Children learn as they play …
Most importantly, in play,
children learn how to learn …
O. Fred Donaldson
Let’s face it! We all love our children dearly, right? Yes, of course, we do. And we love hanging out with them as much as we can, always! But, there are those times when we’ve got to drive somewhere, or wait in somebody’s office, like the doctor, or the kids are climbing the walls because they have cabin fever from the deluge of rain over the holidays and all we want them to do is settle and have some quiet time, to enable ourselves to function and think. It’s around about this time that one quick fix is to hand over the phone or tablet and give the kids some extra screen time.
It’s not a secret, it is actually proven by the powers that be, that screens are addictive so why do we turn to them when we want some peace? Sure, parents are human and sometimes it’s the only resource they have on hand. Our phones and tablets are always on hand, or in our handbags.
Well, what if I told you there is another resource you can turn to, especially for the younger children and one that fits in your handbag or the kid’s backpack? ISpy Sensory Sacks by TwiggleDee are just the thing to keep little fingers and hands busy, as well as actively engaging their young minds.
They are the ideal quiet activity to keep your child entertained in the car, the supermarket while sitting and waiting for appointments and many other situations required to keep little ones occupied. They are super fun, creative and an open-ended playtime for kids of all ages.
The TwiggleDee’s ISpy Sensory Sack is a small pouch filled with gel beads and 25 tiny treasures or trinkets that kids can find by manipulating the bag so that the trinkets surface to the clear plastic window. Attached is a photo card of the objects that are hidden with which they can check off as they find them. If siblings or friends have a TwiggleDee ISpy Sensory Sack too, the children can race each other.
SOME IDEAS:
- Feel and manipulate the TwiggleDee’s ISpy Sensory Sack to entice the small objects to the surface. Use the attached photo card to help find all the items shown.
- Use the attached photo card to define which items have not been found yet and which items have.
- Label and name each item found inside the bag.
- Count how many items are inside the bag. Count how many you can see?
- Count all the blue objects or count or the yellow objects?
- Ask questions such as: can you find any shapes? Can you find something that is red?
- Use a timer to see how fast can you find all the things on the list?
- Race a partner.
- Detach the card and use the ISpy Sack as a bean bag and play throw and catch.
If you haven’t time to make your own ISpy Sack, then pop on over to Debbie’s shop where you find a variety of ISpy Sacks, all handmade by Debbie (TwiggleDee). Debbie is a firm believer in open-ended and discovery learning and highly recommends educational toys as a way to develop children’s senses, thinking and manipulative skills.
Play is the work of the child.
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