sounds the dog however only ten
- Think it is only our thumb that is unique in print NO your tounge is also unique. I think I would rather place my thumb on the machine at the airport than lick it!
-Dream a dream about what your little ones will be - we in fact dream 1,460 times a year on average
-Placing a call to Antartica to speak with Frosty the Snowman use international dial code +652


Share, laugh, enjoy and have a wonderful weekend playing with your family.


Happy Play Times :-)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Boredom Busters for your Children

As a child I NEVER said "I'm Bored" to do so meant chores as a child that's ICK and hey let's face it not much fun as an adult lol :-)

But short of doing chores what can your children do to beat boredom?

To answer this I searched the Internet for some of the best sites to inspire ideas to help you & your children.

The Happy Housewife

http://thehappyhousewife.com/homeschool/mom-im-bored-activity-cards/ 
Great idea of a boredom buster jar and shares ready to use tags with 85 ideas!!
10/10 for creativity and generosity of information sharing.
A must see

Boredom Busters

http://www.squidoo.com/boredom-busters-keep-kids-busy-when-theyre-bored
A squidoo lens packed with 100 ideas for your children and plenty of links to other sites.
Extremely informative and easy to navigate.

Tip Junkie

http://www.tipjunkie.com/crafts-boredom-busters/
38 Craft and boredom busters for your children the best thing about this is the links with instructions on how to do things such as
- Home made board games
- How to make a library bag (to carry those all important books, I am child hood reading's biggest fan ;-)
- Paper doll quilt
Definitely recommend a good read through on this one.

So there you have it 3 fantastic websites to help you never hear again "I'm bored"

Happy Play Times :-)

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Baby Change Table Games

Dedicating and incorporating time in your day to engage and play with your baby through out is so very important.

One of the ways I love doing this is spending a little time when changing my girls they love the attention and Mum time with big giggles and smiles all round.

So what do we play?

- This little piggy went to market....
- Blowing Raspberries on the belly
- Game of anticipation "Mummy is going to (tickle, kiss) you and use a sing song voice and over exaggerated movements
- Time for peek-a-boo by covering their eyes (not yours!)

So don't see change time as chore time but play time, every interaction is joyous times.

Any ideas from our readers leave a comment for us to learn from.

Happy Play Times :-) 

Friday, June 8, 2012

Friday Fun Facts

Welcome to the first of a weekly series to be featured on a Friday of fun facts to share with your children over the weekend.


Play a game with your child and give them the first part of the fact and then give multiple choices to see if they come to the right conclusion or play a game of true and false. This is a fun way of expanding your child's learning and development.


So here are five fun facts this Friday:-


(1) Orange does not rhyme with any other word - don't believe me try it or better yet get your children to try it!
(2) Apples float because why??? They are made up of 25% air
(3) Elephants have snorkels yep they use their trunk when swimming as an in built snorkel 


(4) Can an elephant jump???
No it's the only mammal that can't 



(5) By the time your little child reaches 30 that beautiful heart will have beaten 36,500,000 times

Happy Play Times :-)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Give your Child the Greatest Gift - A Love of Reading

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." — Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

Book of the Moment - Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

This book by well know children's author and a lady from my home town of Adelaide Mem Fox teaches your children about counting and their body parts.

And at the 3-4 month of age mark their hands and feet are a source of wonderment and play as they work out how they are different and what they use them for.

In this book your children will learn about where children are born from a town, to the hills, in a tent or on ice all babies think this book is pretty nice.

My girls love the sing song rhyming sounds and the interaction I give by playing and wiggling their fingers and toes at the appropriate times.

This children's book fulfills 2 key criteria for me (1) the reading component to build your child's language skills and bonding time for carer and child (2) learning and interacting with multiple senses as they explore and understand through sight, sound and touch.

I am not the only parent who thinks this the book is well respected amongst other parents and receives 40 **5 Star** votes on Amazon.

Happy Play Times :-)




Saturday, June 2, 2012

Children's Crafts

Be it summer in the northern hemisphere and you are looking for something to amuse your children OR the cool of winter in the southern hemisphere and outdoor activities are limited then craft may just be the ticket.


I found this site which has craft ideas for all ages perfect for keeping little minds and hands busy in the hot or cold of times!


Go to http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/crafts-by-age/ to get a little inspiration!


Happy Play Times :-)