Four bedsheets, sewed together into a large parachute; little ping pong balls are flying everywhere in the air. Twenty three to five year olds having the time of their lives, giggling , chasing the once airborne balls. “It’s so simple, and they love it,” said a mother, while she captured the moment on her phone camera.

Play is enjoyable and play may be simple, but play is fundamental to every interaction and connection children make in their early years. Play is the way in which children explore and experiment with emotions, social interactions, new ideas and learning.  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 the importance of play in the context of their holistic development. Providing children, especially in their preschool years, with play opportunities is crucial in developing their curiosity, experimenting and risk taking. These play opportunities allow children to explore who they are, and allow them to grow as confident learners.

The saying, the days are long, but the years are short, rings so true. How quickly those preschool years fly by. Some of our favourite preschool activities feature our range of home-made play dough; large scale painting and painting requiring finer motor skills; playing and working outdoors in our garden; hunting for creatures large and small; and of course making our own dinosaur fossils.

We have fond memories of play because of there is an amazing play loving blogging community who shout out from their virtual roof tops, the most creative, fun, engaging activities for kids. I am so grateful when other parents share what has worked for them. I love being inspired by great ideas, trying them out and seeing my children play, learn and grow.

After the success of the Zero to Two Book of Play. there were requests from readers for an eBook of playful ideas for three to five year olds. We heard the requests and are thrilled to share with you the Three to Five Playful Preschool eBook. It is stuffed to the brim with tried, tested and loved playful learning ideas for preschoolers. This amazing resource has:

• Hands-on, play-based learning
• Inspiring ideas, but really practical and everything all in one place 
• Great photos, step-by-step guides, all things you can easily try at home
• 25+ ideas for preschoolers, ten printable resources (inc. city scape play scene, My First Journal pages, recipe card, numbers game, weather chart printables, alphabet play mats, unique hand-drawn art pages, conversation cards, block building challenge cards, bookmarks) and additional links to over 50 more activities
  
• Great range of activities: hands-on, learning through play, math, language, literacy, science, art and play.

Check out this video for a sneak peek of  the Three to Five Playful Preschool eBook.

To celebrate the release of Three to Five Playful Preschool, the eBook will be $6.99USD for one week only. After the 25th May, 2014 you can purchase the eBook for $8.99USD. You can buy your Three to Five Playful Preschool, 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: Three to Five Playful Preschool eBook 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.

Check out our kid-crafted gift tags this week on Childhood 101. These are fun, engaging and the results were amazingly pretty too.

This was the project that stained my feet blue for a few days; completely worth it.

Visit Childhood 101 and find out how to make these gorgeous homemade gift tags with your kids.

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 receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Making Homemade Gift Tags with Kids by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

Miss K points to the shopping centre ceiling as I (quickly) whizz through the shops, pushing her pram. Golden baubles, pretty sparkly lights and lush green foliage hang from the high ceilings. It’s pretty, and sure to grab any toddler’s attention.

Later that morning, I happen to scrummage through our art cupboard and found a container of sparkly craft sequins. Unlike her twin brothers at this age, Miss K (almost 2) doesn’t put things in her mouth when playing and creating, so I figured it would be a great time to let her explore this new sparkly material.

This Christmas activity for kids is not restricted to just toddlers. Older kids would have loads of fun with this, I am sure. The open-ended nature of this Christmas activity lets kids explore and create, no matter their age and skill, so long as they are no longer putting things in their mouths when playing and creating.

To create this playful toddler art, you will need:

• a large piece of cardboard or paper
• objects to print with (we used small cardboard toilet paper rolls),
• different shades of green paint
• optional, glue (I used a spray adhesive for bonding and mounting)
• craft sequins.

First, explore printing by dipping your given object (or objects) in different shades of green paint, and printing it onto the piece of cardboard. Older children may like to create different shapes with their printing, e.g. creating a Christmas tree using their prints. Miss K enjoyed experimenting with the different surfaces of the toilet paper roll she could print with. At first she was printing circles, soon she was rolling the toilet paper roll around like a rolling pin, then she began using it like a brush.

Once printing has been completed, if you have a spray adhesive for bonding and mounting, take the finished wet print outside and spray on the glue. Otherwise, you can wait for the paint to dry and brush on some glue. Another option would be to skip the glue entirely and just apply the sequins to the wet paint.

Now for the very playful, and potentially messy part. Let your child/children experiment with applying the sequins to their prints. I gave Miss K a spoon, and for a while she did use it for scooping and pouring. Soon she was using her hands, sprinkling small amounts, then handfuls onto her print. Then, she decided to dump the whole bowl of beautiful sequins onto her print.

Regardless of the ways in which the sequins find their way onto the prints, and although it’s the process rather than the product which is at the heart of this Christmas activity for kids, the sparkly colours on the green background can’t be missed. It is, as Mr E (3yo) puts it, like a beautiful rainbow.

Miss K loved playing and creating with craft sequins.

What are some ways your children play or create with sequins?

More Activities for Babies and Toddlers

Zero to Two: The Book of Play is full of fun activities for babies and toddlers. There are 25 ideas for babies and toddlers, with additional links to over 50+ 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 receive updates direct to your email. We have many fun ideas to share.

The post Christmas Activities for Kids: Playful Toddler Art by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.