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.

When making our homemade playdough, the highlight (and also toughest part) for me, is choosing which colour to make the play dough. Very much like making a cake, the possibilities seem endless. There are so many colour palettes to choose from.

During our Summer holidays, which sadly has come to a close, the beach became a favourite place for us to spend time together. Inspired by our Summer holidays, I decided to go with the different colours of the sea when making our most recent play dough batch.

How to Make Playdough:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 cups of water
• food colouring (I used different shades of blue for our beach themed play dough)

Instructions:

1. Combine all dry ingredients and mix.
2. Add wet ingredients (except food colouring) to the dry ingredients and mix.
3. Place in a large pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.
4. When the dough pulls away from the pan and the wet parts begin to look dry, take out the dough and knead until smooth.
5. Once the dough has cooled, add food colouring and knead well until well combined.

The quantities stated above makes enough for four adult handfuls.

(For a printable version of a play dough recipe, check out our rosewater play dough)

An Invitation to Play

To set up an invitation to play, I used a small shallow bowl of seashells, collected during our Summer trips to the beach.

The kids sourced out these tools themselves to add to their play:

Playdough press; (which is kept in our playful learning area within the writing / art cupboard).

Rolling pins; (again, always kept in our playful learning area within the writing / art cupboard).

Superheroes; (mainly in our toy boxes, but regularly found anywhere and everywhere throughout our home).

What other tools and toys do your kids love to use when playing with play dough?

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 Make Playdough: Beach Themed Fun by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

“What do you enjoy doing with Mummy?” I ask N during the video recording of his 5th birthday interview. “Making pancakes,” he replied. You could have knocked me over with a feather there and then. I knew he liked eating pancakes, but oh how I beamed from ear to ear when he said that spending time with me making pancakes was what he enjoyed doing with me.

Having recipes for young children is priceless. Recipes they can be involved with and enjoy. Recipes that make delicious food. Recipes that make wonderful things they can play with.

Here are 10 other fabulous recipes for young children. Recipes for food they can eat and recipes for making things they can play with. Happy playing, because #playmatters.

	← Pyramid Tea Bags & A Chocolate Mousse Recipe via Lessons Learnt Journal → Homemade Rosewater Play Dough via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← Bread Recipe: 2 Ingredient Bread via Lessons Learnt Journal → DIY Moon Sand (or Cloud Dough) via Lessons Learnt Journal
	← DIY Dinosaur Fossils via Lessons Learnt Journal → Pumpkin Spice Clean Mud via Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tail
	← Two Minute Recipe:: Aussie Kool-Aid Play Dough via Just for Daisy → Paper Bag Recipe Journal via My Little Bookcase
	← Pumpkin Spice Latte Oobleck via Learn Play Imagine → Homemade Herb and Spice Play Dough via Craftulate

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 2PM 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 Recipes for Young Children: Eat & Play by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.