November 2010 Newsletter

 Greetings Explorers,

Spring and the warmer weather have bought about new and exciting opportunities for play after a long cold winter - and summer also bought about a host of exciting events and happenings for us here at Explore Play! This month's update is packed with all sorts of interesting news!

News on the DVD series:

As word spreads about our fantastic DVD series, we are parting with our stock at a rapid rate. New stock of Year One (birth to 12 months) and Year Two (12 to 24 months) has arrived at our offices and we are ready for another busy month of processing orders. To order, simply visit www.exploreplay.com and follow the instructions or email tanya@exploreplay.com.

Who are our Explore Play DVDs aimed at?

  • Parents
  • Caregivers and Nannies
  • Grandparents
  • Family and Friends who are initmately involved in your little one's day to day life
  • The DVDs make for wonderful baby shower, christening or first birthday gifts.

We have been receiving fantastic feedback from parents on the DVDs and are delighted that the series is inspiring parents to be the experts on play in their own home.

Absolutely love the Explore Play Year 2 DVD! It has given us such lovely ideas and we even had our nanny watch it. It's wonderful knowing that she will now have good, safe ideas for play during the day and I don't have to worry about whether Aaron's getting enough creative stimulation or not. Well done - I will definitely recommend it to friends. Cheri Mc Gregor

Read our glowing review on Jozikids: Extract: I have long stopped reading about where my baby "should be” with his milestone developments, so I was a little nervous about watching Explore Play, frightened that the experts would be telling me that my baby would be ruined for life since he wasn’t crawling or feeding himself with a spoon. I needn’t have worried, for on Explore Play, it felt like I had found friends, who encourage humour rather than strict rules when playing with babies, and who give extremely useful advice that any mom, new or experienced, can benefit from.

Update:

We’ve had a very busy time at Explore Play since our last news update and here are some highlights of what we have been up to.

  •   We were very pleased to be able to sponsor prizes for the ever popular Baby Sense seminars and Tanya and Shannon enjoyed interfacing with all the new and expectant parents.
  • Shannon has been travelling around the country presenting a talk on "The Power of Play” at Ann Richardson’s popular Toddler Sense seminar. It has been wonderful to meet so many new parents and share our DVD series with them
  • Explore Play were filmed for a television show called Fresh Living.  Shannon was called in to assist Mom with ideas of how to balance work and the important job of stimulating her little one. Catch Fresh Living on E-TV on Mondays at 17h30.
  • We recently donated sets of the Explore Play DVDs in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town so that all the wonderful caregivers and volunteers assisting babies and toddlers in need could share in the Explore Play inspiration to play and develop little bodies and minds. Do you have a charity that you support? Would you like to purchase a set of Explore Play DVD’s for them? Contact Tanya@exploreplay.com and we’ll arrange a discounted rate for you and post them to the charity of your choice on your behalf. 

Play Tips:

We share wonderful play tips (every Wednesday) as well as inspiring thinking on parenting and children on our Facebook Page.  Join us and be sure to check the notes section for some fabulous past play tips.

Are you one of those parents or caregivers who love to share ideas with other parents and caregivers? Please feel free to use our Facebook page to share inspiring play ideas with others and you are always welcome to share photographs of your little people hard at play.

  A word from our Play Therapist Shannon Eggers

It takes all sorts of people and all sorts of parents to make the world go round and I am not sure exactly how one would categorise all the types and combinations but I am certain that my type would include descriptors such as sentimental, emotional and constantly in awe of their little person. Yes I am the parent who keeps every scribble and captures each day on camera and I cannot wait for the next adventure.  So it will come as no surprise that I find it a pleasure to invent new games and play ideas each week for Explore Play and that I love to experiment with these ideas in my own home. 

In my practice as a Play Therapist I use play to assist children to make sense of emotional challenges they are experiencing or are having difficulty processing. Play is such a powerful medium for children because it comes so naturally to them, it is, if you will, their language. While play has a role to play within the serious parameters of therapy it also has a very significant role to play in a child’s everyday development. I like to remind parents that by playing age appropriate games with their child they are providing their children with rich opportunities to grow and develop - what better gift!

If you, like me, would describe yourself as the sentimental parenting type then you may take inspiration from this extract from a children’s book called ‘Keep Love in your heart little one’ by Giles Andreae and Clara Vulliamy.

"You live as though life's one huge present

Unwrapping a bit everyday

That's just how we all should be living my love

And look at you showing the way"  

On that note, don't forget to visit our Facebook Page for some great play and game ideas that will  inspire you to add another colorful layer of wrapping paper to the gift of play.

In Shannon's home, great fun was had with a big bag of flour this month. There are benefits to having a mom who simply cannot bake and who has flour in the cupboard that has expired!

News for the month ahead:  

BABY EXPO:

Explore Play will be at the Johannesburg Baby Expo to be held at the Dome from Thursday 25 November to Sunday 28 November. Come see us for amazing show specials!   

WORKSHOPS: 

Our Play Therapist Shannon Eggers will be running four workshops in Johannesburg. There will be two workshops for Nannies and Caregivers and two workshops for expectant parents, parents, grandparents and the other important people responsible for your child’s development.

The course will include information on:   

  • Milestone development
  • Practical ideas on how to use everyday household items to facilitate sophisticated learning
  • The numerous benefits of play for optimal development
  • Knowing when is the best time to play to facilitate learning and development
  • Ideas on how to fit play into your day
  • What the definitions of quality time and focused play are
  • What are the barriers to play
  • Finding a style of play that works for both you and your child
  • How to select sensible toys and games to facilitate learning and developments – the basics of a good "toy box”

 For more information or bookings please contact Shannon at shannon@exploreplay.com

ART AUCTION: We are in the process of planning an Explore Play art auction!      We are going to auction off all the beautiful art created by the children who visited our stand at The Baby Expo to raise funds for children’s charities.  We are very excited about this initiative and look forward to sharing more details with you shortly about how art by children for children can be utilised to spread good will and social awareness –  who said there was no value in the abstract artworks of young Picasso’s!

                                                                          Having Fun Learning together = Explore Play

 The Explore Play Team