Learning through play (5 tips on how to make learning more fun for kids by Mari Ojasaar)
They say that the most important kid’s ‘job’ is playing because this is how they learn about the mysterious world around them. Being a mother of two boys, I have
experienced that journey and understood that there is actually no ‘subject’ that is
boring for them, it’s just a matter of how you teach them. In order to make your kids
interested in learning about the world, I will share 5 creative tips from my own
experience on how to make acquiring new knowledge and skills fun and exciting for
kids.

1. Nature teaches

My favourite way to spend time with my little ones is to explore nature together.
That can be done by walking in the forest, hiking in the mountains or simply spending a day on the beach. And by exploring the nature I don’t mean getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Take time and let the little ones learn at their own pace, so they don’t feel stressed or rushed and you have time to answer all the “why?”, “how?” and “what?” questions that come up along the way. For us, it took one hour and then another hour to move 1 km in the forest, because all the insects and other creatures needed to be counted. But oh, how many berries we got to taste along the way! We needed to take time and time was what we took. Go through all the plants, bugs, berries, mushrooms and animals you find on your quest and I can guarantee that the little one will not be the only one learning something new.
 

2. Let your creativity fly!

It’s easy to give your kid a paper and some pencils and tell him or her to draw a
butterfly. However, art has so many different forms and ways of expression, in which you can teach your kid in a creative way. Find a way that is suitable for your little one and let them express themselves freely. That can be anything from playing with clay, drawing with charcoal or painting with watercolors. Here is a fun story from our family of how we made art and also learned a valuable lesson about artificial colors.

All kids love sweets, the more colorful the better, and my kids are no exception.
“Better” for the eye, but not for their health. I decided to give my kids a home
chemistry-art class so I wouldn’t have to explain every time how bad those unhealthy treats are for their health. I went to the store and bought the most colorful candies available. Instead of eating them, we put the candies in water and soon instead of candies we had different pots of paint. Some brush strokes and an hour later we had made beautiful paintings from the artificial candy colors. From that day no one asks for colorful candies in our home, because we know that you don’t eat the paint and if those candies can be turned into paint, then they are definitely not for eating, they are for painting!

3. Cook together

A good way to teach kids about different herbs, plants and vegetables is by cooking with them and eating the ‘lesson’ afterwards. Here’s a story from our kitchen: most kids like mine are afraid of nettles because they create a painful rash when you touch them. After having a misfortunate acquaintance with nettles that became a heartbreaking fear of the plant, I decided to make nettle soup with my kids, to show them that it’s not such a dangerous plant after all and can actually become a delicious dish!

4. House chores

Even more important than school lessons are life school lessons. These are daily
activities every kid comes in contact once they are adults, so why not start from a
young age to let them do the chores as part of a play. Note to parents, be patient and take into account that sometimes the chore will not get done, but if your kid learns a new skill through play, then it’s still a successful ‘project’. In our family, we don’t have ‘mom chores’ and ‘dad chores,’ everybody does everything from laundry to getting woods for the fireplace. Believe it or not, doing chores is one of the most fun games in our home and we have a competition, who can do more chores.

5. Smart children clothing

Once you have explored nature, cooking, doing house chores and being creative
together, then every mom deserves a little ‘me time’. But the learning doesn’t need to stop there if you dress your kids in clever clothing and accessories. Our new T(each)-shirts are very close to my heart because I got the idea of a shirt that is also educational, while I was in nature with my boys teaching them about different
animal species. Afterwards, I decided to make drawings of the different animals we
learned about to make sure the kids will remember them. It was then when I decided to put my illustrations on a T-shirt and create beautiful, comfortable and educational everyday T-shirts for kids.

Do you have a trick on how to make learning fun for the little ones?
Let us know and share it with us in the comments!

Happy learning!
Mari