The Thinking Child

Tips for Teaching Young Children Facts…Playfully!

February 24, 2012
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“But what happened to the dinosaurs?” “Why do I have blood?” “How does a bee carry pollen?” Children are naturally curious. Many children ask lots of questions, especially when it comes to a topic or theme that they are particularly interested in. By engaging with your child’s interests you show them that knowledge is important, [...]

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One activity, four ways: Tape It Up!

January 31, 2012
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One activity, four ways will be a new, regular feature on Childhood 101. I am often asked how to modify an activity idea or resource for children who are younger or older than Immy, or how to involve children of different ages in an activity. One activity, four ways will take one idea (or resource) [...]

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Literacy Spot #50: Instructions

December 12, 2011

When we recently received the Playmobil swimming pool set, Immy and I had a great time working together to assemble it. In fact, Immy is even quite good when it comes to helping with Ikea flat pack assembly! She loves looking at the instructions to see which piece we need next and then matching the [...]

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Everyday Learning: The Where? Why? What? Who? When? How? Edition

November 16, 2011
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Where does the water go? What type of bird is that? Why do we have hair? When will it be Christmas? How do bees carry pollen? It seems we have entered the never ending questions phase with Immy, a product of her ever growing curiosity about the world around her and her joy in learning [...]

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From Mudpies to Magpies: 10 Super Sandpit Ideas

October 28, 2011

This post was first published in June 2009 when Childhood 101 was only a month old. With the sun shining in our backyard today, I thought it was a great post to revisit for some encouragement to get the kids outdoors! Many Mums I know groan when they see their child heading for the sandpit, [...]

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Playopedia Picks: It’s Enough To Make You Think!

August 9, 2011

This week’s Playopedia Picks are sure to get your kids thinking! Alphabet Box Treasure Hunt Get Tinkering! Exploring Measuring Tools Giant Game Board Floor Plan Treasure Hunt Seashell Matching Game Leaf Threading Letter Soup What If? Matchboxes Make Your Own Peekaboo Game Be sure to check out Playopedia today to find new play ideas, whatever [...]

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Screen Time & Young Hearts: A Look at a Recent Sydney Study

July 22, 2011
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This post is by regular contributor Naomi Cook. We are not ‘T.V people.’ However, my three year old enjoys an educational DVD whilst I make dinner and she also enjoys educational apps on my iPhone. I have seen tremendous learning outcomes from both of these forms of screen time. I frequently find these forms of [...]

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Learning Through Playing & Doing: Laundry Mathematics

July 1, 2011
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You know that I am a believer in children learning to help with chores as part of being a member of a family. As well as teaching children life skills, there can be all sorts of other learning that occurs through everyday tasks and chores. Like the early mathematics hiding in a basket of clean [...]

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