“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning” – Fred Rogers
As a parent, I bet that you love watching your children engage in imaginative play. It’s magical to watch children express their ideas and make sense of their world. An overwhelming body of research advocates for the power of play in childhood and many parents may not realise how powerful play is for learning. Through play, children are expressing themselves, problem-solving, experimenting, investigating and engaging the logical and creative sides of their brains.
As a teacher, I am passionate about play-based learning for all of the above reasons but also because it allows for so many language development opportunities. Engaging in play with your children is such a beautiful way to connect with them and see the world through their eyes. Inject a few prompts and questions into the process and it’s also a great way to widen their vocabulary whilst getting an insight into how they understand the world.
Fairies and all things mythical are so hot right now at my place. To celebrate the new My Fairy Garden range, I thought I’d share with you some questions and conversation starters that can lead to deeper playful learning as you connect with your kids through this fun new range.
My Fairy Garden Fairy Nature Garden
The playful learning starts from the moment you open the Fairy Nature Garden. The colour instruction book introduces the wonderful flowerpot house that is the home of Fairy Andrea and Fairy Pip. Fill the flowerpot and the garden area with soil and plant the included seeds to create a living lush garden for your fairies and their friends to play in.
As you add the soil and plant the included seeds, you might draw upon your child’s background knowledge and ask questions like:
What do you already know about gardening?
What do plants need in order to grow?
How long do you predict it will take for our plants to sprout?
The Fairy Nature Garden comes with many gorgeous features that can lead to teachable moments and discussion. The Water Butt allows you to collect and re-use water, so you might share with your child your knowledge about the water cycle. The Wind Spinner is a perfect chance to chat with your child about what they know about wind energy. The Bug House is a great chance to talk about all things insects- why are they an important part of the ecosystem? What can we do to help protect them?
The flowerpot opens to reveal a two-storey playhouse perfect for endless imaginative play. Use the included table and tea set to plan a fairy tea party for all of Fairy Andrea and Fairy Pip’s friends.
This colourful playset is durable and can be used indoors or outdoors. Take it out into the garden and ask your child to use their senses as they play. What can you hear? What can you smell?
The Fairy Nature Garden is a charming way for your children to playfully learn about the magic of nature!
My Fairy Garden Dragons Tower
The Dragons’ Tower Garden is home to Mummy and Baby Dragons and the beautiful Fairy Thea. You can grow a luscious green field for your dragons and Thea to play in at the top of the Tower Castle. As you engage in play, you might like to ask:
What do you know about dragons?
Have you read any good books about dragons or fairies?
What adventures will your dragon and Thea embark on?
This playset also comes with two blooming Flower Pots to fill with soil and the included seeds. Your Baby Dragons come in their own little Egg Shell that can also be used to water the plants. You might like to explore knowledge around what other animals hatch from eggs. Playing with the Dragons’ Tower Garden is sure to lead to many creative and imaginative conversations with your child!
My Fairy Garden Kitchen Garden
The new Fairy Kitchen Garden is a gorgeous opportunity to playfully bond with your child over conversations around gardening, cooking and eating. This playset is home to Fairy Fenn. She will help you grow delicious microgreens you can really harvest and eat! Just like the Fairy Nature Garden and Dragons’ Tower Garden, the new Kitchen Garden comes with a pack of seeds and a detailed instruction booklet for growing tips and recipe ideas.
The booklet itself provides so many teachable moments and conversational opportunities. Use some of the questions already outlined above. As you read the instructions and play together, you might like to discuss specific things like:
What are some of your most memorable meals?
What do you think is Fairy Fenn’s favourite meal?
What delicious dishes will we cook with the microgreens that we harvest from the Kitchen Garden?
You might like to share some of your favourite memories of food and cooking.
Just like a real house and garden, the Fairy Kitchen Garden has a picket fence, a gate and a beautiful Fairy House with a removable roof for easy access. Fairy Fenn has jointed legs to allow her to sit on the fence, kneel on the ground or just fly around!
The My Fairy Garden range provides so many opportunities to connect with your child through playful learning. They are sure to capture the imaginations of your little ones!
To see more of these delightful play sets in action, head here.
