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Play is not only critical to healthy brain development, but it’s also how children learn to engage with and respond to others. It allows them to use their creativity, develop their imagination, and strengthen their critical thinking. In the resources below, you’ll learn about the lasting impact of play-based learning and how you can best support your child’s growth through play.
Sensory play is not just for toddlers! Here are ten ways preschoolers and school-agers can engage their senses:
Try balancing on an exercise ball, skateboard, or balance board
Swing on your stomach like a superhero or jump off a swing while swinging
Mix different spices and oils with water to create your own potion or perfume
Make your own kinetic sand: five to eight cups of flour mixed with one cup vegetable oil
Make your own stress ball by filling a balloon with cornstarch, flour, or beans
Put items in an empty tissue box (e.g. leaf, pinecone, grass), close your eyes, and guess what you feel
Make cloud dough by mixing two cups of corn starch and one cup of baby lotion, then add a couple drops of food coloring
Jump with a jump rope or a Skip-it
Add spices (e.g. tumeric, chilli, cinnamon) to your paint
Go barefoot outside to feel different textures in nature
By adding materials or posing a challenge, building play can provide the perfect opportunity to practice critical thinking and problem skills. Try one of these ways to enhance your child’s learning when building!
Process art is open-ended and does not have steps to follow. It allows children to explore art materials and discover their own way of creating. There is no wrong or right way! Create an art bin with materials! Try adding:
Playdough is a classic way to encourage creativity at home. Children have the opportunity to sculpt, knead, cut, roll, and design. Not to mention, they are developing their small muscles needed for handwriting. Make your playdough at home! Try adding:
Children love to sing and thrive with movement. It is a natural part of early childhood. Dancing and singing together is fun, but it also encourages language skills and mathematical concepts, like patterning. Listen to your favorite songs! Add a few classics:
Young children seek risks and challenges in their play. Risky play requires us to step back and watch our children climb great heights and go at fast speeds. Join us as we share the developmental benefits of risky play and how you can support it at home.
Risky play is play that has perceived elements of risk and helps young children test their limits. It can look like running down a hill, balancing on a ledge, or climbing up a slide. Your child may fall or skin a knee, but they will also learn what their bodies can do!
Allow time for taking risks with great heights, real tools, and fast speeds.
Create space and time in your schedule for independent play to build self-regulation, problem-solving, and creativity.
It is no surprise that screen time is a favorite activity. Try a new app that engages creativity!
Keeping your child engaged and entertained can feel like an endless task. While we all get in a rut sometimes, the work you are doing to foster exploration and play is critical to your child’s growth and well-being. You’ve got this! We’re here to help.
Vibrant colors and easy clean up, here’s our how-to for creating your own DIY Chalk Paint.
Young children eagerly count down the days to summer break! But for adults, it can be stressful filling the time. Discover tips and activities that will keep your child engaged this summer.
Bubbles are an easy and fun way to engage your child’s exploration and creativity. Pop into your child’s learning with these helpful tips!
With hundreds and hundreds of options in the store, and thousands online, choosing toys should be easy, right? Here are a few of our top choices!
