Puzzles give a child the opportunity to experience and manipulate the world around him/her. This contributes positively towards their brain development. WHY? Because putting puzzles together has a child actively engaged, manipulating his/her world. And the very important next step of that: Seeing what results from their actions. Additionally, when children PLAY they typically develop skills and gain knowledge across more than one domain. As you'll … [Read more...]
The ‘Perfect Toy’: PLAY Comes in Unexpected Ways
You’ve heard about it before—parents going through considerable time, effort and expense to select just that perfect toy. Usually it's the latest and greatest, but , more often than not, their little one seems much more interested in playing with the packaging it came in. How about you? Did your kiddo have more interest and fun ripping wrapping paper off and away than playing with the gift inside? Children don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to PLAY. In fact, I’d go so far as to say all … [Read more...]
Space Travel 50 Years On
I was one of many Americans glued to the TV on July 20th 1969 watching and listening as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon’s surface. His “One small step” sentence summed up the feeling of monumental accomplishment not only for the USA but for the world. Fifty years on (I know how can it already be 50years?!) and space travel is still something humans are drawn to. Since that 1st landing and walking on the moon, astronauts have lived, for extended periods, in Space Stations. NASA seems to … [Read more...]
Book Lovers Day–My Perfect Excuse
Did you know August 9th is Book Lovers Day? They say the 1st step in dealing with any problem is acknowledging there is a problem. Well I have made it known, over and over, I have a weakness for children's books. And especially on this #BookLoversDay I wouldn't think of trying to rein in my obsession! I got to thinking about fun activities families do during the summer and camping came to mind. Why? Because one of the de rigueur duties associated with camping is telling stories around the … [Read more...]
Toddlers with One Track Minds–The 2 Year Old Experts
If you're anything like me you've been amazed at many 2 year old experts and their apparent breadth of knowledge on a topic. A variety of different things might interest young children, toddlers and/or preschoolers. However, their brains are hard-wired to focus on only a few items of interest. This will change later on as their brains continue to develop to allow for a wider range of topics. Besides that physiological reason, fixating on one interest gives children a sense of control. They … [Read more...]