Be Nice, You’ve Got to Share
By Pennie Brownlee How embarrassing Have you ever taken your baby to baby group and your baby has been very active, taking toys from…
Playtime
School Holiday Survival Kit – In a Wet, Chilly Autumn
By Lucia Laubscher Throughout New Zealand kids are on their first term break, two weeks of sleeping in and late mornings begin for stay-at-home mums…
Nature Deficit Disorder
By Alex Koster I don’t know about you, but most of my childhood memories revolve around outdoor activities and adventures. We lived on the edge…
Why Your Child Should Be Encouraged To Play, Play, Play!
A child rolls a handful of dirt into a ball, places a stick in the top and stands back to admire her creation. It’s…
Are Modern Toys and Full Activity Schedules Hindering Our Children’s Imaginations?
By Alex Koster BOREDOM PROHIBITED I am going to ask a bit of a strange question at first glance, but are we in our…
Roughhousing: The Rules of the Game
By Nelle Myrica Donaldson “There’s no raspberries allowed in this fighting game!” my three-year-old calls out. “There’s no tickling in snow-fighting!” giggles the six-year-old….
Helping Children With Sharing
By Rachel Schofield “Mine!” screeches my 2 year old and I turn round to find him holding on tight to a Tonka truck. His…
For Generations to Come: Christmas Gift Ideas from Kilmarnock Toys
By Hannah Schenker There is something so nice about wooden toys. They are timeless, not subject to the same faddishness as the latest plastic…
Hey Mama, It’s OK To Take Time To Play With Your Kids
By Samantha Johnson Motherhood, we are being told, must be seen – must be felt – to be a struggle at all times, in…
Outdoor play – Naturally
By Amy Cummins Learning to catch cockabullies or eels, climbing on rocks, climbing our first tree, hiding in the hay shed, sliding on roasting pans…
Looking for Treasure: How Heuristic Play will Benefit your Child
By Hannah Schenker Picture this: your child is surrounded by many colourful, loud, moving toys – toys that you as parents, and your well-meaning…
Creative Kids: Indoor Play
By Catherine Hume Last month I encouraged you to wrap up warm and have adventures with your children outdoors in the winter weather. This…
Outdoor Learning Spaces…At Home!
By Lisa Cheaney-Hogan Playrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, living rooms and dens are all great solutions for when it comes to toy storage and play…
It’s in the Bag: Educational Fun With Your Little Ones
By Hannah Schenker Playtime is so important for children – it is how they learn as they interact with the world around them. The…
Celebrating your child’s birthday with minimal waste
Whilst we all love celebrating our children’s birthdays, those parties can bring with them a lot of stress. There are the obvious forms of…
Finding the beauty in everyday: Easter with the kids
By Charlotte Cretney When I started writing my blog for this month I had so many exciting ideas for Easter and Autumn and had…
Energetic Kids lead to Kiwiplay business
Kiwiplay was first established in Hamilton in 2013. It is about supplying high quality natural based products to encourage children to play outside and…
Inspiring the Next Generation: The Montessori Shop
By Hannah Schenker The Montessori Method is a philosophy that respects the individuality of each child. It is founded on the belief that children…
Minnow Designs: solving a very antipodean problem
By Hannah Schenker We spoke to Lorraine and Stacey, founders of Minnow Designs, to find out a little more about their busy little business….
Why are we so attached to our things? A TED-ed video
By Hannah Schenker We have all seen our toddlers clutching with a death-grip onto their favourite toy/bike/book rather than share it with another –…