At age 3 unstructured playing is what Isla does the most.
However giving her structured playing opportunities is always there when she has older siblings who enjoy a challenge , she is quick to pick up on the cues and likes to join in.
I love the fact children of different ages enjoy the same toy.
The haba pegging game is really great in the way it gives younger children a chance to follow instructions and gives them a fun way to solve puzzles. Haba toys are beautifully and ethically produced and has been part of our toy selection for years.
Here is how this particularly lovely game works:
The game comes with cards, each card has a picture of what you should build
child picks a card and must solve the puzzle by building a real life version of the picture on the card.
However, I find important not to put too much pressure on them , if it gets too challenging and Isla is missing a piece or can’t quite get there, I remind her she can turn the card over and it will solve the puzzle by showing which pieces should go where.
Once her attention spam is exhausted she really loves to just build her own things and takes great pleasure in doing so
normally by putting all the pieces together and having fun doing her own thing!