SIX AWESOME WAYS TO PLAY AT THE TABLE.

Linda McNeill - 27 Sep 19

Tables are not just good for eating at, they also offer a fab opportunity for play! We don’t always consider the table as a destination point for play, but it is in fact a really good one.

Playing at the table encourages increased eye contact. This leads to greater engagement and improved communication because you are using more senses than simply your hearing.

The fact you are sitting inwards and facing each other also means there is far less distraction from the outside. Therefore, everyone’s attention span increases.

We have honed our ideas and here is a list of 6 ways to play at the table which may just inspire you to spend a whole lot more time there as a family ….

1. ICE PAINTNG.Great for babies in high chairs and older kids too. Simply freeze ice cubes coloured with food colouring (make the colours bold). Add a lolly stick into the ice cube and freeze. When they are frozen you can paint with them! Protect a wooden table with a plastic cloth or similar and then let them make patterns and colours on the table. This is great sensory play as they get to experience the cold ice, the wetness as the ice melts, the colours produced. It also helps develop their fine motor skills and gives them an opportunity to explore. (Always supervise your babies / children so they do not eat the ice.)
2. TABLE-TOP PING PONG.What you need: 2 paper plates and a ping pong ball or a balloon. Simply turn your dining table into a table tennis table! Use the paper plates for hitting the balloon or ball back and forth. Have fun!
3. TABLE MUSIC. This is noisy but brilliant. Put together a ‘family band’ using items from around your house. Suggestions … a sweet tub becomes a drum, two wooden spoons become percussion, elastic bands on a tissue box is an awesome guitar, pasta in a plastic bottle becomes a shaker …. etc etc. Essentially you can make an instrument out of anything! Put your instruments on the table so you can see each other, pop your favourite tunes on and play along! (Psst … If you want to learn how to make rhythms and play together more, you should check out our HAPPYbundle in the shop where we worked with the fabulous musician David James.)
4. FAMILY PORTRAITS(but with a difference!). Sit at the table together with a piece of paper and a pen / pencil each. Look at the family member opposite you. You are going to draw each other BUT you are not allowed to look at the paper or take your pen from the page! This is called continuous line drawing. Put a minute timer on and GO! Check out how gorgeous you are with the finished result 😊. (Psst… If you want tonnes more arty, creative things to do as a family, check out our CREATE bundle in the shop where we worked with the AMAZING artist Jenny Leonard).
5. MARSHMALLOW SCULPTURES.Who doesn’t love making something they can also munch on? What you need: marshmallows and cocktail sticks. (Grown-ups cut the points off if your kids are little). Now get constructing! Give every family member their own stash of marshmallows and sticks. Who can create the funkiest construction? The tallest? The prettiest?
6. FAMILY JIGSAW. Prepare to be all mixed up and put back together! Print out an A4-sized photo of everyone in the family (include grandparents / aunties / cousins etc) and cut them into fairly large pieces. Put the pieces onto the table and mix them up. Then put them back together! You could do this as a ‘joint effort’ or take a family member each to make. You could do it against the clock or take it slow. Whatever works for you 😊 This is a great way of learning who extended family members are for little children.

Have an brilliant time playing around the table.

Linda x

The Positive Family Academy.

Linda McNeill

Mum to 3. Wife to 1. Founder and creator of The Positive Family Academy. Inspiring families to reclaim quality family time and have a whole lot of fun in the process.

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