Exploration
7 articles
Simple Science Activities for Young Children
A 2-year-old who tips water onto a tray and watches it spread is doing science. They are observing material behaviour, predicting, testing — the actua...
Nature-Based Play Ideas for Toddlers
Mud kitchens, stick collections, puddle splashing, and leaf sorting may not look like sophisticated play. But nature-based play — using natural materi...
How Exploration Supports Scientific Thinking
Exploration is where scientific thinking begins. From a baby's first grasp of an object to a preschooler's investigation of how things work, explorati...
Cause-and-Effect Toys and Games
The first time a four-month-old swats a hanging rattle and it jingles, something quietly enormous has happened: the baby is starting to suspect they h...
Play for Children Aged 18–24 Months: Exploration and Activity
Between 18 and 24 months, most children move from single words to the beginnings of two-word phrases, from simple object manipulation to the first sig...
Play Ideas for Children Aged 12–18 Months Through Movement
The first steps — typically taken between 9 and 15 months — transform the child's relationship to their environment. The walking toddler is newly inde...
Why a Sense of Safety Is Essential for an Infant's Mental Health
A baby's brain is wired to detect threat from day one but isn't yet equipped to regulate the response on its own. An adult who startles can think thei...