Teaching Numbers, Shapes & Colors

It is such a fun role as a parent to teach our children all about the exciting world of numbers, shapes and colors.

I love teaching Annabelle & Scarlett new things and seeing the excitement and enjoyment they get as they grasp something or learn something new.

And one of the tools I use to show them about numbers, shapes and colors is the learning train on YouTube which reinforces the everyday learning we do such as counting the light poles on our walks, naming colors of the clothes as I fold the washing or reading the Sesame Street shapes book.

I have embedded the numbers, shapes and colors video below for you to review and show your youngster if you choose as part of their learning.

Happy Play Times :-)

NUMBERS TRAIN

SHAPES TRAIN

COLORS TRAIN

Doctor, Doctor - Childhood Imaginary Play

Cough, Cough goes Annabelle & Scarlett as we jokingly say to them 'oh that's a terrible cough do you need to see Dr Wong' who is our family pediatrician they giggle and tell me yes - I swear these children love the doctor :-)

But one of the reasons why is from the age of one onwards our doctor said to buy them a doctors kit and doctor dress up. The reason for this is it made them more positive about seeing the doctor because it becomes a normal part of their play which in turn is also great for setting up the imaginary play skills children need to develop.

And then just this recent weekend I saw a little boy at the playground who was 4 wearing a full doctors scrub outfit trying to play doctor with all the kids around and proudly declared to me he WOULD BE a doctor when he got big :-) 

Playing doctors, policeman, fireman etc... really is wonderful for little ones as it is something they see in their everyday life and can relate to and it is also important to remember it is never to early to encourage this type of play and to make tools accessible to them to get lost in another role and world.

What are your thoughts? What do your little ones love imagining they are and at what ages? 

Happy Play Times :-)

Weekend Watching - How To Make a Paper Plate Fish

This weekend's watching clip is a fun simple craft project for your youngster to make their own fish.

And as I am learning fish are a great favorite of toddlers!

If your children are old enough let them practice with kid safe scissors (a skill from the kindergarten readiness list we posted about earlier in the week) for the mouth and then let their creativity run wild making the scales. 

We have everything in the house needed to do this so I for one am going to try this out during the week with the girls.

Happy Play Times :-)

Friday Fun Facts - Polar Bears

This week's Friday Fun Facts is inspired by our recent visit to the Singapore Zoo. 

It is the first zoo trip we have made where the girls were really old enough to enjoy it and pick out familiar animals from books.

One of their favorite animals and displays was the new frozen tundra where they watched a polar bear show and frolicked in a real Igloo!

So this week we want to explore the interesting and fun fact filled world of the polar bear!

• So a polar bear is white right? Actually no they appear white but have translucent skin that when light is reflected off it gives the appearance of white.
• And that so called transparent coat is kept meticulously clean with 15-20 minutes post meals a polar bear will clean itself.
• A male polar bear weighs between 775 to 1200 pounds (351 to 544kg)
• A female polar bear weighs between 330 to 650 pounds (50 to 295kg)
• The polar bear has no natural prey only humans.
• Polar bears are found in Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Norway's Svalbard archipelago.
• Polar Bears are determined they are only successful in 2% of their hunting efforts

We hope you learnt something new like we did through this week's fun facts and we wish you all a lovely weekend.

Happy Play Times :-)

Learning New Words

A quick post today about toddlers and pre schooler's learning new words.

And it is to have a copy of books such as 'My First 100 Words' or a 'Big Book of First Words' truly they are a must in any home of toddlers and pre schoolers.

We use this version and it is a well loved, favorite activity for the girls to go through - if we ask them for a book they drag this out currently nine times out of ten.

Children love to pick out familiar pictures, name objects and pointing out objects they don't know for you to name so they can learn new words all important components of developing speech and learning to read.

Does your house have a similar book? Did your little ones benefit from them?

Happy Play Times :-)

Similar One Hundred Word Books From Amazon That Your Little One May Love

Free Style Drawing with some Learning Included for Pre Schooler's

My children love to draw it is actually something that at just 21 months of age they will participate in for almost 30 minutes amazing!

And pre schoolers need to draw to hone their fine motor skills and eventually as a form of communication through drawing pictures to tell a story as was listed in our previous post about kindergarten readiness.

So getting your children into drawing is great pre school development and it is important to give little ones ample opportunity to get scribbling.

Here is a creation by my girls during our freestyle drawing and Mummy's efforts as they near the end of it where I get involved and we have some additional fun learning by showing them things such as their name, letters of the alphabet, the first letter of the crayon colors and shapes.

I like to use large sheets of butchers paper I pick them up at a local stationary store and get 5 large pieces for 50 cents my favorite crayons are the washable easy grip my first Crayola set.

We encourage you to let your young ones have several opportunities a week to get lost in the world of drawing it is great for them and great for you to share this together.

Happy Play Times :-)

What Your Pre Schooler Needs to Know before Starting Kindergarten

I read an interesting article over at I Can Teach My Child on "71 Things My Child Needs to Know Before Kindergarten"

They broad key areas for development are based around:-

• Personal & Social Development
• Language & Literacy
• Mathematical Thinking
• Physical Development
• The Arts

As a parent of toddlers soon pre school age children the list seemed somewhat comprehensive. And whilst we have a couple of years to go it made me think about how we can play with fun and purpose to help prepare our children for this milestone while they are pre school age.

I thought it would be great to develop a series around activities that are fun, develop a love of play and learning in your pre schooler that will benefit these key development milestones.

We have even begun to map out the start of a book of play ideas for pre schoolers so stay tuned for that in the future.

Keep your eyes posted Monday when we launch our first in the pre schooler play series.

Happy Play Times :-)