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Creating Collages Hands On!
Painting is a fantastic creative outlet for both children and parents. Whilst as adults we have adapted and learnt to make use of tools such as paintbrushes and knives to practice painting, young children much prefer a more ‘hands on’ approach when it comes to painting. Hand printing may be a little messy but it is huge amounts of fun and is a fantastic way in which to record your child’s development, and create beautiful momentos.
Hand printing is a very popular activity with little ones, be warned that once you start this activity it may be sometime before your little one is willing to stop…Although you may find yourself with realms of printed handprints, don’t throw them away as each handprint is precious and can be used to create art, gifts and keepsakes. A simple handprint can become a tree, a sunshine, a heart, a flower, a star and much more.
After painting/ hand printing allow your child’s work to dry and then cut each print out individually. If your child is old enough they could use this as an opportunity to practice cutting skills. Once cut, arrange the handprints onto backing paper as required and then stick accordingly. Collage creation enables a simple activity such as hand printing to become a three step process which offers children further opportunities to develop creative and practical skills.
Painting, cutting and sticking is wonderful fun for both children and parents, try not to worry about making mess, instead try to have fun and relax. Remember children learn when they are having fun….
TOP TIP!
Quite often painting sessions with little ones can end up becoming a race to find further sheets of paper as your little one excitedly covers their hands with paint ready to print. Rather than having to select individual pieces of paper for your child to paint upon, why not try a paper realm? Mums Baby Magazine now stock the Guidecraft Tabletop Paper Centre for only £30 (including a realm of paper over 300ft in length!)
Purposeful Play with the Strawberry Villa Dolls House from Le Toy Van
Dolls Houses are the ideal toy to stimulate and encourage role play and imagination. Sitting and playing with a dolls house allows children to freely explore scenarios building their creativity, social skills and language development. Dolls Houses enable children to practice story telling, freely bringing fantasy into reality through miniature domestic play. Whilst children may have little control over their own lives, they can exercise control through dolls house play, making decisions upon the actions and locations of the contents. Children must practice role play in order to bring dolls to life, giving each doll a character and a purpose, whilst this is great fun for little ones, it is also stimulating their intellectual development and emotional intelligence.
Traditional, wooden toys offer far more than the modern, technological gadgets which seem to clutter many children’s toy boxes. Wooden toys are built to last, they do not require batteries, are not easily broken and whilst they may not speak at the press of a button or play garish Music they are much more fun. Traditional wooden toys require active participation, play and imagination, thus children become far more absorbed and involved within play.
Mums Baby Magazine put the Le Toy Van Strawberry Villa’ Dolls House to the test with two terrific toddler testers (one of either gender). Suitable from three years upwards, the Strawberry Villa Dolls house is scaled to fit ‘Le Toy Van’ furnishings and dolls and measures 350mm in depth, 670mm in height and 610mm in width. The Strawberry Villa Dolls House arrives as a flat pack and takes approximately one hour to build. Whilst Le Toy Vans Dolls Houses are fairly easy to put together, they are sturdy and built to last.
The Strawberry Villa is one of the largest wooden Dolls Houses stocked by Le Toy Van, featuring nine blue window boxes which can be opened (five of which also have functioning shutters), and a large door which can be opened and shut. The Strawberry Villa Dolls House can be opened for interior play by lifting the roof panel to reveal a large attic space and then opening the two front panels of the house which reveal two floors connected by a large wooden stair case (the stair case be removed easily if required).
Painted and decorated with non toxic, child-safe paint, the Strawberry Villa Dolls House from Le Toy Van is an exquisitely beautiful Dolls House designed to an incredibly high level of detail. The Strawberry Villa Dolls House is the perfect toy for either gender which could be proudly passed down from generation to 
generation.
Whilst Dolls Houses tend to be stereotyped as ‘girls toys’ they are far from it! Our two toddler testers had hours of fun playing with the Le Toy Van Strawberry Villa Dolls House. Both children were fascinated by the functioning features such as the windows and doors and spent some time altering them to their requirements. Upon opening the dolls house, both children were surprised to find beautifully decorated miniature rooms which soon became kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, playrooms and much more as the children brought the dolls house to life. Through playing with the Dolls House, the children practiced fine motor skills through manipulation of the miniature features, they also enjoyed practicing cooperation and developing their social skills through role play and the social interaction of playing together.
Mums Baby Magazine give the Le Toy Van Strawberry Villa Dolls House 10/10, We are also proud to announce that we now stock the Le Toy Van Strawberry Villa Dolls House in our online store for £169.99. This price also includes six individual furniture sets (each of which usually retails from £15.00). For further information upon this specific deal click here. Alternatively there are wide range of online stockists all of which can be found at www.letoyvan.com
Inspiring Creative Minds with The Creativity Kit PlayFoam Set
Creativity is a key aspect of learning which nourishes the mind, body and spirit. It is important that children are given the chance to express themselves in a creative manner as there is strong evidence to suggest that creative activities improve well-being, reduce stress and boost self-esteem. Being creative also develops our ability to view situations and scenarios in an alternative light, to open our minds to new possibilities and to explore and try new things.
Suitable for three years and over, PlayFoam is a non-toxic, reusable modelling material made up of tiny, sticky foam balls/beads which can be ‘squished’ and sculpted in a similar manner to play dough. The Creativity Kit PlayFoam set includes:
- 4 x Sparkle PlayFoam Bricks (Pink, Fuchsia, Green & White)
- 5 x Plain PlayFoam Bricks (Purple, Grey, Blue, Yellow & Orange)
- 1 x Bag of Feathers (a range of colours)
- 1 x Bag of Gems/ Jewels
- 1 x Bag of Pipe Cleaners (a range of colours)
- 1 x Bag of Foam Shapes (a range of colours)
- 1 x Bag of Lollipop Sticks/ Craft Sticks
- 1 x Bag of Glittery Pompoms (a range of colours)
- 1 x Bag of Yarn/ Wool (a range of colours)
- 1 x Bag of Wiggly Eyes and Noses
Mums Baby Magazine put PlayFoam to the test during an afternoons creative play. PlayFoam can be pulled apart and stuck back together with ease. However, we found that whilst this product is indeed sticky, it does tend to drop small balls during moulding, for this reason we would like to suggest that this product is more suitable for children ages four and over rather than three and over as the packaging states. The Creativity Kit also includes a range of creative resources which aren’t suitable for children under four years due to small parts which could pose a choking risk to young children.
PlayFoam enables children to be hands-on with creativity stimulating their senses and developing their imaginative skills, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills whilst building their concentration, problem solving and understanding and knowledge of materials. Our little (and large!) testers really enjoyed experimenting with the PlayFoam to create a wide range of models. During the modelling session it was apparent that PlayFoam encourages ‘Intrinsic Motivation’ (participation for pleasure rather than reward) as everyone involved seemed to having great fun and were fully immersed within the activity.
This particular kit (The Creativity Kit) is just one of many PlayFoam sets on the market. However, it does seem to include a range of resources which can be used not just with this set but for other Art activities. All of the resources included stick easily to the PlayFoam without having to add an adhesive and can be easily removed for future reuse.
For more effective modelling, several colours can be combined to create more realistic models. However, once two or more colours have been used together then they cannot be parted as the PlayFoam seems to mix and is near impossible to separate colours unless you are willing to sit and pick each bead apart individually. PlayFoam remains sticky after use and needn’t be stored in a container as the foam remains sticky even when left exposed to the air for long periods of time.
PlayFoam provides children with endless enjoyment and fun whilst enabling young minds to apply creative thinking skills during play. Mums Baby Magazine give PlayFoam 8/10 for ‘Fuss Free Fun’.
‘The Creativity PlayFoam Set’ is available for £19.99 from www.uptothemoon.com
Farmyard Fun Piece by Piece
Suitable from three years and upwards, the Barnyard Tower Floor Jigsaw measures 48” tall (122 cm) when pieced together. The Barnyard Tower Floor Puzzle contains 39 pieces featuring fourteen animals varying in size. This puzzle is ideal for little hands as the pieces are rugged and ideal for learning and play. When not in use, the Barnyard Tower Floor Puzzle can be kept safely stored in the hard cardboard, curvy box which can be opened easily by little hands.
Floor Puzzles are the ideal entertainment for older toddlers as they create a little amount of mess whilst promoting a huge amount of learning for your little one. Jigsaws aid little ones in building spatial awareness, coordination, visual problem solving, shape recognition, fine motor skill development, fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, social interaction and a sense of achievement once having completed the puzzle. The Barnyard Farm Tower Floor Puzzle also offers children the chance to discuss, identify and learn a range of animals and to compare size and order.
Mums Baby Magazine give the Barnyard Tower Floor Puzzle ten out of ten for little mess and lots of learning! Available from www.uptothemoon.com, The Barnyard Tower Floor Puzzle usually retails at £12.00 but is currently available in the online sale at £10.80!
Sing to Your Baby for Brilliant Bonding
Multi-Grammy Award winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer have twenty five years experience in creating Music to further connect families together through a creative media. Sing to Your Baby features eleven original songs which range in tone, mood and genre designed specifically for singing with your little ones. Alongside this beautiful book is an accompanying CD. Each song has been recorded in two alternate keys making the Music accessible to both Mums and Dads singing pitch.
Inside the book ‘Sing to Your Baby’ is a contents page so that songs be can located easily, a letter from the authors to the readers, directions for carrying out and extending singing activities, lyrics for each song and a guide for parents explaining the developmental, educational and emotional benefits of singing for both children and parents. Each page includes the track numbers for both higher and lower pitch versions of the songs, as well as some guidance as to actions which can be included alongside the Music to encourage fun and learning. Sing to Your Baby also features colourful, bright, beautiful illustrations carefully created by James Nocito for both parents and children to enjoy.
Fink and Marxer have seen and experienced the power which Music instils into the lives of children and their families. More and more studies have been carried out which identify that singing to your child can improve communicative skills. NPR researched more into the parallels between a child and parents’ verbal connection at a young age and the same child’s educational success years later. NPR found that the more words a baby heard during their younger years,the more likely he or she was to handle the rigors of school later in life. You can read more upon the research carried out and results found at http://www.npr.org/2011/01/10/132749565/closing-the-achievement-gap-with-baby-talk
Songs featured within the ‘Sing to Your Baby’ book and CD include:
Love Is What I Feel For You - Rockin’ My Baby
- Wake Up
- Little Bitty Boat
- Chickadee
- I Love You
- Bouncing
- Baby’s Got A Giggle
- Pretty Little Baby
- Bye-Bye!
- Wherever You Go, I Love You
Whilst many parents feel uncomfortable with their own singing voice, it is advisable to put aside your own issues with confidence in Music and to ‘give it a try’. However, for those parents who are completely against singing and would prefer using spoken word, Sing to Your Baby includes chanted/ spoken rhymes and simple scat melodies (using Mmm and Laas) which can help both parents and children to build confidence within Music through simplistic themes.
Top Tips for Singing to Your Baby:
- Whether or not you are able to sing, your little one will enjoy listening to your voice.
- Relax and enjoy the experience
- Learn the songs and lyrics in your own time without pressure
- Make use of the CD for backing Music during play, travel or day to day activities to build familiarity with the songs.
- Play and sing the songs during pregnancy to build a stronger bond with your bump.
- It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the words!
- Sing to your little ones whenever you can (with or without the book!)
- Encourage siblings to join in
- Make up your own lyrics and get creative.
- Add your little ones name into the song to make the experience more personal.
- Add actions to the songs to make the experience even more fun.
Mums Baby Magazine put ‘Sing to Your Baby’ to the test with a little one, we found that the songs were rhythmic and easily memorable. We used this CD as backing Music during play for a few days in order to build familiarity with the material and then we began to add actions to the songs. We later accompanied the Music with instruments such as drums, shakers and bells which made the songs even more fun to take part in for our little tester as they were more able to feel and experience the Music in a physical sense.Although the songs do seem lengthy, the lyrics are repetitive and therefore an excellent choice for teaching infants, toddlers and children memorable words. We found that the Sing to Your Baby book and CD offered a more structured way in which to bond with your little one through Music, providing parents with clear guidance and support.
Mums Baby Magazine give the Sing to Your Baby Book and CD 8/10. Sing to Your Baby is an ideal gift for expecting parents, new-borns, infants and toddlers which retails at $19.95 from www.singtoyourbaby.net.
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