Hey families! Do you remember when there were 9 planets? Wow, us too! Now it seems up for debate whether Pluto is on the list. The International Astronomical Union decided in 2006 to designate Pluto as a “dwarf planet.” Ouch.
8+9 is a doubles fact plus one. Do you remember when 8+9 was simply, 17? Yep, us too!
The 16th amendment to the U.S. Constitution established federal income tax. Wait. What? Can we get a recount on that one? The 21st amendment repealed prohibition. Ok, we’ll drink to that!
If you’ve spent the past year brushing up on all of this—and more—as a remote pseudo-teacher’s assistant to your kids, we know you have a whole new appreciation for teachers.
We all knew they were important before the global pandemic. But after 2020, let’s face it, we’re all thinking, “please don’t leave me alone to teach my kids again! I don’t know what I’m doing!”
At PlayMonster, we believe teachers are incredibly important! We want to thank teachers for all they do. A BIG THANK YOU! We can’t type it, shout it, or say it enough! We truly appreciate everything teachers do!
Now families, here is one way you can help your kids continue to learn at home this summer. We promise it won’t involve flash cards and it’s something that educators will endorse. The answer is simple: PLAY!
Encourage your kids to get away from the screens and play!
The Toy Association’s Genius of Play Initiative found that:
– Make-believe games help kids regulate emotions
– 88% of preschoolers playing with blocks were engaged in at least one math-building activity such as comparing sizes and counting.
– Studies show that kindergarteners’ vocabulary was positively related to the amount of time they spent talking during pretend play at age 3.
Need more proof? There’s a host of fascinating research about the importance of play here.
The best way you can help your kids learn is to encourage them to play at home. We know it will help kids be more prepared to learn in school. The Genius of Play Initiative has a host of play ideas using items already found in your home.
At PlayMonster, we can certainly offer a ton of recommendations for new toys for the whole family.
Here’s one the teachers will love: our Science4you kits. They’ll help boost brain power! Maybe your child can use one of our kits, such as Spectacular Science, to get Pluto back on that planet list. . .
As this school year comes to a close, we offer another BIG THANK YOU to educators! At Play Monster, we encourage everyone to keep on learning this summer. The formula is simple: PLAY!
