Playing with toys is a great way for kids to have fun and build motor skills. However, many of the toys marketed to kids today are not designed to help them develop motor skills. In addition to lacking in quality, many modern toys are also lacking in design. They often lack basic features that would make playing with these toys more enjoyable and development-oriented. Over the next few paragraphs, you will learn about six simple ways you can develop motor skills with your child’s favorite toys without buying tons of expensive equipment or spending hours at the gym. These tips also take into consideration all different types of play as well as applicable age ranges.
Build with LEGO®
LEGO® is the perfect toy for building motor skills. Not only does it help kids learn how to build shapes and organize large amounts of pieces, but it also has the added benefit of creative expression that comes from creativity and imagination.Kids can build almost any structure they can think of, from vehicles to buildings to sculptures and much more. They can create almost anything they can imagine with LEGO®. However, the more challenging the structure, the more challenges your child will face in building it. Challenging structures help your child develop important motor skills like:- Arranging the right pieces to build the right structure – This skill allows kids to learn how to use a variety of pieces together to create an entire object.- Concentration and patience – This is crucial for creativity and building complex structures. Building a complex structure requires patience and concentration.- Imagination – Building complex structures helps kids develop their imagination skills and creativity.
Make Body Movement Games
Body movement games are a great way to get your child moving both inside and outside the home. There are many different types of games you can play, such as playing catch indoors or outside, creating obstacle courses, or having a “crawl-run” race. These activities help kids develop the following skills:- Coordination – Kids need to learn how to use both arms and legs when moving around. Body movement games help a child develop this crucial skill.- Balance – Body movement games require kids to learn how to stay balanced while moving. This is an important skill that is needed in everyday life.- Speed – Body movement games help kids build their speed and agility.- Strength – Body movement games teach kids how to use their muscles by building strength.- Flexibility – Body movement games help kids develop flexibility by stretching their muscles.
Let Your Child Drive the Vehicle
While it is great to let your child participate in car travel, it is also important to let him or her drive the car. This allows a child to learn how to drive while staying safe. It is important to let your child drive the car responsibly, so they do not endanger other drivers. There are several different ways to let your child drive the vehicle safely.- Let your child participate in car travel. This lets a child learn about the car and the experience of traveling in a car. – Let your child drive the car for short distances on the road. This lets a child practice driving and quickly returns control to the driver if needed. – Let your child drive the car for long distances. This is a great way for a child to get some driving experience, especially if the parent is driving.
Use a Balance Disc
Balance discs are great toys that help develop motor skills and balance. They are also super cheap, making them a great option for any budget! These toys are designed to be used either inside or outside. Inside, they can be used to balance out a sensory area, such as a bathtub, where kids can “touch” the water and learn to identify shapes. Outside, they can be used like a trampoline, where kids can bounce around and work on their balance. The balance disc is great because it can be used for both indoors and outdoors and can be used for a variety of skills.
Play with Shape and Color Sensory Toys
The motor skills that are developed by playing with sensory toys are similar to those that are developed in playing with LEGO®. Both types of toys help your child develop important motor skills, including:- Organization – The most basic skill that is developed by playing with sensory toys is organization. It is necessary for any child to develop this skill so they can maintain and manage their environment.- Fine motor skills – Sensory toys are great for helping kids develop their fine motor skills, which are the movements of the hands and fingers. This includes grasping and typing.- Visual skills – Playing with sensory toys also helps kids develop their visual skills, which is important as they get older. This includes being able to see colors and make sense of shapes.
Use a Sand Table or Bin for Shape and Object Recognition Practice
Shape and object recognition is a great way to build motor skills. It is a skill that is very important in later life, as it helps kids to see shapes and make sense of objects. This skill can be helped with both LEGO® and sand tables. An easy way to build this skill is to create a bin where your child can dump and sort shapes. They can also be used to help your child recognize shapes and objects.
Don’t Forget About crawling and Walking!
While many parents worry about their child’s motor skills when they are young, this is not necessary. In fact, it is important to let your child play and develop their motor skills naturally.It is important to always remember that crawling and walking are important in developing your child’s motor skills. Letting your child crawl and walk as much as they want will allow them to develop their motor skills naturally without worrying about any negative connotations that come with being in a gym or on a track.Crawling and walking are important for motor skills development because your child is developing how to move his or her body in different ways. Crawling and walking are important for motor skills development because your child is developing how to move his or her body in different ways.
Conclusion
When it comes to toys, many modern ones are lacking in design and quality, so it can be tough to find a fun toy that will help your child build motor skills. Fortunately, there are tons of toys that are designed to help your child develop important motor skills. The most important thing to remember when looking for toys that help your child develop motor skills is to buy quality toys that look fun and are designed well.
Creative thinking is a fundamental skill for the stages of child development. In this post, we will be talking about creative thinking, why it is so important, and how to build creative thinking skills in kids.
What is Creative Thinking?
Creative thinking is the ability to develop new and different approaches to a problem or a concept. Essentially, creative thought involves processing existing information and experiences, adopting various perspectives, and figuring out new patterns. The experts establish five types of creative thinking.
Convergent thinking requires considering facts and deciding the most common solution to a problem. Meanwhile, divergent thinking can be best explained as brainstorming: you come up with as many ideas as possible. Similarly, inspirational thinking lets you imagine the best-case scenarios to create a new approach to a problem.Finally, lateral thinking takes a more systematical approach, focusing on the flow of ideas in a step by step format. On the other hand, aesthetic thinking has a whole different viewpoint: it urges you to take a look at the problem from a different frame to see its value and beauty, like a painting.
Creative thinking helps children connect ideas and reach new concepts by processing them. It improves children’s imaginative powers and concentration while developing the sense of looking at the world from different views. There are some essential critical and creative thinking skills for students:
Imagination
Brainstorming
Adaptability
Imagery
Questioning
Why is Creative Thinking Important for Kids?
Creative thinking skills help children in so many ways. Through them, children learn how to look at something from different perspectives, recognise new patterns, and go out of the way to find alternative solutions. Also, creative thinking skills for students are crucial in improving analytical thinking because critical and creative thinking encourages children to take a different look, question, and examine the world around them.
Creative thinking promotes problem-solving skills for kids. It allows them to explore their ideas and imaginative powers. When children face a problem, the first thing they apply is their creative thinking skills. For example, if two kids want to play with cars but don’t have any toys, they can easily imagine a pair of slippers as cars.
Not only that, but creative thinking also helps children in expressing themselves. Identifying feelings or finding the right words may be quite hard, especially for little children. However, your child can learn to find new ways to express their emotions or ideas in unconventional ways with creative thinking skills. Moreover, creative thinking exercises flourish children’s curiosity. Smashing all the walls that confine your child’s free-thinking abilities, those exercises let your children’s creative ideas flow. They eventually sparkle new ideas, which opens the way to curiosity for other concepts.
Tips to Build Creative Thinking Skills in Kids
Get your child to adopt reading habits
Reading enhances kids’ vocabulary, which means they learn new concepts that can connect. Those connections form many new ideas. So, getting children on a track in reading boosts their ability to think creatively.
Give your child time to solve problems on their own
To find a solution to a problem, children should take their time thinking about them. That way, they can examine the issue from different perspectives and come up with creative ideas. No matter how much you want to solve a situation, your child’s tackling it themselves helps build their creative thinking skills.
Encourage questions
You may be tired of your child’s never-ending questions, but don’t forget that those questions open many creative thoughts in their mind. So try redirecting questions to them to advance their creative thinking abilities.
Urge your child to develop hypotheses
As much as questioning, coming up with hypotheses level up children’s creative thinking skills. They think about the question, find alternative reasons and consequences, evaluate them, and finally structure the main premises. This process involves lots of creativity because they have to think about many things all at once. So, when they ask you a question, you can urge your child to build hypotheses themselves.
Give your child responsibility
You can’t think how much a typical day at home requires so much creative thinking. Give your child something to do, a little responsibility to keep their mind occupied. They would immediately come up with creative ideas to find an easier way to accomplish their duties.
Games and Activities that Improve Creative Thinking Skills in Kids
Modelling/Sculpting
Play doughs, modelling clay, and any other sculpting medium lays a vast space where your child can bring models of existing or non-existing things into life. As there is no limit to what kind of a sculpture they can create, kids can explore their imagination to the fullest. That enables them to improve their creative thinking abilities.
Playing Instruments and Singing
Any form of musical expression develops children’s creative thinking because through musical notes, playing instruments, and singing, they can channel their emotions, whether sadness, anger, or happiness. It is a way of interpretation, and as it lifts the language barrier, it gives children the freedom to use their creativity.
Puppetting
Children love puppets! Puppetting may be more complicated than you think because the person who directs the puppets must create a plot, a character, and dialogues for their show. So, giving your kids a chance to be puppet masters can boost their thinking skills and creativity. Also, you can urge your kids to make their own puppets out of the materials at home. You can stitch some pieces of cloth in whatever shape you want your puppet, fill it, draw a face and add hair or other accessories. This way, you can improve their ability to think creatively as they have to use something unconventionally.
Guess/Memory Games and Puzzles
Guess games require a lot of concentration and creative thinking as they are mostly built upon drawing connections between several topics and objects. Finding ways to convey what the person is trying to make the others guess also develops creative thinking skills. It pushes one to come up with creative ways to express themselves.
Pretend Play
As pretend play puts children in various imaginary situations, it boosts their creativity about real-life scenarios and how they can react to them. Some problems in real life need lots of thinking and creativity to find a solution. Pretend play makes it easier to develop creative thinking and problem-solving.
Drawing
Creative thinking exercises like drawing can be quite fun to urge your child to explore their creative and imaginative powers. They can experiment with different drawing techniques such as chalk, watercolour, gouache, etc. Especially with watercolour, they can mix various colours to create their own colour. Drawing enables children to imagine a whole new universe on paper. Drawing on old t-shirts or objects that you don’t use anymore can also be a fun idea because that way, you can urge your child to think creatively according to differing objects.
Mixed Media Plays
Children are usually given unrelated objects such as cardboard, buttons, and cotton reels in mixed media activities without any instructions. And, when left with their creativity, children eventually manage to create items out of these unrelated objects. This kind of play may be one of the best techniques for developing creative thinking as children work independently and solely use their imagination.
Science Activities
Teaching children about certain topics isn’t the only aim of science activities, but also urging them to be curious about the world around them. Essentially, those science skills for kids help them acquire and advance creative thinking skills. For example, to create hypotheses or find a solution to a problem during an experiment, those children effectively use creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
How Twin Helps to Develop Creative Thinking Skills in Kids
We aim to advance children’s thinking skills and creativity and educate them on several different science topics. Twin Kits include a Robotic Art Kit, Coding Kit, Curiosity Kit, and many more! These kits help your child grow creative thinking skills as they experiment with hands-on projects. You can learn more about all the kits here at this link: Twin Shop.Twin App also presents many interactive videos and games that help them learn science and improve their creative thinking skills. With a Digital subscription, you can access those videos, games, live shows, DIY projects, and monthly skill reports.
Even though it didn’t go exactly as we planned, we have to admit that our lives have changed drastically after March 2020, with the pandemic of COVID-19. Schools being the first instructions to be shut down with the spread of the pandemic, the educational system was also the first field to show how unprepared we were for such an unexpected event. With much effort and challenges, the educational system started developing new ways to keep up with the requirements of this new COVID-19 age and starting with distance education, it finally managed to come up with an educational concept much versatile and preferable, namely hybrid learning which incorporates face-to-face classes with online learning with the help of technological tools. Let’s dive into what is the meaning of hybrid learning and what can be the pros and cons of hybrid learning for students and parents.
What Is Hybrid Learning and How Does Hybrid Learning Work?
Hybrid learning is an educational model in which the in-person learning is brought together with a virtual learning experience via technological tools that help to strengthen and facilitate the bond between the two educational models. In the hybrid learning system, the educators teach the same subjects simultaneously to two different student groups, one group being in class and learning face-to-face while the other group attending the class with the help of technological tools like a video conference session. In order to enable a more fruitful learning experience, the educators may use the following technological tools and many more than these:
Simultaneous video conferences
Discussion forums that are held online
Online quizzes
Online interactive games and exercises
Asynchronous tools such as pre-recorded classes
Online discussion rooms
What separates and makes hybrid learning a more preferable teaching method from remote education is that to some degree, it still incorporates the conventional aspect of education into the learning experience of the children. Being a system in which the educator teaches the students both in-person and online, hybrid learning also shows the importance of online educational apps and tools like Twin App and Twin Kits. Making education a more personalized and individualized experience for kids, Twin Apps and Twin Kits that aim for a double-winged educational model and that are designed for kids with different interests, make the hybrid learning experience more fruitful and fun as they give children a space to educate themselves both online via Twin App and in-person with Twin Kits. So, in a way, Twin App and Twin Kits also offer a hybrid learning experience in an age when we most need it!
Now, knowing what hybrid learning is, let’s take a closer look at what are a few of the advantages and benefits of hybrid learning.
Advantages of Hybrid Learning
It teaches children time management.
In the conventional education system when students go to school five days a week for a certain amount of time, during the time they spend in school, the time management is done by the school as an institution and the teachers for the kids. They spent the entire day in an environment where the time for everything, from learning to eating food, is specified for them. So, for five days a week, they don’t need to think about how they should manage their time during the day. Yet, in the hybrid learning system, the students learn to manage their time on their own as virtual learning would require them to stay at home and during their time at home, they have to keep up with their workload on their own. Learning to reserve a certain amount of time for everything from online classes to homework and a certain amount of free time for themselves, the hybrid learning model teaches kids how to manage time on their own!
It offers a more personalized and accessible education.
In the hybrid learning system, the needs of both students who learn better at school and who learn better at home is met. While those who prefer to stay at home can learn via online classes, those who prefer to go to actual school can learn by attending the in-person classes. In addition to that, offering the chance to those who don’t have the right circumstances for attending in-person classes (whether it be the distance to school or a working parent), the hybrid learning offers access to a wide variety of students. Plus, as the sizes of the classes would be reduced, the quality of both the in-person and the online classes would be much higher.
It creates a safe and moderated relationship with technology.
Today’s children are engaged and have to be engaged with technology more than ever whether we approve it or not. And rather than having a bond with technology through online video games or unmoderated platforms, the hybrid education model allows them to create a relationship with technology that is much healthier. Computers and other technological devices have been in our lives for a long time and it seems that they will continue to be so in the future as well. Hybrid learning model inevitably entails the use of computers and technology and students who attend classes via video conferences and attend exercises that are done online not only excel in the topic they learn but also have a chance to excel in technology use that will be useful to them in their future lives and careers. Online educational apps like Twin App also offers kids to discover the online world via entertaining and educational means with a wide range of App sections from Adventures and Experiments to Trivia quizzes!
The advantages of hybrid learning can be multiplied. Stating the advantages of hybrid learning doesn’t mean that it only has pros; as we all know, for every pro, there is always a con. Increased screen time , having less social interaction with their peers, spending too much time at home and a lack of physical activity can be a few of the drawbacks that the hybrid learning experience may have on kids. Yet, we live in a technology-driven world. And since 2020, this ¨technology-driven¨ world has turned into a ¨pandemic-driven¨ world. Considering the shock and anxiety we all have experienced during the start of the pandemic with the quick switch to remote education, hybrid learning model offers a more balanced, equable and versatile learning experience for both parents and kids!
Twin brings the hybrid learning experience into life with its Premium subscription. By having a Premium subscription to Twin App, you can have access to all the Premium features that the Twin App offers from exclusive DIY projects to live shows with STEM experts while also owning 6 Twin Science Kits! Twin App also sends each parent a monthly skill report to let them know about the development of their kids by analyzing their participation and activities in the app. Offering both a safe and a moderated platform for kids to discover technology and also a hands-on experience with science kits, Twin offers a hybrid learning experience in the most efficient and entertaining way possible!
The demand for STEM skills is growing rapidly. Read our article to learn more on STEM careers, examples of best careers in STEM, and their importance.
We live in the age of technology and science. Considering the impact of these fields in every part of our lives, STEM-based education for kids gains an extra importance during these days. STEM education, an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, blends these four highly related and similar fields into one another and turns kids into more versatile, active and practical individuals. The most important thing about STEM is that even though each of the four letters stand for different fields, it is almost impossible to separate these four fields as they work in collaboration with each other. Yet, when it comes to careers, all of these four fields offer many different career options for kids from health to environment, chemistry to engineering. Let’s further explore why choosing a STEM-career is important during these days.
Why are STEM Careers Important in Today’s World?
Educating children with a well-rounded and powerful STEM-centered education opens doors for many different and highly-demanded career options for them. As STEM subjects occupy such a large domain of our modern lives, the career options that they open are many and still continue to increase every day. STEM careers encourage kids to create, flourish and always be active in not just one, but in many fields. Also, as its importance is a crystal-clear fact in our modern world that is dominated by science and technology, careers in the STEM field are the most highly-demanded career options with an unemployment rate half as high as other non-STEM-related career options. Especially the studies done in the US shows that rather than diminishing, the demand for and growth rate of STEM-related careers will be twice as high as the other non-STEM-related careers in the job market. Setting aside offering a successful career, STEM education also helps to create well-rounded, versatile, practical and critically-thinking individuals who can thrive in any field that they want to specialize, whether it be STEM-related or not. If you want to further encourage your kid to have a STEM-based foundation, see this ¨STEM Starter Kit for Kids¨ offered by Twin to warm up your kid to the world of STEM! https://www.twinscience.com/en/product/curiosity-kit/
Having all these pros in our minds, let’s take a look at the list of some of the top STEM careers in each 4 fields.
What are the Top STEM Careers for Kids?
Careers in Science
Molecular Biologist
A molecular biologist examines the genetic functions of humans, animals and plants. Applying scientific methods to these genetic cells, they try to understand the cellular functions of these organisms. Spending most of their time in laboratories, molecular biologists can work in hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical companies.
Astrophysicist
Combining astronomy and physics together, astrophysics is one of the coolest STEM-jobs in the science field. In simplest terms, an astrophysicist tries to understand our universe through studying planets, stars and other celestial bodies. They can work in observatories, universities and research labs but the coolest place that they can work would definitely be NASA!
Paleontologist
Paleontologists study the fossils that remain from extinct organisms such as dinosaurs. By studying these fossils, they try to make connections with these extinct organisms’ relatives that still survive today. A paleontologist can work in universities, museums, research labs or special governmental projects.
Careers in Technology
Game developer
With so many video games on the market, the demand for game developers increases every day. A game developer writes codes and designs the asked worlds for video games in different formats like mobile phone apps, computer games or console games. Game developers may mainly work with game companies, but they can also work freelance or found their own companies as well. Twin has a great product that can help kids who are interested in coding to start improving their interest and skills at a very early age. See Twin’s Coding Kit for Kids to educate future game developers! https://www.twinscience.com/en/product/coding-kit/
Graphic designer
Using specific computer programs, graphic designers design the creative materials for many occasions from advertisements to sales. Blending technology and arts in a crafty manner, graphic designers may both work freelance or with agencies or corporate companies.
Robotics engineer
Fusing technology and engineering together, a robotics engineer designs and develops robots. Being one of the most future-oriented jobs in the market, robotics engineers may work for technology companies, universities or for governmental projects.
Careers in Engineering
Biochemical engineer
Being a highly versatile field, biochemical engineering combines biology, chemistry and engineering together. Using their knowledge of biology and chemistry, biochemical engineers create products and apply their knowledge of engineering for reaching the level of optimum function. They can work in research labs or manufacturing companies.
Mechatronics engineer
A mechatronics engineer develops products and machines and solves problems that require mechanical or electronics specialties. Being one of the most popular engineering fields today, they can work in many fields like automobile and airline companies. If your kid is interested in fields such as mechanics and electronics, good news, Twin has a wonderful product for you! With Twin’s Autonomous Vehicle Kit for Kids, your kid can have an early experience for what a mechatronics engineer does in the field of engineering!
Industrial engineer
Industrial engineers work to reach highest efficiency and try to eliminate unproductivity during the producing process of any product. As they don’t necessarily deal with a specific type of product, they can work in many fields from finance to tourism or health to transportation.
Careers in Mathematics
Mathematician
Mathematicians try to understand the magic behind numbers and formulas. In addition to studying already existing theories and principles, they can also come up with their own theories as well. Mathematicians may work in collaboration with other STEM occupations including engineers and scientists, but they may also diverge to different fields like finance, economy or education.
Statistician
Statisticians first collect, then examine and analyze statistical data with the help of mathematical theories. As data can be collected from any field or business and mathematics can be applied to any field these days, statisticians can work in many fields just like mathematicians from academia to private sector.
Risk Management Specialist
A risk management specialist tries to eliminate financial risks that might put a business or company in danger. Being responsible for coming up with financial solutions or preventions, a risk management specialist can work in many fields, specifically finance and economics, that require monetary counseling and management.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics—these fields will be the founding stones of the future. Considering the lucrative opportunities that the STEM education will bring about in career fields, it is highly important to direct and counsel kids who have an interest in STEM-related fields in the right path and to help them to find the right career path for themselves.
When it comes to STEM education and raising individuals with a critical and versatile mindset, Twin Blog offers great articles such as ¨Double Winged Learning¨ that emphasizes the importance of a well-rounded education and an article on ¨Using Twin for STEM Education¨ that can help parents integrate STEM into their kids’ education and extracurricular activities.
Every day, a new field is added to the career options we have listed above and if we succeed in directing kids interested in STEM in the right path, there will never be a shortage to find prospective practitioners for any of these fields.
Spending quality time with your child means a lot for your child’s development and emotional well-being. As games hold a special place in a child’s life, playing together is a fun way to bond with them. You can try making time for the whole family to play games together to get closer to your child, make them feel more relieved and open to communicating with you as a parent and help them improve their mental and motor skills.
Here are a few suggestions! You can try the games from the following list at your family game night.
Pass It On!
The best thing about this play is that you only need some paper and crayons. The first player writes a combination of words like “a frog wearing a clown costume” and passes the sheet on to the next player. The second one must illustrate what is written and pass the illustration to the next with the written part folded. The third player’s role is to describe what they see in the drawing. After describing, they should fold the paper again (only the written part can be seen) and pass it on to the next player. The players keep doing this until every player plays. Then unfold the sheet and get ready for a mouthful of laughter! Set a timer for each player if you want to spice up the excitement.
Crazy Eights
This one is best played with 2-6 players, but you can also play with more. The players deal five cards for each and place one card face up for the starter pile. You put the rest of the cards aside as the draw pile. The players can only play a card that matches either the number or the suit. For example, if the starter card is a 7 of spades, a player can play either a 7 of any suit or a spade of any number. If the player does not have a playable card, they must draw from the stockpile until they have a suitable card or the pile is empty. The first player who gets rid of all their cards wins.
Balloon Tennis
Do you want to play a physical game but do not want to leave the house? This one’s for you! Just blow up a balloon and grab tennis rackets. Then split into teams and start your own tournament. Your kids will love running around and hitting balloons.
Indoor Bowling
First, open up some space for your indoor bowling lane, then grab a ball and arrange 10 empty plastic bottles in a triangle – they can be half full if you want to make it a little harder. The formation should be like traditional bowling with four in the back row, then three, two and one in each of the following rows. Then you find out who can knock out the most bottles.
Charades
As this is an acting game, you do not need any particular item to play. The players split up into two teams and choose one of the team members in each round to act out. In each round, one team chooses something for the other to act out for their teammates to guess. It can be a movie, book, TV show, musician, etc. You can keep this by turns as long as you want or set a goal score. Then, whichever team reaches that goal of correct guesses wins.
Taboo
Although this is a well-known game, it would be a shame not to mention Taboo if we talk about family games to play at home. The game is played with two teams. One player from each team tries to describe the selected word on the card without using the main word and the side words. The rest of the team aims to guess the word correctly. The teller players change every round, and each team plays in turns. The team with the most correct guesses wins.
Spontuneous
This one is not very popular but probably one of the best games for families to play together. All players write down several trigger words on their hit-list. Then, one of the players turns the timer and announces a trigger word. The first player must sing at least 5 words from any song containing the trigger list. If they can achieve this, they roll the dice and advance on the gameboard according to the number on the dice. Each player sings when it is their turn. The players who land on a clef must draw a card and complete the challenge it gives! The game continues until one of the players reaches the finish line.
Develops Motor Skills: The games, whether played indoors or outdoors, develop children’s motor skills. For example, shuffling cards or rolling a ball and hitting the target improves the kid’s hand-eye coordination. It leads them to success later in playing instruments, sports, or hand skills. The games with the benefits of physical activity for kids also help them develop gross motor skills such as walking, running, and any physical action that uses large muscles. On the other hand, games like Pass It On above develop fine motor skills because it contains lots of writing and drawing.
Expands Vocabulary: Many indoor games for families aim at describing or expressing something. For example, children learn new words from games like Taboo. It also pushes the players to be more creative and use various words as they have to avoid certain words when they try to describe the word.
Improves Children’s Social Skills: Playing games can be much more effective in social skills than the benefits of children’s science activities. Playing games as a family gets you closer to each other, builds children’s cooperation skills, and makes them better team players. While playing games with family, children communicate with other people and improve their impulse control; they wait for their turn, follow the game’s rules, and gracefully accept victory or defeat.
Develops Strategical Thinking: Many indoor games for family need you to be quick-witted because you have to make something out the everyday life to play, like balloon tennis or indoor bowling. Games like Crazy Eights also improve children’s strategical thinking as they try to get rid of all their cards before the others.
Builds Self-Confidence: Although having fun is the aim, no one can prevent competition from family game nights. But competition is not always a bad thing. Competing and winning against the others show children how strong, clever and skilful they are. So, game nights for the family help your child in every way. Games give the children a chance to communicate with others, leading to a healthier self-image.
A Good Alternative To Science Activities: Sometimes, you cannot keep children focused during a science activity. It is also probable that so many people cannot afford science sets or necessities. But some fun games to play with family might be what you need to make science fun and accessible! For example, balloon tennis can be a good representation of how gasses take up space, or indoor bowling shows the notion of force and speed.
How to Plan a Family Game Night
Planning a family game night might seem challenging. But you can easily gather around and have a nice evening with fun games to play with family. Here are some tips on how to plan a game night.
First things first, schedule a convenient day and time for everyone beforehand. This way, everyone can attend without their minds being distracted by school or work. It also helps you to keep these family nights a regular activity.
Discuss with family members what games they like. This discussion may introduce the other family members to new games and help you expand your family game collection. Deciding on a game that everyone wants to play keeps them focused on the game. That way, your family can spend fun and cosy evenings together.
Clarify the game rules. One of the most complex parts of the game nights is that sometimes children can whine and complain about the rules if they lose. Setting all the rules clean before starting to play a game prevents everyone from all these unpleasant scenes. You can even put a prize or punishment to spice up your game nights.
Everybody loves delicious snacks during family game nights. Decide on what snacks they would want to have while playing games. You can also prepare those together, which makes it even more lovely.
Lastly, turn off the TV and the cell phones. Show your family that you care for this night and want to communicate and spend some time only with your family. This way, your children can also focus on the time you spend as a family together and do not get distracted by their phones or computers.
Bonus Suggestion!
Do you want to try something new and educational? Twin Science offers an entertaining and easy way to integrate games and science learning through Twin Kits. You and your children can spend quality time with our Twin Science Robotic Art Kit: they build robots, experiment with colours, and boost their creative power. Additionally, our Coding Kit helps your children learn and wonder more about the fundamentals of coding while having fun. You’ll be amazed to see how excited your kids will be, as they can make their own music anywhere by simply turning fruits into piano keys through the power of coding.
From the moment they take their first breath, children are inquisitive explorers, absorbing the world around them like sponges. Everyday experiences, from feeling the sun’s warmth to watching raindrops fall, introduce them to the intriguing realm of science. These interactions lay the foundation for their future scientific journey, fostering skills that are essential for understanding the intricate workings of the universe. This innate process, characterized by curiosity and discovery, is what we call the “science process.”
Science process skills, the building blocks of this cognitive adventure, form the backbone of a child’s scientific growth. Why is cultivating these skills so crucial? Because they serve as the keys to unlocking the boundless potential of science education. Through captivating science games and activities, children can both enhance existing skills and acquire new ones, thus embarking on an exciting journey of scientific exploration.
Let’s embark on an enlightening exploration of these vital science skills, unraveling how to nurture them, and empowering young minds to thrive in the world of science.
Investigation Skills: Sparking curiosity through questions fuels the fire of discovery. Encourage “Why?” and “How?” inquiries to ignite investigative spirits. By observing everyday wonders and pondering mysteries, children embark on their science journey.
Observing Skills: Senses unlock the world’s secrets. Touch, smell, sound, sight, and taste are their guides. These observations lay the foundation, shaping a mental canvas for scientific exploration.
Measuring Skills: Quantifying reality is key. Measuring height or weight, they speak the universal language of science, fostering comprehension and communication.
Classifying Skills: Seek patterns, sort objects by traits. As children group by commonalities, they unveil the intricate web of scientific principles.
Predicting Skills: Educated guessing, foreseeing outcomes. By predicting, kids sharpen their foresight, anticipating actions and change results.
Experimenting Skills: Hands-on exploration drives inquiry. Crafting hypotheses, testing, adapting – it nurtures analytical thinking, resilience, and planning.
Interpreting & Concluding: Reason, then reveal. Comparing predictions, analyzing data, and synthesizing findings form pathways to meaningful insights.
Communicating Skills: Sharing fuels progress. Conveying discoveries via words, visuals, charts – it ensures their insights ripple through the human knowledge pool.
Nurturing Science Skills in Kids: Tips and Strategies
Cultivate Curiosity: Encourage your child’s natural sense of wonder by embracing their questions and encouraging independent exploration. Introduce intriguing science facts to spark their interest and open doors to new inquiries.
Provide Time and Space for Exploration: Allow your child the freedom to engage in hands-on science projects. These activities offer a safe space for practice and experimentation, paving the way for skill development.
Promote Further Exploration: After completing an experiment, encourage your child to extend their learning by suggesting new questions or variations to explore. This promotes a deeper understanding and fosters critical thinking.
Leverage Technology: Leverage the power of technology by engaging your child with online science activities. The Twin App, for instance, offers a plethora of DIY science projects that nurture curiosity and enhance science skills in an engaging and interactive way.
Enhancing Learning Through Everyday Experiences
Learning science doesn’t have to be confined to textbooks. Embrace your child’s innate curiosity by incorporating science into everyday activities. A nature walk becomes a lesson in observation, while cooking together unveils the magic of chemical reactions. By intertwining science with daily life, you create an environment where learning is a natural and enjoyable process.
Empower Your Child’s Scientific Journey
Nurturing science skills in children goes beyond textbooks and classrooms. Embrace curiosity, provide opportunities for exploration, and leverage technology to create a dynamic learning experience. With the guidance of Twin Science, your child’s journey into the world of science becomes an exciting adventure, enriched by hands-on projects, engaging activities, and a boundless realm of discovery. Together, let’s ignite the spark of curiosity and watch as it transforms into the flame of scientific exploration in young minds.
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