They assist in vocabulary growth, motor skills, social skills, speech sounds, and early literacy and numeracy skills.
The Little Lamb book by Wondertivity is a great book to help nuture and encourage your child's love of nursery rhymes. It contains 12 pages of themed nursery rhyme activities for you and your child to sing to whilst working on fine motor skills and acting out the song. Also perfect for unwinding after a big day out or for incorporating into your night time routine.
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They assist in vocabulary growth, motor skills, social skills, speech sounds, and early literacy and numeracy skills.
Actions!
Many nursery rhymes such as Incy Wincy Spider, Five Little Speckled Frogs and Humpty Dumpty and can be paired with simple actions. Actions combined with a nursery rhymes increase interactivity and in turn improves your child's ability to learn. Children learn best when they can hear it, see it and act it out themselves.
Repetition!
Almost all nursery rhymes have an element of repetition (Old McDonald Had a Farm, Five Little Speckled Frogs, BINGO). Not only are the same words repeated but the song has a routine and they usually start and end the same way. The repetitive and predictable nature of nursery rhymes help children absorb more information, helps them identify patterns, develops a child's confidence and makes singing nursery rhymes all the more fun and memorable.
Sequencing!
Nursery rhymes such as Baa Baa Black Sheep, Incy Wincy Spider and Humpty Dumpty teach children sequencing. Sequencing is the ability to logically order events, images, thoughts and actions. It is an important fundamental skill that will equip your child with the thought processes required for learning.
Counting and Spelling!
For older toddlers and preschoolers, nursery rhymes with a strong emphasis on counting forwards, backwards, subtraction, addition and spelling can be extremely helpful in making learning fun. Songs such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive, BINGO, The Alphabet Song, 5 Little Speckled Frogs all help children grasp basic cognitive concepts in a fun and enjoyable way.
Singing Nursery Rhymes with your children is a fantastic past time and one they will look upon fondly when they grow up. The Little Lamb book by Wondertivity is a great book to help nuture and encourage your child's love of nursery rhymes. It contains 12 pages of themed nursery rhyme activities for you and your child to sing to whilst working on fine motor skills and acting out the song. Also perfect for unwinding after a big day out or for incorporating into your night time routine.
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For those of you just joining in, my name is Kalliopi Mamounas- owner and lead therapist of my private practice-The Little Sound Box. I am so excited for our second collaboration with Wondertivity’s Little Lamb Busy Book!
The Little Lamb is a nursery rhyme themed busy book and is filled with endless Speech and Language opportunities. Nursery rhymes grow your child’s Speech and Language skills and this Little Lamb book makes these nursery rhymes interactive. Nursery rhymes include tons of vocabulary and repetitive structures, which increases the likelihood of your child producing words, phrases, and sentences, such as ‘The Itsy-Bitsy Spider’. These nursery rhymes include multiple, simple actions and promote multi-modal learning, allowing your child to hear it, see it, and act it out, such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Additionally, they teach early developing speech sounds, such as animal sounds in ‘Old McDonald Had A Farm,” and hear the sounds multiple vowels and consonants make. Furthermore, they are great way to teach early literacy and numeracy skills (e.g., counting, and rhyming words), such as ‘One Two Three Four Five,’ and ‘Hickory Dickory Dock.’ Parents, as you sing these nursery rhymes with your little ones, it’s important to over-emphasize the key words, act out the song, and most importantly have fun!
For any additional Speech and Language tips, feel free to message me @thelittlesoundbox
Hope you all enjoy my Speech blog!
-Kalliopi Mamounas M.S., CCC-SLP/TSSLD
Speech-Language Pathologist
Humpty Dumpty
Targets:
As you’re singing the song to your little one, pause and ask the following questions while placing over-emphasize on the responses.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Pause:
Where did he sit?
ON the wall
What did he do?
Sat down
Have your child follow one-step directions incorporating opposites:
-Stand up
-Sit down
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Pause:
Oh no! what happened?
He fell!
Where is he?
Off the wall
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
Pause:
What should we do?
Put him back together!
Let’s fix Humpty Dumpty!
Five Little Speckled Frogs
Targets:
As you’re singing the song to your little one, pause and ask the following questions while placing over-emphasize on the responses.
*The following can be used for each verse in the song*
Five little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs, yum-yum
Pause:
How many frogs:
Five frogs
Where are they?
On the log
What are they doing?
Depending on your child’s age- the length of the utterance will vary.
Eating/Eating bugs/They are eating bugs.
Are the frogs big or small?
I see small frogs.
What do frogs eat?
Bugs.
Who is eating the bugs?
The frogs.
Do they like bugs?
Yes! Yum-yum (rubbing hands on belly).
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green speckled frogs, glub, glub
Pause:
What did the frog do?
Jump
Where did the frog jump?
In the pool.
What is the frog doing in the pool?
Depending on your child’s age- the length of the utterance will vary.
Swimming/Swimming in pool/The frog is swimming in the pool.
How many are left?
Four frogs.
What sound does a frog make?
Ribbit-ribbit
What color is the frog?
Green
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Targets:
As you’re singing the song to your little one, pause and ask the following questions while placing over-emphasize on the responses.
*The following can be used for each verse in the song*
The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
Pause:
What is this?
It’s a spider!
What is the spider doing?
Climbing/Climbing up/The spider is climbing up the waterspout.
What does a spider do?
Makes spider-webs.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Pause:
What happened?
It’s raining!
The rain came down.
What did the rain do?
Washed the spider out.
Where did the spider go?
Down the waterspout.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
Pause:
What came out?
The sun
Describe the sun-
Color- Yellow
Size- Big
Shape- Circle
Where is the sun?
In the sky
And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
Pause:
What did the spider do?
It went up again!
Speech Sound Production:
The word SPIDER incorporates an S-BLEND in the initial position of words:
SP-ider
Often little ones will simplify the blend resulting in a production such as:
S-ider or P-ider
For accurate productions, use the following cues:
Verbal cue- Tight teeth and a big smile!
Visual cue- Provide a model with your mouth.
Verbal cue- Lips together!
Visual cue- Provide a model with your mouth.
S-Pider
Old McDonald Had A Farm
Targets:
BINGO
Targets:
Throughout the whole song:
Clap your hands, over-emphasize the production of each letter, and point to each letter in the book.
B-I-N-G-O!
Rain, Rain Go Away
Targets:
Hickory Dickory Dock
Targets:
Continue the rest of the song, with your little ones pretend animals:
I’m A Little Teapot
I'm a little teapot
Short and stout.
Here is my handle,
Here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up
Hear me shout:
Tip me over
And pour me out!
I'm a very special pot
This is true.
Here's an example
Of what I can do.
I can change my handle
And my spout.
Tip me over
And pour me out!
Targets:
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full
One for the master, one for the dame
One for the little boy who lives down the lane
Baa baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full
Targets:
One Two Three Four Five
One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right
Targets:
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
Targets:
ABC
The benefits of open ended play are numerous - it challenges a child to investigate and problem solve, encourages independent play, develops confidence, patience and resilience.
At Wondertivity all our products are a fabulous resource for open ended play. Every page of our felt busy books (quiet books or felt activity books), binders, doodle books and accessories such as wooden disc sets, can be used in mutiple ways AND they grow with your child meaning the way they use/play with it will change as they grow. We are constantly updating our website, blogs and socials (no rest for the perfectionists) with creative ways to use our products.
Feel free to write in with your unique ideas for a chance to be featured!
]]>If you have a little one who’ll be making a giant leap into daycare/preschool/primary school in 2023, we have the tools to ensure they are confident and ready to adapt to a whole new environment.
Our felt activity books develop sensory skills by stimulating multiple senses.
One of the key developmental benefits of our books is to improve fine motor skills which is essential for a child’s ability to develop self-care skills (opening lunch boxes, getting dressed) as well as such as developing the pencil grip and managing tools competently.
The activities in our books are designed to develop intellectual skills. Puzzles, sorting activities, mazes and counting activities help children develop cognitive skills and problem solving.
The wide variety of themes in our books promote language skills and storytelling. They encourage children to sharing opinions during discussions, making observations based on past experiences and in time, develop a love of reading books.
The range of difficulty levels in our activities help develop emotional skills, testing a child’s capacity for perseverance, self-regulation, learning to control strong emotions and impulses with growing confidence.
Our felt activity books are not only perfect for independent play, they’re also great for sharing to encourage social skills. By sharing activities, children learn to work as a team, cooperating and collaborating with each other and in turn, learning to respect other’s opinions and perspectives.
]]>When I came across Wondertivity’s Preschooler Felt Busy Books, I fell in love! These books are filled with so many opportunities to boost a child’s speech and language skills, as well as fine motor skills! I began to use these books in my Speech Therapy sessions and my clients were instantly engaged. These fun, interactive and stimulating busy books are an amazing way to promote a child’s speech and language development.
The Magic of Christmas busy book felt book is an ideal example of thematic learning. Thematic learning is when a specific theme is used to teach various main concepts. In this case, this book targets Christmas vocabulary and concepts through different Christmas events (e.g., decorating a tree, building a snowman, hanging stockings by the fireplace, etc.). This book allows a child to take what they learned and apply it to their real-life experiences- what better way to learn!
Each page allows to your child to work on following directions, expanding utterances using appropriate grammar, speech sound production, social skills, play skills, and more! These books are #TheLittleSoundBoxApproved!
Santa: Page 1
· Receptive Language:
o Following directions
§ Point/Show me/Touch- Santa’s body parts
· E.g., Point to Santa’s nose.
§ Point/Show me/Touch-Santa’s clothing items
· E.g., Point to Santa’s hat.
§ Have your child point to his/her own body parts and clothing items
· E.g., Point to your nose.
· Expressive Language:
o Label body parts
o Label clothing items
o Object-function questions-(Naming the object’s function)
§ E.g., What do we do with a hat?
· Wear
o Categorization skills
§ Name three-five body parts
§ Name three-five clothing items/things we wear
o Possessive adjectives/pronouns
§ His hat
§ Her hat
§ My hat
§ Your hat
§ Their hat
o Possessive ‘s
§ Santa’s hat
§ Child name + hat (e.g., Adam’s hat)
o Plural -s
§ Hands, shoes
o Verb tense
§ Present progressive: Santa is wearing a jacket.
§ Regular third-person singular, present tense: Santa wears a jacket.
§ Irregular past tense: Santa wore a jacket.
§ Future tense: Santa will wear a jacket.
o Opposites
§ On/Off
· E.g., Take off Santa’s hand/Put on Santa’s hand
· Social-pragmatic skills
o Discuss Christmas using a variety of WH-questions
§ Who comes on Christmas?
§ What does Santa bring us?
§ Where does Santa live?
§ When does Santa arrive?
§ How does Santa come to your house?
Snowman: Page 2
· Receptive Language
o Following directions
§ Point/Show me/Touch- snowman’s body parts
· E.g., Point to the snowman’s eyes
§ Point/Show me/Touch- snowman’s clothing items
· E.g., Point to the snowman’s gloves
§ Have your child point to his/her own body parts and clothing items
· Expressive Language
o Label body parts
o Label clothing items
o Object-function questions
§ E.g., What do we do with gloves?
· Wear
o Where questions
§ Where do you wear gloves?
· On your hands
o Sequencing Terms (First, Next, Last): How to Build a Snowman
§ First, we roll the snow into three snowballs.
§ Next, we stack the snowballs.
§ Last, we put on his eyes, nose, hat, buttons, and scarf
o Categorization skills
§ Name three-five body parts
§ Name three-five clothing items/things we wear
o Possessive adjectives/pronouns
§ His hat
§ Her hat
§ My hat
§ Your hat
§ Their hat
o Possessive ‘s
§ Snowman’s nose
§ Child name + hat (e.g., Adam’s nose)
o Plural -s
§ Gloves, hats
o Verb tense
§ Present progressive: The snowman is wearing a hat.
§ Regular third-person singular, present tense: The snowman wears a hat.
§ Irregular past tense: The snowman wore a hat.
§ Future tense: The snowman will wear a hat.
Christmas Tree: Page 3
Receptive Language
· Following directions
o Concepts: Biggest to smallest
§ E.g., Put together the Christmas tree from biggest to smallest.
o Prepositions using the reindeers:
§ Have your child hide the reindeers around the room
· E.g., Put the reindeer under the table.
§ Have your child hide the reindeers on Christmas tree page
· E.g., Put the reindeer behind the Christmas tree.
Expressive Language
· Hide the reindeer around the room and ask- “Where is the reindeer?”
o Incorporate prepositions
§ In/Inside
§ On
§ Off
§ On top
§ Under/Below
§ Behind
§ In front
§ Next to/Besides
· Sequencing Terms (First, Next, Then, Last): How to Decorate a Christmas Tree
o First, you buy/cut down tree
o Next, you put on the lights.
o Then, you put on the ornaments.
o Last, you put on the star.
Page 4: Santa’s Laundry
Receptive Language
· Following directions using the preposition “in”
o Put Santa’s hat/shirt/pants IN the washing machine.
Expressive Language
· Ask a variety of WH-questions
o Who washes the clothes?
o What are we washing?
o Where do we wash our clothes?
o When do we wash our clothes?
o Why do we was our clothes?
o How do we wash our clothes?
· Sequencing Terms (First, Next, Then, Last): How to Clean Clothes
o First, you put the clothes in the washing machine.
o Next, you put soap.
o Last, you hang them to dry (or put them in the dryer).
· Opposites:
o Clean/Dirty clothes
o Open/Close door
Page 5: Penguin
Receptive Language
· Following directions
o Point/Show me/Touch- penguin’s body parts
§ E.g., Point to the penguin’s belly
o Have your child point to his/her own body parts
o “Feed the penguin.” OR “Feed the penguin one, two, three, four, five cookies.”
o “Put in cookie.” OR “Put in one, two, three, four, five cookies.”
Expressive Language
· Label body parts
· Where questions- incorporating prepositions and possessive pronouns
o Where are the cookies?
§ In his belly
· Main verbs to target:
o Eat the cookie.
o Feed the penguin.
· Possessive adjectives/pronouns
o His hat
o Her hat
o My hat
o Your hat
o Their hat
· Possessive ‘s
o Penguin’s eyes
o Child name + object (e.g., Adam’s eyes)
· Plural-s
o Cookies
· Verb tense
o Present progressive: The penguin is eating the cookie.
o Regular third-person singular, present tense: The penguin eats the cookie.
o Irregular past tense: The penguin ate the cookie.
o Future tense: The penguin will eat the cookie.
· Opposites:
o Full/Empty belly
Speech Sound/Articulation
· Each time your child feeds the penguin, have them practice a letter/sound along with some words.
§ Name the letter, make the letter’s sound, and name a word
· C, K-K-K, Cat
Social-pragmatic skills
· Discuss penguins using a variety of WH-questions
o Where does a penguin live?
o What does he eat?
o What type of weather does a penguin like? Warm weather or cold weather?
Page 6: Reindeer
Receptive Language
· Following directions
o Point/Show me/Touch the reindeer’s body parts
§ E.g., Point to the reindeer’s antlers
o Have your child point to his/her own body parts
Expressive Language
· Opposites:
o On/Off bows
o Open/Close mouth
Social-pragmatic skills
· Discuss reindeers using a variety of WH-questions
o What color is a reindeer?
o How many legs does a reindeer have?
o What does a reindeer eat?
o What does a reindeer do? How does he help Santa on Christmas?
o Who is Santa’s most famous reindeer?
Page 7: Gingerbread House
Receptive Language
· Following directions
o Place all the decorations around the Gingerbread House using prepositions
§ E.g., On top of the house/Next to the circle window
· Expressive Language
o Label shapes
o After decorating the Gingerbread house, ask- “Where is the circle/triangle, etc.?”
§ Incorporate prepositions
· In/Inside
· On
· Off
· On top
· Under/Below
· Behind
· In front
o Sequencing Terms (First, Next, Then, Last): How to Make a Gingerbread House
o Opposites
§ Open/Close door
Page 8: Fireplace
· Expressive Language
o Adjectives
§ Color
· E.g., Red stocking
§ Size
· E.g., Big present
§ Quantity
· E.g., Three stockings
· Social-pragmatic skills
o Discuss fireplace scene using a variety of WH-questions
§ What do we hang on the fireplace?
§ What goes in our stockings?
§ Who comes down the fireplace?
§ Who brings us presents?
§ What toys would you like Santa to bring you?
]]>Like everyone else growing up in Australia, I didn’t get what all the fuss was about. That was until October 2018 when we were living overseas with two kids aged 5 and 6 and dragged to a neighbourhood Halloween Street Party. The entire experience ended up being one of our most cherished memories from living abroad and had so many developmental benefits for the children.
Four years on, we still look back fondly at the photos from our first ever “real” experience of Halloween, and the Playful Pumpkin book is our little tribute to this wonderfully unique event.
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Brainy Bunny Book
Please note this is a guide only! Our books are designed for open ended play the number of ways to play is only limited by your child's imagination! However, if you're ever looking for some ideas for interactive or structured games to play with your little one, here are some ways in which you could use the Brainy Bunny book to further your child's learning.
Cognitive Concepts
The Brainy Bunny book introduces cognitive concepts such as name recognition and spelling, numbers to 12, counting, colours, shapes and time. If these concepts are new to your child, introduce them gradually so they don't get overwhelmed. Eg. To introduce numbers, start by showing your child the first five numbers on the clock. Use the ladybugs, beads and fingers page to demonstrate counting to five. Slowly build on this skill by adding more numbers and using pieces from other pages (such as shapes, planets and ladybugs) as counters.
Following Instructions/Focus and Memory/Sequencing
Ask your child to do an activity in a particular order (eg. Place the circle on the sun). You can add extra instructions such as "before you put the circle on the sun, put the triangle on the tree." The Brainy Bunny routine page is perfect for practising sequencing and improving focus. You could first have a talk about Brainy Bunny's day. Then ask your child to act out the day following the same sequence. To introduce the concept of time you could start by talking about day and night time activities and then what times these activities happened.
I Spy Games - Colours, Beginning Sounds
I Spy is another great game to play with any of the books in the Wondertivity range. Introduce your child to colours - "I spy something red on this page" and for beginning sounds - "I spy something that starts with L"
Imaginative Play and Story Telling
Every page in the Brainy Bunny can be used to inspire a game of imaginary play or story telling. On the planets page you could talk to your child about an adventure into outer space, meeting an alien and discovering exciting new planets. Use the pieces in the book as props and use them in different pages. The Brainy Bunny finger puppet could run into the little alien from outer space and develop a little friendship! Create dialogue between the characters! The possibilities are endless.
Emotions and Self Care Pages
The Brainy Bunny includes a page for emotions. Ask your child to use the pieces to make different emotions and talk about a time when they felt that way. The self care page allows your child to practice simple self care skills using buttons, hooks and buckles.
Age guide: 3 + due to the presence of small parts.
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Curious Koala Book
Please note this is a guide only! Our books are designed for open ended play the number of ways to play is only limited by your child's imagination! However, if you're ever looking for some ideas for interactive or structured games to play with your little one, here are some ways in which you could use the Curious Koala book to further your child's learning.
Numbers and Counting
Almost every page of the Curious Koala book is an opportunity to learn numbers and counting. How many pieces/states make up Australia? How many beads on the girl's necklace? How many coloured circles on the rainbow? How many sharks in the Baby Shark family? How many colours are there on the rainbow?
Following Instructions/Focus and Memory
Ask your child to do an activity in a particular order. (eg. On the rainbow bear page, start by asking your child to put the green circle on the rainbow. You can add extra instructions such as "put the green circle on the rainbow then the yellow circle". On the sandwiches threading page you could ask play a game of sandwich shop. Order a sandwich with particular fillings in it. Your child will need to remember what your order was and thread the right fillings on to make your sandwich. Practice using these words in your instructions: before, after, first, then, around, on top, under and next to.
I Spy Games - Colours, Beginning Sounds
The many details on each of the pages can be used in a game of "I Spy". For example, to introduce your child to colours - "I spy something red on this page". For beginning sounds - "I spy something that starts with L"
Imaginative Play and Story Telling
Each themed page of the Curious Koala book presents an opportunity for your child to tell a story. Use the pieces as props and give them names. Speak to them and find new ways of using the pieces in stories on other pages. One of our favourite pages is the Curious Koala Camping page. We like to talk about what our koala needed to pack for the camping trip, and the adventures he had. Sometimes our koala skips off to the next page to buy himself a salad sandwich. The baby shark page is also great for story telling, identifying members of the family, ordering them according to size and of course singing the Baby Shark song!
Naughts and Crosses/Tic-Tac-Toe Page
The Curious Koala features the classic strategic game of naughts and crosses. Children from the age of 3 can begin to learn the basic concepts of this game of taking turns and logical thinking.
Age guide: 3 + due to the presence of small parts.
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Busy Bear Book
Please note this is a guide only! Our books are designed for open ended play the number of ways to play is only limited by your child's imagination! However, if you're ever looking for some ideas for interactive or structured games to play with your little one, here are some ways in which you could use the Busy Bear book to further your child's learning.
Numbers and Counting
Almost every page of the Busy Bear book is an opportunity to learn numbers and counting. How many beads are there on the snail shell? How many leaves on the colour matching tree? How many socks on the line? How many outfits does the dolly have in her wardrobe? How many pieces of pizza? etc. Use the number pieces throughout the book, to match.
Following Instructions/Focus and Memory
Ask your child to do an activity in a particular order. (eg. On the Sock Laundry pages you can ask your child to put the green sock in the laundry. You can then add extra instructions to increase complexity such as "put the green sock in the laundry and then put the yellow sock in the laundry". On the "Fill Em Up" Petrol Page you could ask your child to only thread through the green and orange ribbons as that is the special petrol this bus takes. Use these words in your instructions: before, after, first, then, around, on top, under and next to.
I Spy Games - Colours, Beginning Sounds
The many details on each of the pages can be used in a game of "I Spy". For example, to introduce your child to colours - "I spy something red on this page". For beginning sounds - "I spy something that starts with L"
Imaginative Play and Story Telling
Each themed page of the Busy Bear book presents an opportunity for your child to tell a story. Use the pieces as props and give them names. Speak to them and find new ways of using the pieces in stories on other pages. In our household, the snail on the front page is Turbo Ted who loves to travel so quickly (at least for a snail) that the coil on his snail shell often unravels and he needs help to thread it through before he can speed off again!
Girl/Boy Emotions Page
The Busy Bear book has a special page for children to make different faces and expressions. Talk to your child about the pieces you would need to make a particular emotion, Eg. Which mouth should we use for a sad face? Talk to your child about the particular emotion, and a time when they felt that way. What are the different ways to deal with that particular feeling?.
Age guide: 3 + due to the presence of small parts.
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A Wondertivity busy book and quiet book develops each of the above - and more.
]]>A Wondertivity busy book or quiet book develops each of the above - and more.
Physical development
The best thing about Wondertivity busy books and quiet books? They develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills! Each time your child pulls out their busy book or quiet book and plays with the zippers, turns the pages, un-buttons or buttons up an activity, snaps on a button or threads string and ribbon, they are fine tuning this important life skill.
Social and Emotional Development
Being socially and emotionally secure plays a HUGE part in raising a happy and confident child. Wondertivity busy books and quiet books ignite a child's curiosity and their desire to learn. It also helps a child develop persistence and patience in completing tasks of varying difficulty. The personal satisfaction and confidence your child achieves in completing an activity, is priceless.
Cognitive Development
Wondertivity busy books and quiet books develop how your child learns, thinks, generates ideas, solves problems, makes decisions and visualises the world around them. Each activity presents a "problem" that requires sorting, matching, comparing and organising. Numbers, colours, counting, shapes and patterns are introduced in each page. Personalised books have the added benefit of name recognition and in time, your child will also learn how to spell their name. Finally, whilst working through the activities your child's focus and attention span is increased - another essential skill to ensure they thrive at school.
Communicative Development
Language and communication skills naturally develop with a Wondertivity busy book or quiet book. With many different themed pages in each book, you can encourage your child to describe what they are doing or what is happening in each activity and create stories using the props in each page.
With a Wondertivity busy book or quiet book you can rest assured that you are giving your child the best developmental toy money can buy.
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Drawing makes children more expressive
Children can't always express themselves verbally and physically so drawing provides them with another way of communicating their thoughts and feelings.
Drawing enhances your child's fine motor skills
Drawing enhances your child's fine motor skills from a young age. Manipulating writing tools such as chalk, pencils and textas enable your child to exercise the small muscles in their fingers and hands.
Drawing develops your child's problem solving skills
When drawing, your child is faced with multiple decisions - what colour should I use here? How do I draw a dog? All these questions require your child to solve problems to achieve an outcome they are working towards.
Drawing improves your child's imagination and creativity
Drawing enables your child to prepare for understanding more difficult concepts. Learning these creative ways of thinking at an early age readies your child for future education. Also, understanding that an image can represent a real thing is a cognitive skill that your child will need for writing, reading, maths and problem solving.
Drawing gets your child ready for "big school"
Drawing helps your child prepare for understanding more difficult concepts. Every time your child draws they are developing precision and evolving the skill to the point where they can eventually write small letters between narrow lines in a workbook.
Pair your Twitterpated Busy Book with a Deluxe Doodle Book and you have the perfect combination to nuture your child's developmental potential. The Deluxe Doodle Book is sturdy, portable and reuseable. It comes with 7 non toxic chalk pens and can be used over and over again.
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Developing Imaginative Play
Children are naturally curious and love imaginary play. Twitterpated Busy Books and Quiet books are filled with a variety of themed pages to encourage and develop a child's imagination. Inspire your child with props from their busy book. Give the props names, speak to them and find new ways of using pieces in other activities. Give your child an opportunity to lead and they will amaze you with the worlds they can create.
Developing Fine Motor Skills
Twitterpated busy books and quiet books offer plenty of opportunity to practice using the small muscles in your child's hands and fingers. Babies can work on the pincer grip by manipulating smaller pieces and toddlers will be able to fine tune this skill by working through activities in the busy book such as threading ribbon and string, doing buttons, rearranging velcro pieces and zipping up zippers.
Developing Focus and Memory
There are countless opportunities to develop your child's attention span and memory in a Twitterpated busy book. One active way is to ask your child to play a game involving instructions. For example, "place the green eyes on the face". Once your child has mastered simple instructions you can move on to multi step instructions. For example "Before putting dolly to bed, take off her leggings and put her dress on."
Developing Language Skills
By simply describing what you see on each page of your busy book, you are introducing new words to your child. Develop your child's vocabulary by naming the pieces in the book and introducing words that describe the pieces. Get older children involved by asking them to describe what they see and eventually create stories using props from the book.
Name Recognition
Personalised Twitterpated busy books have the added benefit of encouraging name recognition. You can teach your child to spell their name by going through the letters on the front cover before starting on the activities of the busy book.
Numbers and Counting
One of the indicators of cognitive school readiness is the ability to recognise numbers and count to 10. Counting and number recognition activities are available throughout the busy books and quiet books. At the end of the Fabulous Fox busy book and Peekaboo Farm busy book your child can make up basic sums and number sentences. Make it fun by using pieces from other activities pages as counters.
Of course there are countless other ways of using your Twitterpated busy book to further your child's learning. Feel free to share your favourite activities with me on facebook or instagram or email me at hello@twitterpated.com.au.
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