Category Archives: way to play

let him create his own outfit with washable colors

Posted on June 18, 2014 | 2 comments

My son is my inspiration! he gives me ideas for the fun games we do together! He is a little artist, in love with colors! Give him a pen and he will draw everywhere except on the paper 🙂

Washable colors are a perfect invention! Let your child enjoy his free drawing and design his own outfit!

When i handed him the colors without a paper, he felt something different this time, he was surprised. I am sure he thought: Mamma went nuts! He didn’t hear me saying “be careful not to draw on your cloth or the wall or… or…

All i had to do is a single dot on this tshirt to make him go crazy!

The space was all his, for a totally free drawing everywhere! Really everywhere! He was beyond happy, expressing his joy with colors.

It’s very important to give your child from time to time a free messy play with no restrictions or rules! Of course a safe one! Messy play is designed with children’s natural curiosity in mind. It unleashes their creativity, builds self-confidence and self-esteem. They develop concentration, problem-solving and planning. Nady was so proud of himself, and i was proud to see him leading the game! he is the boss and I was just talking to him to help boost his language skills and teach him colors!

Love his creation tshirt! he also drew on the shorts to match 🙂

He was really happy and it made me happy as well. I wrote happy on his tshirt.

It’s a brilliant idea, practical, safe and guilt free. Just put it in the washing machine and it will be ready for another piece of art the next day!

Just be happy!

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Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, design, marmite et ponpon, motor activity, painting, washable colors, way to play

straws sculpture – fine motor activity

Posted on May 26, 2014 | 2 comments

This Fun play was totally inspired by my son. Since he was a baby he shows interest in straws, he likes to pull it out of my drink, then put it back. Every time we are in a restaurant we order extra straws for him to play so i can save my drink 🙂

To encourage his interest and his motor skills, i got a bunch of colored straws (to add more fun to the play) to play with.

He got so excited when he saw the quantity!

But this time we are not inserting the straws in a cup, we are poking them in a homemade playdough. Click here for the safe homemade playdough recipe that i posted earlier.

He started by sticking the straws one by one. The sculpture started to shape out.

He had a good time building and rebuilding the sculptures. Every time i think it’s over, he removes the straws and starts again!

Constructive play begins in middle to late toddlerhood, when the child becomes motivated to combine and arrange objects to construct something new. At this age there is no rules for the play, you can show your kid how to play, but he always has his own way. Conventional toys are very interesting, but kids like to use items in the house to discover the environment around them. You see kids playing with tupperwares, lids, spoons… Sometimes simple things at home can be instructive and entertaining. With these simple straws we played for more than an hour and he was extremely happy and entertained!

And here is Nady’s beautiful straws sculpture. Isn’t it beautiful?

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Tagged blog, DIY, jaymmy, kids, marmite et ponpon, motor skills, playdough, straws, toddlers activity, way to play

Water balloons sensory play – bath time fun!

Posted on May 13, 2014 | 4 comments

Next in the sensory play series was the limitless possibilities of water play!

Toddlers love water, not only because of the familiarity of their womb environment, but also because it’s one of the most exciting thing to explore!

Giggle, spray, sprinkle, laugh excitedly, drip, pour, funnel tickle, drizzle… and the most fun one is SPLASH! Think of how rich and delightful water is as a play.

Who doesn’t remember water balloons from childhood? I filled about 20 balloons with water and placed them in the tub to extend the bath time fun.

Nady got so excited, he jumped on the balloons, wanted to grab them all at once, squeezing them, twisting them into other shapes and slipping them through his hands.

Water play, fosters learning in all developmental areas. It encourages the development of eye – hand coordination through squeezing, pouring or stirring.

Water play relieves tension by encouraging children to release their emotions. Nady was enjoying expanding the balloons. I tied the balloon to the tap and he was pulling until it splashes. You can hear a lot of giggles!

Water play is such a meaningful experience to introduce new words to describe the situation such as heavy, pull, splash… for instance.

Sprinkling was hilarious! I was enjoying the play as much as Nady. I loved his reaction!

Water play widens the sensory experience as kids put their hands in different textures and temperatures. Running water was like magic for him, he wanted to catch it, he stayed for a long time trying…

You can’t imagine how open – ended is this activity and how it provides opportunities for extended learning. After we burst all the balloons and wanted to end this play, i needed a transitional game to take him out of the water. I thought his stacking cups could help and he found a way to stay in the game. he started filling the cups with the burst balloons and pouring them from one to the other.

It was so hard to end the play! We really enjoyed it and looking forward for the next time with even more equipments 🙂

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Tagged balloons, bath, bathtime fun, blog, fun, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, sensory play, water, water balloons, water play, water sensory play, way to play

Homemade colored sand – fine motor skills and messy sensory fun

Posted on May 5, 2014 | 1 comment

Homemade sand for hot days (or rainy, but it’s not the case in doha), when it’s not convenient to play outdoor.

Very easy and low-budget activity. All you need is cracked wheat and colors ( i always recommend wilton icing gel). One kilo bag of cracked wheat needs one tsp of the coloring gel. Mix well until the color is even and let it dry.

To kick off the fun, I put them in a container and hide the small animals for Nady to dig in.

Children have always been intrigued by sand play. They dig in, pour it, enjoy the feeling, pretend with it and explore how it moves.

Sand play is open-ended, there is no right way to play with, it stretches the imagination of the kid, provides a soothing sensory experience and it’s an excellent avenue for children to learn physical, cognitive and social skills.

Children are not born with a know how to play, parents should teach them! that’s why at the beginning children just observe before starting to explore.

What does this feel like when I touch it? What does this sound like when I squeeze it? What will happen if I push this or pull that? Crawl over there? Pull myself up on this?

Get down on the floor with your child. You are the ultimate plaything, and any activity will seem more fun if your child can share it with you. Talk to him while you play and you’ll help boost his language skills. Let your child choose how to play, you can suggest new things or present new options, but he should be the boss.

Now it’s time for messy play! It’s an important part of early education:

Physical development: Children will be given the tools to develop and practice fine motor skills and eye hand coordination, such as pouring and spooning and will provide opportunities for children to compare textures such as smooth, rough, hard and soft.

Communication and language development: During messy play, children will be given many opportunities to speak and listen.

Personal, emotional and social development: Messy Play is designed with children’s natural curiosity in mind. It encourages a positive approach to new experiences. There is no “right” way for children to do messy play. This builds self-confidence and self-esteem. They develop concentration, problem-solving and planning.

Intellectual development: Children will investigate, explore, design and create leading to a better understanding of the world around them. They will learn to group and classify, arrange items in a logical order, identify and match and understand cause and effect.

Mathematical development: The children will sort objects, fill containers and create patterns.

Creative development: Children are given endless opportunities with a variety of materials to build imagination and creativity. Through sensory experiences, they are able to respond to what they see, hear, feel, touch and smell. They will express their feelings and thoughts through color, texture, shapes and forms in two and three dimensions.

It was a successful fun activity, Nady was extremely happy and enjoying every second! we played for 90 minutes non stop without loosing interest or getting fussy.

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Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, colored sand, colors, cracked wheat sand, DIY, fine motor skills, homemade snad, how to make sand at home, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, motor skills, sensory play, way to play

jungle playdough – Introducing the playdough to your toddler for a great sensory learning and fine motor skills

Posted on April 29, 2014 | Leave a comment

Today we are using the playdough we made yesterday. Click playdough recipe for more details.

Playdough brings out the fun and creativity in your kids, there are open ended games great for hands on, sensory learning. The first very basic game with the playdough consists of introducing the texture to just squeeze and poke . We are all sensory creatures, especially kids they use all their senses when learning something new.

Introducing playdough to your kids can start from age of 15 months. At this age they are not able to create shapes yet, so don’t expect your baby to grab it and start playing. It’s a bit disappointing in the beginning, he can throw it or reject it. Nady was giving me faces and keep on throwing it! You need a gentle introduction, that’s why putting his favorite toys with it can help for more fun.

Nady is learning colors and animals. Jungle playdough is a great fun idea for his first experience.

We started by creating the jungle and introducing the animals one by one inserting their legs in the playdough!

Adding some broccoli trees created a realistic atmosphere. As said Nady likes to taste everything, and he loves broccoli!

Poking sticks in the playdough was so much fun we used popsicle sticks. It’s a great way to encourage his motor skills.

We were shaping balls for him to poke with the sticks.

Mommy loves playdough too! It’s important to talk while playing and introducing new words like squeeze, poke, naming the colors or the things around us. Nady loves the music, we were singing all the time too 🙂