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Made for Play
Explore child development through play, find inspiration for your next DIY project, and discover tips for selecting the perfect toys for your little ones.
Latest Articles
The Importance of Unstructured Playtime for Children's Development
Pre school? Check. Soccer practice? Check. Piano lessons? Check. Ample amounts of unstructured play time? Ummm…Modern parenting is tricky – between academics, activities, apps, we have so many resources to entertain and teach our kids. So many that we sometimes miss out on one of the best teaching tools of childhood: unstructured play. Here’s what it is, why your kids need it, and how you can make it a regular part of your child’s life! Benefits of unstructured playtime So, exactly what is unstructured play, and why is it so important? Quite simply, unstructured play is child-led play time that’s not directed by an adult and doesn't involve screens – and it has some pretty huge benefits for kids’ development! Develops creativity and imagination A bored child is just a few minutes away from becoming a creative child! When kids are given the time and space to entertain themselves, their imagination kicks into gear. From dramatic play to building and crafting to inventing their own games, unstructured play is the secret sauce to unlocking your kiddo’s creativity. Enhances problem-solving and decision-making skills Want to help your child develop problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making? Give them time for free play! Seriously. When they encounter a problem, they rise to the occasion, getting creative with what they find or making something new. All the while, they're learning without even realizing it! Improves social and emotional development When kids get a chance to play together without any adult interference, they figure out how to communicate their ideas, take turns, share, and get along. It’s fine to help young toddlers learn how to introduce themselves or to help diffuse major squabbles, but in general, resist the temptation to hover over every interaction at the playground. Enhances physical development and motor skills Give a kid freedom to play how they want, and what will they do? MOVE. When given the opportunity and the environment, kids run, climb, explore, dig, move heavy objects, etc – no gym coach required. All of that movement helps support them in getting the exercise they need and developing strength and gross motor skills. Reduces stress and anxiety We know – the idea that our pampered little loves are stressed can seem laughable. But the fact is, when kids are overscheduled, over-screened, and don’t get the movement and play time they need, their mental health can suffer as a result. Free play activities help release pent-up emotions, boost mood, and increase self-esteem – especially when those activities involve lots of movement and outdoor time. Kids get a chance to have some control over their day, to shake expectations of doing things “right,” and to revel in the joy of just playing. Obstacles to Unstructured Playtime Implementing more unstructured playtime sounds super easy on paper – as in “Hey, go play and have fun!!” But in reality, modern obstacles can make it pretty difficult to achieve. Screens & Tech Today’s kids are growing up in a world where screens are everywhere, and if we’re not careful, those screens can rob them of play. These devices can be addictive in nature and make it hard for kids to engage in other types of play. Pressure to “Get Ahead” Sometimes, parents are made to feel like the only goal of the preschool years is to learn letters and numbers… or to train up the next big soccer star. Let’s be clear – there’s nothing wrong with encouraging kids in academics and extracurriculars, but a heavy focus on them can leave little time for unstructured play, which may not seem as "productive" or "useful.” If you’re feeling that pressure, just remember that the “soft skills” of childhood – ie. problem solving, emotional regulation, social skills, creativity, etc. – are going to be just as, if not more important to their success as students and adults. Safety Concerns Does unstructured play feel like a recipe for disaster? Remember that unstructured doesn’t necessarily mean unsupervised. You can and should still keep a watchful eye in public settings while letting kids take age-appropriate risks. Plus, a kid-friendly backyard and a child-proofed home go a long way to giving kids the freedom to explore without compromising safety. Packed Schedules Finally, there's the issue of time. Between work, household chores, and other responsibilities, it can feel like screens or scheduled activities are the only way to make it all happen. But unstructured playtime can be our best friend here! It’s a developmentally-friendly way for kids to spend their time while giving us a minute to load the dishwasher or pay the bills. Normalizing unstructured play in your home may take some time at first, but we promise, in the long run, it’s worth it for both you and your kids! How to Encourage Unstructured Playtime Fostering unstructured play is all about creating time and spaces that encourage creativity, exploration, and imagination. Here are some practical tips for making that happen: Craft a safe and stimulating environment: First off, let’s all take a breath and remember it’s okay to let kids be messy, loud, and a little bit wild sometimes. Outdoor time is perfect for this! Indoors, we can also provide them with open-ended toys like play kitchens, dollhouses, and other pretend play props – but remember, it's up to them to decide how to use them. Allow free time Sounds simple, but we know how easy it is to fall into all the sports, camps, and lessons. Guard against the pressure to fill every moment of their day with structured activities. Unstructured time is just as valuable! For some kids, it may be helpful to create a daily rhythm so they know when to expect free play time each day. Limit screen time If screens are your child’s go-to fix for boredom, adjusting to free play can be tough at first, but stick with it! If you feel like you need some help reducing screen time, we recommend checking out the American Academy of Pediatrics Family Media Plan Tool. It walks you through the process of identifying your goals and creating a media plan that works for your family! Encourage outdoor play Outdoor play is critical for kids’ physical and emotional wellbeing, and it provides endless opportunities for unstructured play. Whether it's on your backyard playset, at a local park, or on a nature walk, try to make time for it every day. Be patient and allow for boredom Unstructured play doesn’t always come easily. You can still count on hearing “I’m bored!” every now and then, especially from kids who are just getting used to independent free play. Encourage your child to persevere through boredom and frustration, modeling ideas for activities and, above all, keeping a positive attitude. Remember, this time is meant to be fun – harsh reprimands will only work against you in the end. Model unstructured play And lastly, let's not forget to have fun ourselves! Get down on the floor and build a fort. Run around the backyard. Make a mess in the mud kitchen. Even with play, kids learn by example. It may sound counterintuitive, but playing with your child will make it easier for them to engage in those activities without your help later. Plus, kids need a balance of independent play and warm interaction with adult caregivers. When you fill up their love-and-attention tanks by spending time together, they feel more emotionally secure and able to spend time on their own.So, there you have it – the challenges and joys of unstructured playtime. Let's embrace the chaos and creativity and let the kids be kids! Who knows what kind of magic they'll create when they're left to their own devices?
How Activity Tables Support Child Development
Let’s gather round the table – the activity able that is– for a chat about how these fun furniture pieces can support your child’s development. What are activity tables? First off, let’s cover what we mean by “activity table.” While the term is sometimes applied to bouncer-style toys meant for babies, that’s not what we’re talking about here. Our definition is a little more straightforward…as in a kid-sized table meant for activities. Simple enough, right? Usually, those tables will be meant for one of three activities: building bricks (such as LEGOs or similar plastic bricks), train sets, or arts & crafts. Plus, some tables offer a reversible table top, making them suitable for multiple activities. So without further ado, let’s dive into just how these tables can support your littles as they learn and grow! Improving fine motor skills Playing with building bricks and toy train tracks and utilizing arts and crafts supplies requires the use of fine motor skills, such as grasping, pinching, and manipulating small objects. Building a LEGO masterpiece, managing a pair of safety scissors, or adjusting the loops on a train track help build hand-eye coordination dexterity. Developing spatial awareness Spatial awareness is one of those developmental skills that’s not talked about a ton, but is super important for proprioception (awareness of our body in space) and even academic skills like learning to read and write from left to right. One of the best ways to build spatial awareness in young toddlers? Block play! Building with blocks or building bricks requires kids to visualize and manipulate 3D objects in their mind, which can help develop their spatial awareness and understanding of spatial relationships. Similarly, playing with train sets requires children to understand spatial relationships, such as how the train tracks fit together. Enhancing creativity and problem-solving skills LEGO bricks and train tracks offer kids endless opportunities to create their own designs and track configurations, and crafting lets kids get creative with a wide variety of different materials. And when those designs and ideas need adjusting? Kids get a chance to flex their problem-solving skills – a huge part of cognitive development – as they figure out how to re-build or troubleshoot their project. Encouraging persistence and resilience When those problem-solving skills come into play, your child’s persistence will too! And sure, persisting through a frustrating challenge can be super tough for a toddler. But letting them face these challenges is critical for building the grit and resilience they’ll need as they grow! So when the train track or brick tower doesn't work out as planned, it’s an opportunity to help your child develop a growth mindset, letting them realize that practice and persistence leads to improvement! Fostering social skills One of the best parts about activity tables is that they let kids engage in their favorite activities with a friend! The tables have that cool-factor that makes them a hit at every play date, and they’re spacious enough to let several kids join in on the project at once. Of course, you’ll probably spend a fair amount of time around the table as well, building, collaborating, and creating with your child. The takeaways… Overall, activities like train sets, building bricks and crafts offer a fun and engaging way to develop a range of cognitive and fine motor skills. And while you don’t necessarily need an activity table to do these activities, having one is a great way to encourage your child to engage in those activities regularly, providing a dedicated space that draws them in and lets them focus. Whether your kiddo is into building, crafting, or playing with train sets, you can find the perfect activity table for them here!
What is Montessori?
Maybe you’ve driven by a preschool with “Montessori” proudly displayed on the sign. Or maybe aesthetic pictures of low, open shelves with simple wooden toys have started to fill your Instagram feed. Or maybe your mom friends are throwing around terms like “sandpaper letters” and “maximum effort.” However you first come across the Montessori method, it can feel equal parts overwhelming and confusing and enticing and attractive. We’re here to help make sense of the basics of Montessori, so you can get your bearings and decide which parts of the Montessori method might be right for your family. Who was Maria Montessori? Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator who lived in the late 19th and early 20th century. After graduating medical school, she became intensely interested in education and pedagogy. She opened her first school for underprivileged children in the impoverished areas of Rome in 1907. The results were astounding – the children learned, progressed, and thrived. It wasn’t long before her method of education drew attention, and Montessori schools began opening across Western Europe and the U.S. within just a few years. The absorbent mind Montessori believed that children under 6 have an “absorbent mind,” learning and soaking in information effortlessly. During this stage, children develop language, are driven to explore, and learn from the environment around them. Her method takes advantage of this stage by presenting those “absorbent minds” with opportunities to direct their own learning. The prepared environment An absorbent mind + a prepared environment = child-led learning as kids explore the work available to them in their environment. Montessori classrooms are filled with “Montessori materials,” different manipulatives that lead children to solve puzzles, increase problem-solving skills, develop fine-motor skills, and learn academic subjects like math, reading, geography, and more. Some popular Montessori-inspired materials for babies and young toddlers include: object permanent boxes where children drop a coin into a slot and eventually learn to retrieve it by opening a drawer ball droppers where children drop small wooden balls into a toy and watch it slide down levels of ramps, teaching them cause and effect the wooden egg-in-a-cup or peg-in-a-cup puzzle for babies simple puzzles with one to three shapes sorting and stacking toys For older, school age and preschool age children materials might include: sandpaper letters for teaching the alphabet through sensory experience a “moveable alphabet” of wooden letters for early practice in spelling and forming words puzzles of the continents or countries manipulatives for teaching counting and other math concepts tracing boards or sand trays to trace letters You’ll also find plenty of “practical life” materials in a Montessori classroom such as child-size cleaning supplies, child-size water pitcher and cups, or low sinks to enable independent hand-washing. Maria Montessori believed that children have an innate appreciation for beauty that should be cultivated and that learning happens best in organized, clutter-free environments. Therefore, Montessori classrooms are usually organized and aesthetic. The toys and materials themselves are usually wooden, beautiful, high-quality and are presented to the children on low, open shelving. The strikingly simple-yet-beautiful aesthetic of Montessori classrooms and homes make for eye-catching social media posts and is likely at least part of the reason Montessori has had a resurgence in popularity recently. The prepared adult Montessori teachers, known as “guides,” are trained in specific methods that allow children to lead their own learning. They are taught to observe the children closely to understand their interests and abilities. They present lessons to the children individually or in small groups when the child shows an interest in a particular subject or material. Above all, they begin from a place of deep respect for the child and their innate ability to learn. Freedom of choice As we’ve already mentioned, children direct their own learning in a Montessori classroom and can choose which materials they want to work with. By letting children explore their own interests, the Montessori method aims to inspire a true love of learning instead of rote memorization for a test. But don’t think that “freedom of choice” means “license to go crazy” – Montessori classrooms and homes still have limits and expectations, and in general, they cultivate a calm environment that lets children focus and explore. Independence One of Maria Montessori’s most quoted lines is “Never help a child with a task at which he believes he can succeed.” Montessori was all about teaching young children to be as independent as possible, and from a surprisingly young age, children in a Montessori environment learn to get dressed, practice personal hygiene, prepare food, and care for the home and the classroom. One way Montessori environments foster this independence is by offering child-sized furniture and tools. In a typical Montessori classroom, you’ll see a wide array of pint-sized objects, including tiny tables, chairs, cleaning supplies, water pitchers, and more. Learning from peers Montessori classrooms have mixed ages, allowing younger kids to learn from the older kids and the older kids to learn as they teach the younger. Typically, classes are divided into 3-6 year olds, 6-9 year olds, and 9-12 year olds. What about Montessori for parents? Now that you’ve got an idea of what a Montessori school is like, you might be wondering, “Why are so many parents crazy about Montessori too?” Because the Montessori method is meant to help the whole child flourish (as opposed to simply teaching them academic subjects), many aspects of Montessori transfer to home life as well. In fact, Maria Montessori wrote pretty extensively about the ideal environment for a child at home, even down to the type of bed a baby sleeps in. (Spoiler: it’s a floor bed… to foster freedom of movement and independence, of course.)So when a parent says that they are a “Montessori” family, they could mean that they are homeschooling their children and using Montessori materials and methodologies. But they could also mean that they are parenting with Montessori philosophies in mind. They might set up their home with child-sized furniture, provide Montessori-inspired toys, and encourage independence in self-care and practical life activities. For a deeper dive into how parents can implement Montessori, we recommend the “Montessori at Home” Youtube series from Montessori parent and educator Ashley Yeh. Further Resources Feeling inspired to dive into all things Montessori? The amount of resources available online can be overwhelming, so we’ve compiled a few below that are all great places to start. All are written or created by long-time trained Montessori guides and parents. Youtube channels: Hapa Family, Ashley Yeh Books The Montessori Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Nurturing Your Baby with Love, Respect, and Understanding, Simone Davies and Junnifa UzodikeThe Montessori Toddler: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being, Simone DaviesHow to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way, Tim Seldin Blogs The Kavanaugh Report, Nicole KavanaughGuide & Grow, Sylvia Arotin Podcasts: The Montessori Notebook, Simone DaviesShelf Help, Nicole Kavanaugh and Amy Dorsch
How Wooden Blocks Promote Child Development
Sometimes, it’s the simple things that make the biggest impact – and that’s definitely true when it comes to classic toys like wooden blocks. Blocks are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (and nearly every other similar organization) as a great toy to promote healthy child development. But how do these simple toys do so much? Here are a few of the ways blocks help kids develop and thrive! Sensory Play When we think sensory play, bins of colorful rice and squishy sensory bags are probably the first things to come to mind. But for babies, sensory play can be even simpler. After all, nearly everything is new to them, so any new material, texture, temperature, or sound truly fascinates them! While infants may not be stacking blocks just yet, they are learning and playing as they explore blocks’ differing textures, shapes, and weights. They also make great auditory sensory play objects as babies tap, bang, and clap them together. Fine Motor Skills One of the most well-known benefits of blocks are the fine motor skills that are developed as toddlers learn to stack and balance blocks. In addition to developing careful grips and lining blocks up on top of one another, they also get practice with the pressure and speed they use to add new blocks to the tower. Too hard or fast, and they’ll cause the others to tumble! These fine motor skills are the same that will eventually allow them to set a cup down gently on the table without spilling or learn to gently pet the family dog. Cognitive Development A child’s ability to stack blocks always shows up on lists of cognitive developmental milestones. Why? Learning to stack and build encourages problem-solving skills. As toddlers rebuild towers over and over, they begin to learn what makes them crash and what makes them more stable. By age 2, experts expect children to be able to stack 4 or more blocks and 6 or more by age 3. Mastering these simple towers means they’ve likely developed many of the fine motor and problem-solving skills expected for their age. Open-ended Pretend Play Symbolic play is another developmental milestone that often emerges between 18 months and 2 years of age when toddlers begin to use one object to represent another. A common example is pretending that a toy block is a car. While any type of object can be used in symbolic play, open-ended toys like blocks are great for encouraging pretend play. Because they are simple, children are often more willing to use them to represent other objects. Positive Parent-Child Interactions According to the AAP, “A toy’s most important attribute is its capacity to bring the parent or caregiver and the child together in playful interactions that are warm and full of rich language.” Blocks are a great toy for fostering these interactions, so take advantage of opportunities to play and chat together as your toddler pours out the blocks. You can talk about the colors and shapes, about how to make that wobbly tower a little more steady, or about the castle you're building together. A Toy that Grows with Them Some toys have a longer lifespan than others – while rattles and crinkle books may be baby favorites, they won’t hold toddlers’ and preschoolers’ attention. Blocks, on the other hand, can stay in the toy rotation for years as they always present new challenges! Babies love them for sensory exploration. Toddlers are drawn to the fine motor and cognitive challenge of stacking blocks. And preschoolers begin to create more complex structures and use them in pretend play. So whether you have a babbling 6-month old or a precocious 3-year old, if you ask us, a set of blocks is a must have! Our 60-piece wooden block sets are a great place to start, providing a variety of shapes to let your little one explore, experiment, and create!
Benefits of Sensory Play
If you’re a toddler or preschool parent, you’ve probably seen the #sensoryplay tag on your feed at least a few times… usually accompanied by a bin of dyed rice and small toys. And while cute, themed sensory bins may be a fad, sensory play certainly isn’t! It’s a critical part of early childhood with huge development benefits, and it goes far beyond sensory bins. Here’s what you should know about sensory play and why it matters! What is Sensory Play? As you could probably guess, sensory play is play that engages the senses. Of course, that includes the big five – sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell – but it also includes our sense of balance and location (more on that later). Many sensory play activities focus on touch, encouraging kids to explore different materials and textures through good ol’ messy play (i.e. sensory bins, play foam, slime, etc.). But anything that engages the senses and your child’s attention and focus can count as sensory play. So when your toddler helps you cook and comments on the smells and sounds of food in the pan, they’re getting a great sensory play session too! Playing with scented bubbles in the bathtub, shaking maracas, and having fun taste testing new foods are all examples of sensory play too. Sensory Play for the Proprioceptive and Vestibular System Sensory play extends even beyond the five senses to our less commonly-known senses: proprioception and equilibrioception. Our proprioceptive system is responsible for our sense of place in a given space. It’s how we can feel where we are in relation to other things, even when our eyes are closed. Our vestibular system is responsible for our equilibrioception, or sense of balance. Activities that engage these systems like swinging, balancing, climbing, spinning, and walking backwards can all be considered sensory play as well! Why is Sensory Play Important? Supports Cognitive Development Sensory play actually helps develop the neural pathways (i.e. nerve connections) in babies and toddlers’ brains! The rich sensory inputs and problem-solving challenges that come with sensory play help support healthy cognitive development, laying the foundation for future learning. Our collection of cognitive play toys encourages this development. Refines Motor Skills Many sensory play opportunities also include fine or gross motor practice. Things like pouring items in a sensory bin or rolling out playdough build fine motor skills, while activities swinging and balancing refine their gross motor skills. Encourages Exploration and Curiosity By providing rich sensory experiences for your toddler, you help them discover the world around them. When they get a chance to explore new sensory experiences, their curiosity and natural drive to experiment and problem solve are sure to take over. Enhances Learning and Memory Kids, and adults for that matter, learn more effectively when multiple senses are engaged. This is why so many preschool and elementary teachers try to combine sensory play with learning activities. Activities like tracing letters in shaving cream or using hand motions and songs to learn new concepts are just a few examples of how sensory play can make academic learning easier and more fun for kids. Feeling inspired to incorporate more sensory play into your toddlers’ life? Check out our Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers to get started!
Sensory Play Activities for Toddlers
No time to dye rice and make fancy sensory bins? No problem. While Instaworthy sensory bins with elaborate themes might be all the rage on social media, there are so many other ways to provide your toddler with sensory play opportunities. In fact, our favorite sensory play ideas require very little prep! Here are some simple, fun sensory activities for toddlers that come together in five minutes or less! Food! If your eighteen-month-old seems more interested in smushing sweet potatoes than eating them, don’t worry. That time in the high chair actually counts as sensory play! For one thing, meal times let your toddler safely explore new tastes, something that’s tough to do with most play materials. But it’s more than just taste! The smell, temperature, texture, and even sounds of all their favorite (and not-so-favorite) foods provide rich sensory experiences that help their growing brains…even if nothing actually ends up in their stomachs. Play Dough Play dough is a great way to combine sensory play with constructive and creative play, allowing your toddler to squish, feel, and mush as they create and build. Crafts Between squishy fingerpaint, sticky glue, fuzzy pipe cleaners, and more, craft materials provide a wide variety of sensory experiences – not to mention plenty of fine motor practice too! Keep a variety of materials on hand and create a mess-friendly craft space. Easels or dedicated craft tables can help keep the mess contained while still giving them a space to explore! Sound Shakers & Musical Instruments Old spice jars and other small containers make great shakers for little hands! Add different materials like dried rice, beans, marbles, or craft supplies so your toddler can explore the different sounds each object makes. To avoid messes and choking hazards, be sure the lids are on securely and hot glue them closed if necessary!When your toddler gets bored with homemade sound shakers, you can graduate to musical instrument toys for more advanced sound play! Chickpea Playfoam Did you know that the liquid from a can of chickpeas can be whipped into a foam that’s perfect for sensory play? Next time you crack open a can, save the liquid, add food coloring if desired, and let your toddler help you whip it with your electric mixer. In a few minutes, you’ll have a taste-safe foam for squishing, splashing, and playing. Sandboxes We like to think of sandboxes as the original sensory bin! And unlike a plastic bin of colored rice in your kitchen, they keep the mess outside! They’re also more versatile as your toddler can dig, bury, and build with sand in ways they can’t with an indoor sensory bin. Consider adding a sandbox and a few gardening tools to your backyard play setup, so that you have a zero-prep sensory bin ready to go at all times! Ice Play Set out a few bowls with water of varying temperatures (none too hot, of course!), a bowl of ice cubes, and a few kitchen tools like spoons, measuring cups, and tongs. The slippery ice and stark differences in temperature provide tons of fun sensory input. Plus, your toddler will love transferring ice with the different tools, and you’ll love the fine motor practice they get along the way! For a simpler version, simply provide a bowl of ice at their next bath! They can play with a few at a time so the cubes don’t all melt at once. Balance, Climbing, & Swinging While we usually think of sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell when we think of sensory play, play that develops your child’s vestibular system actually counts as sensory play as well! The vestibular system is responsible for our sense of our bodies in space. It’s how we keep our balance and sense where we are even when our eyes are closed. Balance beams, swings, and climbing materials are all great for vestibular development! For equipment-free activities, play games where you and your toddler spin around, balance on one foot, or find an object while blind-folded.Looking for simple toys to support sensory play and other types of developmental play? Check out our new Shop-by-Skill section where you can filter for toys by active play, cognitive play, imaginative and creative play, and social play!
How to Support STEM Through Play
Setting our kids up to love learning starts with play – and the STEM subjects are no exception! Even in the toddler years, play helps lay the foundation for early STEM skills and sparks interest in STEM subjects. What Is STEM? STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM in early education often focuses on laying strong foundations in math and science. That part feels pretty self-explanatory to most of us since science and math are basic elementary school subjects that we took as kids too. But the “technology and engineering” part gets a little more confusing to many of us. Those subjects can feel very advanced and foreign to us, leaving us wondering if our preschool kids need to be working with robot kits or building model bridges to get a full STEM education.In reality, toddler and preschoolers get the technology/ engineering component of STEM anytime they’re flexing their creativity and problem-solving muscles. So while those advanced building kits are great for older kids, for toddlers and preschoolers technology/ engineering activities look more like building with bricks or constructing toy train tracks. Toddler STEM Activities and Toys From messy science experiments to block tower masterpieces, these activities support STEM skills, but to your kiddos, they just feel like play! Ramps Playing with ramps is a great way to introduce early physics concepts and experimentation to your kiddos. This can be as simple as propping a cardboard box up against your couch. Roll different balls and other objects down it and encourage your toddler to experiment. Race objects to see which are the fastest, which go the farthest, and what happens when you adjust the incline of the ramp! Magic Milk Magic milk is a classic toddler science activity. They love the swirling colors, and you can introduce some early science concepts as you explain how the soap and fat molecules interact! All you need is need whole milk, dish soap, and some food coloring. Get the details on the science here! Nature Play Getting kids in the great outdoors is a great way to spark an interest in science. You can start conversations and get first-hand experience on so many science-related subjects like the weather, ecosystems, animals, plants, seasons, and more! Get outside, observe what your child is interested in, and explore it together! You can enhance their learning with simple activities like these: Leaf rubbings - Help your child notice the vascular system of leafs and explain what leafs do for plants! Bird/ animal watching - Learn about the different species in your areas and observe and explain behaviors like foraging, nest building, defending territory, etc. Nature scavenger hunts - Help them slow down and notice the little things as you search for items around the park like pine cones, an ant hill, clovers, flowers, etc. This is great for introducing a ton of science-related vocabulary! Fizzy Paint Fizzy paint combines art, sensory play, and science into one fun, kid-approved activity! It lasts a bit longer than your typical baking-soda-and-vinegar activity since the kids interact with the materials more. And as they paint, they’ll also be learning about chemical reactions! Counting Frames Counting frames, also called five frames or ten frames, are a great way to help toddlers understand the concept of numbers rather than just memorizing the order of numbers. Simply make a grid of five to ten squares with painters tape on the floor and gather up a few items to count! Check out the Busy Toddler for ideas to make your counting frames fun! Building Toys Building toys like blocks, train sets, and magnetic tiles are great for fine motor skills, problem solving, and creative thinking! They’re the perfect toddler toy for the “engineering” side of stem! If your toddler is getting bored with plain wooden blocks, they might be ready for more interactive or challenges building materials. Our wooden train sets and building brick activity tables can help make building one of your toddler’s favorite ways to play, making it easy for you to incorporate STEM into their daily lives!
What Is Cognitive Play?
Parenting a preschooler can feel like a crash course in childhood development…(in a good way!) You might vaguely remember learning about cognitive development and play in that Psych 101 class you took in college, but now you’re seeing it in action! Your kiddo has grown from a cooing baby to a talking toddler figuring out the world. If you’ve ever wondered what you can do to help support that rapid cognitive development, the answer is simply to help them engage in meaningful play! What Is Cognitive Development? Before we dive into the types of play that support cognitive development, it’s helpful to have a basic definition of cognitive development. In the simplest terms, cognitive development is the growth of kids’ ability to think. This encompasses their problem solving skills, their ability to use reason and logic, their ability to engage in abstract thinking. What Is Cognitive Play? The Role of Play in Cognitive Development Almost any type of child-led play can help kids’ cognitive development in some way, but when you see the term “cognitive play'', it’s likely referring to types of play that are particularly good at building kids’ problem-solving and thinking skills. Some classic examples include puzzles, building with blocks or other construction toys, and memory games.Problem-solving play can also include anything that is challenging for your toddler like dressing and undressing their dolls or figuring out how to fit all of their toys into their wagon. These activities help toddlers learn to analyze challenges and persist through trial and error. (For more ideas, see our 7 Problem-Solving Activities for Toddlers!)Language is another critical part of kids’ cognitive development. After all, we think through words, especially when we’re trying to think about more abstract concepts. A rich understanding of their language equips kids to tackle these challenges later in life! Playing, speaking, and reading with adults helps kids grow their vocabularies and intuitively understand sentence structure. It’s also important to remember that kids play in ways that may not seem like play to us, and these activities are also beneficial for cognitive development. Just as young babies can’t help but practice standing and crawling, toddler and preschoolers can’t help but practice their growing cognitive skills. When they suddenly fixate on sorting their toys by color or lining up all of their animal figurines from biggest to smallest, they’re building pre-math skills. When they’re determined to impossibly fit all of their books into their backpack, they’re building spatial reasoning. And when they simply stare at the pictures in their books, they’re often trying to retell the story to themselves, building their memory, focus, and future reading comprehension skills.In short, anytime toddlers and preschoolers truly focus on any task, it likely feels like play to them, and there is probably some form of cognitive benefit! Want more details? Check out our post on How Play Supports Cognitive Development to get brain-boosting play ideas and learn the different cognitive skills kids develop through play! Lastly, explore our entire collection of cognitive play toys perfect for cognitive development.
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