Alright, it is almost that time of the year. You know, time to get the kids out of the house. You want your children to have fun. You want your children to be safe. You want your children to have an educational experience. Most of all, you want your children outside. For older children it is easy. That is, if you can get the controllers out of their not so tiny hands. But let's begin with the little ones, specifically, those children ages 12 to 24 months. Most children 12 to 24 months will have fun just by being outside and exploring their environment.
Educational experiences are not necessarily limited to those experiences involving wires, cords and high-tech gizmos. For example, a child can improve his or her motor skills and balance by riding his or her cow or ladybug wheelybug. Moving forwards, backwards, sideways and round and round, a child's spatial development and awareness improve as he or she moves around on his or her wheelybug. And all of this is achieved without motors, batteries or controllers. Sandboxes are another great example of a low-tech, non-motorized mode of educational entertainment. In addition to spatial awareness and motor skills, the sandbox is a wonderful forum for social development and creative play. Sand, a little water, a shovel or spoon and a lot of imagination is all that is necessary for a day of creative learning.
Baby dolls are another low-tech educational toy and are great for promoting nurturing in both boys and girls. Baby dolls can be feed, bathed, dressed, kissed and hugged. Baby dolls listen and understand what we adults do not. Baby dolls are loved and love unconditionally. Children can also learn the names of body parts, clothing and activities while playing with their baby dolls. All that is needed with a baby doll is imagination and creativity and, perhaps, a stroller for your child's baby doll so that both your child and your child's baby doll can enjoy the outdoors.
Simple push along walkers are good for outdoor entertainment. Push along walkers assist in improving balance. Children can walk behind their push along walker with a comfortable and "safe" feeling while at the same time exploring their environment. Again, this educational toy is run not on batteries but, rather, on toddler power. As you can see, physical education can begin at a very early age and may begin your child on a pattern of healthy living that will follow your children into adulthood.
