Categories
BLOG

Age-appropriate Chores and How to Make Them More Fun with Tiger and Tim Learning Videos for Kids

Kids are not often big fans | Tiger and Tim Animals

Kids are not often big fans of chores, but grown-ups can make helping out around the house more fun with Tiger and Tim!

learning videos for kids | Tiger and Tim Animals

When I left the jungle to live with humans in the city, I learnt that my buddy Tim Hague HAS to do CHORES at home. Whilst our learning videos for kids are considered PLAY for both of us, I didn’t know how to do chores before and I wasn’t soooo thrilled when Tim started teaching me to help out and be a bit more responsible

It is important for young kids to learn the importance of chores at an early age though, because these tasks can teach them to be responsible, empathetic, hard-working, as well as many other important skills that can be used for the rest of their lives! Chores also give children a sense of belonging and can ease the workload of grown-ups. This all means: household assignments are a win-win for both grown-ups and Tiger Cubs. 

importance of chores | Tiger and Tim Animals

But let’s face it – most of the time, chores are the last thing on a kid’s or a Tiger’s mind. So, we need to add a little creativity and a dash of excitement to make these little tasks more fun and engaging… Tiger and Tim and our online learning videos for kids made by me and my friend Tim Hague are here to help!

Age-appropriate chores

Age-appropriate chores | Tiger and Tim Animals

Tiger Cubs are more capable than most grown-ups think. Children as young as two-years-old can already start helping out through age-appropriate chores. Simple activities such as putting away their toys or returning books on the shelf are things most young kids can already handle.

Tiger Cubs | Tiger and Tim Animals

Pre-schoolers can already start helping by watering the plants or clearing the table after meals. Grown-ups can also assign them to feed pets by filling the pet’s bowl with food and water.

As they grow older, Tiger Cubs can take on more responsibilities, such as loading the dishwasher, sweeping the floors, and even helping the grown-ups prepare the dinner (this is my favourite chore!). 

Ways to Make Chores Fun

Ways to Make Chores Fun | Tiger and Tim Animals

It can get tricky for parents and grown-ups to get their Tiger Cubs to do jobs around the house. But Mums and Dads (and other adults at home) can help turn these tedious chores into a ‘special job’ or ‘a mission’ for the kids to accomplish. 

With our tips, kids might just find doing their household chores are as fun as watching their favourite online educational videos for kids!

  1. Turn chores into a friendly competition

urn chores into a friendly competition | Tiger and Tim Animals

There is no denying that kids are naturally competitive, so why not turn chores into an exciting and friendly competition between siblings? You can split a big task into equal parts and let them race to finish their assignment first. Make it even more fun by turning on your announcer’s voice, complete with funny nicknames to really get them in the mood!

  1. Play pretend

Toddlers and younger kids love playing pretend! Ask them to put away their toys while pretending to be their favourite animal (a tiger I hope) or a character in a book you have read together or someone from a learning video for kids that they might have seen. Play along with them to make things even more fun!

  1. Scavenger Hunt

Do your Tiger Cubs love I Spy books? Then make cleaning up more fun by turning it into a big scavenger hunt! Let the kids find and pick up the clutter around the house and the one who collects the most number of items, wins! They would have to return those items to their proper place afterwards, as part of the game.

  1. Sing a happy working song

Sing a happy working song | Tiger and Tim Animals

If there’s one thing Snow White and Giselle of Enchanted have taught us (aside from animals being the best clean-up buddies), it’s that chores can be a bit more fun with music! There are different versions of clean-up songs from online educational videos for toddlers that you can play whilst doing the  deeds, or you can even make up your own! Better yet, you can use our new singalong song that we featured in the fourth episode of our educational videos for toddlers and kids written by none other than Tim Hague himself!

Not much of a singer? Then play upbeat songs that you and the kids can dance along with while completing an otherwise dull chore. 

  1. Stickers

Stickers | Tiger and Tim Animals

Stickers are excellent to use when rewarding simple accomplishments. Create a chore chart and display it in a prominent area of the house. Use stickers that are fun and colourful, maybe even stickers of characters or animals that the children like. 

For every task or chore done, reward your Tiger Cub with a sticker on their chart. If he or she achieves the desired number of stickers by the end of the week, then a simple treat is in order! 

One trick to make chore charts more effective is to change them up regularly. You can also involve the youngsters in making the chore chart, or even choosing the stickers that they want to use.

Tiger and Tim Learning Videos Can Make Chores More Interesting For Kids!

Tiger and Tim Learning Videos | Tiger and Tim Animals

Want to make chores more fun for the Tiger Cubs at home? Tiger and Tim episodes can help!

Tiger Cubs at home | Tiger and Tim Animals

Turn a tedious task, like sorting out washing or folding clothes, to something more enjoyable by playing Tiger and Tim episodes in the background. You can also talk about what your Tiger Cubs liked about the episode, such as Quiz Corner’s interesting facts or the tongue twisters from Tiger’s Tongue Twisters! Last but definitely not least, emphasise that doing their little bit for others is showing kindness, respect and love, and those are all qualities Tiger and Tim encourage in everything that we do. 

Chores may be boring, but these tasks teach the little ones (and Tigers!) many valuable lessons and skills that they will use forever. AND, with a bit of creativity, a positive attitude, and a little help from Tiger and Tim online learning videos for kids, Tiger Cubs can even enjoy those cheeky chores!

Want to learn more parenting tips and tricks from Tiger and Tim? Read our other blog posts here.

Categories
BLOG

Why Art is Important and How Tiger and Tim Learning Videos Help Foster Creativity (Written by The Art Critique)

The Art Critique is here to enlighten everyone on the importance of art in a child’s development. Creativity and other essential skills can be developed by producing arts and crafts, drawings, and paintings. Here’s how Tiger and Tim learning videos can encourage it.The Art Critique | Tiger and Tim Animals

Well, hello boys and girls, it’s me, the mustachioed wonder, THE ART CRITIQUE from Tiger and Tim online learning videos for kids! Tiger invited me over to his blog so I can share my expertise and wisdom about art to all our grown-up readers out there. Much to Tim’s delight, of course (Hello Dear Tim)!importance of making art | Tiger and Tim Animals

As you can tell, art is something I am very passionate about. I BREATHE art, I am not called The Art Critique for nothing! So I would like to talk about the importance of making art to all Tiger Cubs. You see, Mums, Dads, Aunts, Uncles, Grandpas, and Grandmas, art is not just about making a big mess on the kitchen table or doodling on the pristine white walls of the house – art, for children’s development, is essential. You may not see it now, but you might just be raising the next Picasso! Our educational videos for toddlers and older kids (where I am prominently featured *ahem*) can further encourage love and appreciation for the arts!

I now have my trusty monocle on so let’s talk about art, for art’s sake! 

Developmental Benefits of Art

Aside from developing Tiger Cubs’ creativity, art also helps in many other developmental milestones.

Motor Skills

Motor Skills | Tiger and Tim ART

Making art would typically include gripping the paintbrush or crayon, which would greatly help with a toddler’s fine motor skills. When doing craft projects, kids could also make use of child-safety scissors, which can help develop their dexterity. All these fine motor skill exercises are necessary in many different ways and, most importantly, in learning how to write.

Language and Communication

Language and Communication | Tiger and Tim

If you know me from our educational videos for kids, you know that I LOVE talking about art, art, and more art, which is why doing arts and crafts can significantly help with a Tiger Cub’s language and communication skills.

Being immersed in making art can enrich a young one’s vocabulary – from distinguishing the different colours to talking about their work using descriptive words, as I do! Arts and crafts activities can also help children learn about different shapes and even actions words.

Critical Thinking Skills

Critical Thinking Skills | Tiger and Tim Animals

Making art allows children to explore, to test out what works, and what does not. As they create, they explore different possibilities and work out the problems – all these decisions hone their critical thinking skills. So art not only makes Tiger Cubs creative, but smarter, too!

Social-Emotional Skills

Social-Emotional Skills | Tiger and Tim Animals

Social-emotional development refers to a child’s expression of his or her experiences and how they manage thir emotions. Art itself is self-expression in its purest form, and it can help children express a wide range of their very colourful emotions, especially when their vocabulary is still emerging.

Social-emotional development | Tiger and Tim Animals

Apart from helping Tiger Cubs express their emotions, they can also learn to tell how they feel about others. This is what I do in my segment of our educational learning videos for kids, since the children learn to show appreciation for others’ artworks and value other Cubs’ effort to create their masterpiece! Creating paintings and other works of art with others also helps children understand the importance of sharing and taking turns.

How to Foster Creativity at Home

How to Foster Creativity at Home | Tiger and Tim Animals

As you have seen in Tiger and Tim online learning videos for kids, you know that I am a true master of the arts! You can also help your Tiger Cubs develop an artistic eye (monocle not necessary)!

Let your Tiger Cubs’ inner ARTISTE shine through by fostering art in your own home! Here’s how parents and grown-ups can do it:

Tiger Cubs' inner ARTISTE | Tiger and Tim Art

  1. Embrace the mess – it may be a headache now, but the mess is actually a good sign that your little one’s mind is hard at work! To help you keep the clutter to a minimum, set up an art station in your house, and have a drop cloth or old newspapers handy. If the weather permits, you can have the children paint outdoors, too!
  2. Be an audience, not a director – avoid giving Tiger Cubs directions when they are creating something, especially if it’s free-form. Instead of being a director, be an encouraging and supportive audience instead, and let your child’s masterpiece come to life!
  3. Talk about art – once your child’s artwork is done, let them express how they feel about it! Talk about what they created, the colours they used, and even how they made the piece. This will enrich their vocabulary and develop their communication skills so they can grow up to be master art appreciators, like me!

Encouraging Creativity with Tiger and Tim Educational Videos For Toddlers

Tiger and Tim Educational Videos For Toddlers

Learning videos for kids, like Tiger and Tim, can inspire young minds to create their own artworks! Tiger and Tim episodes always feature me in “Picture This”, where I share artworks of Tiger Cubs all over the world! 

The children can be inspired by me and our episode’s theme to create their own masterpiece. Our latest episode is all about food, so watching it can also inspire them to reach for a snack!

Grown-ups can also encourage the little ones to share their ideas on the different works of art featured in my Art Gallery. Doing so will not only develop children’s communication skills, but adults can also guide them in exploring their emotions.

So what are you waiting for? Start creating those fantastic works of art and send us a photo of it through this link. I will be waiting for your fabulous masterpieces!

Want to know more about how Tiger and Tim can help with your child’s development? Read our other blog posts here.

Best wishes, from your very favourite Art Critique!

Categories
BLOG

How Tiger and Tim Educational Videos for Kids Can Get Children Talking

Tiger and Tim | Learning Videos for kids

language is one of the essential skills Tiger Cubs should start developing from a young age. Here’s how TigerandTim can help with that!

If there’s one thing Tim loves to do (a lot), it’s TALKING! It’s a good thing he’s not bad at it, otherwise, we couldn’t make Tiger and Tim learning videos for kids! I am a little too shy to talk on the show yet…

Skills Tiger Cubs | Tiger and Tim

Whilst I never learned to roar like most tigers in the wild (sadly), Tiger Cubs learn to communicate with grown-ups pretty easily. Mums, Dads, and other adults at home can take advantage of their Tiger Cubs’ natural tendency to pick up a language in different ways. Playing and reading together, watching free educational videos for kids online, or merely allotting time for conversation can help with a child’s language development and communication skills.

How Parents Can Help with Developing Communication Skills

Parents Can Help with Developing Communication Skills | Tiger and Tim

A Tiger Cub’s brain is like a sponge – they can absorb information quickly from the moment they are born until they are in their adolescent years. They need to be exposed to any language at an early age, as this serves as a good start in developing their language skills. 

Tiger Cub's brain is like a sponge | Tiger and Tim

From the moment they are born, babies communicate with their parents and other grown-ups – from crying, giggles, gurgles, and other gestures. By the time they turn about a year old, babies also learn how to use their bodies to communicate. Pointing using their finger is considered a communication milestone because it’s an opportunity for Cubs to get people to notice something that he or she saw. Just like how I communicate with Tim when I’m hungry!

As Tiger Cubs grow older, of course, they also build their vocabulary and learn how to use words in a conversation. The more they talk and communicate with others, the better their language development becomes. Watching adults or older siblings at home talking to one other, AND being exposed to online learning videos for kids, can serve as a learning guide for children to be more effective communicators.

There are many other different ways grown-ups can foster young Cubs’ natural tendency to communicate. Here are some of our ROAR-SOME suggestions:

Talk Time

Having interactive conversations is PURR-FECT in developing communication and language skills. In a conversation, grown-ups can model grammar and syntax rules, as well as turn-taking. You can also serve as a guide on how to pronounce unfamiliar words.

Talk Time | Tiger and Tim

Communicating with your Tiger Cubs is simple! You can start by talking about the books you read together or the online educational videos for kids they love to watch. You can also talk about the day’s activities or things that you enjoy doing together. They don’t have to respond to you all the time. Sometimes, their responses may not even be related to the topic of the conversation. That’s okay! You can feed off of their answers to keep the conversation going.

Three Strikes

Toddlers need to be exposed to a particular word several times before they can effectively include it in their vocabulary. One way grown-ups can help is through repetition. You can repeat a word three times in succession in different sentences and contexts.

“Look at that red car!”

“That is Daddy’s car.”

“Do you want to ride in the car with me to the park?”

This way, kids can notice and retain the new word more effectively.

Develop Language and Communication Skills with Tiger and Tim Learning Videos!

Watching learning videos is a TIGER-RIFFIC way to develop communication skills!

Our show is an excellent resource for fostering a Tiger Cubs’ acquisition of language! Tiger and Tim learning videos are highly interactive, stimulating a child’s language and communication development. 

Tiger and Tim episode segments, like Storytime with Tiger and Tim, Quiz Corner, Picture This, and Your Tigers are great conversation springboards for grown-ups and kids. Our Joke Shop can also help Tiger Cubs get creative with their words and teach them all about the English language’s different nuances. Meanwhile, Tiger’s Tongue Twisters develop their pronunciation and enunciation of English words. The best part of this is that children learn ALL of these things without them even realizing it! Clever, isn’t it?

Furthermore, other online videos for toddlers, such as action songs, like ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’, can help Tiger Cubs associate the word with a particular noun and action. Gestures are considered communication, too! And who can say no to some singing and dancing? You know I can’t!

Space Travel with Tiger and Tim

Every one of us has an innate need to communicate with others (even Tigers!). Being effective communicators in the future will not only be useful for Tiger Cubs in school, but it can also help develop their character and be a good little Tiger, like me!

Read more about how Tiger and Tim can help with your childrens development here.

Categories
BLOG

Foster a Love For Reading at Home: Tips on Raising a Reader from Tiger and Tim Educational Videos!

 

Fostering a love for reading is easy. Here are some easy tips to help raise readers with Tiger and Tim educational videos.

Books are my best friend, aside from Tim, of course! Reading stories is one of Tim and I’s favourite things to do together, along with watching Tiger and Tim educational videos and playing outdoors! Actually, getting lost in a good book can make me feel like I am exploring the great outdoors.

 

Reading is an essential skill to develop not only for school but for many other reasons. Not only does it help with vocabulary, comprehension and imagination, among others, but it can also make Tiger Cubs more empathetic, socially aware, and just a good little Tiger!

Parents and other grown-ups at home play a significant role in fostering a love for reading amongst their kids. With youngsters needing to spend more time at home nowadays, reading books is a great way to bond as a family. Exposing the little ones to age-appropriate books is an excellent start to encourage reading. There are soooo many ways that Mums and Dads (and the rest of the family) can engage kids with books. Here are some tips to help develop your child’s affinity for books.

 

  1. Model the behaviour

Tiger Cubs are very impressionable, and they look up to the cool grown-up cats at home – to know which behaviours are acceptable and which are not. If you want your kids to love reading, then one way to encourage them is for them to see you reading! Reading books to them does not count; it has to be your own choice of text or any reading material that they see you thoroughly enjoy. This way, your kids associate books and reading, in general, as something enjoyable.

Like watching fun videos for kids, reading can also be a positive experience for the family. You can assign a specific reading time at home wherein every member of the family reads together. Parents are also encouraged to talk about the books they are reading (or have read) to their kids. Doing so can cultivate curiosity and open communication between you and your Tiger Cubs.

  1. Make books accessible

Having books at home is essential, but making them accessible for the Tiger Cubs will further develop their love for reading. 

 

One way to make books more available for the tots is by using a front-facing bookshelf. Since young ones don’t know how to read yet, they rely on the books’ cover when choosing a book; thus, front-facing bookshelves are PURR-FECT for little ones. Furthermore, independent Tiger Cubs can easily reach for a book without having to ask for your help. This simple act of getting a book themselves can make it easier for them to read on their own!

  1. Repetition is okay

Some kids tend to like the same book for a loooong time. I ask Tim to read my current top choice at least twice a day! Sorry, Tim!

You might feel tired reading the same book to your Tiger Cub for over ten times in a day but, keep in mind that repetition can actually be beneficial! Repeating the books can help with their speech development and in building their vocabulary. And if your Tiger Cub is like me, we just looooove knowing what will happen next! So say, for example, your kids love animals, then learning about animals through books is a TIGER-RIFFIC way for them to explore, even if that means reading the same book over and over again.

  1. Take trips to the library or bookstore

Another way to make reading and books fun is through taking trips to the library or a bookstore. Going to the bookstore or library and letting the Cubs explore can make them excited about books! While going out may not be an option nowadays (gotta stay safe, cool cats!), you may try to give them the same experience through organising a small book-exchange group with other families in the area or with your Tiger Cub’s classmates. 

You may also take advantage of e-books that can be downloaded online. Some libraries even have programs for borrowing e-books! Which is so ROAR-SOME, right? Just don’t forget to let your Tiger Cubs choose the books that they like to make them feel involved in the process.

  1. Embrace technology

Many parents believe that technology and reading books don’t sit well together. With young kids’ (and Tigers hehe) having short attention spans, using technology can make reading more interactive and exciting!

The Storytime segment in Tiger and Tim (the best part!) is excellent for making stories come alive! The vivid animations in Tiger and Tim educational videos make the stories more exciting and fun for your Tiger Cubs, and do you know what happens when learning becomes fun? It becomes more effective, especially for young Tiger Cubs!

 

Foster Literacy with Fun Videos for Kids from Tiger and Tim!

Tiger and Tim educational videos are PURR-FECT in making the most out of screen time. Reading and learning become more effective when kids are engaged and enjoying every second of it.

For more parenting tips for all the cool Mums, Dads and grown-ups out there, or for other little tricks and tactics, check out our other posts here. Happy reading!