Frozen Fun!

My 3 year old has been so captivated by the characters in Frozen movie, that she does all kinds of pretend play with her princess dolls.

The insane popularity of this Disney movie has gotten kids singing the theme songs in the malls, classrooms and kids’ playdates.

I enjoy watching and being amused by the play scripts my girl comes up with whenever she is engaged in pretend, dramatic play. The latest being the conversations and songs between the Frozen sister, Elsa and Anna.

I thought to make the play scene more elaborate and sensorial, why not create some frozen fun for her with some ice blocks and ice cubes?

To make the ice blocks, simply recycle your plastic containers, add some blue food colouring and freeze it overnight! And you are ready to enact the play scene!

  

 

My girl was super thrilled to experience the Frozen fun! It is extremely sensorial and tactile as she holds the cold cubes in her hands! The huge ice blocks are also great for building ‘ice-palace’  for princesses and ‘resting places” for the animals. In watching the ice melt away gradually, she is also picking up the science concepts of ‘melting’, ‘freezing’  and ‘condensation’.

 

 

Importance of Pretend Play

The musical Frozen also comes alive when she enacts the scenes from the movie with her princess dolls. Pretend play is great for language development, and enhances their social skills for friendship and conflict resolution. I love how the conversations between the Frozen sisters evolved into one that resolves around kindness and kinship! She also used new vocabulary that expresses emotions, appearance, apparel and values. Through pretend play, I also got to catch a glimpse into her own thoughts and perceptions of relationships, dreams and even fears. She was scared of the ice monster, and told she sees it in her room sometimes. That actually explained why she refuses to sleep alone in her room! She also said that a princess treats people with kindness, which is a message I have been reinforcing to her when we talk about being a princess.

   

 

Why not try this out at home? It’s free and completely fun for your little one! 🙂

 

 

 

10 Kids’ Craft from Recycled Materials!

Wondering how to ignite creativity in your child? Making recycled art is one of the wonderful ways of nurturing creativity as well as imparting values such as care for the environment.

The kids will be surprised to see for themselves what kind of things they can create out of everyday ‘junk’! Using simple discarded materials help them to reinvent and rethink how they can be re-used and re-created to morph into art masterpieces beyond their imagination.

I started this project with my class of 6 year-olds. We were doing thematic activities based on neighbourhood, and the children brainstormed on different vehicles and buildings. It was a take-home project where the children get to create the models with their parents. The collaboration between parent and child was strong, stemming from a joint discussion on what to make, and what materials were most suitable as well as the process of creating art. Some children take the cue from their parents and they embarked on this wonderful learning process of creating their final product.

Here I showcase some of their brilliant work! Enjoy the creativity!

1. Trains

2. Tank

3. Houses

     

4.Buildings

 

5. Rocket

 

6. Digger

 

7. Buses

8. Racing Cars

   

9.  Ship

   

10. Van