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Dress-up corners and a real drill: learning away from screens

Helmets, binoculars, a firefighter's suit, a whisk and a cordless drill: the props and real jobs that keep our children busy and thinking, away from gadgets.

Our home has more than one dress-up corner. There are props and manipulatives to handle, things to smell, food to cook and places to explore, and there are grown-up jobs the children can help with. Having so many toys and props around is a big part of what makes reflection engaging for our children, and keeps them away from gadgets.

Real tools

When Qoyis was in preschool, he worked with real hardware at home. Here he is with a cordless drill on a board, surrounded by hinges, brackets, a glue gun, a set of screwdrivers and a small wooden frame. It was hands-on, and it was watched and guided: an older helper's hands are at the bottom of the picture, holding a screwdriver.

This is Investigate at its simplest. A child handles real things, sees what they do and asks why, while an adult keeps the risk in check.

Qoyis, as a preschooler, using a cordless drill on a board, with hinges, brackets and screwdrivers on the table
Qoyis, as a preschooler, using a cordless drill on a board, with hinges, brackets and screwdrivers on the table

Dress-up and role-play

The dress-up corners hold a helmet and a pair of binoculars, a firefighter's suit, costumes and hats. A toddler builds a wooden train track nearby.

A boy in a helmet looking through a pair of binoculars
A boy in a helmet looking through a pair of binoculars
A child in a red and yellow firefighter's suit and helmet
A child in a red and yellow firefighter's suit and helmet
A girl in a dress-up costume and a knitted hat
A girl in a dress-up costume and a knitted hat

Cooking and chores

The children help in the kitchen. Here the whisk has just come out of a bowl of whipped cream.

Whipped cream standing on a mixer whisk
Whipped cream standing on a mixer whisk

They also help with adult chores. Three children carry a rolled-up carpet down the corridor together.

Three children carrying a rolled-up carpet down the corridor
Three children carrying a rolled-up carpet down the corridor

Senses and outings

On walks and visits we stop to look at flowers and leaves and smell them: a red bloom by a railing, a yellow wildflower in the grass, a sawn log with new shoots, crocheted pods hanging in a garden. Once we picked brinjal straight from the plant. At home, prayer beads are laid out for counting dhikr, and a colour-mixing worksheet comes out with the paint pots.

Red flowers and green leaves growing by a garden railing
Red flowers and green leaves growing by a garden railing
A hand reaching for a purple brinjal growing in a garden
A hand reaching for a purple brinjal growing in a garden
Several strings of prayer beads laid out side by side
Several strings of prayer beads laid out side by side

If you want to try it

These photos span 2021 to 2023, and some of the children in them are visitors, so we have kept their faces hidden. None of this needs a big budget. A box of old clothes and hats, a few real kitchen jobs and a chore that needs more than one pair of hands will go a long way. With real tools, stay close and guide.

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