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  1. Re: Learning through play.

    Suenette that is a brilliant idea, including buying and selling in her play time.

    - Sharon van der Merwe

  2. Re: Learning through play.

    My kids absolutely adore ACORNKIDS. My 4 year old will spend ...how ever long it takes to fish out ...

    - Suenette Thomson

Yvonne Macfarlane's Articles

Acornkids #1 in Fun! Recommended by Experts

This article about Acornkids is written by,  Shireen Thomas-Stark, who is a Counselling Psychologist in Private Practice and specialises in Play Therapy and working with children in all aspects of emotional coping.

Children learn through play. Many skills are developed through play. Logical thinking, problem-solving and creativity can be developed and exercised through play. Play is a powerful medium to access their thoughts and communicate in way that they understand. As adults, if we learn to play with our children we learn to grow with them and develop strong relationships based on sound interpersonal connection.


Bathing is a common everyday routine. Acorn products enable parents to turn their bath tubs into a playground of learning and connecting in very unique ways. Each Acorn product is designed as an experience through which parents can access their children’s hearts and minds.

It often happens that as adults we forget how to play effectively with our children, or we run out of ideas. It’s great to have products pre-designed to allow the learning and connections to happen without much planning needed. Here are a few skill-based developments that are natural products of the play you experience with your Acorn bath products:

Creativity
Creativity is the building block of problem-solving. Problem-solving allows children to initiate responses to emotional situations in order to obtain control and mastery over their own feelings and responses to situations.

Soap Putty: What a great way to create objects from a ball of soap. Being able to create instills a sense of confidence in children. When those creations are useful and perform a function they become innovative inventors.

Kaleidofoam: Being able to manipulate the foam into pictures and patterns where there was previously just foam enables children to become the masters of their own fantasy.

Bath Crayons: Allows children the opportunity to create and master their own art. It is a non-threatening way to explore artistic possibility. The end result is easily washed off with no pressure of creating a lasting impression that may be open to judgement of any kind.

Emotional Expression
One of the chief coping skills in dealing with emotion involves the expression of our thoughts and feelings. The ability to initiate and maintain conversation is also a powerful tool for social confidence.

Surfs Up Fun Foam: This bath foam allows for conversation and language development regarding the animals discovered in your bath when searching under the bubbles. The same is true of people often there is a lot of emotion that exists under the surface- when we look for it or ask about it is amazing which gems may appear. This foam provides an opportunity to have fun together and have competitions of “search and rescue”.

Funky Faces: These stickers allow us to explore different expressions. The different situations in which we react differently can be discussed to facilitate emotional awareness. Initiating emotional discussion with children on a regular basis will create confidence in social situations and in accessing resources in difficult situations.

Flexibility
Flexibility involves the skill being able to generate alternative solutions to problems or situations. Being flexible allows children the freedom of adapting to the situations around them. Managing and embracing change is an asset in terms of emotional adjustment.

Angel Powder: A great product highlighting the possibility of positive change. Being able to initiate the change in the colour of their bath introduces the possibility of them being in control of certain changes within their experience.

Gloop: The possibility that things are not always as we expect them to be is perfectly illustrated by Gloop. Soap that is gooey and pliable allows flexibility in thinking and challenges our general expectations.

Super Slush: Super Slush allows children to experience the bath in a different textural environment. The process of action results in reaction is illustrated perfectly through its use.

Problem solving
Problem solving and decision making ability allows children the benefit of directing their lives and reactions to the world. Being able to work through a particular situation requires creativity and perseverance. When these qualities are present within a child their ability to regulate their emotional world increases as does their ability to adjust and be resilient in the face of adversity.

Angel Beads: Provide the opportunity for children to work to develop a solution or outcome. Manipulating the beads determines how quickly change occurs. A great analogy for the work we need to employ to solve issues

Bath Pops: Playing with bath pops reinforces the logical thinking process in order to reach my goal. Taking time to follow the steps and employing delayed gratification in waiting for the sponge to emerge allows a unique set of skills to develop.

This blog article was written by Shireen Thomas-Stark, who is a Counselling Psychologist in Private Practice and specialises in Play Therapy and working with children in all aspects of emotional coping.
Centre for Therapeutic Excellence
134 Cambridge Street Tel: 011 425-0688
Farrarmere, Benoni Cell: 084 86 999 86

How to make a volcano with Angel Powder

A fun experiment to do at home with your kids. If you don't have Acornkids Angel Powder use bicarbonate soda and food colouring instead!

 

  You will need:

two small plastic drinks bottles
large piece of card
vinegar
angel powder (or bicarbonate of soda and food colouring)
washing-up liquid
large plate or tray
funnel
pen or pencil
scissors
tape
    
  Step 1

Copy this shape onto the card. It needs to be big enough to fit around the bottle.
   
  Step 2:

Cut out the shape and bend it into a cone as shown. Secure it with tape.
   
  Step 3

Using a funnel, fill one of the bottles until it is about one-third full of vinegar.
   
  Step 4 

Add one tablespoon of washing up liquid and put the bottle to one side. 
               
   
  Step 5

Put the second bottle on a tray/plate and pour in three teaspoons of angel powder.
   
  Step 6

Place the card cone over the bottle.
   
  Step 7

Make sure the hole is level with the bottle opening.



   
  Step 8

Using a funnel, pour in the vinegar and washing up liquid mixture. Remove the funnel and wait!


   
  Step 9 

When the vinegar and angel powder mix together, they produce carbon dioxide gas. Thi sgas creates bubbles in the vinegar and the washing up liquid. The foaming messy mixture expands and forces itself out of the top of the bottle.
   


     

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!

I think that bubble baths are just a natural part of any kid’s childhood… at least, in my home it DEFINITELY is! This is why adding a bubble bath to our Bath Fun range was just a no-brainer. But we wanted something a little more special, which is why we chose Surf’s Up.

My kids loved the Surf’s Up bubble bath more than others because of the thousands of little sequins of all colours, shapes, and sizes that floated around their baths! What child doesn’t want to bath with a whole lot of shiny whales and seahorses?

I loved it because you only need two caps per bath, but (more importantly) because it was the perfect time for my kids to polish up on those tricky fine motor skills as they chased around the bath trying to collect as many sequins as possible. If both of my little ones were in the bath at the same time, we’d have a competition for who can collect the most.

Just a useful tip; those sequins can be REALLY hard to catch… especially in a full bath. So, to make it easier and less frustrating, I’d scoop up some water and let my kids fish them out of my hands.  

But the fun didn’t stop there! After every bath, we’d collect the sequins and put them in a jar. Then, during card making time, we bring out the jar and use them to make fun and beautiful cards for our friends’ birthdays.

I really think that you’ll love this product. So, to buy a set of Blue, Red, Yellow and Pink Surfs Up at a special 10% discount, click here https://goo.gl/Tgj3a6  to buy it online now! Just as a side note, bubbles last longer if you’re using soap-free options like our Gloop or Kaleidofoam. Also, to add an extra bit of fun, why not have colourful bubbles by sprinkling some Angle Powder over them? My kids LOVED that! 


Grab all three of these products with your next Surf’s Up order to make the ultimate fun bath experience! Just go to our Bath Fun section and add them to your order by clicking https://goo.gl/KltFMt for Angel Powder, https://goo.gl/N2n4UX for Gloop and https://goo.gl/u4GMN8 for our wonderful Kaleidofoam!

Happy Shopping!

Mommy Blog by Yvonne
Mom of two awesome kids
Owner of Acornkids

How to blow up a balloon with Angel Powder!

A fun experiment to do at home with your kids. If you don't have Acornkids Angel Powder use bicarbonate soda instead!

 

  You will need:

small drinks bottle
balloon
angel powder (or bicarbonate of soda)
vinegar
funnel
teaspoon
    
  Step 1

Using a funnel, pour about a third of a cup of vinegar into the bottle
.
   
  Step 2:

Slide the balloon onto the funnel as shown here
   
  Step 4

Put two teaspoons of Angel Powder onto a teaspoon into the balloon. 
Remove the funnel from the balloon.
   
  Step 5 

Twist the neck of the balloon to stop the Angel Powder from falling out. Then stretch the mouth of the balloon over the bottle,taking care not to let any of the Angel Powder drop into it.
               
   
  Step 6

Hold the bottle, lift up the balloon, untwist the balloon neck and empty the Angel Powder into the vinegar.
   
  Step 7 

The Angel Powder and vinegar mix together, they create a gas called carbon dioxide. All gases expand to fill any available space, so the carbon dioxide inflates the balloon 
   


     

Magic Milk and Angel Powder

A fun experiment to do at home with your kids. If you don't have Acornkids Angel Powder use food colouring instead!

 


You will need:

plate
milk
food colouring
washing up liquid
funnel
teaspoon

Step 1

Pour some milk into a plate or glass dish.

Step 2:

Add some Angel Powder (or food colouring) to the milk.

Step 3

Add a few different colours.

Step 4

Drop a small amount of washing-up liquid onto the centre of the mixture.

Step 5

The washing -up liquid breaks the surface tension and the milk molecules move apart.

Step 6

As the milk moves, the colours run into one another.

Don’t be afraid of a little mess… read this to find out why!

In my home, we believe in fun. We believe in creativity. And we definitely believe in fun and creative mess-making. I know that the last part of our ‘belief system’ might send most moms into a flat panic, but hear me out for a second.

Did you know that research has shown that a creative child with an average IQ performs better at school than a child with a high IQ but with no creativity. I actually only found this out recently but it makes complete sense – creativity teaches our kids to use their imaginations and to think out of the box.

Did you also know that allowing our kids to be completely and uninhabitably expressive while having FUN, is one of the best ways to encourage them to build and flex their creativity muscles. And what better fun, creative and expressive mess-making activity than dipping your fingers into a gooey pot of finger paint and creating a masterpiece of your own?

This is why my kids and I just love the Funky Finger Paints in our Acornkids range. These blue, green, yellow and red pots have given us hours of fun that I know is encouraging my kids to be as creative as possible. They love the texture of squelching it between their fingers and have come up with the most beautiful pictures over the years.

It’s been great to see how their pictures have become more detailed and defined as their confidence in their own creativity and their fine motor skills have grown over the years.

To encourage your kids build their own creativity skills through Funky Finger Paints, just follow this link right now to get all four colours in a set: https://goo.gl/msq9Uc

Now here’s the real trick… to avoid mess as much as possible, lay out an old sheet and have you kids put an apron on. Then once the messy fun is over, just hang up the painting, fold up the sheet and aprons and plonk your kids straight into a bath and let the clean fun start with our Bath Fun range of products….Happy Painting!

Mommy Blog by Yvonne
Mom of two awesome kids
Owner of Acornkids

 

Don’t be afraid of a little mess… read this to find out why!

  In my home, we believe in fun. We believe in creativity. And we definitely believe in fun and creative mess-making. I know that the last part of our ‘belief system’ might send most moms into a flat panic, but hear me out for a second. Did you know that research has shown that a creative child with an average IQ performs better at school than a child with a high IQ but with no creativity. I actually only found this out recently but it makes complete sense – creativity teaches our kids to use their imaginations and to think out of the box. Did you also know that allowing our kids to be completely and uninhabitably expressive while having FUN, is one of the best ways to encourage them to build and flex their creativity muscles. And what better fun, creative and expressive mess-making activity than dipping your fingers into a gooey pot of finger paint and creating a masterpiece of your own? This is why my kids and I just love the Funky Finger Paints in our Acornkids ...

Don’t be afraid of a little mess… read this to find out why!

In my home, we believe in fun. We believe in creativity. And we definitely believe in fun and creative mess-making. I know that the last part of our ‘belief system’ might send most moms into a flat panic, but hear me out for a second. Did you know that research has shown that a creative child with an average IQ performs better at school than a child with a high IQ but with no creativity. I actually only found this out recently but it makes complete sense – creativity teaches our kids to use their imaginations and to think out of the box. Did you also know that allowing our kids to be completely and uninhabitably expressive while having FUN, is one of the best ways to encourage them to build and flex their creativity muscles. And what better fun, creative and expressive mess-making activity than dipping your fingers into a gooey pot of finger paint and creating a masterpiece of your own? This is why my kids and I just love the Funky Finger Paints in our Acornk ...

Allover fun and top-to-toe washing with Gloop…

In my family, bath time has never been a hassle. Thanks to my healthy stock of Acornkids Bath Time products, the only slight concern is which one to use on which day!



Gloop has always been the squishiest, funkiest bath time treat for my kids. They have always loved the bright colours, the fresh fruity flavours and the fun gloopy texture. I love it because it’s an all-over cleansing gel that is not only paraben free, but also soap free and a perfect replacement for soap and shampoo for my whole family! It’s very economical, you only need to use a little, and its versatile, I have often used it as a foam bath, as it makes a perfect bath full of bubbles. Soap, Shampoo, Conditioner and bubbles…all in one……makes it a great travel product!

Available in red, blue, yellow, pink and green, each bottle of Gloop is crammed with hydrolysed wheat protein complex that really nourishes my kids’ hair, jojoba seed oil that moisturises their skin beautifully, and aloe ferox leaf extract that rejuvenates their skin after a long day of activities.

Try our Green Gloop, as a detangling shampoo to wash your little one’s hair. Enriched with  Sea Minerals and  Seaweed Extracts to stimulate the scalp and enhance hair condition. Click on this link,  Green Gloop, to have it delivered to your door and get a special 30% discount (valued until 26 April)

Mommy Blog by Yvonne

Mom of two awesome kids

Owner of Acornkids

 

The Miracles of Massage Oil

When I first starting looking into massage oils to add to our ranges, most of my friends and colleagues assumed it was for the hard working mommies to have a little relaxation and pampering time. And, don’t get me wrong, this is definitely still part of the plan and you absolutely deserve it! But really, your babies can benefit massively from regular massage with the right oils, which is why we just had to add the Lavender and the Eucalyptus Massage Oil to our ranges.

Massage is not only a wonderful opportunity for you to bond with your baby, but it also really helps them to develop and grow as they enjoy your loving and gentle touch while you softly massage the oils into their skin.  

The lavender and chamomile in the Lavender Massage Oil have beautifully calming and relaxing properties. This mild blend of essential oils soothes your baby into a gentle sleep and can be used from the day that they are born. It’s a great way to end off your night time routine.

To add Lavendar Massage Oil to your next order, just click here: Lavender Massage Oil

I recommend that you start using the Massage Oil once your baby is at least two months old. Not only do these gentle ingredients and the added touch of mothering love relax your baby for a good night’s sleep (and for you in that case), but the Eucalyptus also gently provides comfort for colds and tight chests.To add Eucalyptus Massage Oil to your next order, just click here: Eucalyptus Oil

 

 

Mommy Blog by Yvonne
Mom of two Awesome kids
Owner of Acornkids

 

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