Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Strong Listening Skills in Children Benefit More Than Just Behavior
Behavior
Children who know how to listen change their behaviors based on the observations they make. For instance, if a child sees her sister get a reward for bringing home an exemplary report card, she is likely to strive for good grades to receive the incentive as well. In this way, behavioral improvements often rely on the ability to listen and obverse carefully.Self-Discovery
When holding a discussion with children, their ability to listen gives them insight into their own opinions. Does one child agree with what another child says? As each individual makes that decision for themselves, they each discover their own personal ideas, interests and preferences. This self-discovery is vital for unlocking their individual possibilities.Relationships
Good listening skills foster deeper communication and stronger relationships. Children are more likely to build lasting friendships if they know how to give their full attention to their peers. A good listener becomes the person her friends want to confide in because she makes her friends feel appreciated and valued simply because she knows how to listen.Learning
Listening is vital to learning. Daydreamers in the classroom have a harder time concentrating and often have poorer memories. On the other hand, focused, active listeners grasp the content more quickly and implement what they learn both in their studies and in their everyday lives. Active listeners are more likely to have high grades and excellent comprehension of lessons than passive listeners.Image via Shutterstock.com
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Types of Children’s Toys That Promote Healthy Social Skills
Building Blocks
While you may only think of building blocks as a way to stimulate motor skills, they are capable of much more. After all, a box of blocks is big enough for two or three or children to play with, which teaches them about sharing and working together. It may result in one child knocking down another child’s structure and, while stressful for a moment, such situations are important social learning opportunities for youngsters.Board and Card Games
Most board and card games are built for two or more players, which instantly promote social skills. Board games are also competitive, which gives children a chance to encounter sore losers and boastful winners. They learn that you win some and you lose some, and they can either take a loss hard and let it ruin their day or take it in stride.Toys to Play Pretend
Open-ended toys that encourage creative play consequently stimulate good social skills. As soon as two or more children start playing, they must work together to build the scenario. Dress up clothes, toy cooking sets, dollhouses and action figures help children learn to share and cooperate as they play.Sporty Toys
The nature of sports-based toys is teamwork. Whether it’s playing catch or a game of basketball, physical activities let children test their skills and decide how to handle their own setbacks, as well as the skills of others.Image via Shutterstock.com
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Holiday Gift Guide for Children: Creative Toy Ideas for Newborns to Elementary Age
Birth to 18 Months
- Giant Blocks: Children are used to playing with small
blocks, but giant soft blocks are another option for creative play. This
toy helps babies develop hand-eye coordination and motor skills while
providing a larger-than-life sensory experience.
- Magna Giraffe: This plush giraffe toy features interactive rattles, bells, and stretchy arms and legs. The colorful body segments connect with magnets so children ages 9 months and older can explore different ways to arrange the body.
18 to 36 Months
- Barnyard Activity Boxes: This high quality, 28-piece
wooden set comes with color-coordinated barns and animals. Toddlers ages 2
and up develop number, language and sensory skills as they match colors
and shapes to discover which animal lives in each barn.
- Wonder Walker: As toddlers learn to walk, the Wonder Walker provides a sturdy base for cruising around the house until they have the balance and coordination to walk unassisted. Movable knobs and gears help develop children’s motor skills even when they’re tired of walking.
3 to 5 Years
- Adventure Road Mat: The mat is comprised of puzzle
pieces that fit together to create various roadway designs. Building and
playing with the Adventure Road Mat stimulates creative play, sorting, and
motor and language skills development.
- Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes: This creative guessing game teaches about the parts of the body. It also helps children develop language, motor and memory skills.
5 to 7 Years
- Castle: This coloring playhouse facilitates imaginative
play at its finest! Children decorate the outer walls with the included
jumbo washable markers and play inside as whatever characters they dream
up.
- Discovery Space Center: Laid out like a dollhouse, the Discovery Space Center fuels imaginative play, storytelling, role playing and creativity. It also promotes dexterity, hand-eye coordination and manipulation.
7 Years and Up
- Smarty Pants: Designed for third graders, this card set
tests the player’s smarts on fun facts and trivia. Children can play alone
or with others. Colorful illustrations, games, quizzes and puzzles keep
learning fun and exciting.
- PowerClix: Kids’ imaginations go wild with this 74-piece 3D magnetic building set. Children can follow the included instructions or create their very own models for advanced sensory learning.
Image via Shutterstock.com
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Does Imagination Play Affect the Ability of a Child to Self-Regulate?
In the second half of the 20th century, things started to change that have only escalated to this day. Children began having less time for free play as their schedules filled with structured activities. Even during playtime, more toys today come with a specific purpose in mind, a predetermined script that minimizes the amount of imagination play that occurs.
While many of today’s toys are incredibly useful for structuring play, keeping kids safe, teaching them certain skills and providing entertainment in a waiting room, imagination play is still critical. Without it, children tend to miss out on the chance to learn important self-regulation skills.
Children who can self-regulate have the ability to control their emotions, curb inappropriate behavior, resist impulsive actions and exert greater self-discipline.
How are imagination play and the ability to self-regulate connected? One reason is because make-believe provides an opportunity to engage in “private speech.” This is when children quietly talk to themselves about what they plan to do and how to do it. Many studies have unveiled a connection between this type of policing language and self-regulating behaviors.
For example, picture preschoolers in a free-choice period of play. Toys are strewn about once the playtime ends. Researchers have found that the children who engage in complex imagination play more often are those who take on the responsibility of cleaning up with greater willingness. They even tend to assist their friends in cleaning up without being prompted by the teacher.
It’s clear that, while developing cognitive skills in a formal learning environment is important, free play for children is absolutely not a waste of time. You can encourage imagination play and help your child learn to self-regulate with toys specifically geared toward creative play from ListenLoveLearnToys. For more information, please contact ListenLoveLearn today.
Image via Shutterstock.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Using Sensory Play as a Tool for Language Acquisition
What Does Sensory Play Have to Do With Language Acquisition?
Consider that you can use descriptive words and questions related to the experience to help expand a child’s vocabulary. You can use verbs -- pour, sift, scoop, squish, poke and rub -- and adjectives -- hot, cold, silky, bumpy, wet, goopy, scratchy and soft -- to describe the actions your child performs with certain objects like sand, water, cloth, play dough, sandpaper and fur. This helps solidify the meanings of these words in your child’s young mind.
Use the following sensory play ideas to encourage language acquisition in your toddler:
- Music toys: A colorful xylophone, tambourine and shaker stimulate your child’s sight and sense of touch. The sounds they make give your child a chance to create and hear music, which you can sing along with or describe with words such as high pitched, low pitched and catchy.
- Bin of textured toys: The chance to feel and describe items with different textures is a great opportunity to link the words with their meanings.
- Sound boxes: The idea with this activity is to shake the contents of each box and find its match. Part of the game is to guess what objects are inside the box and to describe the type of sound each object makes.
- Shapes in a bag: This matching game encourages language acquisition because each shape matches a card with the shape written on it. You can take it one step further by asking language questions about each individual shape, such as "What sound does a truck make in real life? Honk, honk!"
- Strangely textured creations: Not all sensory play is achieved with a toy you can buy. Some of the best sensory experiences come from recipes you make at home, such as cloud dough, slime, goop and homemade play dough. Check out PBS.org for easy-to-make recipes.
Image via Shutterstock.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
3 Simple Paper Plate Crafts Any Child Will Enjoy
Paper Plate Basket
Your child can use this creation to play pretend in a variety of ways. It’s super easy to make. You need:
- 2 paper plates
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Decorations, such as stickers and markers
- Cut a semi-circle of the same size out of each plate, leaving the outer edge intact for a handle.
- With each plate facing inward, line up the cut-outs and staple the plates together around the rim.
- Decorate the basket with stickers and markers. Load up the basket and be on your way!
Hand puppets come in many shapes and sizes, and you can construct a quick, easy one with your child using the following supplies:
- 2 paper plates
- Scissors
- 1 colored ribbon
- Markers or stickers
- Tape
- Fold one paper plate in half so the back of the plate faces inward.
- Cut the second paper plate in half.
- Staple the cut pieces of paper plate to the folded plate to create an oven-mitt type puppet.
- Draw or stick some eyes onto the puppet.
- Cut a length of ribbon and curl it with the scissors. Tape it inside the mouth to create a tongue.
Make an inexpensive musical instrument with these simple supplies:
- 2 paper plates
- Decorations, such as stickers and markers
- Rice or dried beans
- Stapler
- Ribbon
- Decorate the backs of each paper plate with stickers and markers.
- Place a handful of rice or dried beans on one plate.
- Set the other paper plate on top and face down to leave a pouch for the rice or beans to shake around.
- Staple the plates together, inserting lengths of ribbon and stapling them in place as you go.
Image via Shutterstock.com
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Toddler Playtime Can Improve Balance, Walking and Climbing
Toddler playtime is vital for helping your child reach these milestones. Consider some of the best toys to help improve balance, walking and climbing.
- Ride-on toys: An 18-month-old loves the mobility a ride-on toy provides. A toddler can scoot around even before she has mastered walking, and the action strengthens her leg muscles to make walking come faster to her.
- Push toys: A shopping cart offers the chance to practice walking. It makes toddler playtime more interesting a little later down the road by facilitating imaginative play.
- Pull-along toys: As your toddler’s standing and walking balance improve, she’ll be able to turn her head while walking. This introduces the chance to enjoy brightly colored pull-along toys. This type of toy improves walking, balancing and physical coordination.
- Balls: As your toddler approaches age two, she’ll be ready to “kick” a large, soft ball. She can’t yet sustain her balance on one leg, but she can use her legs and lower body to bump the ball forward along the ground and have a fun time doing so.
- Ring around the rosy: This classic game gives your toddler the chance to practice walking sideways in a circle, falling down, standing back up and maintaining balance throughout. Any kind of dancing encourages the same physical skills.
- Toddler slide: Having a safe toy for your child to climb on helps curtail the urge to scramble up more dangerous things, such as kitchen chairs and shelves.
- Obstacle course: Set up a fun place for your child to balance, walk and climb by arranging couch cushions, cardboard boxes, the toddler slide and other obstacles in the living room. This can even turn into an imaginative play situation, such as escaping the monster.
Image via Shutterstock.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)