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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