Thursday, December 10, 2015
The Wonderful World Of Building Blocks...And How They Enhance Children's Brain Development
Getting the most from your SmartGamesAndToys building blocks
They might not be as flashy as a robot or instantaneous gratification like a video game but building blocks have a wide range of benefits for the BRAIN!
Check out these activities that you can share with your children using
building blocks. In this article you
will find some great reasons why building blocks are a great tool for learning
as well as six fun ways to engage your child in the fun learning environment of
building blocks. Also, for more
information check out SmartGamesAndToys
for our selection of building blocks
in the discover section.
When
the structures your child has built with building blocks fall they experience
some lessons. Children learn about
gravity as they watch the previously stacked blocks tumble to the ground. They also learn the lesson of impermanence. The structure was once there and now it’s
gone! Spatial reasoning skills are
developed as they discover if a piece will fit, or if it will make the shape
they want. They improve their math
skills by counting the pieces or comparing the size and width of pieces. Even language skills can be improved as the
child discusses what they are doing.
So
now you know some of the reasons why building blocks are a great toy for
engaging your child’s mind and here are six fun ways to put these building
blocks to use…
- Give your child some other toys such as some people, animals and cars and have them build structures with their building blocks to compliment the other toys. For example, they could build a barn for the animals, a house for the people and a parking garage for the cars. This stimulates creativity and imagination.
- Tell them a story with a structure in it and then have them build the structure. Have them create a new story about their structure to tell to you. This encourages a story narrative to be developed and created. Try to determine which project they enjoy more…if they enjoy building the structure or telling the story. *NOTE: If they enjoy building the structure you may have a future engineer on your hands…if however, they enjoy creating and telling a story you may have a future novelist!
- Encourage your child to play with others in a cooperative manner to build an entire city structure with building blocks. This encourages team work and strengthens social skills.
- Draw a picture of a structure and have your child build that structure. This helps them see a model or blue print and then create it in a three dimensional form.
- Sit with your child and as they pick up the block pieces ask them to say the name of each shape. This helps them with name recall and geometric shapes.
- With SmartGamesAndToys Chubby Edublocks take three or four pieces and make a structure. Ask your child to recreate that structure. It sounds easy but your child will have to count each knob on the block to match the structure you have created and make it align properly. This forces your child to keep track of several different things at the same time.
There
have been observational studies showing that kids who spent more time with
building blocks scored higher on tests of spatial ability. (Jirout and Newcombe 2015; Levine et al
2012) And engineers frequently say
construction toys and building blocks inspired their careers. There is a way that the process of taking
things apart and putting them back together help explain how things work. Whether your child is a future engineer or
not, playing with educational toys helps them learn what they are enthusiastic
about.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Teach your children how to be emotionally intelligent
Learning to express emotions in a healthy manner is a crucial part of child development
Emotional intelligence is not mentioned in schools as much as math or science but it is important for child development. SmartGamesAndToys is pleased to announce the Feelings Friend that can help children learn to handle emotions in a healthy manner.
Emotional
development is not just a trait that a person has naturally. Often it is developed with practice and
instruction.
For example, it is said that girls are more in touch with their emotions and feelings than boys. This is probably likely because girls are more often encouraged to express their emotions. So with a little encouragement you can help your children begin to understand things they feel and express them in a healthy fashion. Here are some ways to help your child express emotions.
-Brainstorm feeling words like mad, sad, happy, afraid, excited, surprised.
-Take the Feelings Friend and have your child place the corresponding facial expression with each emotion being discussed.
-Next
ask your child how they might respond to the Feelings Friend after each
different emotion.
This
teaches your child how to be empathetic to other people’s feelings. So for example when the Feelings Friend has a
sad face on you might encourage your child to ask the friend why they are
sad. Ask your child how they feel when
sad and how they would want to be treated.
These are great lessons for handling emotions in a healthy way and also
to respond well to other people’s emotions.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Benefits of Water Play
That is why SmartGamesAndToys believes in the benefits of water play.
Water is the
life giving basic raw element that we depend on for sustenance but that we can
also learn much from. It provides fun
and enjoyment and also purposeful learning.
There is no right way or wrong way to play in the water; we are free to
use our imagination with no constraints.
Once you know some of the benefits of water play you will see it as the
valuable learning tool it can be. Think
of all the hand-eye coordination happening with pouring water from a cup-o-fun or squeezing water from a jungle squirtee or stirring water with a water whirly.
Think of all the lessons learned when a child sees a big object like floating
blocks float on top of the water while a smaller object such as a penny
will sink. What happens to the molecules
in water when it is hot versus cold? Meaningful
concepts can make more sense and have a bigger impact when we can feel them,
see them and experience them.
Water
gives us the opportunity to have this hands on experience. And water has the effect of relaxing us. When we float in water or sit in a warm bath
our tensions are released and troubles melt away. And speaking of melt, what a great lesson
water can provide with water versus ice!
When does snow melt to water?
What happens to water when it becomes ice? Below are some great lessons you can explore
with your child through the experience of water play.
1.) Where
does water come from?
2.) Force water through a small opening and then
force through a large opening. This is a
great lesson in more surface area=less force.
3.) Build a structure to show water running
downhill.
4.) Show hot water versus cold water and explain
molecules move faster in hot water.
5.) Float objects versus sinking objects.
What are
some fun ways you play with water? Let
us know and comment on our blog! We look
forward to hearing from you.
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