As we discussed in our recent post The Power of Learning Through Play in Early Childhood, play helps babies and children to improve cognitive skills, social skills, motor skills and emotional growth. It feeds the imagination, boosts creativity and fosters a love of learning. Language skills benefit, problem-solving abilities are enhanced, and children naturally pick up maths concepts and even elements of science through play. With that in mind, today’s post follows up with the topic of Encouraging Learning Through Play at Home.
How to Encourage Learning Through Play at Home
Play-based learning doesn’t stop when children leave childcare nurseries; it continues at home, where parents and caregivers play a crucial role in fostering an environment that supports exploration, curiosity, and growth through play. Through the suggestions outlined below, parents can help children more optimally benefit from everything that learning through play provides — while at home.
Create a Playful Space
Designate an area in your home for play. It doesn’t need to be elaborate — even a corner with a few age-appropriate toys, books, and art supplies may be sufficient. Ensure, of course, that the space is safe and free from hazards before your child embarks on their play activities.
Be a Playful Partner
Getting involved in your child’s play is hugely beneficial to the quality and impact of children’s play. Play together, ask questions, foster feedback that’s two-way, and encourage imaginative storytelling during play sessions. Your active participation not only deepens the bonding experience but also profoundly enhances their learning.
Limit Screen Time
Screens are now a pervasive part of modern life, and they can be both a blessing and a challenge. TV, educational apps, interactive websites, and streaming services can provide valuable learning experiences, but too much screen time can have adverse effects on children’s development. At the very least, excessive screen time can potentially impede the development of essential social and motor skills. Therefore try to limit the time your child spends on screens, including TV, tablets, and smartphones. Instead, encourage physical, interactive, and imaginative ‘real life’ play — and your child will reap great rewards. It’s a fine balance between accommodating the digital age and ensuring children take part in real-world activities that support educational growth and development.
Embrace Outdoor Play
Outdoor play also offers a wealth of learning opportunities. It promotes physical health, stimulates the senses, and allows for unstructured exploration, which all contribute to holistic development. Take your child to the park, explore nature, or simply play with them in the back garden if you have one. Outdoor activities will also foster an appreciation for the natural world. Indeed, we wrote a whole post about the many benefits of outdoor play and another about the huge benefits of nature to children. Take a look at these important topics by following the bold links.
Encourage Pretend Play
Pretend play, such as role-playing with costumes or setting up a pretend kitchen or suchlike, fosters creativity and imagination — and is huge fun for your child. Encourage your child to take on different roles and scenarios during such playtime and watch their creativity and imagination soar!
Read and Explore Together
Reading is a wonderful way to support learning through play. Choose age-appropriate books, of course, and be sure to engage in interactive storytelling. Ask and encourage questions about the story, encourage your child to predict what might happen next, and ask them what they might do if it were them in the story. Books and reading teach children so many things and, like pretend play above, truly encourage their imaginations and get their creative juices flowing. Learn more about how you can supercharge your child’s education through reading here.
Let Them Lead
Children learn at their own pace, so be patient and, on the whole, allow them to take the lead during play. Avoid over-structuring playtime; instead, let it flow naturally, following your child’s interests and cues. Doing so will ensure they remain engaged in the activity. Do, of course, sometimes inject new, perhaps creative ideas into their play, though. As adults, we can steer children subtly in their play when there’s an idea or concept that they may not be familiar with and may otherwise have missed out on. Simple examples could include introducing the concept of using different voices for different characters in a role-playing game and showing them a different way to build a structure in a building block or construction-based game.
Celebrate Achievements
Be sure to acknowledge and celebrate your child’s achievements during play. Whether it’s completing a challenging task, creating a masterpiece, or achieving something new, positive reinforcement will make play more fulfilling and boost children’s self-esteem. It’ll also, of course, make the activity more joyful and fun for the child — and that’s a sure-fire way to motivate them to play and learn even more.
Encourage Social Play
Arrange play dates with other children or involve siblings in play activities at home. Social play helps children learn essential social skills like cooperation, sharing, and conflict resolution. It’s also a great way to make new friendships, learn from each other, and become a closer member of friendship circles.
Age-Appropriate Toys
When playing involves toys and props, ensure your child has access to those that encourage open-ended play and creativity. Blocks, arts and crafts materials, and imaginative play sets like dolls or action figures are excellent examples as they allow children to lead the direction that their play session follows. With such toys, their imaginations can run riot and they can get truly creative. Rotate the choice of toys and introduce new ones to keep playtime fresh and engaging over time.
An Outstanding Childcare Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley
Just like at Little Acorns Nursery, your home can be a vibrant hub for play-based learning. A nurturing environment, the right resources and materials, and actively engaging with children during play, will empower them to explore, learn, and grow. By embracing the power of play at home and in settings like Little Acorns, we are paving the way to a brighter future where young minds flourish, curiosity thrives, and discovery is both fun and educational.
Little Acorns is an outstanding nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, near Chorley. Indeed, we are officially an Outstanding Provider according to Ofsted and that’s backed up by our prestigious national nursery award. We also support Government-funded childcare schemes for eligible families, making childcare more affordable for Central Lancashire families. If you want the very best for your baby, toddler or preschooler, register them for a place or bring them on a guided tour and we’ll be delighted to show you around and answer any questions. Get in touch:
Little Acorns Nursery is ideally suited for families seeking an outstanding childcare service in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley. It may also suit those living nearby in Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland or Penwortham.
By mid-November, autumn is in full swing and leaves are turning a myriad of different colours. Scenes of green, yellow, red and golden trees can be breathtakingly beautiful and the air is often crystal clear at this time of year — that’s great for photos! The autumn season also brings with it a treasure trove of fascinating natural things that children can discover if they take the time to look. Indeed, an autumn nature hunt is the perfect excuse for little ones to spend some time outdoors, where they will also 
Ensure children, particularly the very young, receive appropriate adult supervision at all times. Although fascinating and fun, the outdoors holds many hazards for the unwary. Therefore, children will need to be closely monitored by a responsible adult in order to safeguard their well-being.
In the world of child development and early education, there is a simple yet profound truth: children learn best when they are learning through play. Play is the universal language of childhood and, indeed, it transcends both borders and cultures. Whether it’s building sand castles on a sunny beach or arranging blocks on the floor at home, play is the gateway through which children explore, discover, and grow.
As adults, we often associate learning with classrooms, textbooks, and structured lessons. However, for children, the process of learning is a dynamic and ever-evolving adventure, with play being their very best companion during the journey.
Do babies benefit from play? Absolutely. Play is the first way through which infants start understanding their world. They use their senses to explore toys, grasp objects, and make sense of the environment around them. Sensory play, such as touching different textures or listening to soothing sounds, stimulates their developing senses and lays the groundwork for future learning.
During the run-up to the age of 5, play is integral to children’s development. During this phase, children are like little sponges, soaking up information from their surroundings. Play allows them to experiment, make connections, and refine their cognitive and many other skills. Skills enhanced through play include:
Creating playful environments — we understand the importance of a conducive environment for learning through play. With that in mind, we provide carefully designed play spaces that are rich in stimulating materials and resources. These spaces allow children to engage in various types of play, from imaginative to sensory, in a safe and supportive setting.
Children and parents, let’s go minibeast spotting! Whether you have a garden, neighbourhood park, or just a few potted plants, there are bound to be minibeasts visiting or living there. What’s more, summer is the perfect time to spot them. Spending time in 
Today’s flower-growing children’s activity follows on nicely from last month’s 
It’s possible to sow wildflower seeds from March right through to mid-October or, at a push, early November so long as snow or frost is not forecast. Those sown closer to March and April will generally flower in late spring/early summer. Those sown very late in the year will flower the following year, from spring onwards. Any sown up to and including the middle period, for example during July, should still flower in the same year — wildflowers usually bloom some 60 to 80 or so days later if they’re timed to grow in the same year as they’re sown.
There are several ways for children and families to source wildflower seeds. The most obvious way is to buy them commercially, in seed packets. These are available from any number of different outlets including nurseries, supermarkets, 
If you buy your child commercially-available wildflower seeds, the information on the packet will often say if the resulting flowers are bee-friendly, butterfly-friendly, good for pollinators, and so on. So, if you’re sourcing seeds that way, much of the decision-making criteria around which actual flowers to grow is made clear and therefore the choice is easy.
By their very nature, wildflowers are generally not very picky in regard to the type of soil they are happy to grow in. Therefore you/your child will have a greater choice of where to sow the wildflower seeds. A fairly clear sunny area is good, whether that’s garden beds, flower pots, window boxes, grow bags on a balcony, or even the lawn itself if you want a wild ‘meadow’ type lawn. Whatever the choice, it’s best if it’s somewhere that won’t be disturbed by you/the family though, as you wouldn’t want the wildflowers trampled once they do arrive.
With regard to sowing the seeds, follow any seed-specific instructions on packets in relation to timing and spacing. If you’re using self-harvested seeds or there are no instructions, simply sprinkle the seeds so they’re spaced, fairly evenly, i.e. not too densely sown. This will avoid the wildflower plants having to compete with one another once they start growing. A tip is to sprinkle from a height as this will naturally scatter them more widely. Once scattered, your child can help* to pat the soil surface down, either by hand or using the back of a tool like a spade or a trowel, so that the seeds are secured in the soil. Children can even ‘walk’ them in if they prefer. Once complete, ensure that you/your child keep the soil damp over the coming weeks. The preparation stage really is as simple as that!
Many will have heard of the Big Garden Birdwatch that takes place every year in January. However, fewer are aware of a similar activity called The Big Butterfly Count that takes place in July and early August. As well as being extremely worthwhile, it’s a wonderful activity for both children and adults to get involved in as citizen scientists. The activity helps with butterfly conservation, is educational for those taking part, and encourages families to get outdoors, closer to nature. And, as we know, 
Are you looking for a fun and educational activity for your children? Why not encourage them to do some bird spotting? Not only is it a great way to spend time outdoors, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about nature and develop observation skills. As we know, 
Are you are a parent or carer of a child under five? If so, you could learn a lot about childcare, parenting and early years learning and development by following Little Acorns Nursery on social media. We’re active across multiple social channels including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram and share high quality content useful to parents of under-fives. That includes parents of children at Little Acorns although, actually, parents anywhere will find the content educational and useful. Our high quality content includes unusually informative ‘early years’ articles and information. For example, a whole range of guides, the findings from various studies, suggested activities for kids and overviews of things like childcare funding schemes with eligibility guidelines. Also, of course, the social media channels include posts relating to the exciting activities happening at the nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley.
Follow Little Acorns Nursery on Twitter. There, you’ll see links to some great topics that relate to early years education. You’ll also see regular tweets and posts showing the exciting play and activities that children are taking part in at the nursery.
On Facebook, we share our ‘bigger’ guides and articles from 
We love Pinterest! Its simple, pictorial approach makes it easy to just pick out something that interests you and save it to your own Pinterest pin board, so you can simply save it or share with others. We’ve got lots of pin ‘boards’ on our Pinterest profile, where we’ve pinned images and links to articles that interest us as early years practitioners. We think you’ll like them too. Board topics include nature activities, sensory activities for under-5s, early years parenting, Forest School, outdoor play, preschool, nursery school activities and, of course, Little Acorns Nursery itself.
If you’re on Instagram, check out our photo gallery on our own Instagram profile. It shows images of the children playing and learning at the nursery as well as featured images that link to our highly interesting blog posts.
Little Acorns Nursery is @LittleAcornsNurseryChorley on Google and;
If you have used our childcare service and were pleased, please 
We’re active here on our Little Acorns blog too. Here, you’ll find larger articles that tend to cover the ‘bigger’ topics that parents and carers of children under five will find useful. These are well-researched, detailed and often very educational articles that will keep parents well-informed. For example, we cover topics like 
October sees one of the year’s biggest traditions in the form of Halloween, which arrives on the 31st. Halloween, which is short, in effect, for “All Hallows’ Eve”, has it’s historical roots in Christian and, many believe, Celtic, Gaelic and Pagan festivals. Broadly speaking, these festivals were events to remember the dead, including saints (a.k.a. “hallows”). However, for virtually all children these days, it’s simply a traditional time for some themed fun. And what fun it can be! Today we’ll therefore take a look at the activities and opportunities that Halloween has for little ones at this time of year.
Halloween Costumes — Dressing Up Fun!
Edward Scissor Hands is another favourite. Try taping teaspoons or kitchen foil to your little one’s fingers to simulate Edward’s hands — but only if they’re old enough to be able to control movements so they don’t hurt themselves or others.
Halloween Parties
Parents and children can prepare for such parties, or when staying at home for the evening, with a range of Halloween-themed party food. This is also great fun and may even encourage little ones to eat foods they may not normally try (as appropriate for their age, of course). Try baking plain biscuits in Halloween themed shapes. Some can be made to look like pumpkins, bats and ghosts, for example, with suitable icing. Use whichever recipe is your favourite for the actual biscuits. Children will love the theming, which will make the food fun!
Carved pumpkins are, of course, a great tradition for Halloween and one that children will love. For the safety of little ones, though, parents/adults will need to do the carving. Children can get involved in emptying out the pumpkin flesh and perhaps saving seeds, which they can later grow into new pumpkin plants for next year. They can also get involved in decorating outside of the carved pumpkins with paint or Sharpie pens. Red or green food dye can also be used to paint the inside. A good hand wash will be needed after all of this. 
A lit candle (or an LED equivalent) can be placed inside by the adult and this will shine through and illuminate the design or face. Then the finished pumpkin can be placed somewhere safe — where little ones cannot endanger themselves if a real flame is used — for example out in the garden or on the front drive.
Pumpkin Picking Locally
Another pumpkin farm that’s open to families is also in Leyland, again less than 4 miles away from Clayton, at Moss Lane, Farington Moss, Leyland PR26 6QD. To pick your own pumpkin there (weekends only in October), call 07701 082 482 or get 
Trick or treating is the Halloween tradition of knocking on neighbours’ doors, shouting “trick or treat?” and hoping that some sweets or similar will be handed over to children by kindly neighbours. That would be the ‘treat’ element. The ‘trick’ element is more rarely used today, especially with the younger children. However, it still occasionally involves funny tricks being played on those neighbours who didn’t offer sweets. This ‘trick’ element is to be used only with particularly friendly households, though, and perhaps only with those that have been forewarned by the parents involved. If not handled with care, it can backfire and cause terribly bad feeling or even be thought of as antisocial behaviour. For that reason, forewarning neighbourhoods about any group trick or treat sessions is wise, including agreeing a way for them to opt out if they prefer.
