Monday, June 15, 2009

Puzzling Fun


What better way is there to connect with your kids and have fun at the same time and also learn than to play games. The games don’t have to be expensive; you can play noughts and crosses with a pencil and paper or Pictionary with a pencil and paper. Kids love to get involved and all that’s required is time and energy. One of the best things we can do for our children is to spend time playing with them not only does it help to cement good relationships with our children but after the initial effort it is fun. Try and take just half an hour or even an hour to play with your children each day and you will help to build their confidence and social skills too.
Puzzles and games are great for stimulating the brain cells from a very young age your children will be able to fit together small puzzles, if you don’t have much cash use cardboard and draw a picture on it then cut it into bits so your child can put the bits back together you could even use shapes, letters or numbers cut up into bits.
There are lots of traditional games out there like Monopoly a great game for older children helping them with mathematical problem solving and how we all have to pay our bills.
Here at Smart Start Toys we have a great selection of puzzles and games many for under a fiver so you don’t need to break the bank in order to get something fun and educational just click here




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Learning through water play.



There is much for your child to learn when playing with water, from an early age you can use water for your child’s development. What could be more fun than splashing around in the bath filling bottles and containers and emptying them over Mum’s lovely new floor, another good reason not to have carpet in the bathroom when kids are around? But seriously bath time can be fun and educational at the same time and it doesn’t require fancy or expensive toys.
Getting your child to fill and empty containers of water helps their mathematical skills learning how many cups it takes to fill 1 container or 2. The great thing is that your child has great fun while they are learning and you can have great fun with them too.
If it’s a nice sunny day why not get all your old pots and pans out in the garden and get your child to race across the garden filling the pots at one end and emptying them into a large container at the other, time how long it takes them or if you have 2 or more kids have them race each other. When they finish ask if any of them can remember how many pots it took to fill the container.
If you are lucky enough to have a paddling pool why not get the kids to time how long it takes to fill you can also teach your children what floats and what doesn’t, explain to them why a boat floats and why a stone sinks to the bottom. Kids are naturally curious and will thoroughly enjoy testing different items to see the results.
If you are looking for some bath fun for older kids take a look at this bath bomb science kit.


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