Experts agree that playtime is an essential cornerstone for proper childhood development. However, in today’s tech-saturated world, many experts fear that children aren’t getting enough free playtime. 

Couple this with a global pandemic that has encouraged further social isolation and we have an unfortunate decline in kids having proper opportunities to play, grow, and learn.

Read on as we explain exactly what playtime is and summarize fun activities for kids of different ages as well as their benefits. 

Happy reading!

What is Playtime?

Playtime is one of the most vital ways for children to learn about the world around them. It is also the best way to encourage physical exercise, creative thinking, and proper psychological development in children. An unregulated, unstructured opportunity to play allows children to nurture their relationships with both others and themselves.

In order for children to develop the right skill sets to optimize their development, playtime is essential. According to the American Journal of Pediatrics, playtime “is a singular opportunity to promote the social-emotional, cognitive, language and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain.”

The Best Activities for Different Ages

Successful learning is best fostered by catering to a child’s inclination to play. As children engage with others and learn more about the world around them, different play activities can help them gain vital skills as they reach each developmental milestone.

Some examples of activities to try with children at different ages include:

Infants

From birth to six months old, babies are learning about the world around them by taking in all of their sights, sounds, textures, colours, and angles. They’re using their bodies to explore, learning to participate in social interactions and how to elicit responses from both people and objects.

Some ways to encourage playful learning in small infants includes imitating your baby’s coos and babbles, showing them interesting objects to spark their attention (such as colourful toys, rattles, stuffed animals, and dolls or stacking toys), or placing them in different positions so that they can view things from different angles.

From the age of 7 to 12 months, after making sure your baby has a safe environment to explore, you can teach them that actions have effects (for example, by allowing them to play with and pick up toys when they fall). You can play peek-a-boo with them as well.

1–3 Years Old

As toddlers start to develop more advanced participation and language skills, they’ll benefit tremendously from playful learning. In fact, it is so important that experts recommend that unstructured playtime is a focal point of early childhood education.

Fun kids activities during early childhood can include parent-supervised playdates with other children of a similar age, make-believe or pretend play, sing-along songs and different movements to help them explore the body (such as jumping, standing on one leg, and games like Simon Says).

Playing with simpler toys at this age is also a great way to encourage a child’s creative thinking skills such as through blocks, empty containers, and puzzles—not smartphones or complicated gadgets!

4–6 Years Old

School-aged children learn how to develop friendships, plan, attach language to ideas and concepts, and create desired effects with objects and people. It’s also at this age that children begin to develop critical motor skills and proper hand-eye coordination, making any hands-on activities a must.

Some ideas for kids activities at this age can include reading and telling stories, allowing them the space to act out pretend scenes and roles, providing them with time to socialize and interact with friends, providing opportunities to sing and dance, and encouraging a variety of safe movements (such as skipping, hopping, swinging, and climbing).

Toys that will help foster their development may include puzzles, construction toys with interlocking pieces (such as Lego), props for pretend games, art supplies, or simple musical instruments.

The Benefits of Playtime

Playtime is one of the most critical vehicles for childhood growth. Some of the ways children can develop through playtime include:

Increased motor skills and concentration

Physical activity during playtime is crucial to the development of children’s fine motor skills and ability to concentrate. Through play, children can learn to wield better control of objects as well as practice better coordination of their body movements and smaller movements between the hands and fingers.

To support gross motor development—this includes control of the arms, legs, hands, and trunk—children can develop their skills through physical activities such as running, jumping, throwing, skipping, tossing balls, and much more.

To support fine motor skill development—this includes control of the hands, feet, fingers, and toes—hands-on activities such as cut-and-paste projects, play dough, blocks, puzzles, and colouring are all ideal.

Social skills development

Through playtime, children develop skills that will have an enormous effect on their overall social development. Playtime teaches children the right skills needed to establish and maintain positive interactions with other people, which will be critical for making and sustaining friendships and relationships as they get older.

Interactions made during playtime also help children to develop empathy as different situations can help them respond to others’ emotions and learn to put themselves in others’ shoes to recognize their feelings.

Teamwork Skills

Unstructured playtime allows children to interact with their peers, making it vital for teaching them how to make friendships, resolve conflicts, and work in teams. For example, playground games teach children how to sort themselves into teams, take turns, set out rules, and then experience the benefits of following them.

Learning proper teamwork skills is essential when it comes to early childhood development. Children learn a lot of virtues in these environments such as patience, tolerance, respect for others, and the ability to compromise.

Jumbaloo Awaits Your Next Playdate!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article on all of the various activities for kids at home. 

If at, anytime, you want to drive your kids to an indoor playground area or are looking to book a party room for your little one’s upcoming event, contact our team at Jumbaloo. We are adhering to strict Covid-19 rules and regulations for your safety and that of our team. 

Call us today at 905-785-3990 or visit our online contact page.

From all of us at Jumbaloo: Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you soon!

LEGO is universally known as one of the most popular children’s activities in modern day history. Originating from a company in Denmark, LEGO consists of building blocks that can be used to build a wide variation of different structures and sets.

LEGO blocks are also widely celebrated for being beneficial for children’s development. They foster a wide range of abilities, including increased motor skills, spatial skills, creative thinking and enhanced problem-solving.

In this blog, we’ll review exactly what LEGO is and touch on some of the key benefits of introducing these colourful blocks into your children’s play regime. Lastly, we’ll go over some similar toys that can offer similar benefits.

What is LEGO?

LEGO is a special type of building toy created by The Lego Group, a company headquartered in Denmark. In Danish, the name LEGO translates to “play well”.

LEGO blocks are colourful plastic interlocking bricks. They can be joined together by small studs located on the top and congruent holes located on the bottom (known as the “brick-and-knob connection”).

LEGO can be purchased in a myriad of different shapes, colours and sizes, as well as in a wide variation of different themes and concepts. For example, LEGO versions of cars, robots, buildings and even popular licenced franchises (such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Batman) can be found in retail stores worldwide.

What are the benefits of LEGO blocks for children?

Playing with LEGO blocks can help small children achieve several key milestones that are necessary for fundamental learning. Some of the most important ones include:

Increased Motor Skills

LEGO blocks offer a perfect opportunity for children to develop better dexterity and improve their fine motor skills. As different levels of pressure are involved with picking up and assembling the blocks, playing with LEGO is an excellent way for children to build stronger muscles in their fingers and hands. This is especially helpful when teaching them to hold and control a pencil to write or draw, to hold utensils while eating and other similar manual tasks.

Since LEGO blocks are relatively small and require attention for detail and precision, they’re also great for helping build your child’s hand-eye coordination. 

Creativity

LEGO blocks are perfect for sparking creativity and experimentation in children. After all, the different sizes, shapes and variations of blocks offer endless opportunities for creative children to build works of art!

LEGO can be purchased with instruction manuals and themed sets included, but it’s also common to purchase loose blocks. This option is great for encouraging children to come up with their own structures and allowing them to use their imagination while building. This may include allowing them to experiment with different colours, shapes, stories and concepts.

Problem-Solving Skills

While LEGO can help foster your child’s creative side, it can also help them develop more effective problem-solving skills. Building LEGO structures doesn’t just require creativity — it also requires strong planning skills, in addition to lateral thinking, endurance and patience.

By exercising their problem-solving skills with LEGO blocks, children can explore different building strategies. This helps teach them that there can be more than one way to solve a problem, or how to tackle a project from multiple angles to find the best approach.

Other brain-boosting toys and games

Interested in looking for some other toys that can help your kids strengthen their brain development?

Here are some other popular alternatives that offer similar benefits:

Qwirkle

Qwirkle is a game that requires players to match colours and shapes. It’s also an excellent game to help children exercise their strategic thinking skills and apply tactical maneuvers.

Points are earned when players build rows and columns of items that share a common colour or shape. Extra points are earned when a tile is placed and that touches other pieces that share matching attributes.

K’Nex

K’Nex is another highly popular toy that, like LEGO, features interlocking pieces that can be used to build structures. However, unlike LEGO, the system is a little bit different — each piece comes in the shape of a rod, which can be interlocked on either end.

Like LEGO, K’Nex can also be found in different building sets for different age groups.

Magna-Tiles Magnetic Blocks

Magna-Tiles Magnetic Blocks have seen an increase in popularity in recent years. They usually come in the form of colourful shapes that have the ability to connect through magnetic attraction. They can be used to create a wide variation of shapes and designs, both simple and elaborate.

Magnetic blocks are great in that they are suitable for children of all ages — and, given their larger shape, they are entirely safe for younger kids to use.

Contact Jumbaloo Playgrounds

We hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and have learned a bit more about how using LEGO blocks (and other alternative toys) can be a great way to help boost your child’s brain and critical areas of their thinking.

At Jumbaloo Playgrounds, we still have our doors closed — but are excited to open them again once we can ensure safety for visitors of all ages. To start planning your next exciting event at our indoor playground, call us at 905-785-3990 or contact us by filling out our online form. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

As the season changes and the weather gets colder, you may be wondering the best way to keep your kids active. While getting your kids out of the house in the winter is difficult on its own, doing so during the COVID-19 has made this even harder for parents. However, it’s not impossible!

We’ve created this list of some of the best health and wellness activities for kids so you can focus less on searching for kid-friendly, free activities near you and more on getting active and having fun with your kids!

Indoor Playgrounds

Indoor playgrounds are one of the best ways to let your children have fun and stay active this winter. They offer all of the benefits of outdoor playgrounds while keeping your children protected from the elements and colder weather. 

However, indoor playgrounds also go further.

Since all equipment is inside, it’s easier to supervise your children and keep them safe. It’s also easier to clean the playground equipment and impose safety rules to help create a clean and safe environment for your children to play in. 

Indoor playgrounds are one of the best health and wellness activities for kids. Not only do they allow your children to play and have fun, but they also allow your children to improve and build needed social skills. 

Skating

This winter, take advantage of the cold weather and go ice skating with your children. Or, if you rather stay warm, try indoor skating.

Whichever route you take, skating is another great way to keep your kids active this winter in a fun way. Skating is designed to work nearly every muscle group in the body, providing a whole-body workout. This is great for burning energy while improving cardiovascular health. It also teaches balance.

If your child doesn’t know how to skate, many rinks off age-specific and skill-specific classes to teach them the basics in skating correctly and safely. This will also allow your child to develop social skills and make friends with common interests. With your child out of school for a break during the winter, this socialization can help improve their mood too. 

Dance Party

If you’re looking for some last-minute kid friendly activities today, then look no further than your own home! 

Helping your kids stay active while having fun doesn’t always have to involve leaving the house. With some fun, colorful lights, a speaker, and a few kid friendly songs, you can turn your home into the ultimate dance party. 

Dancing is one of the best health and wellness activities for kids. It teaches them an abundance of skills – both physical and not. 

Physically, dancing will help your child remain fit while also burning out some of the energy that may get built up with long days inside during the winter. It can also improve their balance, coordination, and cardiovascular health.

At the same time, dancing will also help your child build confidence. As a creative outlet, it’ll work to strengthen your child’s mind and imagination just as much as their body. 

Final Thoughts

Keeping your child safe while letting them have fun is your number one priority. And here at Jumbaloo Playgrounds, an indoor playground in Mississauga, Ontario, it’s ours too. That’s why we’ve taken several precautions in creating a clean, safe environment so you can keep your kids active this winter.  We’ve updated our safety measures while still providing clean, safe equipment so you can have peace of mind while your children play indoors. If you’re interested in learning more or reserving a slot for indoor play, contact us today. 

Like most holidays in 2020, this season at Jumbaloo Playgrounds is looking a bit different this year.

As of Monday, November 23rd, the Greater Toronto Area has been placed under a mandatory lockdown for the next 28 days. Unfortunately, this means that any pre-Christmas festivities at our indoor playground will have to wait until next year.

However, the good news is that this doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of fun-filled family holiday activities to plan at home or around the neighbourhood this winter. To help ring in the holiday season the best we can, let’s go over some of the best holiday activities for families and how you and your children can keep your spirits bright!

Sledding

If you have (or know of) a hill near your home or neighbourhood, it shouldn’t be too hard to plan an early day of fun-filled sledding with your children! Few things can beat an afternoon of sliding down a hill that’s laden with some fresh, smooth snow.

The best news? As long as you’ve got access to a local hill and some sturdy, safe sleds, it’s totally free! Better yet, there are plenty of good sledding slopes to scope out in the GTA.

Building Snow People or Snow Forts

Of course, the next best thing to consider (besides a good old snowball fight) right after a snowfall is building a snow person, a snow fort or just about any other fun snow structure. 

If your home has a backyard or a sizable front lawn, this will give you enough workspace and snow to go to town with. Always remember that the best results come from freshly fallen snow that’s still fluffy and packable.

Building a snow person is a great way for little ones to take part in a fun, collaborative effort together. There are no set rules on how to give your snow person the perfect face, hair or attire — so feel free to get creative!

Building a snow fort is another activity that’s fun for the whole family. While time consuming, the end result means everyone gets to cozy up inside a mini-igloo and chill.

Holiday Crafts

Let your family share their artistic side with holiday-inspired crafts this year! Craft sessions are both fun, educational and great for encouraging creative thought and stimulation.

Some fun and super simple holiday craft ideas include:

Paper plate Christmas tree: Just roll a standard paper plate into a cone and you’re good to go! Options include painting the cone green to mimic a tree and then using any kind of festive beads, felt balls or other supplies to decorate it.

Toilet roll reindeer: Hopefully, you’ve got enough toilet paper on hand at this point in the year to get crafty with leftover rolls. Simply cut the rolls into halves, decorate them with brown-coloured paper or paint and use pipe cleaners to form reindeer antlers. Once that’s finished, you can give them a face with googly eyes, decorative beads, buttons or whatever’s on-hand!

Family handprint wreath: This is a great way to get the whole family involved! Simply get all family members to trace their hand on some green craft or construction paper. Next, cut out everyone’s handprints and then arrange them so that each finger mimics the tendrils on a pine leaf. This will serve as a great keepsake for future holidays down the road!

Baking
Baking together as a family is a great at-home bonding activity. It also encourages children to use a bit of math in their measurements, making it a great teaching tool for how to weigh and compare different units.
Some fun and simple holiday baking ideas include:

Christmas sugar cookies: A classic, simple recipe with plenty of opportunity for decoration with icing, sprinkles, candies and more.

Chocolate-dipped candy canes: Another simple, fun combination of two of our favourite things — peppermint and chocolate! Similarly to cookie decorating, kids can get creative by dipping the chocolate-covered ends of their candy canes into festive sprinkles.

Gingerbread cookies: Made from gingerbread dough, your little ones can decorate them with candy buttons, festive sprinkles and anything their heart desires.

Ornament popcorn balls: All you need is some popcorn, melted marshmallows and candies to decorate! Take a clump of popcorn, coat it in the melted marshmallow to dry and then treat it like an ornamental snowman head. This, of course, is followed by giving it the perfect face.

Reach Out to Us

If you want to know more about our services or want to know when we might be looking to open our playground to the public again, feel free to reach out to our team at Jumbaloo Playgrounds today! 

From all of us, we wish everyone in the GTA and across Canada a holiday season to remember!

With the weather getting colder and different restrictions remaining in place regarding the novel coronavirus, you may be looking for ways for you and your children to get out of the house for some fun. As a result, you may have turned to research about kids’ indoor playgrounds. 

To help guide you through the indoor playground experience, here’s everything you’ll need to know to have a fun, safe time with your children. 

Introduction to Indoor Playgrounds

Indoor playgrounds come in many shapes and sizes. In fact, a quick search for indoor playgrounds near you may yield several options, each one being slightly different from the next. This is because indoor playgrounds are just like outdoor playgrounds — unique!

Some indoor playgrounds are designed for younger or older children, while others provide an experience that’s fun for the entire family. At Jumbaloo Playgrounds, our specialized indoor playground based near Toronto, we’ve designed our space to suit a wide age range of children with several different events offered.  

The Benefits of Indoor Playgrounds

With so many indoor playgrounds available, you may be wondering what the exact benefits of indoor playgrounds are. While it may be surprising, there are many!

First, kids’ indoor playgrounds provide your child with the opportunity to get some exercise in. This is especially beneficial during the winter months, or on rainy days when it can be harder to find activities for your child to burn energy. 

Indoor playgrounds also allow your children to socialize with other kids and meet new friends. Childhood is one of the best times for your child to start building necessary social skills — and they’ll also learn important soft skills such as problem-solving, communication and sharing. From the different activities offered in indoor playgrounds to the abundance of friends that may come from different backgrounds, there’s no shortage of learning opportunities. 

If you’re unfamiliar with indoor playgrounds, however, picking the right one for you and your child can be difficult. 

How to Choose an Indoor Playground 

One of the most important things to look for when choosing the right indoor playground is safety. While it’s impossible to completely remove the risk of an accident, you’ll want to choose an indoor playground that is designed to be as safe as possible. This includes looking for things such as sharp corners, exposed hardware like screws or nails or loose equipment.

Hygiene is also important — especially in response to COVID-19 and our upcoming flu season. You’ll want to make sure that the indoor playground you choose cleans often — preferably with an EPA-approved disinfectant designed to kill the majority of illness-spreading germs.

You’ll also want to check and make sure any waste is disposed of property away from the play areas. Many indoor playgrounds don’t allow food or drink in the play area — this is a good addition to prevent any trash or germs.

Security measures are also something that you may want to take into consideration. This includes making sure all the exits are in sight, as well as that there is a sitting area near your children so you can keep an eye on them while they play.

Final Thoughts 

Kids’ indoor playgrounds are a great way to let your child run out extra energy in a safe, controlled environment. At Jumbaloo Playgrounds, we are proud to be a safe, sanitary and exciting indoor playground located in Mississauga and serving the Greater Toronto Area.

In order to help make sure your child is as safe as possible, we have increased our hygiene measures and are requiring PPE to help maintain a safe, healthy area. For more information on play hours as well as other special events, contact us today. You can also call to learn more about the precautions we’re taking to help control the spread of COVID-19 and keep both you and your children safe!

Measles can be prevented by vaccination with the MMR vaccine. The vaccine is effective at preventing three diseases: measles, mumps, and rubella. The MMR vaccine is very safe and effective. Two doses of the MMR vaccine…