Gift Guide Download | TheKnow&PlaySpace

top of page

Home
- Who are we?
- Skills Overview
The 'Know' Space
- All Posts & Categories
The 'Play' Space
- Why Play-Based Learning?
- Play Ideas by Age & Categories
Know & Play Learning Hub
- Know & Play Preschool
- Tutoring & Learning Classes
Membership
- Members Area
Consultancy
Shop
Contact Us
More

Use tab to navigate through the menu items.

Want a copy of our 2025 Christmas Gift Guides? Pop your email below!

Email

Click here to download

Know & Play’s ‘Play and Learn Classes’ & Learning Journeys began today! (+ a glimpse of the updated play space!) ✨🌈

Today was my first session with some new little play & learners. Honoured to be part of more children’s learning journeys and grateful that I can work from home, so I still get to be as much of a mummy as I can possibly be to my two little people.

Featuring a little glimpse into the updated play space - a multi purpose room in the centre of our home 🏡 Will share more soon!

#playroom #playspace #kidsplayroom #playbasedlearning #learningthroughplay

Play Spaces over the years 🌈

Looking back on these photos brings me so much joy. So much thought went into each of these spaces, making sure that they met developmental needs as well as stages, schemas and interests ✨

My absolute favourite was the end of 2023 when we moved the playroom to be downstairs in our new house and turned the whole living room into a space absolutely perfect for a 2-3 year old 😍 Every inch of the room was designed with him in mind and covered all areas of learning.

Fast forward though to today… the beginning of 2026, and the room looks nothing like these anymore, yet, it still meets the needs of both boys, us as a family and my new work venture. Mr 1 is at a very tricky stage for playing in a mixed-age play space, (I thought crawling/mouthing baby was bad enough….!) and so I sooo wish I had enough room/space to set both boys up with areas suitable for each of them. But, the reality is I don’t, and I know tonnes of you will be in the same boat! It’s definitely a balancing act. I’ll share over the next week the new play space for 2026 and how we’re making it work for us 🥰

But for now, HAPPY NEW YEAR and here’s to another year of Knowing & Playing 🌈

#playroom #playspace #kidsplayroom #montessoriplayroom

8 Christmas Play Ideas with @connetix_tiles - giving you at least one each day before the big day arrives 🎄😉

#connetix #connetixtiles #kidsgiftideas #playbasedlearning #learningthroughplay

Spent our evening making the North Pole ✨🎅🏼 … There really is so much magic this time of year & our @connetix_tiles brings so many of Mr 4’s ideas to life! 🌈

#connetix #connetixtiles #kidsgiftideas

Monster Truck Tracks + Letter Stamps = Hands On Phonics 🛻👂🏼👐🏼

Mr 4 is big into his cars and monster trucks era, and so tailoring learning to meet this interest means that he’s even more engaged. More engaged = more effective learning!🤩

I’m all about making learning hands on, promoting active engagement and following children’s lead and interests. Know & Play Phonics, coming in 2026 ✨, will show you how YOU can teach your child to READ through play-based learning, along with tips and tricks on making it purposeful and exciting to your individual child 👦🏻👧🏼🧒🏾

Excited?!🙋🏼‍♀️ Me too!!

#phonics #phonicsfun #learningtoread

Looking for a super simple phonics game to practise those initial sounds?! 👀

Try SPIN THE BOTTLE!

Simply collect a selection of objects from around the house that begin with the initial sounds you want to practise. Pop them into a circle & add a bottle to the middle. Spin, and say the initial sound of the object it lands on in the format: “c-c-cow”

Simple. Easy. Effective.

This is just one of the hundreds of activities that is coming to Know & Play Phonics - launching in 2026 🤩 I can’t wait to share with you all!

SEND THIS IDEA TO A FRIEND and then SAVE it yourself to come back to when you’re in need of a phonics game!

#phonics #phonicsfun #learningtoread

Alliteration Aliens 👽👂🏼

Did you know that playing with words and alliteration supports early reading skills? Mr 4 and I had all the giggles today creating our own crazy alien creatures and then given them even crazier names! The only rule was that each part of their name had to begin with the same sound 👂🏼🤩

This is a Phase 1 level activity. Being able to hear initial sounds comes waaaay before actually making that link between sounds and the letters that make them. Children don’t NEED to know letters before they hear what a word begins with. Sounds > Letters ALWAYS FIRST.

Phase 1 then continues to be a big part of learning, even throughout Phase 2 of phonics. So often people jump to teaching their child letters BUT, a significant amount of issues when learning phonics or with reading in the future, actually can be worked back to a lack of security in Phase 1 skills. This is why getting children tuning into sounds, listening, remembering and talking about sounds is SO CRUICIAL and shouldn’t be skipped.

Because Mr 4 does know some of his sounds, he helped me sound out and ‘write’ parts of the names using the magnetic letters (writing words can be done in more ways than just pen & paper!!), but most of them I wrote out for him and then he showed me how he knew their name was allowed by spotting the first letter being the same in each word - making the same sound.

These funny face pieces are a mixture of old Mr Potato Head parts and a set of smaller face building parts that I got on Amazon. I’ll pop a link in stories as they’re brilliant and we use them so much ✨ They’d make a great stocking filler 😏🎄

#phonics #phonicsactivities #phonicsfun

Green Playdough + Loose Parts = Festive Fun 🎄✨

My Know & Play Preschool ‘Christmas’ Play and Learn Guide is full of purposeful Christmassy activities to support your child’s learning and development… but THIS was one of Mr 4’s absolute favourites last year 😍

To make green playdough:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1 cup boiling water
Drops of food colouring

We worked together to mould a cone shape, then added a selection of coloured and sparkly loose parts to turn it into a Christmas tree 🎄✨ We repeated this so many times last December and every time the trees turned out beautifully different.

Supports development of:
✅ Fine motor skills
✅ Creativity
✅ Making choices
✅ Hand-eye coordination
✅ Mindfulness
+ so much more!

Find more details on this activity AND many many more in my ‘Christmas’ Play & Learn Guide 🎅🏼 I’ll pop a link in stories, or head to my website www.theknowandplayspace.com

#festivefun #playideas #learningthroughplay

.pro-gallery-wix-wrapper {display: block !important;} .pro-gallery-wix-wrapper .gallery-item-container {opacity: 1 !important; display: block !important;}

Our latest Instagram posts...

Privacy Policy

Terms & Conditions

Maintained by The Know & Play Space | Est. 2023

bottom of page

Want a copy of our 2025 Christmas Gift Guides? Pop your email below!

​