Skip to main content

Understanding and taking the first step ! No, no to battery operated things!


Our journey to open ended play and taking that first step.


They say realizing you need something or you are doing something not so quite right is the first step towards making a change!

Well, then the hard parts done and the rest seems to be easy. Ha! I didn't know what should I do next? Seriously, I had no idea.

Before I could encourage open ended play, I needed the right set of tools. What are these tools, it sounds very interesting but how do I start, rather where do I start. What does it meant to have create the right environment! 
And it started looking like OMG, this is going to be so MUCH WORK, EFFORT and MONEY!

Yes, it is going to be some work and definitely lot of effort. Anyways, I was totally okay putting in the extra time, effort etc. But were do I being with all of this?


FIRST STEP : Think about things in your kids room/play area/things they use mostly that are limiting, encouraging limited play. 

When I say limited play:
  • Things like battery operated which help you learn words. 
  • Things which have specific instructions to have a shape or a card or a plane etc
  • AND FOR SURE, those cell phones, or tablets or any electronic devices
I started off by clearing those leap frog toys we had etc. I was surprised how many toys I was able to collect!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kid friendly wineries!

Visiting wineries with a toddler, it is a requirement to look for wineries that are kid friendly! As we continue our wine adventure, I plan on sharing kid friendly wineries as we explore! Napa Castello Di Amorosa A Tuscan style castle winery with beautiful views! Plan on making reservation during summer, holidays or weekends - It’s a popular spot and guided tours can be sold out. If you don’t plan on doing a guided tour, they offer general admission for two levels of the castle and wine tasting. The castle has grass area outside with some trees. Trees are great on hot summer day to sit and relax. Winery comes with emus, peacocks, goats, sheep and chicken. Great for kids to run around, and play with the animals. The coolest dungeon tasting room, lets you enjoy some wine tasting while the kids are kept happily occupied with breadsticks and grape juice. A knight’s suit of armor in the corner completes the ambiance.St Helena downtown is just...

Endless Possibilities! - Our introduction to open ended play.

Starting our journey with understanding, building an open ended play environment! Well, it all started when I felt like kids are meant to explore, be curious and NOT necessarily just follow instructions. Most of the toys today are very instructions based, match the shapes, color within borders, follow the path etc etc.  I saw that my toddler was getting good at following instructions and doing exactly what it said! Shouldn't this be like a win! I actually started feeling like I was taking away the creativity, making more instruction following kid. I am not in any way saying kids shouldn't follow instructions, they absolutely should learn too. And in many things they should, but while they play, do things, maybe NOT.  That's when I started exploring what would it be like if we weren't into these toys and having kids follow instructions to create things/play only in a certain way. The first thing I noticed was these battery operated toys. They ar...

Red wood heaven - Muir Woods Monument, in the Bay Area!

Have been meaning to write about our visit to this gorgeous place for a while. It's definitely on of those places which you must visit if you are visiting San Francisco. The red wood trees here have so much history, it's so close to the city yet so secluded. It's about 45 mins drive from the San Francisco city and one of the ways to get there let's you drive over the Golden Gate Bridge( One of the many things you can do). The drive up there is beautiful. You will cross so many scenic points along the way. Parking can get full quickly over long weekends or so.. They have overflow parking as well as bus system that runs from Mill valley to Muir Woods. You can opt for that or drive yourself. Once you get to Muir woods, buy your tickets and ask for Junior Ranger program. It's for kids of the age 4 and above. But it's great to keep them entertained, learn about the park and it's free! There also are range lead program which provide a lot of information on...