Learning by play gives a child skills
Toys can provide many happy hours for young people, and they can be taught many lessons either in the car, in the kitchen or in their rooms
LAY teaches us about the world around us, and just about everything is educational, says Ruth Kellow, owner of Kinderspiel toyshop at Killarney Mall.
Take a simple button. It can have two holes or four holes. So it can teach counting. Threading buttons on a string develops fine motor skills. Sewing two buttons to a sock makes a hand puppet that encourages speech, role-playing and imagination.
Toys and play are a passion for Kellow and she takes great joy in matching every child with a toy that will fascinate, delight and teach them.
Her mother was a kindergarten teacher and, despite modest means, Kellow always had a few exquisite toys.
“My mother taught me how to play with toys, and always encouraged me to play,” she says, recalling that as young copywriter she wrote about toy cars but never imagined she would own a toyshop one day.
She believes that people who love toys are creative and playful, and that finding play in any item is a sign of creativity and intelligence.
For parents seeking toys that are fun for children and help develop essential skills, it is sometimes difficult to know what toys to choose. It is also difficult to know what skills to encourage and the best time to do this.
Listen and love learning So many South Africans spend so much time travelling vast distances in their cars every day. This is the perfect opportunity to work on listening skills.
“Play a CD of nursery rhymes, children’s songs or an audiobook in the car. It can turn a dull trip into a fun one, stop kids from becoming bored and restless, and make the journey less stressful for the parent,” says Kellow.
You can also do this at home. She also suggests playing an audiobook for your child in the kitchen while you are preparing meals or cleaning. You can even do it while checking your e-mail or working. Make sure
Pto give them something for their hands to do, like play dough, so they don’t get fidgety.
Then there’s reading. This can be as enjoyable for parents as for children. Almost everyone, of every age, enjoys a good story, like those written by Ronald Dahl. It is a great opportunity for quality time together.
Music is a brilliant way to develop listening. Singing or playing with musical instruments like a xylophone or a drum builds listening – to follow a tune, keep a rhythm, learn lyrics or create a melody.
Refine those fine motor skills
Even in an age of digital technology, the pen and pencil are essential tools for modern living. Fine motor skills are essential for tasks such as writ- ing. They involve the strength and accurate use of muscles in the hand. Any action done by pinching the pointer finger and thumb together to grasp, hold and move a tool – like a pen, scissors, shoelaces – needs fine motor skills. Threading and lacing actions are helpful to build these skills. There are many toys and simple crafts that children can thread and lace, like stringing beads, lacing cards and age-suitable sewing crafts.
Puzzles are a great way to grow these skills – starting with pieces which have little knobs to help children pick up pieces, then moving to puzzles without knobs, and progressing to puzzles with more, and smaller, pieces.
Cutting-out can be a big challenge for little ones. Get a pair of blunt-tipped scissors to fit small hands, draw straight and wavy lines on a piece of paper and ask your child to cut on the lines.
Older pre-schoolers can also cut pictures from a magazine or old colouring book, keeping on the outside line of the image.
When it comes to fine motor skills, Kellow stresses avoiding overstimulation and skipping important developmental steps. “It’s important to crawl before you walk. Similarly, it is important to play with puzzles, before doing puzzles on an iPad, for example, where the motor skills are different,” she points out.
Stay on the ball with eyehand co-ordination
Eye-hand co-ordination is when you use your eyes to guide your hands. We use this skill all the time, from putting a key in a lock to picking up food on a fork and eating.
To stack blocks, a young preschooler needs to add a block to the pile by lifting the new block above the tower, and place it steadily on top. The eyes must direct the hands to do this without sending the blocks tumbling. Tracing develops handeye co-ordination as a child has to look at a line while moving the pencil along it.
Playing with a ball is an excellent way to work on handeye co-ordination. Rolling, throwing, kicking, dribbling and catching all need the eyes and body to work together to aim the ball at its mark. Visual tracking, understanding and predicting direction, distance and speed also develop with ball play.
Say it out loud Words alone are not enough for children to express themselves; they also need the skill and confidence to use them. Kellow suggests puppets, preferably with a movable mouth, as the ideal toy to help build speech. Children replay what they see, learn and experience every day. Puppets and dolls are a helpful way for preschoolers to use speech, role-play and their imagination.
She says that when choosing from the many dolls available on the market, parents should take note of the doll’s facial features. They should have gentle and non-specific expressions. This means a child can use the dolls to portray various emotions and situations, without limiting their role-play with faces that show only one emotion.
The importance Kellow places on puppets and dolls is reflected in the extensive range she offers at Kinderspiel Killarney Mall. Her dolls span all sizes, ethnicities and materials and her puppets include characters young and old, and even animals.
Contact Ruth Kellow at kinderspiel@telkomsa.net or visit her store at Killarney Mall.