Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Let's Pretend

Pretending, imaginative or role playing is a vital component of children's play.  

I remember when my children were young, my husband traveled extensively.  The boys spent hours setting up "airports" with cardboard conveyor belts to push their suitcases on and chairs set up for seats in an airplane. They issued tickets with old boarding passes and labeled luggage with tags from American Airlines, United and TWA.   They created airports on large pieces of cardboard and flew little metal planes to far corners of the earth.  As they played, they worked out their emotions of having a daddy that was frequently far from home.  They also experienced and explored the roles of flight attendant, baggage handler, ticket agent, air traffic controller, traveling businessman etc. 
This play would last for days and developed in complexity as it continued over the years.
 
Dramatic play is one area of play in which children accept roles and act them out.  They imitate behaviors they have seen and express verbal language they have heard.  It gives children the chance to pretend to be someone elseThey discover the realms of reality by pretending to be someone else and dramatize situations and actions that go along with the roles they are acting out.
 
Dramatic play is valuable to a child's development by allowing children to
develop skills in multiple areas.
 
Dramatic play enhances child development in four major critical areas:
 
Social/Emotional Development:  sharing, taking turns, negotiation, cooperation, better impulse control, delay gratification, dealing with feelings (anger, disappointment etc.), empathy.  Dramatic play promotes less aggressive behavior
 
Language Development:  better able to explain, ask and answer questions, vocabulary increases,  awareness of the importance of reading and writing is emphasized.
 
Physical Development:  gross and fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual discrimination
 
Intellectual/Cognitive Development:  problem solving, creativity, organizing and planning, negotiation, application of new information, abstract thinking, mathematics, literacy, sharing, re-telling of information is increased
 
 
For the child that is afraid at the doctor or at school,  dramatic play allows them to have the power to control the situation and the ability to conquer and define their fears and emotions.  Historically, dramatic play was defined as "housekeeping" in preschool settings.  Early childhood specialists know that the roles have expanded far beyond the role of playing "house", by rocking and caring for dolls or cooking in the kitchen, to the many professions and roles that society holds. 
 
Much to my husband's dismay, (later he admitted the value of such play) I included a kitchen set and a few dolls along with my boy's toys.  I encouraged them to be good daddies and helped them practice parenting skills.  This was especially helpful when a new child was brought into the family.  Culinary skills were practiced with the kitchen set.  My boys opened  restaurants learning how to plan nutritious meals, serving  fancy coffees and charging me very large prices!  As they grew older, play money was introduced and we calculated bills, counted money and made change.
 
My very favorite dramatic play was created with an old pizza box, some felt scraps, some fake fur and some empty plastic boxes.  This dramatic play box expanded over the years with their age and developmental stages.  It began by just making slices of pizza and expanded to the use of menus, order forms, and play money.  Before they could read and write we used stickee arrows to mark the ingredients the "customer" wanted on their slice of pizza. As the boys got older, we added order forms, learned to add up costs of an order, counted money and made change. We practiced etiquette of serving food and dealing with customers.  Hours... years of fun were created from this one dramatic play kit!  You wouldn't believe how much they used to charge me for a piece of pizza and a soda!  It was highway robbery.  :-) They had so much fun!
 
Dramatic Play Box - Pizza
Photo property of Hidden Splendor © 
 
 
 
 
 
Dramatic Play - Pizza - menu and order form
Photo property of Hidden Splendor ©
 
photo property of Hidden Splendor ©
 
The book Miraculous Magical Moments in Minutes:  Over 500 activities for Adults and Children to Share  by Becky Baxa available from Amazon.com  shares six pages of dramatic play kits you can make for your child (ren).  Kit ideas for family life, birthday party, tea party, doctor/hospital, cleaning, laundry, circus, zoo, farm/ranch, beach, fish pond, camping etc. can be found in this book, plus much more.  These dramatic play kits are made with materials found around the house or from garage/rummage sales or thrift/re-sale shops.  Don't forget to check boxes in the garage and attic too!
 
Next week I will share specifics on how to set up the dramatic play of being a postal carrier!
 

Remember, play is a child's work!

Take a break and play with your child.  Listen to them carefully.
What you hear will direct you to the play that will be most beneficial and interesting to them!
 
Have fun!

 
 
 
Additional Resources can be found at these web sites: 
 
 
 
 
Inspired from the book:
Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky Baxa
Available from http://www.Amazon.com
in both Kindle and Paperback versions
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Rainbow Names

What a thrill it is for children to be able to recognize, spell and write their name! 
Here is an idea that will make learning to write their name a fun activity!

What you will need:  
crayons or colored pencils
paper
a willing child  :-)
 
Directions:
1.  Write your child's name in large block letters across the paper. 
2.  Guide your child in tracing over the letters in a different color. 
3.  Repeat this process with numerous colors until your rainbow name is beautiful! 
 
Younger children may need help at first in guiding their hands
for coordination in holding the crayon. 


Photo property of Hidden Splendor ©



Photo property of Hidden Splendor ©




Inspired from the book:
Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky Baxa
Available from http://www.Amazon.com
in both Kindle and Paperback versions

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Are We There Yet? Traveling With Children.

As summer winds down, many families are hitting the road with one last trip
celebrating freedom before school starts for another school year.  Then, all too quickly, the holidays will be upon us and many will travel to visit family.  There are also many other reasons you may be traveling with your children.  As you think of spending hours in a car with your child and having to answer the question "are we there yet?" for the hundredth time, you may want to run and hide! 
It may send shivers up your spine as you tremble at the thought.

I remember when we moved from Illinois to Michigan my son was 2 years old.  He and I traveled alone in caravan with my husband who lead the way in his car pulling a U-haul trailer.  I was driving a truck pulling a stock trailer full of livestock.  The trip was about 7 hours long and we had to travel on interstates through the Chicago area.  I was terrified!  As we pulled out of our driveway to start the journey, my mom thoughtfully handed me a cardboard box that copy paper had been purchased in.  I gave her a questioning look.  She smiled reassuringly and told me to reach in and pull out a package every time my son got squirmy.  The box was filled with small toys and snacks (cars, etch-a-sketch-books, snacks, juice boxes, etc.) all wrapped in newsprint - mostly comic papers.  So, we hit the road and the presents began to appear.  Just before entering the heavy city traffic, I filled my lap with newsprint covered gifts.  As protests sounded from the passenger's seat I whipped over another gift!  It worked perfectly!   Each new gift brought on the wonder and delight of unwrapping and playing for a few more miles.  And eventually, we neared our new home.  When at last I wearily pulled into our new driveway and released my son from the prison of his car seat, he jumped out with glee.  The ONLY space not covered with shredded newspaper was where we were sitting. But, the plan had worked.  All those little gifts made the trip fun and bearable.  (yes, not to fret, we stopped to stretch, eat and gas up along the way too.)

Now this would be a great idea for your kids on trips.  The presents do not have to be new.  Of course, Grandma provided new things on our trip.  But, they can be your child's favorite toys, or ones they have not played with in awhile.  The mystery and fun of opening the presents provides double the fun and gives children the anticipation of what might be next.  Make a rule... open a gift every hour or half hour, depending on your child's age, attention span and the distance you are traveling.

There are many other fun ways to entertain children on long trips or

during times when they have to sit quietly for long periods of time. 

Below are a few activity ideas to help get your creative thoughts flowing. 


Remember to match up activities with your children's
interests, ages, stage of development
  and as always keep safety in mind! 
 

1.   Many wonderful ideas can be found on my pinterest board :
         Traveling/Quiet Activities for Children
       Follow the link below for dozens of ideas. 
http://www.pinterest.com/hiddensplendor/travelingquiet-activities-for-children/

While you are on this Pinterest board, check out the other fun boards for children's activities and parenting thoughts and ideas.


2.  A large variety of ideas can be found in the book:  Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:  Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share by Becky B. Baxa available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Becky+Baxa

Be creative.  What activities do you like?  How can you adapt them for car travel? 

  Here are a sample of ideas from the book Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

  • "When traveling, let your child be the navigator. Teach them how to tell what town is next, how many miles to the next town, the population of that town.  Have your child read the directions to your destination and help look for street signs.
  • Count railroad cars while waiting for a train to pass.  How many different kinds of railroad cars are on the train?
  • Identify license plates—how many states can you find?  How many from each state? 
  • Copy a lap size map of the United States before leaving home. Clip this onto a clipboard.  Teach children how to make hash marks.  Mark the state with the marks each time you see a license plate from that state. Younger children can color in the state as a  license plate is spotted.
  • Alphabet spy game.  Follow the alphabet A to Z (omit X and Z). Players must spy an object that starts with the letter of the alphabet before going on to the next letter.  You can also play this with signs.  Spying a sign that has the letter you are looking for."
3.  Want to try something right now, and not have to follow a link or gather supplies/materials?
      This simple activity literally takes a minute or less to set up.  All you need is a permanent
      marker (for adult use only!).

     Hand Puppets
  
     Draw a face on the side of your hand using your thumb to operate the puppet's mouth, or make
     fun finger puppet people or animals by drawing faces on the ends of each finger.   See photos
     below.  If  you want to get fancy use different color markers.  Keep in mind that kids don't care
     how well you draw, so don't let this hold you back.  Three simple dots and a curved smile are just
     as much fun as more complex drawings.

     Another idea:   draw a face on one or two of your fingers and one or two on your child's fingers. 
     Puppets can engage in conversation or dialogue for as long as the attention span lasts.  Maybe
     your finger puppets would like to sing and/or dance and put on a "show". 

Your imagination creates the limits for this activity!


Hand Puppet - mouth is operated by your thumb
photo property of Hidden Splendor ©

Finger puppet family - see "Spot" the family dog on the thumb?  This family has a mom, dad, brother and sister.  You can make your finger puppet family match the people that compose your family unit. 
photo property of Hidden Splendor ©


Happy Travels!




Inspired from the book:
Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky Baxa
Available from http://www.Amazon.com
in both Kindle and Paperback versions
 

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Simple Joys!

My July 9th  post was about letting kids be... well kids!  It has been my philosophy for years, and one in which I receive great delight. In today's electronic age I often wondered if I was becoming old fashioned in my thoughts.  Then recently, while we were traveling, a thunderstorm blew in quickly.  We scrambled for cover with the masses.  Eventually, the rumblings and lightening passed and all that was left was a steady downpour.  As I peeked out of the door, a smile leaped to my face, a low belly laugh began to form and my eyes twinkled with joy.  For you see, outside of the shop, rain ran in little rivers along the sidewalk on both sides of the cobblestone street.  And there it was!  Confirmation of my July 9th  post.  They slipped from the nearby houses, coming from all directions.  Little umbrellas, covering tiny people in varying heights, colorful raincoats and a pair of super large rubber boots, danced and hopped in the puddles.  Splashing, stomping, running, squealing and laughter were displayed for all to see.  It was a picture of pure child delight!

Photo source: Hidden Splendor Publishing ©

Photo source: Hidden Splendor Publishing ©

Photo source: Hidden Splendor Publishing ©

 
Photo source: Hidden Splendor Publishing ©

Photo source: Hidden Splendor Publishing ©
 

 Simplicity, and the simple joys in life, is the cornerstone of happiness.

Be alert to opportunities, participate, enjoy...

 
 
Inspired from the book:
Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky Baxa
Available from http://www.Amazon.com
in both Kindle and Paperback versions