Today’s world of lightning-fast internet connections might make it hard for Gen. A kids to imagine what it was like to communicate with people far from home solely through handwritten letters. In prior generations, letters might have taken weeks (or even months) to arrive at their destination. Some letters More…
GUEST POST At Children’s Factory, we love to see customers using our play equipment and furniture in “outside-the-box” ways. TinkerWonderPlay does a great job by showing us how The Whatsit™ can be used as a holiday wrapping station. The Whatsit™ is our kids’ couch that was designed to double More…
A child’s learning environment can significantly affect everything from performance and well-being to their ability to process information and achieve academic success. Gen A. refers to Generation Alpha. This age group starts with children born in 2012 and will continue through those born till about 2025. (This constitutes approximately 48 million children in More…
Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell, was published in 1960 and has inspired many children to build a fort. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be a 12-year-old girl stranded alone on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean? Reading books is a More…
Fine Motor & Bilateral Coordination Skills Arts and crafts projects build fine motor and bilateral coordination skills as children are asked to use the small muscles in their hands and fingers during projects. Activities such as grasping paintbrushes, using scissors, and manipulating arts and crafts materials improve hand dexterity. More…
Have you ever been asked if you see the glass as half-full or half-empty? Regardless of our perception, the glass is actually 100% full. Whether it has air or water in it, there is always something filling the glass. Imagine what we could accomplish if every person on Earth More…
Raising kids to be compassionate doesn’t usually happen by accident. Our Sweat Suit Dolls and Special Needs Accessories were designed to nurture these emotions and thought processes during pretend play so they become baked into a child’s DNA. Pretend Play with a Purpose Often, we think of pretend play More…
Goodbye, 2020! Hello, 2021… Let’s take a look at some amazing trends for this year and how you can implement them in your classroom or home. The one thing we know for sure about 2021 is, no matter where your child is learning, it definitely looks different than More…
Every child can benefit from sensory play activities. It stimulates the brain and builds neural pathways that improve sensory processing systems. Many sensory activities are also used to encourage social play and pretend play. Engaging 2-3 of your child’s senses during any one activity is usually considered a job More…
Wikipedia: “Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design, and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being.” When city planners started using placemaking to create social and fun communities, it wasn’t surprising More…