Home & Garden

Bell

Cognitive: understanding cause and effect when ringing bell.

Creative: leaving a mark in creating a sound rhythm when ringing or knocking the bell.

Pot

Cognitive: the pot can be removed, stimulating cause and effect understanding. Filling and emptying the pot stimulates logical thinking and the understanding of concepts such as empty and full.

Creative: placing the pot in other areas of the play space in creative ways can support symbolic and creative thinking.

String with knobs

Social-emotional: turn-taking and cooperation are supported when pulling the string from side to side with friends or caregiver.

Cognitive: an understanding of object permanence is supported when the knob disappears and reappears when pulled.

Creative: leaving the knob in different positions can support symbolic and creative thinking.

Flap door

Physical: tactile stimulation from leaning the body through rubber doors.

Cognitive: suggests a theme and supports dramatic play, which stimulates languages and communication skills.

Flaps

Social-emotional: peep-holes and two sided activities support cooperation, turn-taking and social play skills.

Cognitive: understanding object permanence, that items still exist even though they disappear out of sight is what children train when they shift things through holes. The soft rubber adds tactile variation and cause and effect understanding.

Shoelaces

Cognitive: tactile variation helps children to understand the characteristics of different materials and their uses. Logical thinking and memory skills are supported when tying laces correctly.

Funnel

Social-emotional: trains cooperation and turn-taking as children put materials into the funnel.

Cognitive: the passing of materials through funnels supports the children’s logical thinking and for younger children the understanding of object permanence: that materials don’t vanish but run through at the other end.

Switch

Cognitive: an understanding of cause and effect is developed when pushing something that moves. The theme of light switch supports dramatic play, which is known to stimulate language skills.

Post box

Social-emotional: peep-holes and two sided activities support cooperation, turn-taking and social play skills.

Cognitive: rubber flap adds tactile variation that helps children to understand the characteristics of different materials and their uses. Putting things in post-box stimulates an understanding of object permanence: that objects may still exist when out of sight.

Mirror

Cognitive: understanding of individuality and self expression. Stimulates dramatic play and thus language and communication development.