{"id":257596,"date":"2020-05-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/257596\/make-the-most-of-play-time\/"},"modified":"2020-05-09T12:26:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T10:26:56","slug":"make-the-most-of-play-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2020\/05\/10\/make-the-most-of-play-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Make the most of playtime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Play is about so much more than simply passing the time or keeping the children busy.<\/p>\n

For children, it\u2019s a crucial part of childhood development that helps them pick up important new skills while improving their gross and fine motor skills, showing them how to play well with others and, of course, giving them a chance to spend quality time with mom and dad, while building stronger ties as a family.<\/p>

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However, finding new activities to keep the children busy can be stressful in itself, not to mention when parents are trying to juggle work, house chores, Zoom school calls and a countless number of virtual meetings.<\/p>\n

LEGO South Africa offers a few creative suggestions for different types of games, no matter whether you have five, 10 or 30 minutes available.<\/p>

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Go on a garden safari. Grab a few stuffed animals and place them around the garden and keep the little ones busy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let’s play:<\/b><\/p>\n


\nFive minutes:<\/b>
\n\u2022 The Smarties in water experiment is a quick and easy activity to do when you\u2019re low on time, and makes for a fascinating result for children. All you need is a plate, some Smarties (or similar sweets) and some water.
\nArrange different colours of sweets next to one another in a circle on the plate, and slowly add warm water to the middle of the circle until the sweets are half submerged. Now, sit back and wait for the colour burst surprise.
\n\u2022 Have a dance party. Five minutes isn\u2019t much, but it\u2019s just enough to get up and boogie together to one of your child\u2019s favourite tunes.
\n\u2022 Build the world\u2019s tallest tower made out of LEGO\u00ae bricks and any other stackable items you can find, try to see who can make theirs the tallest before it tips over.<\/p>\n

10 minutes:<\/b>
\n\u2022 Make some ooey gooey slime. Homemade slime is quick and easy to make, not to mention safer for little ones to play with than most store-bought versions. For \u2018edible\u2019 slime, simply mix some corn flour and jelly powder with just enough water to create a viscous slime mixture that\u2019s not too sticky.
\n\u2022 Dig for treasure for your little palaeontologist in the making, bury a few dinosaur toys and other mini treasures in a sandbox. Parents and children can dig up their own exciting discoveries using a plastic spade or a brush to gently dust away the sand.
\n\u2022 Clean-up games might sound like a cleverly disguised way of getting them to do chores to your child, but you can make it fun by turning it into a race to see who can pack away toys or tidy up the living room the fastest.
\nYou can even make up a song as you go, and offer a few rewards like an extra bedtime story or slightly later bedtime.<\/p>\n

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ALSO READ:<\/span><\/p>\n

Useful tips to help cope with the stress brought on by Covid-19<\/a><\/p>\n

Make the most of lockdown with some household chores<\/a><\/p>\n


\n15 minutes:<\/b>
\n\u2022 Play with rainbow rice. This is a fun and educational sensory play idea \u2013 the children will love running their fingers through the grains, and the multitude of colours have been found to stimulate brain development.
\nSimply fill a few empty ice cream containers about halfway with rice and add a few drops of food colouring in different colours to each container.
\nPut the lids on and give them a good shake to spread the colour around, and leave to dry for a few hours on a tray \u2013 it\u2019s best to make the rice a day ahead to make things more convenient at playtime.
\n\u2022 Minute-to-win-it games are tons of fun and a great way to get the children to play competitively in a fun and healthy way. Prop a piece of cardboard up at an incline.
\nPlace a marble on the board and, using a spoon, see who can keep the marble from rolling off the board the longest.<\/p>\n

20 minutes:<\/b>
\n\u2022 Decorate mom and dad using beaded necklaces, scarves, stickers and even a few items of make-up (if you don\u2019t have to head into a video conference meeting straight afterwards, that is).
\n\u2022 Create an indoor obstacle course with anything you have lying around the house \u2013 a pile of couch cushions become a mountain to climb over, a few strips of tape could be a hop-in-hop-out ladder, tables and chairs can be climbed over or under, and a row of cardboard boxes become the coolest tunnel to crawl through.
\n\u2022 Build a fantasy creature out of LEGO\u00ae bricks. Stacking, connecting and building things together as a family is a phenomenal way to bond, inspire creativity for parents and children alike, and encourage children to use their imagination.<\/p>\n

30 minutes:<\/b>
\n\u2022 Go on a garden safari. Grab a few stuffed animals and place them around the garden. You can even make a set of binoculars out of toilet roll holders to spot as many creatures as possible.
\nEncourage the children to get creative and make up a few animals of their own, along with the sounds they think the animals would make.
\n\u2022 Whip up a meal together and spend some time eating together afterwards too.
\nPick something quick and simple, like cheese and crackers with some fruit, or a yummy sandwich that\u2019s easy enough for your little one to put together without taking too long.
\nYou can also turn it into competition to see who can make the most interesting-looking faces with fruit pieces, for example.
\n\u2022 #DrawWithRob. Rob Biddulph is an illustrator and author who posts draw-along videos that are fun and easy enough for parents and children to do together. You may even find yourself taking an extended lunch break to continue the fun.<\/p>\n

Whether you have as little as five minutes or as much as half an hour to spare in your busy day, there\u2019s always a way to spend time together and play as a family.<\/p>\n

#LetsBuildTogether is a LEGO initiative that offers loads of play inspiration and daily building challenges.<\/p>\n

Visit www.lego.com\/letsbuildtogether or search the hashtag online for more ideas.<\/p>\n

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Hav<\/strong>e a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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