Sensory Play

[caption id="attachment_6113" align="alignnone" width="830"] Photo credit: PBS.org -  Helping Young Children Learn To Make Friends[/caption]Grandma wisdom says, “In the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips.” As your toddler tootles toward preschool, they’re also headed toward the first of many childhood friendships. And although it feels like a family’s love is all a child needs, these friendships are a positive and necessary milestone in your child’s natural development. They’re the chocolate chips!Baking  delicious cookies is a fool-proof way make a special friend's day! Here's the famous DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie recipe to help! Enjoy baking time with the kiddos while teaching them the spirit of giving and sharing. They will love the warm fuzzy feeling when surprising their friends with a special homemade treat. Adding a little note with Grandma's words of wisdom will add the perfect personal touch.[caption id="attachment_6108" align="alignnone" width="1021"] The infamous DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies.[/caption]Building and sustaining friendships develops a child’s confidence and self-esteem. Navigating friendships helps kids understand the concept of loyalty and teaches them about acceptance. Playtime with friends promotes patience, builds decision making skills, enhances communication and language skills, and provides an outlet for imagination, creativity, and energy. Disagreements provide practice with compromise and conflict resolution. Spending time at friends’ homes gives kids a glimpse into other lifestyles and family units, broadening their perspective. And, of course, later on, friends provide a peer group to provide support and encouragement when you are not around.Those are some pretty compelling reasons to nurture your child’s friendships. So how do you go about helping your little one make good friends? The first step is learning how to BE a good friend – and that starts at home. Here's a great kid's book that can help start the conversation. Below are some of our best tips and tricks for modeling and practicing being a good friend:• Talk and Listen – Ask your child a question and really listen to their response. Then ask more questions about what they’ve said, or restate what you heard them say, to show that you are listening and that what they have to say is important to you.• Observe – See something, say something. When you see your child exhibiting positive and friendly behaviors say something out loud! “I love that you let Grampa pick tonight’s story!” or “It was great that you and your brother found something you both wanted to play!”.• Practice – Game play is a great way to practice choosing an activity, deciding who goes first, taking turns, and winning and losing gracefully. Ask your kiddo if they’d like to play a game (you’re modeling how to invite a friend to participate in an activity). Then set out a few favorites, like The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game® or Pancake Pileup!™ Relay Game. Tell your little one that they can either choose the game or go first, but not both, then follow their lead.[caption id="attachment_6109" align="alignnone" width="680"] Photo credit: @my_sensorium[/caption][caption id="attachment_6110" align="alignnone" width="680"] Photo credit: @preferredtherapytoys[/caption]• Keep Things Light – Whether you’ve been sent down the long slide playing Chutes and Ladders or your block tower tumbles, laugh it off and try again. Teaching your child to roll with the punches and be a good sport will make them even more fun to play with.With a little practice and a lot of support, your kiddo will be ready for their first play date in no time! Be on the lookout for part two of this piece, Teaching Your Child to MAKE a Good Friend, including five of our favorite tips for hosting a successful play date.Check out this great article from Popsugar: How to Help Your Child Become a Good Friend for more helpful hints.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=HhFjZMqeZIE&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-5Supplies:• Playfoam• Construction Paper• Tape• Scissors• Marker• Googly EyesProcedure:1. Cut out a head shape, use a marker to draw a nose, mouth, and ears, and add googly eyes.2. Secure the face to the table with tape.3. Start sculpting! Use Playfoam to create silly hairdos. Try pony tails, a perm, or even a mohawk!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBVHs78XNXs&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-7Supplies:• Construction paper• Markers and/or crayons• Playfoam• Tape• Scissors• Pencil• Googly eyes (optional)Procedure:1. Open your Playfoam pod – don’t discard the packaging!2. Trace the circular plastic backer card onto a sheet of paper.3. Draw an alien inside the circle and color it in.4. Cut the circle out…5. And add googly eyes to your character!6. Fold a paper sheet in half and cut out the main body of your rocket.7. Use tape to secure your alien circle to the rocket.8. Place the plastic Playfoam pod over the circle and tape it down securely.9. Tape the whole rocket to a sheet of black paper…10. Squish, squash and sculpt Playfoam to create the rocket fins and other details…11. Then use a white crayon to add stars on the background!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK2s32dvsyw&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-5Supplies:• Construction Paper• Glue• Scissors• Craft StickProcedure:1. Sketch and cut a flower and flowerpot shape out of construction paper.2. Glue your flower to the top of your craft stick.3. Fold a sheet of paper in half and cut two slits, one about quarter of an inch lower than the first one. This will be your background.4. Slip your craft stick “stem” through the slits.5. Glue the sides only of your pot to your background paper, so the pot covers the slits.6. Move the flower up and down and see how it “grows”!Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMnfNl3MbnY&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Michael Sheridan, one of our EI Product Managers!Ages: 4-8Grades: pre-K to 2Supplies: • Cardboard box• Ping pong ball or marble (smaller is more difficult)• Construction paper• Marker• ScissorsProcedure:1. Cut the sides off of a cardboard box. Use a box that is at least 12” x 12” if possible.2. Cut the side pieces into ten strips, each about 2” wide.3. Tape or glue construction paper to the bottom of the box to make a flat surface.4. Write the numbers 1-10 (one number per strip) on the center of the cardboard strips.5. Fold the cardboard strips into a U shape and tape or hot glue the ends to the construction paper all around the inside of the box. Place them at random, number-wise and orientation-wise. Make sure your ball fits through each U shape before attaching it to the bottom of the box.6. Hold the box flat on your lap (or over a table). Start with the ball in the center of the box and tilt it all around to get the ball to pass through each number. The goal is to tilt the ball through the numbers in order from 1-10 as fast as possible.7. Start a tournament with a sibling or parent to see who can get through the entire course fastest. EI Product Manager Michael Sheridan is a jack of all trades! An avid surfer and former international soccer competitor, this outdoor and sporting enthusiast also has a degree in Astrophysics from UCLA and eight years of product development experience in a variety of industries. Prior to helping build EI's science products and brain game lines, Michael developed everything from folding chairs to electric scooters and skateboards!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJEmL0eiGqI&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 3-6Supplies:• Design & Drill Board• Bolts• Drill• Markers• Sticky NotesProcedure:1. Create an equation by writing a low number on each of two sticky notes, a plus sign on another, and an equal sign on another.2. Place the sticky notes on the board, leaving enough room for the corresponding number of bolts above or beneath each.3. Add a fifth sticky note, but leave it blank.4. Show your little one how to place the same number of bolts as the numeral on the first sticky note beneath the note and use the drill to secure them to the board.5. Repeat for the second numeral in your equation.6. Together, add up the total number of bolts, touching each one and counting aloud.7. Have your child write the numeral that corresponds with the total on the blank sticky note to complete the equation.Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBd0OwmUqeM&feature=emb_logo Home's Cool! While we're all working from home, the parents, former teachers, and play experts at EI are sharing some of their favorite educational activities to help keep your family learning and growing. Check out this idea from Sahad Rivera Sonda, one of our Product Managers!Ages: 2-4Supplies:• Foam Sheets (from the craft store or the thin sheets found in some shipping boxes)• Scissors• Tape• Markers• Box• Bears and Spinner from Bears in Pairs GameProcedure:1. Fold your box so that it looks like it has a headboard. Use your tape to secure it.2. Measure the length and width of your bed and cut a foam sheet to size. Cut that sized sheet into 6 foam rectangles.3. Use your washable markers to draw the patterns of the Bears’ shirts onto the foam – you’ll repeat each pattern twice.4. Secure all 6 “blankets” to the “bed” using tape.5. Cut out 6 pillows and place them on top of the “blankets”, securing with tape.6. Take turns spinning the spinner, finding the Bear with the matching pattern, and placing it onto the blanket with the matching pattern. You can also simply choose a Bear and place it on the matching blanket.Sahad Rivera Sonda has dreamed of being a toy designer since she was a child in Mexico! Her passion for miniatures and other playful oddities (her collection includes everything from a plush churro to a miniature French fry) eventually led her to Otis College of Art and Design in California, where she obtained a degree in Toy Design. Sahad’s dreams came true when she landed a job with EI, designing the look and feel for many of our toys and games, including Playfoam Pals, Design & Drill and our plush line.