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Archive for February, 2009
Do you want to provide your child with an educational toy that will increase eye-hand coordination along with shape and color recognition? If so, we would like to recommend a shape sorting pounder.
As your child hammers away on the pegs of this shape sorting pounder, he will increase his eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. While hammering, you can help increase his color and shape recognition by repeating the name of the color or shape of the peg that he is hammering. Take turns, ask him to tell you the color or shape that he wants you to hammer.
Guidecraft Magneatos are award-winning magnetic construction toys that allow children to experience the fun and mystery of magnet play, while at the same time build their imagination and motor skills.
Magneatos magnetic playsets are packed with large magnetic pieces that are kid-friendly, easy to handle, and safe to play with, yet these magnetic construction sets are more challenging then standard blocks and stacking toys.
How Magneatos Work:
A set of Magneatos comes with two basic pieces: magnetic balls and magnetic rods. The balls make a joint that can connect two rods. Put three or four rods together and you’ve got the base for a bridge, tower, or anything else that your imagination can come up with.
Award Winning Toy:
Guidecraft Magneatos won the prestigious Oppenheim Toy Award in 2005 and 2006, and also won its SNAP, Special Needs Adaptable Product, both years. They were also featured in Money magazine and on the Today Show on NBC.
Magnetic play has never been so easy and fun, so if your child is ready for something more advanced than their ABC blocks, take a look at Magneatos.
Parachute games encourage cooperative group play that reinforces turn-taking and sharing and helps to build muscle tone. Parachute activities are usually quite physical. To avoid injuries and to maximize the fun, explain the terms and rules to your children before approaching the parachute.
Playing with a parachute will also help develop perceptual, cognitive, motor, and academic skills, that can be used in many aspects of a child’s life.
Terms:
Directionality - Forward, Backward, up, down, clockwise, counter-clockwise, right hand, left hand, high, low, and sideways.
Locomotor Skills - Skipping, hopping, walking, running, jumping, galloping, and leaping.
Movement Skills - Fast, slow, accelerating, decelerating, light, and heavy.
Ways to grip the parachute:
Rules & Safety:
Parachute games are for all ages; however, you may need to change each game for the age group that is involved. The nature of parachute games means that children are actively running around, pulling the chute, crawling around, and possibly climbing on other children. Playing with a play parachute is generally very safe; however, from time to time, an accident will happen.
To avoid injuries, explain the following rules:
Have the children remove their shoes before approaching the parachute.
Encourage the children to space themselves around the parachute so that there are no large gaps. If there is a large gap, roll up the parachute - making a smaller parachute.
Have the children hold the parachute with both hands at all times. Don’t allow the children to remove their hands in order to hit balls.
The children should take care of others: they should not kick under the parachute and they should watch their elbows, either of these can cause injuries.
If the parachute is used for trust exercises, i.e. walking on air - parachute game, use play mats under the play area.
If the parachute has a hole in the middle, please ensure that the children know it is dangerous to place their head through the center.
If these precautions are taken, your children will have an entertaining and educational experience with the play parachute.
It is important to keep your children safe when they are playing on their outdoor swing set. To promote safety during their active play, it is ALWAYS recommended to provide adult supervision and be actively involved. Stay alert, move around, and keep your kids in sights, especially your young ones.
1) Go over basic precautions with your children, such as, always taking turns and sliding down feet-first on the slide.
2) Refrain children from walking close to, in front of, behind or between moving play features.
3) Refrain children from twisting swing chains or ropes since this may reduce the strength of these items
4) Warn children to avoid swinging empty swing seats or gliders
5) Teach children to sit in center of swings with their full weight on the swing seats
6) Teach children to use the backyard playset in the intended manner.
7) Teach children not to get off play equipment while still in motion.
8) To avoid potential clothing hazards, while your children are using their backyard playsets, make sure they are wearing well-fit clothing and shoes.
(Avoid loose fit clothing or items with loose strings: drawstring pants, ponchos, halter-tops, scarves, or etc…)
9) Children should wear shoes at all times.
10) Allow your child to only play on equipment that is appropriate to his age.
11) Make sure the playground surface, underneath swings, climbers, and slide has the appropriate ground protection. (Standard lawn and grass areas are not considered as ground protection.)
12) Refrain children from climbing on playground structures when wet.
13) Bring a safety kit with you.
(This can be as simple as a zip-lock bag that contains some wet wipes, antibiotic cream and a few adhesive bandages.)
14) Make sure your child is wearing sunscreen and stays properly hydrated.
For more safety tips - view our other articles or visit our web-site: Playground Equipment Safety.
Information is supported by the National Program for Playground Safety
Do you want to provide your child with an interactive early childhood activity that doesn’t require batteries, fuel cells, or liquid fuel, and promotes physical activity that is safe, inexpensive, and quiet?
If the answer was YES, then check out this PlasmaCar by PlaSmart!
The PlasmaCar is a unique active ride-on toy that is sleek and aerodynamic, just like a race car, and is easy to operate on any smooth, flat surface.
It is also built to last because it is made of state-of-the-art, high-quality ABS plastics, rugged and durable for your child that is on the go. It features six wheels, a seat, footrests and a steering wheel. That is all it take to operate your PlasmaCar - other than your child. There are no pedals, no gears, and no batteries required.
The PlasmaCar is available in green, purple, blue, or red.
Your child will love how fast they can go on the PlasmaCar, and at the same time they will be physically active, increasing their coordination skills, and building upper-body muscle strength.
Here is how it works!
To propel the PlasmaCar, you rotate the steering wheel continuously from left to right. It also works in reverse. To zoom backwards, just switch the set of four front wheels around so that the larger ones are closest to the front of the car. To stop your PlasmaCar, just cease rotating the steering wheel and, when the car slows, put your feet on the ground to bring it to a full stop.
The PlasmaCar can go 2.8 meters per second - that’s over 10 km/h, yet be safe for your child. As with all bike activities, we also recommend the use of a child’s bike helmet.
The PlasmaCar is Pure Energy and Pure Fun!
Play Parachutes come with or without handles and a variety of different sizes.
We recommend that your play parachute has handles, because it is easy for kids to hold on to the handle as the parachute waves in the air.
To select the size of the play parachute depends on two factors:
1) What is the area that you have to use the play parachute?
2) What is quantity of people that you want to us the play parachute at a time?
The 6 foot play parachute has 8 handles that works great for 3 to 4 people at a time.
The 12 foot play parachute has 12 handles that will accomidate from 4 to 6 people.
The 20 foot play parachute will accomidate with its 16 handles - 6 to 8 people.
A 24 foot play parachute has 20 handles and is great for 8 to 10 people.
When selecting a play parachute, for durability purposes, select a high quality nylon parachute that is double stitched. We recommend that you always store your parachute in a carry/storage bag. (Never use the play parachute for a sunshade or exposed to the sunlight for an extend time period. Nylon detoriorates very quickly in direct sunlight.)
With the use of parachute games, through cooperative group play, a play parachute will help build upper-body strengthening and muscle tone. Parachute play also will help develop perceptual, cognitive, motor, social, and academic skills.
Young children enjoy rhythmical and musical activities; older people find it enjoyable and challenging by tossing a ball with the play parachute and moving as a team to catch it.
Parachute Games:
Wave: This is like the wave at a football stadium. One child starts out by raising his arms up or down in the air and the next child then follows the motion of the child before him.
Running by Numbers: Run underneath and switch places with the other playmates. Provide a number of the locations on the parachute, then call out the number. This parachute game is a pleasure for all ages.
Parachute Tag: Everyone lifts the parachute over their head. Call out the child’s name and they need to skip, hop, or crawl to the other side. The challenge is to make it to the other side before the parachute comes down and tags them.
Bouncing Balls: Hold the parachute tight at about chest level with 2 or 3 foam balls. Have 3 or 4 children get underneath the parachute and then they need to try to knock the balls off while the children holding the chute need to try to keep them on.
Get a play parachute and get the health benefits of play parachute games.
Dramatic play should be a primary part of every child’s early childhood activities. This pretend play encourages a child to explore and expand his imagination by allowing him to invent and create his own scenarios.
As a child explores various ways to play, he will increase his problem solving skills, langauge skills, vocabulary skills, and story telling skills.
Dramatic play also promotes a child’s willingness to cooperate and share with others, which will increase his communication skills and other social skills.
Dramatic play is only limited to a child’s imagination, and little children have very big imaginations.
Children learn through play. As the toddler grows into the young child his interest widens. More and more, educational kids games will interest him. Puzzles and simple crafts will catch his attention and he will spend longer hours working on them. Even at this age, the child will still need parent supervision but clearly, he is on his way to discovering independence.
Educational games for kids are bonding moments, with the parent, sibling or friend. They are obviously using their minds when putting together a puzzle but there are benefits that are not immediately apparent. The game appears to be simple, yet experts say that they nevertheless require conceptual and social skills. Dealing with a playmate, for example, can be stressful at this stage. Suffice it to say that even the simplest of games can be a learning experience.
The toddler is naturally curious. Looking for toddler games to interest the little one is a bit challenging. First, it should be safe and fun. Fun is good but the game you choose should also be exciting. The child has short attention span and could be bored easily. Second, it takes a lot of supervision. Mommy is the playmate and also the mentor who helps direct the child toward an enjoyable experience.
Toddlers are usually started on board games and building blocks. He will be attracted by the shapes and colors but when he tires of them, it is best to change to a different game. When he is older, the play dough or a tub of creative blocks will be an interesting diversion. It will develop his creativeness and sharpen his imagination. Enjoy the toddler as he struggles with his little fingers because when he grows older Mommy will cease to be his playmate.