We all love to see our children loving life – and a big part of this for us Mums of smaller people is seeing their kids PLAY!

No matter what that play may be, we love to see it (unless of course they’re drawing on the walls or tormenting the dog).  And as Mums we’re happy to invest the time to set our children up to have a good time.

Over the years of playing with my kids as well as watching them play, I’ve never really stopped to think about the fact that play that’s fun can also be really good for kids too!

Here’s just a few really basic games, activities and healthy snacks that are not only fun but great for a child’s development …

Add a ball to the mix and there’s a load of fun for everyone.  There’s also a load of benefits to ball play:

• Playing with balls of all sizes (start with a larger ball for toddlers) helps children develop body control and strength
• Eye/Hand co-ordination  as well as Eye/Foot co-ordination is introduced and over time develops
• Kids who’ve been out moving those larger muscles can also have better sleep and feel more confident

A healthy snack is great – even better when it’s fun!

Make a between meals snack that will have your little chickens loving fruit time. Whip this up with deliciously smooth and creamy CalciYum for a snack that’s packed with the goodness of fresh fruit and yoghurt. Have them sing you a song about Choppy Chicken while they nibble.  See how creative you can be together!

Choppy Chicken Yum > how to here

Driveway here we come!

Find your children some chalk, a couple of stones (large enough that there is no risk of choking) and relive the fun of hopscotch.

It’s a load of fun but it’s also wonderful for growing bodies for several reasons:

• The hopping on one foot, jumping from two feet, balancing and throwing is brilliant for mastering body control
• Children are also learning patience (waiting for their turn), encouragement of others and resilience (if they’re not the winner)

A healthy snack – that’s great for fine motor skills too!

Make fine motor skills mastery fun – pick up the berries and drop them onto Bear’s nose then master that spoon by scooping up a berry and yoghurt. Learning becomes fun with Berry Yum ‘Nana Bear as their after dinner delight. And because CalciYum has no artificial colours or flavours, it’s the perfect snack any time of the day.

Berry Yum ‘Nana Bear > how to here

I don’t think I know a child that doesn’t love it when the Play Dough comes out to play!

We’ve all given our children Play Dough from as early as it is safe (secretly I think we all love it). And whether it’s homemade or store bought, it’s a load of fun but also educational:

• Because play dough is so good to squish, pinch, squeeze and schmoosh, it’s secretly building up all the tiny muscles and tendons in children’s fingers, hands and forearms
• Introducing fine motor skills early means that those little people are getting ready for scissors and excellent pencil control later on

What a brilliant way to introduce a variety of fruit!

Make building these Creamy Fruit Skewer Yums into a craft project! Loads of fun, great for fine motor skills, concentration and ‘pattern’ learning (a great skill for maths later on) and the perfect chance to work on something together with your children. Talk about what letter each fruit starts with as you thread them onto the skewers. Then dip, dip, dip into the dairy goodness of CalciYum.

Creamy Fruit Skewer Yums > how to here

Get out the pencils, download a pile of colouring in sheets and relax (because your kids will be busy for a good chunk of time).

Colouring in seems like such a basic activity but it’s wonderful on so many levels:

• The precise grip of a pencil and all the motions involved in getting the desired effect are all fantastic for fine motor skills and a brilliant introduction to pencil before school
• Colouring in is also wonderful for children who tend to be anxious, highly strung or stressed – add some relaxing music while they colour and the down time is soothing for everyone

CalciYum has a load of wonderful Colouring In Downloads here.

If your kids love Minions, they’ll love this fun and healthy snack.

Better still have them build this yummy MiniYum as a fun (and educational) activity.

Think up funny names for your MiniYum as you go – see how many ‘M’ names they can come up with.  Or how many other words rhyme with YUM.

Here’s the how to for your own litte MiniYum > how to here

We’ve put this post together with the help of the team from CalciYum – they’ve just launched a brand new range of CalciYum that are perfect for snacks, lunchboxes and even frozen – at school, at home or out and about on the go! Look for the new packs in store now.

100% CalciYum fun!

Even the fussiest eaters can’t resist the fun characters on our packs and the great taste of CalciYum. Available in supermarkets everywhere.

Check out CalciYum on Facebook or discover all the CalciYum fun on their website.