The outdoors is a great place to learn so we hope this box got all our subscribers out and about exploring in the forest!
We included a variety of the below items in each of the different boxes to make sure that each box was suitable for that little ones age. We also had some great activities this month with Pine Cones!
Tiny Love On-The-Go Rabbit/Squirrel– Perfect for the pram or as a take-along toy. The crinkly, textured body helps stimulate tactile senses and develop fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination as they reach to play with and feel it. The basic patterns are ideal for visual stimulation.
Melissa and Doug Wiggly Worm – It’s easy to twist and turn this wooden worm’s eight sections into different positions and form creative shapes! With its bright shades of green, appealing expression and easy-to-grasp size, this is a perfect first manipulative toy.
Forest Frogs Bath Squirties – The perfect size for little hands! Water play with small toys like these is important for children as it encourages the development of hand-eye co-ordination and motor skills through holding and squeezing. Bath time play is extremely beneficial for imagination development and creativity.
Melissa and Doug Jumbo Knob Puzzle – the best first puzzle to get them started. We included this for our 10-12 month olds. The large pegs are the perfect size for this age as they are starting to develop their motor and handling skills. Each piece has a full colour matching picture underneath which helps with visual perception. A great introduction to some words as well!
Melissa and Doug Caterpillar Gear Toy – as they turn the gears, each segment moves the next which makes the caterpillar ‘move’ introducing cause and effect. The colourful gears fit onto the colour-coordinated pegs introducing colour learning and recognition.
Owl/Tree Chalkboard – we have included this chalkboard with the purpose of it being hung up on a wall to realise the benefits from drawing/writing on a vertical surface as well as writing with different textures. This encourages elbow/shoulder stability, core strength, hand stabilisation and spatial awareness (terms such as up, down, left, right make more sense). Included from 19 months up.
3-5 Piece puzzles – An upgrade from peg puzzles as they try fit pieces together. They may need some help to manipulate the pieces together at first but they will love seeing the picture form. Puzzles are important to teach patience and the concept of working towards a goal for reward.
Melissa and Doug Magnetic Bug Catching Game – a game to take the puzzle a step further. Trying to catch the bugs not only develops hand-eye co-ordination but also stability in their arms and hands. Our subscribers will enjoy the challenge of returning them to their preferred perches as well. A good way to introduce counting to 10.
Lacing cards – Lacing is one of the most important ways to develop and refine fine motor skills which is extremely important at this age(2-5 year olds) as they are getting to the stage where they will soon be learning to write.
Play and Colour Puzzle – Colouring-in and a puzzle in one! They can get all the benefits of colouring in and then put together their masterpiece working on a large variety of creative and logical skills.
Magnifying glass – Getting them outdoors and into the forest to collect leaves and bugs and use their observation skills to analyse them.
And the books….a different book for each age group…
Usborne Touchy-Feely Book – bright, colourful illustrations with textures to touch and feel on every page and simple, repetitive text which helps develop language and sensory skills.
In the Forest Googly Eyes Board Book – A bright, fun board book with sturdy easy to turn pages. The extremely colourful images will help develop a baby/toddlers colour recognition and visual development. A good book to use for tummy time as it is large enough to lay out on the floor.
Goodnight Owl – The sturdy tabs are easy for little ones to turn and the colourful detail and characters introduce the different forest animals which they will become familiar with. A good read for bedtime.
Sam Vole and His Brothers – A wonderful story which teaches a great lesson about siblings and how you feel about things until you actually do/try them. Understanding feelings and emotions is essential at this age and they will love the illustrations of the forest and animals.
Harry the Wolf – Realistic illustrations enhanced by side notes with interesting real life facts encourage learning. This engaging format means you will be able to read them this story over and over and still introduce new elements to them each time.
We included three different activities in our boxes – Process Art(Pine Cone Fingerpainting), Pine Cone Lacing and Weaving and Hedgehog Fork Painting.
See the Hedgehog Fork Painting activity here.
