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Welcome to ClapHandies PlayLab@home Blog

Tips and tricks on keeping your children busy and you sane

At ClapHandies we love to play, so we have put together some of our favourite tried and tested activities to inspire you with hours of entertainment and resources for when you need them most.

Our PlayLab@home blog is packed with hours and hours of play time activities, arts and craft suggestion for when the creative mood strikes and quick 5 minute fillers, for when you need a distraction that requires little or no preparation.

This site is designed to simplify the world of play and to help you find inspiration when you need it.

Why they play.

In the early days with your tiny baby, it may have looked like most of her day was spent chewing and drooling over any object that was within reach. As they get older, it seems toys are just objects caught in the whirlwind of activity that is a fast moving toddler.

But what you may not see is that from day one, your child is learning, and that before they go to school, the majority of this learning will come from their play. For example, putting a ball in and out of a box is teaching them about size and shape, playing with a puzzle teaches problem solving skills and hand-eye coordination, and playing with toy animals helps them learn about language and size, and playing with a doll is helping their emotional development.

Through play, little ones are also learning how to do things and complete tasks independent of you. This is so valuable as they learn self-reliance and the ability to figure out what makes them happy and interested. They learn about themselves through play as well. Simple tickle games on the hand or foot are teaching body awareness, playing with telephones allows them to act like the adults around them. Play teaches them about concepts, relationships, sizes, colours, textures, emotions and sounds among other things!

Babies and Toddlers learn most by actual contact with real objects, events, and people. Play that includes seeking out new experiences by themselves and trying something challenging helps them learn more about the world around them. Play is learning, trying, being, and feeling, but most of all playing is fun.

So go on, go play!

Liza & team