Play time: Fun time, learning time, bonding time!
Copyright 2006 Living Your Best Life
I'm sure you've experience this parenting dilemma. The sun is shining and it's a beautiful, hot day. Your daughter or son is begging you to take him or her to the park but there is a pile of washing in the laundry basket, a stack of dishes in the sink and countless other chores. On the one hand you want to spend quality time with your child but on the other hand the housework has to be tackled. What is a parent to do after all play is just play or is it? In this article I will explain, that children learn through play, different types of play and their value, how play helps the development of a person from babies into adulthood and finally, how playing with your child is an opportunity for bonding, learning and fun.
What do children learn through play?
Why is play vital and why should it be encouraged? Children it is the main way that children learn, in fact for children play is work.
Play helps children to communicate ideas, it allows them to develop important skills and also it excites children.
Through play our children learn skills and habits that will help them develop into happy, healthy well-balanced adults. For play to be meaningful your child needs your participation sometimes. Twenty minutes a day or more will increase your children's development. Playing with parents and carers is wonderful but playing with friends of their own age and older children is enriching and will help them learn social skills.
What are the benefits of play?
There are many ways in which children benefit from play.
It has been proven by psychologists that children who do not play fail to thrive. For play to be meaningful, children need someone to play with, choice, variety and enthusiasm. The benefits of play can be seen in five areas, they are:
Physical ? Developing co-ordination, physical fitness and health Social ? learning about friendships, personality and emotions Emotional ? practicing adult roles through role play Language ? communication skills, problem solving Cognitive ? through play children develop an understanding of concepts, group objects and explore different materials Children need a range of toys and materials to develop in all of the five areas.
Different types of play and their value
Play can take many different shapes and forms however your child needs a balance of all forms in order to develop into a well-rounded adult. Play type can be divided into four main areas, imaginative play, construction, creative play, physical play and board games. Through imaginative play or pretend play children dress up and act out different aspects of daily life.
Children learn to tell stories and make sense of daily life experiences.
Construction play uses a variety of toys including, duplo, bricks, and magnetic blocks and also re-cycled materials such as boxes. Children love to create things out of ?junk'; I know my two-year-old granddaughter can play for hours with large boxes. They become houses, ships, washing machines the list is endless! Construction toys help children learn about shape, colour and size, improve fine motor skills, problem solve and concentration.
Creative play covers a wide range of activities such as painting, drawing, collage (cutting, gluing and sticking), play dough and sewing. Creative play provides opportunities for children to develop manipulative skills experiment and make choices for themselves. I find that in the summer most creative activities can be relocated outside but during the winter a cheap shower curtain can protect surfaces from damage.
Imaginative play such as dressing up, playing with farms, train sets, dolls' houses enable children to develop their imaginations.
They learn how the world works as well as making up stories and re-enacting favourite tales. When Ella plays with her baby doll Amy, we have to rock Amy to sleep, feed her and bathe her. A client, Carmen learnt that playing hospitals prepared her son for a visit to the hospital. She was amazed by Sam's confidence. Sam a quiet 6 year old talked to the Doctor as if they were old friends.
Old clothes make fantastic dressing up outfits.
Physical play covers many activities, which can be indoors or outdoors. It can involve large play equipment like bikes, climbing frames, tunnels, smaller toys like bats, balls and hoops or no equipment at all. My niece loves to play hide and seek or chasing games. Physical play is not only healthy but develops large and small motor skills (necessary for muscle control), self-confidence, spatial awareness and co-operation.
Board games and playing cards such as ludo, snap, snakes and ladders provide hours of endless fun and also provide children with an opportunity to develop language skills, turn taking, sharing and how to be a good sport.
Playing with children from birth onwards
Babies respond on a very instinctive level. Play with babies from birth onwards by talking, making faces, tickling and playing peek-a-boo games.
The best way to ensure a child plays with a toy is to make it fun.
If you play together with the toy he will enjoy it much more and you will increase the learning potential. Playing with your child makes him or her feel loved and special. It is important to follow your child's lead when you are playing together and don't worry if your child plays with the same toys over and over again because its quite normal.
How does play help children develop into well-balanced adults?
I am sure you have met and worked with people who you find difficult to get along with? It could be they lack confidence, poor communication skills or an inability to work as part of a team. Through play children learn to share and develop their sense of self. Play as I have explained offers opportunities to develop language, physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual development which are all vital skills necessary for a productive and happy adult life.
Play is essential to a child's develops and grows.
Playing with a wide range of toys helps children learn a wide variety her of skills that will prepare her for adulthood.
Choosing the most appropriate toys for your child is quite simple. Think about safety, take into account her preferences, is it suitable for her age and will it develop a skill? Next time you are faced with the decision of whether to play with your child or complete a chore you can choose to play knowing that you are enhancing his or her development. Your enthusiastic participation will establish a special closeness that will resonate throughout both your lives.
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Latter-day Saints Mobilize 4000 Volunteers in Chainsaw Brigade?s First Wave
Atlanta, Ga (ContentDesk) September 17, 2005 --
"We have not had such help since we were liberated by the Americans after World War II."
So concluded a retired Hungarian couple finally able to enjoy a respite from the overwhelming task of digging out from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
They had been trying for some time to chop up the seven uprooted trees that littered their yard, using a Boy Scout hatchet, when volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, moving through the area with ladders and chainsaws, stopped and offered help.
Within a couple of hours, the yard was cleared of debris.
In a weekend that saw a massive mobilization of Latter-day Saint volunteers from throughout the Southeast, the Georgia crew of five was part of a force of 4000 who took the buzz of chainsaws to hurricane-stricken areas throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
Setting aside their weekday routines as bankers, accountants, contractors,...
Ladders > Latter-day Saints Mobilize 4000 Volunteers in Chainsaw Brigade?s First Wave
Ladders
A ladder is a collective set of steps, linked vertically via two horizontal rods. These steps are called rungs and the rods supporting them are called stiles. A ladder is commonly used for climbing at home or at work. There are two types of ladders -- rigid or hard material ladders and rope ladders. Rigid ladders are generally portable, but are sometimes fixed permanently to buildings or structures.
Ladders come in variety of styles and heights. They can either be rented or purchased. Styles include stool, foldable and single length ladders. Each ladder has a defined weight that it can support and come in a choice of materials like aluminum, fiberglass, steel, wood and iron. Fiberglass ladders are the strongest and most durable.
Although a bit heavier than aluminum, they do not present any risk while doing electrical work.
Rigid ladders serve a lot of purposes. They are used for attics, pools, docks, libraries, shops, etc. They are available...
Ladders > Ladders
The risk from working at Heights
In 2004/ 2005 53 people died in the UK and nearly 3,800 were seriously injured as a result of a result of a workplace fall. Falls are the most common cause of death at work.
If you work at height for any task then your employer has a duty under the Working at Height regulations which places a duty of care on employers to protect their employees safety at all times who may be at risk of personal injury from a fall from height.
Latest projects launched by the Health and Safety Executive highlight the risk to the health of workers who conduct duties whilst at height but do insist that this does not mean a ban on the use of ladders as previously reported in the media.
The working at height regulations do not outright the ban in the use of stepladders but place emphasis to employers that they must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks connected with the working duties. This also entails finding reasonable alternatives if possible...
Ladders > The risk from working at Heights
Pool Ladders
Pool ladders are installed in almost all swimming pools. They are used to climb in and out of the pool. There is a wide collection of ladders available for both in-ground and aboveground pools. They are available in aluminum, white vinyl, structural plastic, resin and stainless steel materials. Color choice does not vary much, since painting them is not viable.
Some of them are lined with anti-skid material to avoid slips and falls. They come with easy assembling techniques and provide a few years warranty. They are available with outdoor equipment suppliers, hardware stores, pool accessories suppliers and on the Internet.
For in ground pools, ladders generally have 2-5 steps going towards the deck. The ladders could have a platform or could just land straight on the deck. The height and shape of the ladder should be compatible to your pool.
Various types of ladders suitable to vinyl liner pools and concrete and fiberglass pools can be found. They need to be...
Pool Ladders
Ladders > Pool Ladders
The Fisherman Sweater
The Fisherman Sweater Fisherman sweaters used to be something that were seen as items of warm and rugged work wear, but much as changed, and fisherman sweaters have followed jeans to make that transformation from work wear to a 20th century fashionable clothing item.Fisherman Sweater HistoryRooted in our common heritage, commercial fishermen, weekend sailors, farmers and in fact people from all walks of life love the fisherman sweater. At sea, and in town, it is a symbol of simpler times when you could look good in something that was designed just to be practical and keep you warm, not to show off a label in order to be some kind of status symbol like many garments manufactured today.The fisherman sweater has its origins in Brittany. Surprisingly it was not the fishermen that started to wear them, but merchants who during the 18th century travelled to England to sell onions, these merchants wore an item of knitted wool clothing that made them recognizable from a distance, the garments...
The Fisherman Sweater
Ladders > The Fisherman Sweater
Amazing New Digital Measuring System Saves Sign Shops Time, Effort And Money
La Mesa, CA (ContentDesk) June 16, 2006 -- Commercial sign shop owners, operators, and graphic designers now have an innovative new tool to save time , effort and reduce costs when measuring projects.
Thanks to the Amazing Sticky Yard" Digital Measuring System, sign makers can take measurements of any size object quickly and easily using a digital photo, their computer and the Amazing Sticky Yard software.
With the Sticky Yard www.stickyyard.com
as a reference, measurements can be taken as often as neededwith just a few clicks of a mouse.
The Amazing Sticky Yard Digital Measuring System saves valuable time during the estimating phase of a new sign project.
Sticky Yard eliminates the need for ladders, clumsy measuring tapes that do not stay in place, and repeat measuring trips.
Graphic designers and sign makers can even forget about spending time sketching...
Amazing New Digital Measuring System Saves Sign Shops Time, Effort And Money
Ladders > Amazing New Digital Measuring System Saves Sign Shops Time, Effort And Money
Pool Accessories Buying Guide
Every year, thousands of homeowners decide to buy a swimming pool. A great number of these swimming pools are in-ground pools, while others are above ground pools.
No matter which type of pool you plan to buy, there is one thing that you should remember. It is frequently hard or even impossible to buy just a pool. In addition to a pool, you can buy pool accessories or supplies.
Lots of people are unsure exactly what pool accessories are, and where to purchase them.If you going to purchase a swimming pool, you should learn about the most popular and most needed pool accessories and supplies.
One of the first things that you should consider buying is cleaning supplies. Generally, cleaning supplies are included in the price of your pool. You must buy your own.
When buying a swimming pool, it is critical that you check all of the fixtures that are included in your package. Nearly all swimming pool packages will include...
Ladders > Pool Accessories Buying Guide
Ladders
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