What are water slides? You may think of them as large rides at water parks and such, and while you would be thinking correctly, there are also other kinds of slides as well. When you think of inflatable toys, many picture those jumpy castles that always appear at craft shows and small fairs. What many people don’t know is that there are just as many different kinds of blow up water slide type products on the market today, such as Banzai Water Slides.

I wish our kindergarten had a Kidkraft kitchen. As a teacher, I do not only teach about lessons found in books, but also about everyday life things that our kids need to be able to get along correctly in our society. Our school emphasises personality building because we accept that data can be gained, but character must be internalized and modeled. That’s why it is important to teach our students about social skills. Last week, in class, as I taught my students about what polite words they should always use, I was amazed that most of the students do not know what mannered words should be employed in their day to day life.

Introduction:

LEGO

Toys are important as they help children to learn about the world around them. Toys and play are used to help learn cause and effect and to practice the skills that they will need as adults.

The first toys were made out of natural materials such as wood, grass and stone. Archaeologists have discovered wooden pull toys from Egypt from about 4000 years ago. Ancient toys were mainly made by the family of the children who used them, or by the children themselves. Children in ancient Greece played with wooden spinning tops, hoops and rocking horses. Interestingly, girls are recorded as offering their toys to the gods as a rite of passage into adulthood.

Wooden toys are beneficial to children, perhaps even more so than modern technological toys.

Researchers have studied play and the way that children play with toys and how this can stimulate development. Most have shown that traditional toys (such as a wooden dolls house, wooden baby walker or wooden toy castles) may be the most beneficial type of toy to stimulate a growing child’s mind and body. Children’s electronic toys on the other hand can actually promote short attention spans and inhibit creativity. They can also inhibit a child’s ability to think beyond the limits of their electronic toy because they have a defined start and finish or a single purpose.