Child Led Play

So, I have recently read that child led play is becoming a thing of the past. This makes me sad. Kids are getting involved in more sports at earlier ages, replacing the much needed and beneficial child led play with adult led play which is much more about the rules and much less about the imagination and the ability to create and work together without adult rules. In my opinion, it is important to encourage child led play as much as possible in all ages, including the older ages, as high as 6th and 7th graders, not just in pre-schoolers and elementary ages.

I love the web site hearthsong.com. It has a lot of toys and activities that encourage creativity and imagination. One of my favorites are play silks. These can be bought on a toy web site or a web site that sells dyed silk scarves. These scarves open up so many opportunities for role playing and creative play.

Another fun addition to the toy closet are a good set of stilts, especially fun for the older kids. These help with developement of balance and motor skills. And they are great fun for kids when they have more than one set. They can have obstacle courses or races.

Stacking toys are also tons of fun. Another that my kids have is this Star Stack Ups set. They have had so much fun seeing how high they can stack them and then knocking them down with the ball included.

Awesome play food purchase

I have read and heard a lot of scary things about plastic over the last year. Also, I have been trying to simplify and make changes leading to a more simple way of living, including my children's toys. I really am finding that toys that do less encourage the children to do more. Well, the burger I purchased from handsewn has been awesome for the kids to play with. This is the best burger ever! The kids have had so much fun taking it apart and building different types of burgers. Each ingrediant has been created perfectly. The pickles and onions are adorable and the swiss cheese makes me giggle every time I see it. I highly recommend this toy for children!! Also, because of the fuzzy texture, they are so much more careful at "pretending" to eat. With the plastic food, they are constantly shoving it in their mouths, but with this burger and the ice cream cones I bought from handsewn they actually pretend to eat it. Please check out this store!!