From a hand-crafted enchanted forest to a room inspired by the likes of Monet, Raza, Mondrian and more; from painting with natural materials like twigs, stones and leaves to building 3D sculptures, crafting mosaics, and weaving; from open-ended messy art to elaborate canvas painting, Tod Canvas – the annual art festival of Toddler’s Den was…
Category: Child Development
How Toddlers Learn – Anecdotes from a Parent-Toddler Classroom
Learning happens best when the senses are engaged. This stands true for everyone, but especially for toddlers who are still discovering and experiencing the world around them for the first time. Babies are born with basic sensory systems that grow amazingly complex within the first few months as new stimulus is processed and millions of…
A Day in the Life of G-Y-M
Hello, my name is The Cove, also known as the Indoor Gym at Toddler’s Den, but you can call me Gym; spelt: G-Y-M, in case you confuse it with “Jim.” I don’t think I need to introduce myself to you. I’m every child’s go-to place! And the parent body is all too familiar with me…
Why the Arts Play an Important Role in Early Childhood
While the arts are conventionally seen as a fun way for children to explore and express their innate creativity, they also have far-reaching developmental benefits. The first 1000 days of life lay down the architecture of the brain, and exposing children to the arts during this time sparks a curiosity about the world as children…
Why Mud Play is More Than Just Fun
On June 29th, we celebrated International Mud Day, an initiative of the World Forum Foundation that encourages reconnecting with nature and the great outdoors. We seized the opportunity to design several different kinds of mud play activities for our children, and the outcome was even more delightful than we had expected! Our youngest learners of…
How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activity for your Child
Extracurricular engagements are a great way of enriching your child’s educational experience. According to one study, involvement in extracurricular activities directly correlates to improved academic, psychological, and behavioral function. Moreover, it helps children pick up valuable skills such as time management and organisation, accountability, and teamwork from a young age. Extracurricular activities can also allow children…
Five Picture Books Your Child Will Love
Picture books are multi-sensory tools that stimulate the imagination and help build language skills of early learners. The entire process of reading or hearing a story aloud, looking at the accompanying art work and turning each page allows for a unique kind of interactive communication between the parent and child. Talking about the story helps…
Why We Should Have Meaningful Conversations with Children
One of the defining traits that sets apart human beings from other living creatures is our ability to communicate through language. Our verbal capacities are key to connecting with each other and this is true right from the time we take our first breath in the world. That’s why it’s important to share meaningful conversation…
Starting Preschool: Five Ways To Help Your Child Cope With Separation Anxiety
Starting preschool can be a rollercoaster of emotions for both parents and children, though the specific concerns are likely to be quite different. According to Meir Muller who holds a PhD in early childhood education and is a professor at the University of South Carolina, it is natural for young children to experience separation anxiety…
Early Years: Five Things Every Parent Needs to Know
Most parents have probably heard or read about how important the first five years of a child’s life are to their future physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. Years of neurological and psychological research has shown that babies begin to learn about the world around them from a very early age – including during the…