Summertime is the time for road trips and vacations and while it’s tempting to just put a movie in the car DVD player or let the kids play on their DS for the whole drive there are other ways to help keep your child busy as you travel. Now I know as a parent that I can only play I Spy with my Little Eye, or sing “The wheels on the bus” so many times before it drives me nuts so here are a couple of other ideas that can help take the “Are we there yet” out of your children.
1. Wind-up toys can keep fingers active and provide amusement. Their small size makes them easily portable.
2. Dot –to –dot books from 1 -20 or 1-500 can be bought and keep kids interest as they anxiously connect the dots to find out what the picture is on the paper.
3. Travel games are available in a lot of different varieties. Plus games are a great way to help teach social skills like communication and good sportsmanship as well as reinforcing vocabulary, spelling and math skills. I still love the old Traffic Sign Bingo.
4. Magnetic play sets. These come in a wide variety of themes and allow children the ability to imagine, pretend and play while in the car and don’t take up a lot of room.
5. Drawing paper and stickers are a part of every household with children and have gone on many a road trip. Have your child keep a journal of the trip making notes about everything that they see. Have them exercise their creative writing skills by writing fictional stories based on what they see. Creating comic books can also really help those miles disappear.
6. And speaking of books, good old fashion books and reading are still great ways to pass the time on those long road trips. Better yet, take turns reading the book to each other and practice your flair for Drama. Kids will love hearing all the different voices you can make and you will love finding out how well your child can read.
These are just a few tips and ideals to help you pass the time on all of your trips. Whatever you do and however you choose to help your kids pass the time, remember that the importance of a summer road trip is to spend quality time with your family. So next time you’re heading on a long trip, I hope you remember to have fun and activate your child’s imagination.
Coming up next time: Summertime Learning Loss and what you can do to help eliminate it.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
My 6 year old daughter doesn’t play with toys.
To the woman in the store the other day looking for an item for her 6 year old daughter that really didn’t play much, I want to apologize, as I don’t feel like I gave you very much help. All I did was tell you what our best selling items were for girls her age and well, to be honest with you, that was pretty presumptuous of me to think that your child would be like others and want to play with the same things when you clearly told me that you were having problems getting her to show interest in playing at all.
Our children are saturated with all the technological gadgets that we adults crave and from watching us, it is natural that they want those gadgets as well, even though they may not be ready for them. Sometimes that very same technology can make traditional play seem static and boring to some children if they are using the technology so it is important to try and remind ourselves and our children of how much fun it can be to play with a simple toy. Likewise for some children, if they haven’t seen a commercial for it or watched it on TV, they might not know how to play with some toys.
So now that I have had some time to think about your original question, here are some suggestions that I would like to make:
1. Remember back to your own childhood and what you liked to play with at that age. Tell her all about it. Was it dolls, arts and crafts, horses? Whatever it was, telling your daughter about the things you played with as a child will get her interest and at the very least provides you and her with a mother/daughter moment.
2. Think about what you would like her to play with and try to lead her in that direction. While it is very easy for us adults to just provide our children with the things that they think they want, it is also important to sometimes gently nudge them into doing and playing with things that we think would be good for them. You know your child best.
3. Get her involved in collecting something. Figurines, dolls, erasers, stamps, or even rocks can all been fun objects to find and collect. Collecting can sometimes be just like a mini treasure hunt as your looking to find items to collect. Yes, collecting is a form of play that can turn into a lifetime hobby that is fun, educational and personally fulfilling.
4. Ask a grandparent to get involved. There really is a lot of wisdom in those older generations. Of course you might end up hearing a long story about how the only thing they had to play with was a stick and a rock, but the important thing is that they knew how to play, entertain and amuse themselves. Marbles, Jacks, and paper dolls are all still great toys as well.
5. If you really want to get her to notice toys and how to play, then buy her a toy normally meant for a boy. This may seem strange to most but why not? Maybe she isn’t playing because she really doesn’t like girl toys and wants something different. We as adults sometimes need to break out of the gender stereotypical ideals about play that we impose on our children. Girls can build with construction sets and drive cars, trucks, planes and trains just as much as boys can so see if she wants to play with those toys.
I realize of course that a lot of these suggestions do require some adult guidance but don’t fret it. It doesn’t need to take up a lot of your time nor does it need to cost a lot of money. Just like children sometimes need help with school work, sometimes children need to be shown how to play as well. Unlike school work 5 or 10 minutes is usually all that is needed to get the old play juices in a child’s brain flowing as they are naturally drawn to play. With our children being saturated with video games, computers, iPods and cell phones, they are only modeling what they see us adults constantly doing every day and think that is what they should be doing as well. It is important to remind ourselves and our children that it is important to play and that all those technological things, while being a lot of fun, are not really needed to keep ourselves entertained. We also need to develop lots of different play patterns so that we can become a well-rounded individual familiar with a lot of different things. I sincerely hope this is a better answer to your question about getting your 6 year old interested in playing. I also hope that you don’t forget to play as well. Even as an adult, we can benefit from good quality playtime.
Our children are saturated with all the technological gadgets that we adults crave and from watching us, it is natural that they want those gadgets as well, even though they may not be ready for them. Sometimes that very same technology can make traditional play seem static and boring to some children if they are using the technology so it is important to try and remind ourselves and our children of how much fun it can be to play with a simple toy. Likewise for some children, if they haven’t seen a commercial for it or watched it on TV, they might not know how to play with some toys.
So now that I have had some time to think about your original question, here are some suggestions that I would like to make:
1. Remember back to your own childhood and what you liked to play with at that age. Tell her all about it. Was it dolls, arts and crafts, horses? Whatever it was, telling your daughter about the things you played with as a child will get her interest and at the very least provides you and her with a mother/daughter moment.
2. Think about what you would like her to play with and try to lead her in that direction. While it is very easy for us adults to just provide our children with the things that they think they want, it is also important to sometimes gently nudge them into doing and playing with things that we think would be good for them. You know your child best.
3. Get her involved in collecting something. Figurines, dolls, erasers, stamps, or even rocks can all been fun objects to find and collect. Collecting can sometimes be just like a mini treasure hunt as your looking to find items to collect. Yes, collecting is a form of play that can turn into a lifetime hobby that is fun, educational and personally fulfilling.
4. Ask a grandparent to get involved. There really is a lot of wisdom in those older generations. Of course you might end up hearing a long story about how the only thing they had to play with was a stick and a rock, but the important thing is that they knew how to play, entertain and amuse themselves. Marbles, Jacks, and paper dolls are all still great toys as well.
5. If you really want to get her to notice toys and how to play, then buy her a toy normally meant for a boy. This may seem strange to most but why not? Maybe she isn’t playing because she really doesn’t like girl toys and wants something different. We as adults sometimes need to break out of the gender stereotypical ideals about play that we impose on our children. Girls can build with construction sets and drive cars, trucks, planes and trains just as much as boys can so see if she wants to play with those toys.
I realize of course that a lot of these suggestions do require some adult guidance but don’t fret it. It doesn’t need to take up a lot of your time nor does it need to cost a lot of money. Just like children sometimes need help with school work, sometimes children need to be shown how to play as well. Unlike school work 5 or 10 minutes is usually all that is needed to get the old play juices in a child’s brain flowing as they are naturally drawn to play. With our children being saturated with video games, computers, iPods and cell phones, they are only modeling what they see us adults constantly doing every day and think that is what they should be doing as well. It is important to remind ourselves and our children that it is important to play and that all those technological things, while being a lot of fun, are not really needed to keep ourselves entertained. We also need to develop lots of different play patterns so that we can become a well-rounded individual familiar with a lot of different things. I sincerely hope this is a better answer to your question about getting your 6 year old interested in playing. I also hope that you don’t forget to play as well. Even as an adult, we can benefit from good quality playtime.
Monday, November 15, 2010
New Blogs, New Stores, New beginnings
Ok So it has been an awfully long time since I have posted anything here to my blog. I have to admit that trying to keep up with technology and run a business and still have time for my family is a very challenging mix. I'm sure you all understand. So anyway, I'm going to go in a new direction with the blog. I want to continue to give everyone useful information about the Toys and Games we sell as well as keep everyone up on the latest happenings at Bee Active Toys.
So here it is;
Bee Active Toys now has two locations. We are at Tanger Outlets in Tuscola and at Marketplace Mall in Champaign. Stop in and say hi next time your there.
We have also changed our website and continue to make improvements on it. Check it out at www.beeactivetoys.com
And oh yeah, I almost forgot. I am now one of the experts online at http://mix945.com/pages/8464695.php?ranId=0.7805736292312633
Thanks Illini Radio Group. I look forward to answering any questions that parents have about toys and games.
If you have any questions about the products we carry or the toy industry, please feel free to ask.
Brad
So here it is;
Bee Active Toys now has two locations. We are at Tanger Outlets in Tuscola and at Marketplace Mall in Champaign. Stop in and say hi next time your there.
We have also changed our website and continue to make improvements on it. Check it out at www.beeactivetoys.com
And oh yeah, I almost forgot. I am now one of the experts online at http://mix945.com/pages/8464695.php?ranId=0.7805736292312633
Thanks Illini Radio Group. I look forward to answering any questions that parents have about toys and games.
If you have any questions about the products we carry or the toy industry, please feel free to ask.
Brad
Monday, March 16, 2009
March Store Hours
The store hours this month are as follows:
Tuesday - Friday 10:00 - 6:00
Saturday 10:00 - 4:00
Come in and see us this month. We are getting more spring and Easter items in stock now.
Tuesday - Friday 10:00 - 6:00
Saturday 10:00 - 4:00
Come in and see us this month. We are getting more spring and Easter items in stock now.
Back to Blogging!
Well, as I'm sure a lot of you have noticed it has been a long time since I have been posting anything here. The new year brought a lot of changes on the personal level that have kept me hoping for the last few months.
The beginning of the year for the toy store meant us at Bee Active Toys going through all of our inventory and making sure that all of our products met the new requirements for the CPSIA act of 2008.
I also started back to teaching and have continued work on my educational research. It is getting more involved than I originally thought but I am finding it very interesting. I won't bore you here with the details on applying cognitive loads with hands on skills or the knowledge gaps that exist between the two but if you have any interest in it please feel free to email me and I'll be glad to answer some of your questions about my research.
February brought the birth of our 4th child, Egan Daniel Curry. The rest of this time I have been enjoying the new little one, so between teaching, studying, the store and the new baby I haven't had the time to post like I want to. Anyway, I'm hoping to get back to posting and letting everyone know about all of the new stuff coming into Bee Active Toys.
The beginning of the year for the toy store meant us at Bee Active Toys going through all of our inventory and making sure that all of our products met the new requirements for the CPSIA act of 2008.
I also started back to teaching and have continued work on my educational research. It is getting more involved than I originally thought but I am finding it very interesting. I won't bore you here with the details on applying cognitive loads with hands on skills or the knowledge gaps that exist between the two but if you have any interest in it please feel free to email me and I'll be glad to answer some of your questions about my research.
February brought the birth of our 4th child, Egan Daniel Curry. The rest of this time I have been enjoying the new little one, so between teaching, studying, the store and the new baby I haven't had the time to post like I want to. Anyway, I'm hoping to get back to posting and letting everyone know about all of the new stuff coming into Bee Active Toys.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Bee Active Toys Announces Holiday Hours
Bee Active Toys will be open Monday-Fridays, 10am-8pm, and Sundays, 12-5pm, starting on Friday, November 28. The store will be open these hours up until Christmas Eve when we will close at 5pm so that our employees and family can enjoy the holiday.
Of course you can always shop online 24-7 at www.beeactivetoys.com.
Of course you can always shop online 24-7 at www.beeactivetoys.com.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! We here at Bee Active Toys are very thankful for family, friends, freedom and all that we have. We do consider ourselves very fortunate to be in a country where we can have all of our needs and a lot of our wants met. We would like to take time today to say Thanks for all that we have had over the last year. We wish everybody a very Happy Thanksgiving!
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