Growing Child

❄️ Magic Snow Winter Sensory Craft
A cosy, hands-on winter activity for toddlers & preschoolers
Magic Snow is already a favourite for sensory play — but paired with simple craft materials, it becomes a beautiful winter wonderland creation that supports fine motor skills, imagination, and language development.
🌨️ What You Need
Magic Snow (prepared according to instructions)
Blue or silver cardstock
PVA glue or glue sticks
Scoops, spoons, or small tongs
Cotton balls or cotton pads
Sequins, foil pieces, or glitter (optional)
Small sticks, pom poms, or natural loose parts
A shallow tray for the Magic Snow
✨ How to Set It Up
Prepare the Magic Snow and place it in a tray for children to explore first.
Offer scoops, spoons, or tongs to encourage fine motor work.
Place the craft materials on a tray beside the snow.
Invite children to create a “Winter Wonderland Scene” on their cardstock using glue and Magic Snow.
Encourage them to sprinkle, press, scoop, and build — snowdrifts, snowmen, snowy hills, or abstract winter textures.

🌟 NEW PRODUCT ALERT: Felt Story Boards Are Here! 🌟
We’re so excited to introduce our brand‑new Felt Story Boards — a beautiful, hands‑on way for little learners to dive into storytelling, imagination and early communication.

Children can create endless stories by simply sticking the felt pieces onto the soft felt board, mixing and matching characters, scenes and ideas as they play. It’s open‑ended, creative and wonderfully engaging for toddlers and preschoolers.

💬 Why we love them

Encourage storytelling and communication skills

Support self‑expression as children share their own ideas

Build imagination through open‑ended play

Offer hands‑on learning that strengthens fine motor skills

Lightweight

Big feelings are a big part of being little — and toddlers/preschoolers learn to manage emotions through doing, not just talking.
Here’s a simple activity you can try at home or in the classroom to support emotional regulation:
💛 “Calm-Down Match & Move” Activity
A playful way to help children recognise emotions, name them, and practise calming strategies.
You’ll need:
🟡 4–6 coloured circles (paper, felt, or lids)
🟡 A matching set of “emotion faces” (drawn or printed)
🟡 A quiet space on the floor
How it works:
✨ Lay out the coloured circles.
✨ Place the emotion faces in a small basket.
✨ Children pick a face, name the emotion, and match it to a colour.
✨ Each colour has a calming action:
Yellow – Take 3 deep breaths
Blue – Stretch arms to the sky
Green – Give yourself a gentle hug
Red – Stomp feet safely, then shake it out
Purple – Blow “pretend bubbles” slowly
This simple routine helps little ones:
🌿 Build emotional vocabulary
🌿 Practise self-regulation
🌿 Feel confident expressing their needs
🌿 Move their bodies in safe, purposeful ways
Small tools. Big feelings. Beautiful learning.
💛 For more sensory and emotional-regulation resources, visit growingchild.com.au

Understanding Behaviours and Feelings in Toddlers and Young Children
Expressing feelings through behaviour is a normal part of early childhood development. Toddlers and young children experience a wide range of emotions, often very strongly. These strong emotions are sometimes described as ‘big feelings.’
At the same time, their brains are still learning the skills they need to manage feelings, wait, share, and cope with frustration. That is why they may show their emotions through their behaviour.
Over time and with support, children begin to develop skills like recognising and understanding their feelings, expressing themselves with words, coping with challenges, and managing emotions.
Young children are still developing the parts of the brain that help them to:

* Manage strong emotions and calm themselves down
* Pause and make sense of what is happening before they act
* Understand their own feelings and other people’s perspectives
* Share how they feel in words.

While their skills are developing, children often use behaviour to communicate a need or emotion. For example, if your child refuses to do what you ask and says ‘no’ repeatedly, they may be feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or wanting more control. In these moments, your child is not being ‘naughty.’ Their brain is in a state where it is hard to listen, think clearly, or follow instructions. They need support to feel safe before they can learn.

Many factors can contribute to big feelings and behaviours, including:

* Strong emotions, such as frustration, worry, or disappointment
* Tiredness or hunger
* Sickness
* Feeling overwhelmed by their surroundings, such as bright lights, loud sounds or busy spaces
* Changes to their routine or environment, such as moving house or starting childcare
* Needing connection, comfort or reassurance
* Differences in how they experience the world.

Sometimes, ongoing challenging behaviours may be a sign of underlying social, emotional, or developmental needs. If you are worried, it can be helpful to speak with your child's doctor or another health professional.

Taken from Royal Children's Hospital Resources.

Coming Soon to Growing Child - Sneak Peek!

We are so excited to let you know that we are about to add some fabulous new weighted toys to our range of sensory products. They are a great tool for children with sensory seeking behaviours. They are soft and weighted for those who benefit from the sensory input of extra weight. They come in plush fabric with a large and small animal - koala, puppy, duck, octopus and hippo.

Keep your eyes open for these products on our website in a week or two.

Product of the Week!
Who doesn't love a role play and these kits from Le Toy Van are so gorgeous, hard wearing, and fit for any child's imagination.
Animal Vet Set – 10 Piece by Le Toy Van, a thoughtfully designed roleplay toy that introduces children to the world of veterinary care.
A veterinarian-themed playset tailored for young animal lovers and aspiring pet carers.
Comes with a stylish storage medical aid bag featuring a sleek walnut stain finish and natural FSCTM-certified wood accents.
Includes 10 accessories:
Soothing paw balm
Ear drops
Medicine bottle
Pet shampoo
Stethoscope
Dressing scissors
Syringe
Soft eco-bristle brush
Cut-out play cards
Proudly plastic-free, aligning with Le Toy Van’s commitment to sustainable and eco-conscious design.
The mix of wooden textures and soft bristles offers a sensory-rich experience, ideal for tactile learners.
Encourages career-based roleplay, helping children explore empathy, responsibility, and animal care.
Supports:
Fine motor skills through hands-on use of tools
Imaginative storytelling
Social interaction in collaborative play
Recommended for children aged 3 years and up, making it a perfect addition to both home and classroom play environments.

One more week to get your orders in for 20% off all paint! #

Rainy Days call for some Creative Fun!

Thanks to Mano Thahim for these great ideas.

Art and Craft By Mano Thahim 5K likes, 24 comments. "DiY Rainy day Craft Ideas for kids ⛈️🌧️😍 "

Did you know that today is National Notebook Day?

Who doesn't love stationery and in particular a good notebook!
Here's some ideas of how you can celebrate the day!

Write Down Some Thoughts

Grab yourself a notebook and bust it open, start writing down all the thoughts and worries of your day and see them put into a form that makes them manageable.
Got an idea forming? Jot it in the corners or write it out in complete detail so that you never miss a beat. You might find it develops into a regular or even semi-regular diary, a new story, or simply helps you move past a difficult or even dull day.

Create Some Fiction

Find your thoughts are emerging into a creative writing piece? Why not take a day or a rainy afternoon to really develop your characters, create a world for them to live in, and then storyboard your plotline.
What might start as a day of brainstorming can grow into hours and even years of story development you never even knew you had in you.