“No… not like that,” she commands. In her mind, she lives in an organised world. I raise my eyebrows at her and smile. I like her and her organised ways. She widens her eyes then takes a handful of LEGO DUPLO bricks into her small cherub-caricature hands.

Every preschooler learns through play. There are so many ways to play.

Over the past few months, my almost three year old daughter, Miss K has displayed a big interest in constructing with LEGO DUPLO. She loves building at home and at daycare.

Here’s a snippet of documentation from her daycare: “This particular morning she sat down with Ms Preschool Teacher and started to construct. She kept building and building. “Look” she said to Ms Preschool Teacher. “It’s a tower,” she continued proudly and held up her tower so Ms Preschool Teacher could see. “So lovely,” Ms Preschool Teacher replied. Ms Preschool Teacher then began to ask questions about the colours that Miss K had been using. She was able to name all colours.

The documentation continues: In this experience Miss K demonstrated her creativity through construction of the tower. Through her sustained engagement we understand that she feels safe and supported- she feeling comfortable to explore for a longer amount of time. Furthermore, in the experience she used her fine motor skills and displayed her knowledge of colours.

Here, we see the beautiful embodiment of play-based learning. Rather than the teacher being the ‘expert’ who is required to fill children’s knowledge stores as if they are empty vessels, we see the child having the potential to learn complex concepts at any age.

LEGO DUPLO: So Many Ways to Play

Imagine my delight when we received a LEGO DUPLO Batcave Adventure Pack to review and give away! We’re big fans of LEGO DUPLO, and being parents who watch Comic Book Men, it’s not surprising that our children are relatively well versed in the Batman Universe. 

Build Stories & Make Adventures

When I placed the Lego Duplo Batcave Adventure box on the floor next to our giant cardboard box, as an invitation to play, I honestly thought because it was LEGO DUPLO, only Miss K (who is almost 3) and possibly Mr E ( who is 4), would be interested.

Boy, was I wrong. It didn’t take long for Mr M and N (who are 6) to scramble onto the floor to join in the play. Although I hadn’t expected or planned for Mr M and Mr N to be play with LEGO DUPLO, Mr M and Mr N were obviously motivated to join in, build stories and make adventures… so I let them be, and they all played together.

Play & Discover

Miss K was fascinated with the canon on the Batwing. Let them play and discover. She figured out how to load the canon but got stuck with how to fire it. She asked me to help her fire the canon. I showed her once, and that was all it took for her to spend the next good 15 minutes just firing the canon and loading it – over, and over, and over again. I love how LEGO DUPLO is specifically designed to be fun and safe for younger hands.

Create & Share

Being twins, Mr M and N (now 6) they have had, for better or worse, more than their share of chances to work and collaborate with each other. Let them create and share. There were squabbles about how to build certain parts. I generally leave them be and let them sort things out. If the frustration levels start to get a bit much and accusations become painfully whiny, I step in with my suggestions or observations of the situation. (The number of times the words, “I think the missing part is under the book,” has solved many squabbles is unbelievable!)

LEGO DUPLO Batman Adventure Giveaway

If you’re after a gift for preschoolers (or older), LEGO DUPLO Batcave Adventure is a winner. It’s fun, has easy to use gadgets for younger hands and offers loads of different ways to play for quite a wide age range; Miss K (almost 3) and her brothers Mr N and Mr M (who are 6) spent a good afternoon playing together (while I made dinner… priceless!).

To celebrate the importance of play, we are delighted to have one LEGO DUPLO Batcave Adventure to give away to one of our lovely readers.

For a chance to win, in the comments below, tell me “How does your child play with LEGO DUPLO?”. The competition is open to Australian residents and closes 5pm (AEDST) on the 27th October, 2014 . Please note the terms and conditions of the giveaway.

The post LEGO DUPLO Batcave Adventure Pack: Review & Giveaway by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

True story: Another kindergarten teacher visits my class while we were doing some bubble art. During lunch, in the teacher’s staffroom, he asks if I have more play ideas. I say, “Yes,”… (of course!) lol. If you’ve been following me at Lessons Learnt Journal for any length of time, you’ll know that play and games for kids has become a huge part of my world.

I have had four kids within the space of three and a half years. I have seen my children thrive as we embraced the world of play-based learning. Kids have a natural enthusiasm for learning through their natural curiosity about the world around them. They are keen to learn, with inquisitive minds. When watching and hearing them play, I find it fascinating to think about the complex processes that are happening within play.

Play is appropriate for humans of any age. I will always treasure the memories of my babies and toddlers playing and drawing in their big cardboard box and making a collage with sticky back paper. I will always keep a ball in our home for baby ball games, should we have baby and toddler guests. 

I know how tricky it can be to find games for kids, (especially when you are sleep deprived). I know how valuable it is when other mums share what has worked for them. I love being inspired by great ideas, trying them out and seeing my children play, learn and grow.

I’m super chuffed to be one of the authors the Zero to Two Book of Play. I’ve seen the published version and it’s simply amazing.

• It’s filled with inspiring play ideas that are really practical and doable!
• The photos are beautiful.
• There are simple, clear step-by-step guides for things you can easily try at home.
• There are 25 ideas for babies and toddlers, and additional links to over 50 more activities. 
• There’s a great range of activities: the classics, things with a twist, sensory; all with a focus on play, backed up with lots of learning.

Check out this video for a sneak peek into the Zero to Two Book of Play.

To celebrate the release of the Zero to Two Book of Play, the eBook will be $6.99USD for one week only. After the 16th February, 2014 you can purchase the eBook for $8.99USD. You can buy your Zero to Two Book of Play, on any device, and download the eBook when you are ready.

(You can buy the book anywhere in the world. Paypal will take care of any currency conversions.)

Happy playing, because #playmatters!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Games for Kids: Zero to Two Book of Play by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

What do you do when brand new toys land in your living room? Miss K has learnt that she must jostle a bit with her three older brothers, or she’ll never get a turn. That said, her brothers are quite gentle with her when she makes herself heard, (although they aren’t quite so nice with each other!).

As part of our Fisher-Price Play Ambassadorship, we’re super, super excited to be hosting a special Fisher-Price giveaway for the recently released Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car and also a Laugh & Learn Apptivity Storybook Reader.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car

The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car is such great fun.

There are interactive lights and sounds, complete with a car radio.

Then there are the doors; one side has a shape puzzle, the other a ball ramp, (now there’s an idea for family cars!). 

Such a fun toy to sit in and explore, pretend and play. So fun that Miss K brought her own cushion to make herself extra comfy during her play.

Not only did Miss K enjoy playing with it, her three older brothers wanted to play too, at the exact same time as each other, of course.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Storybook Reader

The Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Storybook Reader fits an iPhone & iPod devices.

It opens and closes like a book and there are free interactive story apps, with adorable animations, music and audio prompts. A great way for babies and toddlers to be introduced to interactive stories on technological devices.

There are two reasons why I love it.

Firstly, it’s really sturdy, and keeps my phone clean. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I have to clean my phone because there are loads of little (sticky) finger prints all over it. Now Miss K can play with it, and my phone screen stays clean.

The second thing I absolutely love about it, is the plastic covering over the home button when I place my iPhone or iPod in there. It means Miss K can’t keep pressing the home button and accessing other apps, or activating Siri. Instead, she can play apps like the Laugh & Learn Shapes & Colors Music Show for Baby App and engage with it longer, because she isn’t constantly bring brought back to my home screen, because she pressed the home button.

Fisher-Price Giveaway: 

For a chance to win a Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car and also a Laugh & Learn Apptivity Storybook Reader, leave a comment on this post sharing:

What do your kids do when they receive brand new toys?

This is a game of skill and entries will be judged based on creativity and originality. Open to Australian residents only. Entries close Thursday 14th November, 2013.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Fisher-Price Review & Giveaway by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

I love the smell of rain on rainy days. Especially if I’m home, and not out and about juggling four wet kids. We’re experiencing the most strange weather in Sydney lately. Terribly hot weeks complete with very dangerous bushfires, followed by sudden drops in temperatures and hail storms?!

As I look through the wonderful collection of kids activities linked up at last week’s Kids’ Co-Op, I can’t help but share these 10 rainy day plays for kids. They’re so fun, we won’t need rain to inspire us to take on these rainy day plays.

Happy playing, because #playmatters.

	← Using Tweezers to Build Up Fine Motor Skills via Lessons Learnt Journal → Exploring Painting Tools via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← DIY Papier Mache Bowls via Lessons Learnt Journal → Microwave Play Dough Recipe via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← Turkey Baster Pom Pom Race via School Time Snippets → Fine Motor Dashboard via Laly Mom
	← Creative Sight Word Practice with String via Sugar Aunts → Exploring Tin Foil via Laughing Kids Learn
	← DIY Marble Run from TP Rolls via Powerful Mothering → Paper Plate Owls via Happy Hooligans

Have you been featured this week? Please take our Featured at Lessons Learnt Journal badge.

Most of these ideas are from our Kids’ Co-Op. If you have a child focused post to share, be sure to come back and visit the Kids’ Co-Op link up here at Lessons Learnt Journal, (published and live here every Wednesday at 10PM CST or Thursday 3PM AEST).

More Activities for Preschoolers

Three to Five: Playful Preschool is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. There are 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources and additional links to over 50 more activities. A great resource for parents. Download your copy here.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment; I’d love to hear from you. If you are new here, you might like to subscribe to our RSS feed or receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post 10 Rainy Day Plays for Kids by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.