Finding resources for learning and play
One of the challenges in childcare is finding resources for children online or in person that are age appropriate and don’t cost a tonne. Resources like good quality toys, books and experiences are highly expensive due to the cost involved in making them and paying manufacture staff a living wage, let alone experiences. Even without the cost of living on the rise it’s estimated that you’ll spend a million dollars per child you have between birth and eighteen, lets reduce that a little.
Lets look at free resources first, in most communities in Australia the local council has a community library. For a small fee, although often free you can borrow anything from books to CDs for most ages and covering most topics. Children benefit greatly form an adult reading to them and by the time their four of five, they typically can establish the themes of picture books for themselves. Some large metropolitan areas have speciality libraries like Brisbane’s Dandiiri Library that focus on aboriginal and Torres straight islander cultures.
The world wide web as a load of free resources to. In my last post I spoke about the options on YouTube, Danny Go, DJ Ralphi, Cosmic Child and The Mindfulness Teacher, but really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Creators like Mom Read Alouds and LolliPop Animated Books will read, and sometimes animate books online for free that you may not have access too. You can also watch short documentaries on YouTube that are aimed at children. I also like looking at the NASA website for free interactive space exploration, I’ve linked my favourite down below. You can also use said internet to find low cost actives in your area, often run or owned by your local government area. Places like new parks, museums, gardens and community events often have free entry and something for the little ones to engage with for low cost or free and sometimes a bit of both. You don’t have to go to the big theme parks to explore a new place.
Another fun low cost idea is buying your books, toys and play sets not from the expensive brands like MTA, buy it from Amazon, a low end department store or make it your self. Not everything has to be quality it just has to entertain them. So instead of spending $300 on a doll house spend $50. The doll house that I made with the children at work out of old cardboard boxes and some hot glue is still going almost a year on and that was basically free. Even your child’s furniture can be cheep so long as it meets safety standards. I also recommend buying school supplies like pencils, glue sticks, crayons and note pads, Things that they will always need, in the sales just after the start of the school year. The only thing that I don’t recommend reusing is a car seat, they tend to have a shelf life of about 10 years and using them beyond that can result is a hazard to your child.
In childcare, we like free entertainment. These are things that don’t take time to prep are low cost or free to acquire and can be used at any time to distract a group of children. Play dough, bubble mix, slime, balloons and music and all low or no cost items, taken out on little notice and keep them occupied for quite a while without fail. An iPad, TV or computer is a great option, as explained in my last article and has the bonus of seeing them up for a life of tech.
Use the free resources around you, find actives and engage in your local community, use technology to your advantage and be a cheapskate. Your child will remember the time that you spend with them, not the money that those experiences cost. They don’t care that their bassinet, crib and toddler beds where brought from IKEA, they care that they have one. You can’t buy love, and spending money on things your children won’t remember is unnecessary. So spend that money on allowing yourself time with your children.
Last but not least, activity of the week.
In this post I suggested building your own doll’s house a low cost alternative and making an activity out of it. I did this with the children that I work with and even in a long hours day care setting where evert toy gets abused by the children constantly, it’s lasted almost a full year. I don’t recommend allowing you child to use a hot glue gun and this process does require one, however they can create their dream doll’s house for you to glue down later when you get a chance.
You will need:
A hot glue gun
6 hot glue sticks
Between 4 and 8 small cardboard boxes, depending on the size of boxes you have
Paint
Paddle pop sticks
Masking tape
PVA glue
Scissors
Starting with your boxes and a few pieces of tape, allow your child to tape the boxes into their desired shape. You may need to cut the tags off the boxes to allow them to fit together nicely. Whilst your child is sleeping or otherwise preoccupied, use a hot glue gun and plenty of hot glue to stick the boxes together permantly, removeing the tape in the process. Next get your child to paint the glued dolls house and decorate it and make some furniture with the paddle pop sticks, these can be glued down using PVA glue.
This doesn’t have to be a dolls house either, you can use the same basic parts and method to build yourself a robot. Sub out the paddle pop sticks for some bottle caps and your all set. Have fun building.