Play ideas
Here are some ideas that parents have found worked well with their children. Some can be made at home or with items bought for very little cost, and some are are games or puzzles that have worked well in supporting early matching, numbers etc.
Water painting
Do your children love painting and would love to "help" you decorate? This is an outside play idea: give them a bucket of water and a large paint brush and let them "paint" the fence or wall. They will see it change colour with the water and have loads of fun. Great to get them active and help their motor skills at the same time.
Pegs on a tub
A lot of children need practice with their fine motor skills (using their fingers for all sorts of tricky actions such as buttons, zips, writing etc). This will help them develop those skills. Find an empty plastic tub and let them watch you clip a few pegs round the edge. Encourage them to join in, clipping the pegs on and off, putting them in and out of the tub. This is helps with hand-to-eye co-ordination.
Early puzzles
I found that even the simplest of puzzles could be tricky as they did not give enough visual clues as to what the child had to do and pieces could move about making it a frustrating activity. Using some cardboard, I cut out a frame which would fit an A4 piece of paper inside it and stuck it onto another piece of cardboard to make a framed board for the puzzle pieces to fit into. For extra depth/strength use 2 frames stuck together. If you had the time/money/energy you could cover the frame with sticky backed paper but it works just as well without.
Then, choosing my daughter's favourite TV characters I printed out some A4 pictures (2 copies of each picture choosen). One picture fits into the frame and provides the visual clue for the child. The other copy is mounted on cardboard to make it more sturdy and then cut into simple pieces (straight or wavy edges but not into typical jigsaw shapes). I made some 2, 3, 4, and 6 piece ones. The child then fits these pieces into the frame, matching them to the picture underneath, whilst the frame helps to ensure the pieces are kept in place. If you have older children, they may enjoy helping you make up a selection of different puzzles.
Another tip, if you have a simple shop bought puzzle and you have a photo scanner, put it together and scan it. This will give you a backing picture with visual clues for the child as to how the puzzle pieces fit together.
Home-made play dough
Play dough is great for fine motor skills: rolling out, cutting, pinching and making shapes/food etc. It can be bought fairly cheaply but it is easy to make your own at home. You can make it in your child's favourite colour! You could even add lemon , mint or orange oil to it to make it smell great (but watch this doesn't make them want to taste it!) Here's a recipe we have found:
Traditional Play Dough
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/4 cup salt
- food colouring
Mix all the ingredients, adding the food coloring and fragrance oils last. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Don't worry if you think it seems too runny- it will thicken quickly. Remove from pan and knead until smooth. Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled. It should last for a long time.
For a bit of sparkle, you could add some glitter: just sprinkle on to the cooked dough and knead in.
Simple shaker ideas
The classic shaker should not be forgotten as a cheap and effective instrument for songtime or just as a toy. Part fill a plastic bottle with some rice or pasta (or both) and screw the lid shut tight. You may want to secure with sticky tape or other depending on the age of the child. An instant amuser!
A pretty alternative is to fill the bottle with oil, water, colouring and glitter or sequins for a snow storm effect. You might want to make sure the lid can't come off for this one.
Matching colours game
A bought game, but inexpensive and a great way to teach colours in an easy game format. You roll the dice and collect the coloured pieces for your lotto board. There have been many versions over the years but the current format is made by Orchard Toys (who make lots of educational but fun games and a range of these can be found in Forget Me Not, 70 Upper James St, Newport). "Red Dog, Blue Dog" is also currently available on Amazon for £7.82 with free postage (as of 1 Feb 09).
Other early puzzles to mention
Galt Toys are another great brand of educational games and puzzles. Some early ones are their Numbers puzzle and Opposites puzzle, available from Amazon at around £4 each: Match them up and post them into a posting box (see the Other Resources page) as an extra incentive/interest.
These are just some ideas to start. More will be added. If you would like to suggest anything, please email us at iwtlopgroup@hotmail.co.uk.
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