Tag Archives: Toys

Nature crafts!

Posted on: by Galt Toys

It is wonderful to get crafty with the kids from time to time and crafting is something that we love doing at our house. As the Summer approaches and the kids (hopefully) spend more time outdoors, I would love to share some of our favourite nature crafts with you. The idea is for you go out, explore, enjoy nature, collect and then come home and craft on one of the rainy days.

 

So 5 of our favourite nature crafts:

 

Leaf Crowns

Ostentatiously an Autumn Craft (great to make with lovely Autumn coloured leaves), you can of course make these all year round. Many trees do NOT lose their leaves throughout winter and our park usually has plenty lying around. It is a great craft, as you do it whilst you are out and about and literally all you need is LEAVES! Easy peasy.

 

Pressed Flowers

Flower pressing is definitely one of those “childhood classics” that every child should experience one day. It is all about exploration and experiment with how different flowers and leaves press. Then get creative. In this post we share 10 tips to make your flower pressing more successful!

 

 

 

Rock Monsters

Discover the magic of googly eyes and how they convert anything into something. Rock monsters are great for all age groups as even the littlest can manage to cover a rock in paint and add some fun googly eyes. Great for the imagination too. What other creatures can you paint? We did also did a ladybird and ducks! Be sure to click through and find out about what sort of paint to use.

Fairy House (or Elf House!)

 

We LOVE making fairy houses… such a cute way to explore nature. What things can you find in you area that makes a good house? Great for “building” skills and experimenting how to put things together.

 

 

 

10 Stick Crafts

Yep… we got together and found not one, not two but TEN stick crafts for you to get busy with. Sticks are everywhere and the kids love to pick them up at ANY time of year. Perfect craft material and cheap too!

 

Maggy Woodley, is a mum of two and Author of Red Ted Art, Cute and Easy Crafts for Kids. She likes nothing more than getting crafty with her son and daughter. Making sure that crafts are fun, easy and inexpensive. She also likes to cook with the kids and experiment a little with Science! She writes at Red Ted Art, Life at The Zoo and Theatre Books and Movies.

AWESOMELY HORRIBLE ART

Posted on: by Galt Toys

We have launched the first ever Horrible Histories Art Set. The new Awesome Art Set is based on Scholastics’s bestselling Horrible Histories books written by Terry Deary.

Suitable for children aged six and above, the cool art set contains over 100 pieces to help create some really awesome artwork. With stencils created by Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown, children will soon be able to paint and draw their favourite fiendish characters featured in the books.

We are massive fans of the Horrible Histories series, so we’re delighted to add this product to our ever growing creative art range.  All children have to do is - have a stab at it (excuse the pun!)- this awesome art set will power the imagination.

If your children love the Horrible Histories range we also have a selection of puzzles – Putrid Pirates, Rotten Romans and Terrible Tudors. Each jigsaw puzzle contains 300-pieces and an eight page loathsome leaflet stuffed with foul facts - history with the nasty bits and pieces left in!!

It has been 20 years since the first Horrible Histories books, Awesome Egyptians and Terrible Tudors, were published.  Over the last two decades there have been more than 100 titles published, which have sold 20 million copies to 31 countries - Wow! So it was sad to hear Terry Deary report, earlier this month, that Horrible Histories had naturally come to an end.  He expects his next book, Deadly Days in History, to be his last for children – boohoo!  But apparently he’ll be back with another four-part Horrible Histories series for adults focusing on the Roman Empire, the Vikings, the Elizabethans and the Victorians….which we can’t wait to read!

That’s your rotten lot this week!

Imaginations lose out to ‘skills packing’

Posted on: by Galt Toys

FEWER VISITORS TO THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE

Children using imaginations less as more focus is put on learning new skills

 A precious aspect of childhood is at risk according to a survey of more than 1,000 parents. The research shows that a third of parents think children don’t know how to use their imaginations for make-believe games anymore. Nearly all parents (99%) believe that children need time for imaginative play but, according to 6 out of 10 parents, children aren’t given enough time and space for this type of playing.

 

April Fool’s Day highlighted the decline of imaginative play with fewer practical jokes played on parents than ever before. In fact 55% of parents said they had never had a joke played on them by their children. More than a third put this decline down to a lack of imagination to come up with the pranks and nearly 60% of parents thought that children just preferred watching TV or playing computer games.

John McDonnell Managing Director of Galt Toys which conducted the research said, “It’s very sad that there is concern about whether children are being given enough opportunity to use their imaginations as this is a crucial tool for learning and sensory development. Playing imaginary games helps children to try out new experiences and scenarios by using different parts of their brain and creates a safe environment for exploring different aspects of the real world. Above all it is lots of fun.”

Some parents focus more on ‘skill packing’ without realising that imaginative play is just as important for learning. The research also shows that 70% think parents feel under too much pressure to develop their children, which accounts for the drive to increase children’s skill set. Some parents (more than 1 in 10) even admitted they prefer their child to be always learning rather than ‘just playing’.