Teach & Play - Using Cast & Paint Chalk for Creativity, Reading Strategies and Math Skills!

Discovery Toys recently launched their Summer Flyer filled with creative summer toys and books. One item that is sure to add fun to your days - no matter if it is sunny or raining - is the Cast & Paint Chalk! And, as with most DT products, this kit promotes the development of essential skills in a fun way!

Buy it here (and more besides!)

Now, don't diss chalk before you have a chance to hear about this great kit, or how you can use it! Cast & Paint is more than your average box of side-walk chalk.... the kit contains everything the children need to make 24 colourful chalk pieces in 6 fun shapes... which means mixing ingredients and colour experiments! While children figure they are "just doing crafts" they are actually using their creativity to design their pieces and choose their colour combinations, as well as boosting their comprehension of scientific concepts (states of matter; transformation), perfecting their ability to follow directions (to make the chalk), and learning how colours combine! The chalk mold is re-usable and replacement casting material (non-toxic, by the way) is available to prolong the fun :-)

So, that, in a nut shell, is the rainy-day aspect of the Cast & Paint Chalk kit.... and the benefits it provides while making the chalk.... But there's more! There is SO much you can do with your children outside with chalk on a sunny day! Let's think beyond the standard doodles (which promote creativity!) and hopscotch (number concepts/motor skills!) and consider some of these ides:

Letter Recognition - essential pre-reading skill:

• Alphabet Hopscotch - jump from one letter to another.... have children identify letters as they go.
• Upper-Lower Case match up - fill driveway with the upper and lower letters of the alphabet (don't put the matches TOO far apart!) and have your child jump from little a to big A, little b to big B and so on....

Sight Words - essential reading skill:

• Word Scramble - start with writing out the letters to short, common words, as they improve switch to bigger words, or the added challenge of un-scrambling 2 short words at a time (o g c d a t = "dog" and "cat" for example)
• Word Jump Maze - you write sight words on the pavement, then direct your child to jump from one end of your grid to the other by calling out sight words... they can only jump to the words you call as they move from one end to the other. 

Math Skills and Number Concepts:

• Sidewalk Math (addition/subtraction/understanding of number line) - draw a number line with numbers 1-10, 1-20 or whatever matches your child's abilities. Have your child start at their age, then walk plus 2 steps... so X plus 2 is? Then take that number and have them add on or take away steps, always reinforcing the math sentence before moving on to a new one (ie: child starts at 5... 5 + 2 =7, then have them take away/walk back 3 steps... so 7 - 3 = 4, then add on/walk forward 2 steps, so 4 + 2 = 6 and so on). 
• Math Grid (multiplication/division and understanding of mathematical terms) - create a 4 x 4 block grid on the pavement. Write various numbers (aim for those that are products and quotients of other numbers) in the squares. Direct your older child to go to the product of 5X5, or to the square root of 16 or to the quotient of 80/8, etc.

Do you play with sidewalk chalk with your kids? What games do you play?

Make a Boredom Jar

I saw this posted on Today's Parent Facebook page! A great printable to create your own boredom jar! Another idea: have a stash of Discovery Toys nearby - Wiz Kid, Tricky Fingers and Bakari are a few of my favourite games that are fun & engaging AND transport easily!

CLICK HERE TO LINK TO FULL PRINTABLE DOCUMENT

Brainstorming: End of Year Gifts for Teachers

I like to give something small and unique to my boys' teachers at the end of the school year. In the past, they have given little handy desk kits (post-it notes, paper clips, pen, etc all done up in a decorative tin), pens, home-made cards for all occasions, crocheted bookmarks with a gift card.... something useful with a personal touch has been the goal.

So, I am starting to think about what to do for the teachers this year... a few of the ideas I am considering are:

• a door-knob reminder pouch - something to hang on the door knob where they stash those things thay must. not. forget. on the way out the door! 
• i-tunes gift card - could be for personal or school use as the teachers are all getting i-pads for their classrooms
• crocheted pencil jar for their desk
• Something from Discovery Toys, to spread the joy... like one of these options, all available here:

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Wiz Kids game could easily be played in the classroom (and everyone can participate at the same time!)....

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Mosaic Mysteries and Playful Patterns would both have many uses in the classroom for play as well as for math and art classes....

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Games on the Go offers a slew of games in one box (and, as each game is on a separate card, Games on the Go would also make a great classmate gift - one card/game per child with a little note and my child's phone number, to stay in touch over the summer!)....

... Decisions, decisions ;-)

Fun Toy: Tricky Fingers

I was at a Craft and Vendor Fair on the weekend, for the first time, with my toys!

It was a fantastic afternoon.... many, many children were attracted by my "wares" and parents were equally as interested! I mean, seriously, why wouldn't they come see my table? Discovery Toys are SO colourful and attractive you can't help but be drawn to them.... and you can tell they are well made! Like I tell everyone, as a mom I am looking for toys that are SAFE and FUN that help my kids LEARN.... and that, my friends, is exactly what a DT toy delivers!

But, as exciting as all that was for me, it was not want I wanted to talk about today.... I wanted to let you know about TRICKY FINGERS.

GET IT HERE!

When I first saw this toy, I wasn't really sure about it.... however, since it came in the mail, and I have been playing it, I totally get why it is one of DT's best selling toys! It is addictive!

So, basically, you get two of the marble-filled cases and a set of cards with a grid/pattern on them. The goal is to get the different coloured marbles in your case to copy the pattern of the coloured circles on the card. You can play it solo, or challenge yourself against a friend to see who can complete the grid the quickest!

This toy was one  of the ones I displayed on the weekend, and I was thrilled by the diversity of people who played it! Two little 6 year old girls kept coming back and playing it over and over again! A tween boy was also quite taken by it, and I had Moms and grandparents playing it too - one fellow even wanted it to take to the cabin!

You can get Tricky Fingers and other toys form DT's Clever Connectors collection here. 

Remember to....

Play Every Day!

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 

– George Bernard Shaw

Hammer Away

I had a visit yesterday from my Aunt and my sweet little cousin, soon-to-be-two Amy. Amy was fascinated by all my Discovery Toys items.... but this may have been her favourite: Hammer Away! Her immediate reaction was "Oh! Wow!" and she proceeded to explore... putting the balls through the holes,smacking them in with the hammer; matching up the colours.... when she realised the balls were coming out on the bottom she said "I did it!".  I can't WAIT for her next visit!

find it here

DT's Discovery Dough

Who doesn't love play dough? It's fun, it's squishy, it smells funny....

Here is an easy play dough recipe from Discovery Toys. This one uses the Measure Up Cups, each size corresponds to an actual measurement (#12 = 1 cup, #6 = 1/2 cup, etc), so your kids can use them to help you make any kid-friendly recipe! Plus, the Measure Up Cups stack really high, and the designs imprinted on them are great for stamping on play dough and cutting it out - TONS of FUN!

To get your own Measure Up Cups, order online here.

World Autism Day - DT Lights It Up Blue!

I love Discovery Toys - so much so that I signed up as a consultant to share the love ;-) Not only are their toys educational AND fun, they support great causes - like Autism Awareness!

Today, April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day and Discovery Toys is participating all month long (April 1 - 30) in the Light It Up Blue program to help shine a light on autism. Purchase any of these selected 8 DT Products and Discovery Toys will donate $1 to Autism Speaks® for each product sold! Discovery Toys also identifies which toys are suitable to build various skills by labelling each toy in their catalogue with a special autism symbol so parents can easily find the toys that meet their child's specific developmental needs! Cool, huh?

More Details on my Facebook page HERE!

According to Health Canada, Autism is one of many conditions that fall into the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) category. Autism affects the way the brain develops, causing the individual to have difficulty with communication and social interaction, and unusual patterns of behaviour, activities and interests. While symptomatic behaviours can vary from very mild to quite severe depending on the individual affected, children "on the spectrum" almost always have trouble communicating, problems with social interaction, repetitive behaviours, or unusual or limited interests. Possible signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders include, but are not limited to: trouble with pointing or making meaningful gestures by 1 year; inability to speak one word by 16 months or to combine two words by 2 years; being unresponsive to own name; avoidance of making eye contact; strong resistance to changes in routines. For more information, consult your doctor or visit the Health Canada Autism page here.