BUSY parents often find they have little time for their children. The less time they have, the more structured learning classes they enrol their children in. They hope their children will not miss out on different learning opportunities.

The truth is, children tend to do better when they engage in spontaneous activities. With the right kind of attention, they can soar in their learning potential. Children are full of energy and look forward to messy outdoor play. They learn through active participation.

Children in their early years have short attention spans. With a little planning and encouragement, parents can provide stimulating activities that meet their children’s needs.

Children gain much from pretend play. Around the ages of three and four, they like to play masak-masak, pretending to serve tea,just like adults.

As they grow older, they act out the role of their superheroes and travel on make-believe journeys. Here are some ideas for fun activities that provide learning opportunites for your children.

Making music

Make your own musical instruments with empty biscuit tins and small objects such as dried beans, marbles, plastic beads, sand, paper clips, gravel, buttons and cotton balls.

Before you start, show your child the objects inside each tin. Put the lids on and move the tins around. Have the child shake the tins. Ask the child to match the materials with the sound, and make up a song to go with his new musical instruments. Record your child’s musical show with a handycam. This is a great exercise for creating lasting memories.

Smell trails

Children’s imaginations are stimulated by sensorial experiences. Go for a nature walk in the park or in your neighbourhood. When you get home, sit down with your child and draw a chart of the different smells he came across.

Fun with food

Get different types of fruits and vegetables. Make dips from the following: Melted chocolate, yoghurt, honey, tomato sauce, cinnamon sugar, mustard sauce, mayonnaise, desiccated /fresh grated coconut, sugar and chopped nuts. Place dips in different bowls. Cut the fruits into small pieces and place them in skewer sticks. Get your child to mix and match the fruits and dips.

Story bag

Make a small cloth pouch and put in various objects such as unused keys, large coloured buttons, large beans, popsicle sticks and pegs.

Children like making up new stories to act in. If you are waiting at the doctor’s clinic, your child can pick out one item from the pouch and make up a story with it. Be your child’s idea-sparkler if she does not know how to start.

When you are home during a rainy day, go on a treasure hunt for small items that can be stored in the pouch. It is wonderful when your child can make up stories along the way.

Wheels on the bus

One of the favourite songs I like to sing with children everywhere is Wheels on the bus. This is one song that sparks children’s imaginations and opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Gather a few children (or it can just be mother and child) and pretend you are sitting in a bus. Move your hands in a circular fashion like wheels turning round and round.

You can substitute the wheels with the wipers or the bells. Children will have great fun just singing and pretending.

Nature jewellery

Go for a walk in the park or along the beach. Collect twigs, seeds, dried leaves, barks and dried flowers. Get some strings (yarn or parcel string) and seashells. Tell your child to make herself some jewellery.

She can use her imagination and skills such as eye-hand coordination, patterning and sequencing. If she has made several pieces, she can “sell” them in her pretend play shop. Don’t forget to get some play money.

As children play, they develop problem-solving skills and skills for negotiating and sharing. They build up social skills and mathematical and language abilities in their play explorations.

So it is not surprising to know that highly creative and successful people are playful. -The Star/ANN