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Young children learn by ‘doing’. Their bodies are like one big sense organ and they take it everything that they see, hear and feel. Play arises from the body. The will guides all behaviour. From birth to the age of 7 they are the great imitators. The way we talk, the way we move, the way we show our love. Rahima Baldwin Dancy from ‘You are Your Child’s First Teacher states “These impressions, which are taken in by the child without filtering or screening, find their expressions in play…a child will imitate not only the activity but the ‘soul mood’...

The Russian Puzzles from Acorn toys that Dragonflytoys is now stocking have made me want to investigate further the traditional Russian folk tales that the puzzles are based on. The Geese puzzle is based on the fairy tale the Magic Swan-Geese. Print it out and add it to your story collection. Once upon a time a man and a woman lived with their daughter and small son. "Dearest daughter," said the mother, "we are going to work. Look after your brother! Don't go out of the yard, be a good girl, and we'll buy you a handkerchief." The father and...

When travelling with children it's sometimes nice to have some new play things tucked away for emergencies..unexpected hold ups with travel or quiet times while away. Below is a mix of things from Dragonfly to amuse children when they are away from routine and on the road. Travel Games The gorgeous French Marc Vidal travel games feature chess, dominos, mikado and checkers. It comes in a beautifully presented wooden box. Joe-mo  The Rocket Race is an exciting small boardgame- Who will be the first to reach the end of the Universe? For ages 5 up.  Art A packet of our...

Winter is an inward, reflective time. Even for children who don't experience snow, winter is a time of seeking warmth and quietness. An introspective time where we need to cherish family life and the wonder and mysteries of the earth. Here is a beautiful post about midwinter and rituals to bring meaning to this time of the year: http://www.waldorfinthehome.org/2005/12/midwinter_thoughts.html To add to your seasonal book collection, Dragonfly has a range of books that will acknoweldge and find joy in this time of the year. Any Room for me by Loek Koopmans tells the story of a dropped mitten. First a...

When yellow found blue it called out 'Oh there you are! I was looking for you.' Then they laughed and threw themselves into each other's arms, and they were so happy that they turned as green as grass Before I came into contact with Steiner education and Goethe I readily assumed that children preferred bright heavy acrylic paints that they could get all over the paper and clothes but after watching my sons and learning more I realised how beautiful and satsifying watercolour paints can be. " The best way to introduce children to colour is to let them paint...